What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

– having regard to the Council Recommendation of 30 January 2023 on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion,

Changed:– having regard to the draft opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 17 June 2025Platform on anCombatting EUHomelessness, anti-povertylaunched strategy,in 2021,

Added:– having regard to the Commission communications of 30 June 2021 entitled ‘A long-term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas – Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040’ (COM(2021)0345) and of 27 March 2024 entitled ‘The long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas: key achievements and ways forward’ (COM(2024)0450),

Added:– having regard to the opinion of the European Committee of the Regions of 14 October 2025 on an EU anti-poverty strategy,

– having regard to the relevant reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights,

Changed:– having regard to the European Anti-Poverty Network (2025)(EAPN) reportposition paper entitled ‘Towards the Eradicationeradication of Poverty’,poverty – EAPN vision and recommendations for the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy’, published in 2025,

Changed:– having regard to the ATDAll Together in Dignity Fourth World reportposition (2025)papers I and II entitled ‘Paving the Way towards an EU Anti-Poverty Strategy!’,Strategy’, published in January and May 2025 respectively,

Changed:– having regard to the Social Platform reports (2025)position entitledpapers ‘EUof Anti-PovertyMarch Strategy’2025 andentitled ‘A post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework for Social Europe’,Europe’ and of May 2025 entitled ‘EU Anti-Poverty Strategy’,

Changed:– having regard to the EurochildMake reportMothers (2022)Matter entitledposition ‘(In)visiblepaper childrenentitled –‘Mothers’ EurochildPoverty 2022in reportthe onEU’, childrenpublished in need across Europe’,2025,

Added:– having regard to the Commission study of 15 November 2024 entitled ‘Transport poverty: definitions, indicators, determinants, and mitigation strategies’,

Added:– having regard to the Eurochild report entitled ‘Children’s Realities in Europe: Progress & Gaps – Eurochild 2024 flagship report on children in need across Europe’, published in 2024,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A10-000/2025),

Change 1

Removed:A. whereas poverty constitutes a violation of human rights and the rights of peoples, and the need to eradicate poverty requires a more equitable distribution of wealth and policies that ensure the indivisible and universal nature of political, economic, social and cultural rights;

Added:A. whereas in 2024, 93.3 million people in the EU (21.0 % of the population) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which is only slightly lower than the 2019 level; and whereas in 2024, 21.9 % of the EU population living in family households with dependent children were at risk of poverty or social exclusion;

Added:B. whereas severe material deprivation is defined as the lack of necessary and desirable items required to lead an adequate life; whereas, in 2024, 6.4 % of the EU population experienced severe material and social deprivation, including lack of adequate heating, overcrowded housing and inadequate nutrition; whereas children and women are disproportionately affected by this phenomenon compared to other population groups;

Added:C. whereas in the 2021 EPSR action plan, the EU adopted the target of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, compared to 2019 figures, including at least 5 million children; whereas even reaching this target would mean that around 78 million people in the EU, including 15 million children, would still be at risk of poverty and social exclusion by that time; whereas the Member States have committed themselves to national targets in order to achieve this headline goal and whereas the trend is pointing in the opposite direction for nearly half of the Member States;

Added:D. whereas poverty constitutes a violation of human dignity that undermines the full realisation of human rights and reflects the unequal distribution of wealth; whereas the need to eradicate poverty requires a more equitable distribution of wealth, equal access to employment and services, and policies that ensure the indivisible and universal nature of political, economic, social and cultural rights; whereas poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon that extends beyond material deprivation and encompasses barriers to education, healthcare, social and democratic participation, and economic opportunity;

Added:E. whereas without a change of approach to eradicating poverty at EU level, it will not be possible to reverse the trend and ensure that every individual has equal opportunities to participate in society; whereas the eradication of poverty requires a coordinated and holistic approach and integrated policies that work in concert to achieve social cohesion and prevent inequalities from worsening; whereas such a comprehensive strategy requires the involvement of Member States, local and regional authorities, social partners and civil society;

Added:F. whereas single-parent families, particularly those headed by women, face an increased risk of poverty, of 32 % compared to just 11.2 % among two-parent families, causing family members to more frequently become trapped in a vicious circle of poverty passed down from generation to generation; whereas systemic factors such as a lack of access to services, housing instability, income insecurity and insufficient prevention and family support services undermine families’ ability to care for their children in community settings; whereas targeted preventive family support and assistance, including to victims of domestic abuse, are essential to empower and protect these families and break the cycles of poverty;

Added:G. whereas indicators of the number of children at risk of poverty have increased from 23.6 % in 2019 to 24.2 % in 2024; whereas based on the current trajectory, the EU will fail to meet its target of reducing the number of children in poverty by at least 5 million by 2030; whereas significant disparities are observed among children of ethnic minority origin or from migrant backgrounds, children with disabilities and Roma children; whereas EU and national resources currently deployed are insufficient for addressing the challenge of child poverty in the EU;

