The European Union’s anti-poverty effort faces a challenge reaching well beyond household income, with housing insecurity, access to services and barriers to employment reinforcing one another. Ahead of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu highlighted the scale of need, according to The Brussels Times.
Around one in five people in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including 19.3 million children, Mînzatu said. She also pointed to more than 1.4 million people who are homeless or lack secure housing.
The 2030 target has an earlier starting point
The Commission adopted its first EU Anti-Poverty Strategy on 6 May 2026. Its policy overview explains that the existing goal is to reduce the number at risk by at least 15 million by 2030, including at least five million children, compared with 2019.
That baseline matters. The target is not a promise to subtract 15 million from whatever total is reported in 2026. Assessing progress requires comparing compatible indicators against the agreed starting year.
The broader measure, commonly called AROPE, combines income poverty, severe material and social deprivation, and life in a household with very low work intensity. Someone can face more than one of these conditions, so the component groups cannot simply be added together.
Housing and work require different forms of support
Mînzatu said implementation of the strategy was under way, with a proposed Council recommendation on housing exclusion awaiting approval. A proposal and an adopted recommendation are distinct stages; the statement does not mean every planned measure is already in effect.
She also highlighted work on employment barriers, a forthcoming coalition involving private-sector and philanthropic organisations, and plans to test a European Child Guarantee Card. The proposed digital tool is intended to make existing support easier for eligible children to access.
The policy challenge is therefore both financial and administrative. Assistance needs to be sufficient, but people must also know about it and be able to claim it. A digital access tool can support that process; it does not itself supply housing or replace adequately funded services.
The strategy’s effectiveness will depend on implementation by national, regional and local authorities. The most useful progress measures will track changes in people’s circumstances, alongside whether the promised coordination and access arrangements are actually delivered.
