European Anti-Poverty Year launched - mixed reception

 On January 21, 2010 the European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion was officially launched in Madrid under the Spanish presidency of the EU. One of the most noteworthy outcomes from the opening conference, was a joint call from the Belgian and French secretaries of state for quantified EU targets to reduce poverty by 2020 (and to make them as binding as the Stability and Growth Pact). This was one of the initiatives that Social Justice Ireland called for in its Submission to the European Commission on their consultation document on the EU Strategy for 2020.

Both Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero and Commission President Barroso were present at the opening conference. One of the more depressing moments of the conference was in Commission President Barroso’s presentation.
 
On the positive side he underlined the focus on social cohesion objectives in the Treaty of Lisbon and highlighted the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the social transversal clause, Article 11, and the concept of the social market economy. 
 
On the negative side he continuted to insist that employment will solve poverty. While increased employment is to be welcomed and would contribute to reducing poverty it is far past the time for the European Commission, and the EU generally, to realise that it has failed to go anywhere close to full employment in the half century since its establishment in 1957 and it will not be achieved any time soon. Consequently, more is required if poverty is to be reduced dramatically.
Social Justice Ireland believes that the EU should have a target of achieving zero poverty by 2020.
 
Zapatero's speech offered a different take (and took a lot from his presentation the day before in the European Parliament in Strasbourg). He spoke, among other things, on the strength of the European social model, the economic crisis, the situation of "dependent" people (and the recent Spanish legislation to address it) and the progress made in his country to integrate the Gitanos people and people with disabilities.
 
His most significant comment however was his call for a European Social Pact to be negotiated at the European level with social partners and for social cohesion objectives to be at the heart of the EU 2020 strategy.. He failed, in this context, to make any mention of civil society which is unfortunate as no social pact can be delivered in Europe without the active involvement of civil society generally and the community and voluntary sector in particular. This sector delivers a very large component of the effective response to poverty and social exclusion. Without its involvement such a strategy will not go beyond rhetoric..