Helping families

“In the EU we are fortunate in living in one of the most prosperous parts of the world. But for almost 80 million Europeans poverty is a daily reality”, says Vladimír Spidla, European Commissioner for Social Affairs. He does not disguise his concerns about the large segments of population that have difficulty in feeding themselves properly, that are unable to obtain decent accommodation, or give a proper education to their children. The economic crisis has further “accelerated the process of social exclusion” for the families that have lost the certainty of an income. Such is the scenario in which the Commission presented the programmes of the European Year of the struggle against poverty and social exclusion, to which the 27 member states of the EU have decided to dedicate 2010. The European Anti-Poverty Year will be officially inaugurated in Madrid on 21 January 2010.The role of the media. A foretaste of the EU’s special anti-poverty Year was given in Brussels on 28-29 October, during the seminar “Poverty and the Mass Media” and the conference on “Poverty: reality and perceptions. The challenge of communication”: two events aimed at rallying the press, TV and online information throughout the continent to help the EU in the task of raising the awareness of governments, institutions, NGOs and individual citizens on the issue of poverty. The 400 participants from all member countries of the EU debated the issue of poverty to which 2010 is to be dedicated. The delegates heard the results of some surveys, and were briefed on “actions in the field” to reduce poverty. “In January we will inaugurate the European Year in the fight against poverty – explained Spidla -. Professionals of the media and communication are called to play an essential role to contribute to the success of this campaign”.Helping families. The European Commission has drafted a 26-page “framework document”, spelling out the objectives and priorities of the European Year, the issues to be tackled at the EU and national levels, and the funds to be allocated to the various activities (the funds from the EU budget amount to 17 million euros, of which 9 million will be allocated to projects in member states). Among the commitments adopted for the next twelve months the document mentions in particular the “fight against child poverty, and poverty within the family”, paying particular attention to large families, single-parent families and those that have to look after one or more dependents, as well as “the poverty experienced by children placed in institutions”, and “the elimination of disadvantages in terms of education and training”, with particular attention to the needs of disabled persons”. The document also underlines the need to “guarantee equality of access to proper services, including decent housing, healthcare and social protection”; “foster access to culture and recreational activities”; “promote the social inclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities”; and respond to the needs “of the homeless and other categories or persons in vulnerable situations”.The reality, country by country. According to the Executive, therefore, some 80 million persons are considered to be on or under the poverty threshold in the European Union: the “risk of poverty”, which involves approximately 16% of the entire EU population, is however higher in some countries and less in other, depending on their average per-capita income and purchasing power. It is considered, in the light of these figures, that in the Netherlands and in the Czech Republic the danger of poverty or any real situation of social exclusions affects 10% of their inhabitants; that figure rises to 11% in Sweden and Slovakia, to 12% in Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Slovenia. The greatest risks are registered in Romania (25% of the population at risk), Bulgaria (22%), Latvia (21%), Italy and Greece (20%).Work, healthcare, “decent” housing. During the two-day conference in Brussels the results of a Eurobarometer survey, which interviewed a sample of 27,000 EU citizens on the phenomenon of poverty, were published. “73% of citizens – says the report – consider that poverty is a widespread phenomenon in their own country and 89% would like their government to tackle the problem”. “While the majority of those interviewed consider it’s their own government that must assume responsibility for it, three-quarters of citizens also expect the EU to play a role”. The report also says: “High rates of unemployment (52%) and inadequate wages (49%) are, in the perception of interviewees, the main social causes of poverty, in combination with insufficient social security and pensions (29%) and the excessive cost of decent housing (26%)”. But there are also “personal” motivations that the interviewees “consider to be at the basis of poverty”: namely, lack of education, training or qualifications (37%), inherited poverty (25%), and alcohol and drug dependence (23%)”. According to Commissioner Spidla, “the anti-poverty Year will serve to give a voice to those who each day have to struggle against poverty”.