One in five Europeans is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, with the figure rising to one in four for children, leading the European Commission to unveil an Anti-Poverty Strategy.
Half of Europeans say the cost of living is their biggest concern, while pressures are also being driven by the housing crisis and a fast-evolving labour market, the Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new package of measures sets out an EU anti-poverty strategy with a target to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, and to help end poverty by 2050.
The strategy is built around three priorities — “quality jobs for all”, access to services and income support, and coordinated action against poverty.
Housing costs, overcrowding and homelessness
House prices have increased by 60% across the EU since 2013, while one out of three people at risk of poverty face housing cost overburden, according to the Commission.
Nearly 17% of the EU population lives in overcrowded housing conditions and about 1 million people are affected by some form of homelessness.
A proposed Council Recommendation on fighting housing exclusion includes early interventions to identify households at risk, stable housing solutions for homeless people, and more social and affordable housing through public investment, not-for-profit housing and targeted funding.
The package also includes an updated approach to the rights of persons with disabilities, noting that around 90 million people in the EU live with a disability — more than one in five Europeans.
Only half of persons with disabilities participate in the labour market, 1.4 million still live in institutional settings, and one in three remains at risk of poverty and social exclusion.
The European Commission is enhancing its Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities up to 2030, including work to roll out a European Disability Card and a European Parking Card for Persons with Disabilities, improve accessibility across transport modes, and support more accessible democratic processes.
