SGI Europe welcomes the first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy and calls for an integrated approach to access to essential services

SGI Europe welcomes the European Commission's publication of the first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, a timely and necessary step to strengthen the EU’s capacity to address poverty and social exclusion in a more coordinated and structural manner.

The Strategy sets out a broad framework to address poverty across the lifecycle, from childhood disadvantage to in-work poverty, housing exclusion and old-age poverty. SGI Europe welcomes this comprehensive approach, as well as the Strategy’s effort to better connect prevention, protection and long-term inclusion.
As employers and providers of services of general interest, SGI Europe particularly welcomes the Strategy’s recognition that access to essential services is key to preventing and fighting poverty. The Strategy rightly acknowledges that the ambition to help eradicate poverty in the EU by 2050 cannot be achieved through fragmented measures. It requires an integrated approach, combining adequate income support, labour market participation and effective access to quality, affordable and accessible SGIs.

Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, said:

“The Anti-Poverty Strategy sends an important political signal: poverty cannot be addressed only through income support. It must also be tackled by ensuring that people can access the services they need to live, work and participate in society. Services of general interest are the practical infrastructure of social inclusion, territorial cohesion and citizens’ trust in the European project.”

“To better capture the territorial and place-based dimension of poverty, SGI Europe strongly supports the announcement of the upcoming Council Recommendation on access to essential services and the development of new poverty indicators. This is an important step towards a more comprehensive understanding of poverty, reflecting not only income levels, but also people’s effective access to essential services across territories.”

“It is also crucial to establish a strong link between the ‘right to stay’ strategy and the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy. Access to SGIs and essential services is a fundamental condition for people to live, work and thrive in the communities they call home, and must therefore be recognised as a central element of territorial cohesion and social inclusion.”

SGI Europe is committed to working with the European Commission, Member States, and other stakeholders to make the first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy the first pillar of an integrated, coherent policy strategy that strengthens competitiveness, social cohesion, territorial resilience, and the Freedom to Stay, thanks to affordable, high-quality SGIs across Europe.