social protection

A Grassroots Method to Help Eradicate Child Hunger in the Most Deprived Regions of Hungary

The European People’s Party (EPP) held a group hearing on 26 February 2013 on ’A grassroot method to help eradicate child hunger in the most deprived regions of Hungary’. The event was organised by Tamás Deutsch MEP (EPP, HU), and the keynote speaker was the French-Hungarian sociologist Zsuzsa Hegedűs who is the senior advisor to the Hungarian Prime Minister and Chair of the "No Child Should Go Hungry" Foundation ("Minden gyerek lakjon jól" foundation) in Hungary. (...)

[Assessment] Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative: European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion

Within the context of a comprehensive assessment of the state of play of the Europe 2020 strategy and its flagship initiatives, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) has started preparing a survey on the ’European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion’, as seen from a regional perspective. The result of this survey will feed into a Conference on the same topic that the CoR will hold on 29 May 2013 in Brussels. The Conference ’European platform against poverty’ (...)

[Report portrait] The Impact of the Crisis on Civil Society Organisations in the EU – Risks & Opportunities

Paper published by The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Ageing populations- Council conclusions on the sustainability of public finances

After the economic and financial affairs Council meeting, the Council has stated that in order to fight the economic and financial crisis and enhance sustainable growth, EU Member States have to ensure progress towards long-term fiscal sustainability of public finances. Further implementations of structural reforms should be done in accordance with the Europe 2020 strategy. According to positive developments related to life expectancy, more attention has to be paid to ageing population (...)

Redefining and combating poverty - human rights, democracy and common goods in today’s Europe

The two-day conference intended to discuss the subject of poverty and inequality in societies with human rights policies, with participants from different backgrounds, bringing together institutional actors, researchers, activists, associations, and networks, as well as people living in poverty and precariousness and other citizens involved in the themes raised by the Conference. The first day of the discussion was devoted to the analysis of the current situation in terms of poverty, (...)

Poverty and inequality in societies of human rights - the paradox of democracies

The two-day conference involved a discussion on the subject of poverty and inequality in societies with human rights policies and brought together institutional actors, researchers, activists, associations, and networks, as well as people living in poverty and precariousness and other citizens involved in the themes raised by the Conference. The first day of the discussion was devoted to the analysis of the current situation in terms of poverty, inequalities and precariousness of living (...)

European Commission’s Social Investment Package for Growth and Cohesion - the Child Poverty dimension

On 20 February, the European Commission presented a Communication on its Social Investment Package for Growth and Cohesion. The initiative aims to help member states use their social budgets more efficiently and effectively by promoting best practices and providing guidance on social investment. Social investment involves strengthening people’s current and future capacities. In particular, social investment helps ’prepare’ people to confront life’s risks, rather (...)

Governments should act in the best interest of stateless children

Citizenship is the “right to have rights”. Without citizenship, one lacks not only political rights, but often social and economic rights as well. On a symbolic level, citizenship implies being a full member of a national community, and even further, of humanity. On his statement Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights argues in favour of the protection of stateless children. Key messages The best interest of the child is to have citizenship There should be no (...)

[Seminar report] Tackling Health Inequalities through Investing in Housing

The event ’Tackling Health Inequalities through Investing in Housing’ focused on the connection between health inequalities and affordable housing. It emphasised that investment in good quality housing can bring returns in health and environmental outcomes. Evidence shows that decent housing is an important social and environmental determinant of health These determinants lie outside of the health sector . Nevertheless, neither health professionals nor health policymakers (...)

[Seminar] Tackling Health Inequalities through Investing in Housing

The European Parliament URBAN Intergroup has the pleasure to invite you, this January 22, to a seminar entitled “Tackling Health Inequalities through Investing in Housing. Quality housing for population health and equity: EU cross-sector collaboration amidst health and social crises.” This event is a joint initiative organised by The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) and CECODHAS Housing Europe. For far too long, housing and health have remained in fundamentally separate (...)