Added:H. whereas child poverty often stems from family poverty, and the absence of a comprehensive response means that poverty is perpetuated throughout the life cycle (in childhood, at work and in retirement); whereas in order to break intergenerational disadvantage, the focus must be on the entire family experiencing poverty – parents and children; whereas investing in children and youth, especially in early childhood education and care, including numeracy and literacy development, as well as family support, acts as a preventive measure against poverty and generates significant long-term social benefits, and should therefore not be seen only as social expenditure but as an investment in the future;

Added:I. whereas on 14 June 2021, the Council adopted its Recommendation on a European Child Guarantee, which represents a major opportunity to reduce inequalities and promote the social inclusion of children, and demonstrates its commitment to an integrated policy aimed at breaking the vicious circle of poverty and to ensure that children in need have access to key services, for example free early childhood education and care services, free education (including school-based activities and at least one healthy meal per school day), free healthcare, healthy nutrition and adequate housing; whereas despite the fact that 5 % of European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) funding is earmarked specifically for the reduction of child poverty, the at-risk-of-poverty-or-social-exclusion (AROPE) rate among children has increased in some Member States, indicating the need for more ambitious and effective use of funding;

Added:J. whereas access to quality early childhood education and care services is crucial for the healthy development of young children and to ensure equal educational opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, children with disabilities and those with specific educational needs, laying the foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, promoting social inclusion and yielding high social returns in future; whereas according to the Commission, the EU needs to invest additional spending of more than EUR 11 billion per year to meet the Barcelona targets and ensure that, by 2030, at least 45 % of children below the age of three and at least 96 % of children between the age of three and the age of compulsory primary education participate in early childhood education and care;

Added:K. whereas, in 2022, the average Programme for International Student Assessment score for the measures of basic skills (reading, mathematics and science) of 15-year-olds had decreased by 10 points compared to the last assessment in 2018; whereas underachievement is prevalent among disadvantaged learners, demonstrating a widening of educational inequalities; whereas quality education, with a particular focus on strengthening functional literacy, numeracy and digital competence as foundational skills, is an essential lever in the fight against poverty, as it can lead to better employment opportunities, improved living conditions and a positive impact on both mental and physical health; whereas investing in quality education, particularly for people from minority and vulnerable groups, is one of the most effective ways to sustainably and structurally reduce poverty;

Added:L. whereas in the 2021 EPSR action plan, the EU adopted the target that at least 60 % of adults should participate in training every year by 2030; whereas Member States have committed themselves to national targets in order to achieve this headline goal and whereas the majority of Member States have lost ground in the pursuit of these national targets; whereas in 2022, the rate of adult participation in learning was at 39.5 %, still well below the EU target for 2030; whereas further substantial efforts are needed to ensure the provision of, and access to, quality training policies that promote lifelong learning;

Added:M. whereas women are affected by higher levels of poverty as a result of discrimination and inequalities compared to men, such as greater difficulties in accessing employment, wage disparities, lower work intensity, shorter professional careers, disparities in the value of pensions and social benefits, difficulties in accessing specific healthcare, and unequal distribution of care and domestic tasks; whereas poverty among women, in all its diversity, must be understood as a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon that includes not only social, political and cultural aspects but also income, housing, health and access to education and social services, and cannot be eradicated by employment alone but requires a comprehensive, inclusive approach based on both prevention and alleviation of poverty; whereas in 2024, in all but two EU countries, the severe material and social deprivation rate was higher for women (6.6 %) than for men (6.2 %), while the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate was higher for women (21.9 %) than for men (20 %) in all EU countries; whereas in the same year, 23.7 % of women and 22.7 % of men in the EU considered themselves to be poor, whereas 21.6 % of women aged 65 and over were at risk of poverty, compared to around 16.5 % of men in the same age group;

Added:N. whereas there is a strong correlation between poverty and gender-based violence and poverty exacerbates the impact of gender-based violence, especially on marginalised women, such as LGBTIQ+ individuals; whereas women living in poverty face a higher risk of experiencing violence, including intimate partner violence and domestic violence, due to factors such as financial dependency, housing insecurity and reduced access to support services; whereas across the Member States 30.7 % of women experience physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator over their lifetime; whereas poverty puts women at greater risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation;

Added:O. whereas poverty is also both a cause and consequence of intersectional discrimination, disproportionately affecting individuals and communities, namely women, families, people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, Roma and Travellers, people experiencing homelessness, children in institutional care, LGBTQIA+ individuals, older and younger people, undocumented persons, migrants, persons with disabilities, people facing discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, people facing chronic diseases and addiction, informal carers and single parents; whereas these groups are more vulnerable to social exclusion, in addition to the intersection with other forms of human rights violation; whereas significant barriers exist in the current labour market and social protection systems for vulnerable and marginalised groups; whereas addressing poverty therefore requires policies that recognise and combat these overlapping forms of marginalisation, ensuring the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights for all people;

