The European Commission is not giving hot money to fight poverty in Europe, as its strategy is limited to recommendations to national governments, asking them for coordinated action against poverty, quality jobs for all, quality employment for a way out of poverty for those who can work, effective access to quality services and adequate income support.
The social package announced yesterday by the European Commission aims to eradicate poverty by 2050, better prevent homelessness and promote the rights of people with disabilities across the EU. The social package comes at a time when pressures due to the increased cost of living remain high on the European political agenda and provoke protests from citizens.
The figures recorded very recently by Eurostat show what is happening at the social level throughout Europe.
– In Cyprus, the percentage of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion for 2025 is 17.1%, a percentage corresponding to 167,000 people.
– At EU level, 20.9% of the population, or around 92.7 million people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025.
– Also, more than a fifth (22.1%) of people living in households with dependent children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which was slightly higher than the corresponding proportion among households without dependent children (19.8%).
– In Cyprus, the corresponding rate for households with dependent children stood at 12.2%, ranking the country among those with the lowest at-risk-of-poverty levels in the EU. For households without dependent children, the percentage stood at 22.1%.
– For the 92.7 million European citizens at risk of poverty, the European Commission yesterday released the document Principles for effective anti-poverty policies Supporting national, regional and local authorities in their fight against poverty. The Commission notes that tackling poverty requires adequate resources and increased administrative capacity, in particular adequate staffing in the public services involved.
To prevent and reduce poverty, the Commission proposes the following:
Call on Member States to ensure the implementation of policy frameworks to combat poverty, at national, regional or local level. The Commission will provide guidance (principles for effective anti-poverty policies). Member States should appoint national anti-poverty coordinators at the highest level, to ensure a coordinated response.
Creating an EU Anti-Poverty Coalition to mobilise the private sector, including charities.
Involve people with direct experience in policy formulation, through the creation of a dedicated forum.
Launch an EU Social Inclusion Award, in cooperation with the Committee of the Regions, to recognise innovative local solutions to poverty.
Monitor progress towards the EU's 2030 poverty reduction target and promote new indicators to measure how factors affect poverty.
Provide all Member States with a stress test that assesses the resilience of national welfare systems when faced with potential shocks. For families with children
The European Commission also suggests that households with children in financial need should be supported by parents to take on and maintain quality jobs. It will also issue a recommendation on in-work poverty, identifying the root causes and practical solutions, and publish a set of best practices to reduce the number of people not receiving income support, which is up to 50% in some Member States.
It will also prepare a report to identify gaps and guide national reforms, and hold a dedicated high-level exchange of views to improve support for older people through adequate pensions, opportunities to stay in work and stronger social protection.
The Commission's actions include rolling out the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card across the EU, improving transport accessibility and investing in assistive technologies such as AI tools.
Action to prevent the loss of housing
On housing, which is becoming a dramatic problem in many EU countries, the Commission is calling on Member States to act early to prevent people from losing their homes. This includes preventive measures such as rent assistance, debt and housing counselling, mediation to prevent home loss, as well as targeted assistance for those most at risk, including those facing eviction or domestic violence.
For those already experiencing homelessness, the EU Recommendation promotes safe emergency housing, personalised support plans and incident management, out-of-school work and coordinated teams providing services within the community. To improve access to housing, the Recommendation calls for an increase in the supply of social and affordable housing, taking into account demographic trends, local needs and territorial disparities.
