Flexicurity, an answer to inequality? The labour market today is under severe pressure in all European countries. The crisis is (ab)used to change hard-won labour rights fundamentally, with negative consequences for the most vulnerable groups in the labour market. They are pushed more and more into precarious, temporary and inferior jobs with negative consequences for people living on the edge or in poverty. Poverty rates – even for those who…

120 million of Europeans are living in extreme poverty or insecurity. As the crisis hits hard in several countries, the number of people living in poverty or uncertainty will not decrease over the coming years. Social security is under pressure or threatened in all European countries. Savings plans are very severe. And in all countries, the governments aim to simplify the job market or want to organize less protection for…

The challenges for a poverty reduction strategy: the responses of the alliances. ACW, MOC and their Italian partner CNCA, organised a very interesting seminar in Rome where we looked for soms answers to the challenges for a poverty reduction. The program was ambitious. We wanted to analyse the actual social state of Europe and the member states, to look critical to the European answers, and to give the answers of…

Balancing the social and economic policy of Europe Report of the Social Conference September 2011 Brussels The EU2020 strategy set the ambitious target of reducing 20 millions of persons living in poverty, but it is hard to find how the actions taken at national level will make it real. On top of that, the austerity measures adopted in several countries against the crisis created side effects further exacerbating the situation…

Alliances to fight poverty The European seminar “alliances to fight poverty” intends to examine a real poverty policy and also to take initiatives to realize it. In order to let appear poverty on the political agenda the political parties and the governments must be aware of the necessity of a policy for struggle against poverty. It’s the job of the civil society to convince them. Applying this strategy the civil…