Added:P. whereas in the EU in 2024, the risk of poverty or social exclusion for persons with disabilities was 61 % higher compared to people with no such limitations; whereas in the EU in 2023, approximately 20.2 % of persons aged 16 and over with a disability lived in a household at risk of poverty; whereas in the same age group, approximately 10.5 % of persons with a disability lived in a household at risk of severe material and social deprivation; whereas there is a 24 percentage point employment gap between persons with and without disabilities in the EU, and an even greater gap for women and young persons with disabilities;

Added:Q. whereas Roma and Traveller communities continue to experience some of the highest levels of poverty and social exclusion in the EU, with up to 80 % at risk of poverty and 48 % facing severe material deprivation, and whereas Roma children are particularly vulnerable to these conditions; whereas data indicates that Roma women face greater disadvantages than both Roma men and other women in core areas of social life, such as education, employment and health;

Added:R. whereas in 2021, 25 % of Roma reported experiencing discrimination in the preceding 12 months in everyday situations, including job seeking, in the workplace, housing, healthcare and education, as well as segregation, and socio-economic exclusion, resulting in disproportionately high levels of poverty; whereas 80 % of Roma live below their national at-risk-of-poverty threshold;

Added:S. whereas digital exclusion persists in the EU, depriving individuals and groups of fully accessing and using information and communication technologies, thereby hindering their participation in economic, social and political life; whereas a digital gap of more than five percentage points remains between urban and rural areas across the EU; whereas the digital divide potentially exacerbates digital exclusion for those experiencing poverty and is particularly pronounced among vulnerable groups, including people with low incomes or low levels of education, older people, persons with disabilities and people living in rural or isolated areas; whereas almost half of the adult population does not have basic digital skills despite more than 90 % of jobs requiring them; whereas 5.4 % of school-aged children across Europe experience digital deprivation, with substantial disparities in access to digital resources observed between different countries; whereas in 2023, 97.7 % of all households in the EU had access to at least one fixed broadband technology, compared to only 92.2 % in rural areas; whereas in 2023, 32 % of Europeans aged 16 to 29 were found to have below-basic digital skills, with this figure rising to 43 % among those with low educational attainment, highlighting a significant digital skills gap within youth demographics;

Added:T. whereas access to fast and reliable internet is essential for participation in a knowledge-driven and informed society, as well as for access to employment, education, public services and healthcare; whereas the digitalisation of public services offers significant opportunities, but it requires targeted efforts to ensure the inclusion of vulnerable groups;

Added:U. whereas a person’s employment situation has a strong impact on their risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU; whereas, in 2024, 8.2 % of all people in employment in the EU experienced in-work poverty as a result of low wages, job insecurity and precarious working conditions; whereas analysis of 2022 data reveals that part-time workers faced disproportionately higher levels of in-work poverty (13.5 %) compared to full-time workers (7.1 %); whereas in-work poverty remains a structural challenge that places significant social and economic pressure on affected households and poses barriers to social inclusion and economic stability; whereas addressing in-work poverty is essential for promoting fair employment, reducing inequalities and ensuring sustainable and inclusive economic development across the EU; whereas collective bargaining, trade unions and social dialogue play a key role in improving working and employment conditions and, consequently, enhancing living conditions;

Added:V. whereas the 2024 EU Pension Adequacy Report highlights that in 2022, approximately 18.5 million individuals aged 65 and above in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas at-risk-of-poverty rates in this age group in 2022 were 14.2 % for men and 19.8 % for women; whereas the at-risk-of-poverty rate among those aged 65 and over has steadily increased due to both rising poverty rates and an ageing population;

Added:W. whereas high-quality and affordable public services are essential for achieving high levels of social protection, social cohesion and social inclusion; whereas the delivery of high-quality public services is challenged by a number of issues, including problems related to service continuity, increased demand and insufficient resources, in part exacerbated by an ageing population; whereas everyone in the EU has the right to access essential services of a high quality accompanied by support measures for those in need; whereas people at risk of poverty or social exclusion face structural barriers in this regard, lack of infrastructure, skills or monetary resources, in particular Roma and homeless people;

Added:X. whereas access to water is an essential need and a fundamental human right; whereas approximately 9.8 million people in the EU lack safely managed drinking water services; whereas a further 9.4 million rely on basic water services off-premises, and around 450 000 individuals have no access to even basic drinking water services; whereas the lack of access to drinking water and water infrastructure disproportionately affects marginalised groups;

