EUROPEAN YEAR FOR COMBATING POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION (2010)

Strasbourg, 22 October 2008: Marie Panayotopoulos - Cassiotou MEP, Hans-Gert Poettering MEP (EPP-ED, Germany), President of the European Parliament, and Jan Andersson MEP

22/10/2008: The Codecision file on "European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010) " was signed by President Poettering together with the French Presidency, in presence of Mrs Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou and Mr Jan Andersson, in Strasbourg. Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, was the draftswoman for the above mentioned report which was adopted by the European Parliament on 17 June with large majority and recently received final approval by the Council.

For further information:
Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP
Tel: +32-2-2847447 - Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu

POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION ROUND TABLE

15/10/2008: The seventh round table on poverty and social exclusion, organised by the French Presidency of the EU, was held on Wednesday 15 October 2008 in Marseille.
This meeting comes ahead of the so-called P7, a meeting of EU Ministers responsible of poverty and social exclusion.

Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP, author of Parliament's report on the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion 2010, represented Parliament at the event's plenary session.

The French Presidency representative, Martin Hirsch, High Commissioner for active inclusion against poverty, welcomed the guests by presenting the Round Table's objectives. His intervention was followed by a presentation of the three pillar approach to active inclusion, and by speeches of various stakeholders, such as D.Jarre, Vice-President of the Social Platform, J.Niemec, Confederate Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation, I.Nouhoum, Representative of the delegations appointed during the 7th European Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty, L.Van Embden Andres, President of the workgroup social welfare, Business Europe, and J. Vignon, Director of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission.

Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, presented her report on the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion, which constitutes a further step towards reinforced social solidarity. This European Year embodies the EU's commitment to eradicate factors obstructing the full realisation of the Lisbon Strategy's goals and to create a more egalitarian society. The activities of the European Year will advance the progress made with the Open Method of Coordination on social protection and social inclusion, launched in Lisbon.

Furthermore, the decision to establish the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion, recently accepted by the Council, aims at proposing concrete actions financed by the EU and Member States. The allocated budget to these actions amounts to €17m, and the priorities are, amongst others, the promotion of integrated approaches of social inclusion and the eradication of disparities and poverty, especially affecting children and families in distress.

"The ongoing economical crisis in Europe has given us the opportunity to stress the importance of solidarity, responsibility, transparency and structural reforms to increase employment." declared the Greek MEP.
----------------------------------------------------------
For further information:
Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP
Tel: +32-2-2847447 - Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu

COMBATING POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

17/06/2008: The majority of the European Parliament today adopted a report by Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP at first reading on '2010, the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion'. The allocated budget - €17m - represents the highest budget ever granted to a European Year, thus demonstrating its high political importance.

The aim of the European Year is to reaffirm the Union's commitment to solidarity, social justice, greater cohesion, and to promote consistency as well as boosting support for the overarching objectives of the Union, by making a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty. Currently in the EU, almost 78m people are living at risk of poverty. The European Year should raise public awareness of poverty and exclusion in Europe as well as convey the message that poverty and exclusion are disruptive to social and economic development. Therefore the purpose of this proposal is to designate 2010 as the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion.

Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou's report approves the content of the Commission's proposal and it introduces the following new elements:

• Further develops the concept of multi-dimensional aspects of poverty and social exclusion by a more extensive definition of the groups concerned such as early school leavers and the long-term unemployed;
• Calls for action to be coordinated and implemented at national, regional and local levels in order to reach the goals of the European Year;
• Raises the question of access to and quality of education and lifelong learning, social protection systems and health services, housing, as well as active participation in political and cultural life;
• Stresses a need for an efficient implementation of equal treatment and non-discrimination legislation;
• Draws attention to the importance of ensuring children’s well-being and decent life conditions for all;
• Calls for greater links to be established with previous European Years.

After the positive outcome of the vote, Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou said: "Thanks to the agreement between the EU institutions, we have achieved the goal of directly planning the European Year's activities. The EPP-ED Group, retaining solidarity as one of its main goals, is always encouraging adequate measures in order to promote more social cohesion."

It is also worth mentioning that in 2006, 16% (78m) of the total EU-25 population lived under the poverty threshold. In 2000, within the EU-25, about 40m people (9% of the total) were confronted with persistent poverty. In 2005, within the EU-25 19%, (19m) children were at risk of poverty. Although in most Member States the gender gap is decreasing, the gender gap is (in 2006) about 2 percent as regards poverty and persistent poverty.

For further information:
Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP
Tel: +32-2-2847447
Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu

Notes to Editors:
The EPP-ED Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 288 Members from all 27 Member States.

