The European Context: Measuring Social Inclusion in the European Union

Abstract

The fight against poverty is a long-term commitment of the member states of the European Union and an essential element of the recent European 2020 strategy. The latter, which explicitly adopts a poverty target, aims to ensure that “benefits of growth are widely shared and that people experiencing poverty and social exclusion are enabled to live in dignity and take an active part in society”. This chapter reviews how the monitoring and the analysis of poverty and exclusion have evolved over time at European level, paying particular attention to the Europe 2020 poverty and social inclusion target to which EU heads of state committed themselves in 2010. Finally, this chapter reviews the main policy lessons drawn from the EU level analysis of poverty and exclusion, as useful pointers for policy priorities also in future member states.