European Platform against poverty and social exclusion

2011/2052(INI) 03/10/2011

The Presidency informed the Council about the message that it intends to deliver at the first annual convention of the European platform against poverty and social exclusion which will be held in Krakow, on 17 and 18 October 2011.

This message may be summarised as follows:

The impact of the economic crisis continues to be felt in the EU. An increasing number of people are at-risk-of poverty or in a condition of severe material deprivation or live in jobless households. As stated by the Council, the EU must pursue its course against unemployment, poverty and social exclusion as boldly as it pursues recovery and financial stabilisation.

The first Annual Convention must help consolidating the EU commitment to the social goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. In this context, the Presidency encourages the Annual Convention to take stock of progress made towards the headline target for poverty reduction and social inclusion, to review the implementation of the activities announced under the Platform and to consider suggestions for future actions.

The Presidency supports the key ambition for the meeting in Cracow:

to give high political visibility and weight to the European Platform against Poverty;
to encourage the Convention to start building a supportive and active constituency cutting across various policies and institutions, different levels of government and civil society actors.

The Presidency invites all Member States to be actively engaged in the first Annual Convention and it its follow-up, so that this annual event can grow in the future.