Poverty is set to be one of the key issues dominating the 2024 European elections. The EU is home to 95 million people who live below the poverty line – that is, who live on less than 60 percent of the median income for their country. In all, that's one in five Europeans who live at risk of social exclusion.
The current European Commission has pledged to reduce the number of people living in poverty by 15 million by 2030 – but due to the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation and rising energy prices, the trend has actually gone the other way, with the past three years seeing the number of people in poverty rising by 3 million.
That's despite the EU's efforts – including the European Social Fund, which is distributing €100 billion from 2021 to 2027, and which aims to improve access to jobs and reduce social isolation.
Our special report takes a look at how those funds are spent, and the efforts across Europe to counter poverty. From an NGO in Romania helping reverse the rural exodus, to new ways to provide choice and quality food to people on low revenues in Spain and France, as well as the importance of getting the long-term unemployed back into the jobs market in France, we meet the individuals across the EU who are having an impact.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the DG Regional and Urban Policy. Neither the European Union nor the DG Regional and Urban Policy can be held responsible for them.
