EU Anti-Poverty Strategy Report adopted: Civil society welcomes Parliament’s vote but report still leaves many behind
Following the European Parliament’s call for a comprehensive and adequately funded Strategy, Eurochild and Coalition partners urge the European Commission to ensure its 6 May 2026 launch delivers swift, decisive EU-level action to eradicate poverty and truly leave no one behind.
In recent years, the causes of poverty have become complex: an unsustainable economic model, ongoing austerity measures, COVID-19, stricter migration policies, the digital transition, growing attacks on the rights of vulnerable groups, and the climate crisis. In 2024, at least 93.3 million people in the EU, about 21% of the population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. So far, the EU has not responded with effective policies to address these challenges.
On 12 February 2026, the European Parliament adopted its position on the upcoming EU Anti-Poverty Strategy of the European Commission. The report sends a strong political signal to the Commission: the first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy must be ambitious, comprehensive, and firmly grounded in human rights.
The Coalition welcomes the strong calls to address the multidimensional nature of poverty through a comprehensive and preventive approach that tackles root causes and intersecting inequalities. In particular, the report calls for an ambitious Strategy to eradicate poverty by 2035 and stresses that the Strategy must be adequately funded through the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
It highlights the need to address the situation of vulnerable and marginalised groups, listing those disproportionately affected by poverty. It also uses strong language on quality jobs, child and family poverty, homelessness, severe material deprivation and access to services and social protection. In addition, it underlines the importance of guaranteeing the participation of people experiencing poverty.
However, the Coalition is deeply concerned that a majority of Members of the Parliament voted to dilute the final report, creating divisions among people experiencing poverty who should be covered by the Strategy.
In particular, the Coalition regrets the exclusion of migrants and undocumented people from the list of vulnerable groups, as well as failing to stress the important role of the European Platform of Combating Homelessness (EPOCH) in delivering progress on homelessness. Every person in poverty counts. An EU Anti-Poverty Strategy that excludes certain groups of people in or at risk of poverty is unacceptable.