IMMIGRATION AND POVERTY: THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION ON FAMILY AND CHILDREN

14/12/2006: The Intergroup on "Family and Protection of Childhood" in the European Parliament, chaired by Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, GR), organised this Wednesday 13 December, a joint meeting with the "Fourth World Committee" Intergroup presided over by Mr Mendez de Vigo (EPP-ED, ES), on the topic of immigration. The meeting attracted the participation of a great number of MEPs, representatives of the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the UNHCR and NGOs

The discussions addressed more specifically the link between immigration and poverty as well as the impact of immigration on family and children. NGO Caritas presented its third report on poverty in Europe which reveals that third country nationals, who represent around 20 million people in the EU, are usually in a less favourable position than EU nationals when it comes to employment, education, training, health, housing and participation in public life. The prevalence of atypical work contracts (part-time, temporary contracts or undeclared labour) for migrants tends to expose them to discrimination and exploitation, thus increasing the risk of social exclusion, marginalisation and poverty. PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation also presented its activities in various European countries for the improvement of living conditions of illegal migrants and ensuring respect of their rights.

Mrs Agnès Hubert, representative of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers of the European Commission (BEPA), indicated that the improvement of the public attitude towards migrants is an essential condition for the promotion of their economic and social integration and a better use of their potential. She underlined that the development of new possibilities for legal migration, family reunification, the reduction of illegal labour and support for youth are fundamental components of this approach. She also mentioned that the role of migrant women, who represent 54% of migrants in the EU, should be further promoted in national migration policies and their economic, social and cultural integration supported. An improved integration of migrant women contributes to a better integration of their children, thus giving them a good impetus for their full participation in society both as contributors and beneficiaries

Mrs Tax from the UNHCR mentioned the increase in child migration, including that of unaccompanied minors, as well as the fragile situation of these children. She insisted on the necessity for States to adopt, at all stages of migration procedures, measures protecting the child's best interests. These measures include the fight against trafficking and exploitation, the suppression of detention centres for minor migrants and their replacement by structures more appropriate to childhood, the appointment of a legal guardian for unaccompanied minors and the establishment of child-sensitive asylum procedures. The development of statistics on child migrants is also fundamental for the formulation of more targeted policies.

Underlining that the integration of children implies their access to education, Mr Attuil from the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe pointed out the bureaucratic difficulties in this field, in particular for undocumented minor migrants. He mentioned that specialised school programs for the integration of migrant children could be adopted in order to enable them to pursue a normal education and prevent the phenomenon of early school-leavers which is on the constant increase.

In the framework of a common European approach on immigration, the two Chairpersons, Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou and Mr Mendez de Vigo, expressed their satisfaction regarding the fruitful dialogue that followed the presentation of the various topics relating to poverty, family and children.

"FAMILIES AND POVERTY": JOINT MEETING OF THE INTERGROUP ON FAMILY AND PROTECTION OF CHILDHOOD AND THE FOURTH WORLD EUROPEAN COMMITTEE INTERGROUP

15/02/200: The meeting of the Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood which focused on the topic of "families and poverty" took place in Strasbourg, on Wednesday the 15th of February under the chairmanship of Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED) and Mr Mendez de Vigo (EPP-ED). The meeting fostered interventions by Mr Johannes Berchtold from the Austrian Ministry of Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection, Mrs Maryse Huet from DG Employment and Social Affairs (European Commission) and Mrs Maria Teresa Lopez of the Foundation "Accion Familiar".

Mrs Lopez presented the major changes which have occurred in the social and demographical behaviours of families, which are characterized by more instable family compositions, reduced birth rates and a high number of children born outside marriage. In her intervention, she insisted on the policies that the Member States should develop to prevent poverty and stressed that by supporting families, one supports employment, social solidarity, the redistribution of wealth among generations, a sustainable economic development and greater social cohesion.

In his contribution, Mr Berchtold insisted on the necessity to preserve intergenerational solidarity and to reduce the poverty of families through the adoption of specific measures including, among others, the creation of synergies between the political, economic and social sectors, and a greater security and flexibility in employment and working hours. Mr Berchtold also reminded the essential role of families in terms of socialization and solidarity and insisted on the necessity to give a greater importance to fathers in the family environment. Finally, he informed the assembly of the activities of the new partnership " Alliance Family and Employment" which gathers the participation of Austria, France, Germany, Hungary and Italy and enables the exchange of good practices and the development of collaborations with NGOs.

Mrs Huet indicated that the action of the European Commission which supports the action of the Member States, aims in particular, at improving the situation of families and children with economic difficulties by increasing the participation in the labour market, specially for women, a better conciliation of family and professional life, the modernization of social security schemes, the improvement of education and access to decent housing and to quality social and health services. Mrs Huet also stressed that the European Commission is currently preparing a "Charter on the Rights of the Child" as well as a Communication based on the results of the consultations on the Green Book on Demography.

Mrs Zaborska, Chairwoman of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, mentioned some elements of her report on the topic of "women and poverty", adopted by the EP. She referred to the importance of families as "teachers" of social values, to the role of women in the preservation of the economic and social cohesion of families as well as to the need to create partnerships with the least disadvantaged citizens. Finally, Mrs Bauer presented the situation of families in the new Member States with a particular focus on children whose level of poverty is higher that the EU average and who often live in disastrous conditions.

The meeting ended with interventions of NGO representatives who insisted on the importance to increase the participation of parents in the labour market, on the necessity to provide for a minimum income to help guarantee the standard of living of children and to improve the assistance for families by appropriate services.