Poverty does not disappear by itself and Europe understands this. The European Union (E.U.) prioritizes poverty as an issue and has helped start many poverty reduction projects throughout the world. Within Europe, the E.U. fights poverty based on its Europe 2020 Strategy that strives to lift 20 million people out of poverty by 2020. Globally, the E.U.’s development policy aims to eradicate poverty through sustainable development. In both of these endeavors, the E.U. is making tremendous progress in reducing poverty. Here is how the E.U. is fighting poverty in Europe.

The EU Fights Poverty in Europe

The Europe 2020 Strategy is an ambitious plan that could drastically change Europe’s economy and social landscape. Some of the strategy’s targets include employing 75 percent of people aged 20-64, providing higher education to 40 percent of people aged 30-34, increasing energy efficiency by 20 percent and using 3 percent of the E.U.’s GDP for research and development. These targets are mutually reinforcing as improvements in education should help reduce unemployment, and improving energy efficiency should make European businesses more competitive, creating more jobs.

The Europe 2020 Strategy is only a “reference framework” that E.U. countries use to create national targets. These national targets mean that governments can now measure their progress and determine whether or not they are reaching their poverty reduction goals. Thus, even though the Europe 2020 Strategy does not force countries to do anything, it has helped countries to measure their progress and determine whether they are doing enough. The strategy receives constant review and the European Commission still believes that the Europe 2020 Strategy is an effective framework that can help create jobs and promote economic growth.

What have the results been? As of 2017, the E.U. managed to provide 39.9 percent of people aged 30-34 with higher-level education, 0.1 percent away from their 2020 goal of 40 percent. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of people at risk of poverty in the EU dropped from 122.8 million to 112.8 million. The percentage of 18-24-year-olds leaving school early dropped from 14.7 percent in 2008, to 10.6 percent in 2017. While the European Commission admits that people need to do more to combat poverty in Europe, the progress so far has been promising.

The EU Fighting Poverty Internationally

The E.U. wants to end poverty worldwide. It is attempting to do so using a couple of different methods. In 2007, the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) created a partnership between the E.U. and Africa. The partnership helped create a relationship between the two groups that could help foster sustainable development that will benefit both parties. The partnership deals with other issues besides development and poverty but has made significant impacts on the latter. For instance, the E.U. accounts for one-third of all the foreign direct investment in Africa. Supporting the Africa-E.U. partnership is the Pan-African Programme which strives to create sustainable human and economic development. The E.U. has allocated $845 million euros to the program between 2014 and 2020. Outside of Africa, the E.U. also plays a large role in poverty reduction. E.U. aid represents more than 50 percent of global aid.

In conclusion, the E.U. is fighting poverty and promoting sustainable development. Within the continent, the E.U. is making progress as education rates improve and poverty levels continue to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Globally, the E.U. continues to lead by example as it sets the bar for providing foreign aid to developing countries. The U.S. has the capability to match these achievements but needs more people to voice their concerns about international poverty. Reach out to congress and encourage the U.S. to end international poverty by clicking this link here.

– Nick Umlauf
Photo: Flickr