Added:Y. whereas an estimated 1 286 691 people in Europe experienced homelessness on any given night in 2024; whereas Roma people and other marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by forced evictions from municipal accommodation, including Roma who are regular rent payers; whereas in many cases, authorities fail to provide alternative housing or adequate compensation for expropriation;

Added:Z. whereas there are still at least 1.4 million people residing in institutions in the EU, although this figure could be underestimated due to a lack of data availability, consistency and coverage; whereas poverty remains one of the contributing factors to family separation in the EU; whereas the placement of children in institutions has serious consequences for children and families by perpetuating stigma and social isolation and feeding an intergenerational cycle of disadvantage; whereas residents of institutions can often feel isolated from the broader community and, while they would like to have better control over their lives, do not have sufficient control over their lives and the decisions that affect them; whereas despite the fact that the EU has long been committed to the process of deinstitutionalisation, efforts are still needed at both EU and national level to enable vulnerable groups to live in a family or community environment;

Added:AA. whereas people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by limited access to healthy food and quality healthcare; whereas poverty is consequently associated with an increased risk of physical and mental health problems; whereas the link between poverty and health is significantly influenced by barriers to healthcare, such as access to primary care, and reduced hospital admissions; whereas poverty, social isolation and chronic stress are closely linked, undermining mental well-being and increasing the risk of addiction and experiencing higher mortality rates, and increasing the risk of premature death; whereas poverty and addiction are mutually reinforcing, creating a vicious circle that exacerbates social exclusion; whereas eradicating poverty in turn requires a health-led, evidence-based approach to addiction that prioritises prevention and recovery;

Added:AB. whereas families face multiple and interrelated challenges that no single service or organisation can resolve on its own; whereas continuity of services as well as proper coordination between services are essential to prepare for and facilitate the transitions that children will face; whereas families at risk may have limited access to mental health services due to financial barriers, stigma or lack of availability; whereas discrimination has a direct link to poverty, as discriminatory experiences prevent people experiencing poverty from realising an adequate standard of living;

Added:AC. whereas social security systems must be strengthened to adapt to demographic challenges, new forms of work and the green and digital transitions; whereas the effectiveness of social protection in reducing poverty declined in the 2021-2024 period from 37.1 % to 34.4 %; whereas significant barriers exist in the current labour market and social protection systems for vulnerable and marginalised groups;

Added:AD. whereas minimum income schemes remain an important tool for securing income and reducing inequality and poverty across the EU; whereas these minimum income schemes vary considerably between Member States in terms of the adequacy and coverage of benefits and their link to labour market activation measures; whereas minimum income levels are well below national poverty thresholds in most Member States; whereas the non-take-up rate for minimum income schemes is estimated at between 30 % and 50 % of the eligible population, which undermines the objectives of this support instrument;

Added:AE. whereas it is necessary to ensure participation of people with lived experience of poverty in designing and evaluating policies that affect them, with a view to increasing the democratic participation, empowerment and social emancipation of people living in poverty, as well as obtaining more effective and equitable results from those policies;

Added:AF. whereas the outermost regions’ (ORs) remoteness, insularity, small size, difficult topography and climate, and economic dependence on specific industries and products severely restrain their development; whereas inequalities are one of the greatest social challenges facing the ORs and whereas they are disproportionately affected by high levels of poverty and unemployment, high school dropout rates and high rates of people not in education, employment or training; whereas gross domestic product in the ORs is significantly below EU and Member State averages (60 % of the average across the EU-27);

Added:AG. whereas the factors contributing to the cycle of poverty in rural areas are specific and the challenges of vulnerable people living in rural areas differ from those of vulnerable people living in urban areas; whereas a lack of employment opportunities, public services (including education and public transport) and digital connectivity, high energy and transport prices and demographic developments such as depopulation contribute to an increase in poverty in rural areas; whereas women living in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to poverty due to limited access to employment, services and social support; whereas the EU anti-poverty strategy must take these territorial specificities into account and ensure tailored policy responses and funding mechanisms that effectively promote social inclusion and territorial cohesion;

Added:AH. whereas there should be multilevel coordination and integration regarding instruments linked to the anti-poverty strategy; whereas a robust governance mechanism for monitoring the objectives of the strategy is essential; whereas the strategy will only deliver results if it is accompanied by adequate financial resources and if its objectives are supported by the various relevant EU sectoral funds; whereas the provisions on poverty and social inclusion in the current multiannual financial framework (MFF) should be renewed, adequately funded and ring-fenced in the upcoming MFF;

Added:AI. whereas transparent and in-depth data collection and reporting mechanisms at EU and Member State level are necessary to monitor progress in relation to the EPSR headline targets for 2030, including the objective of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million compared to 2019 figures;

A strategy aimed at eradicating poverty

Change 2

Removed:1. Calls on the European Commission to present an Anti-Poverty Strategy (‘the Strategy’) that includes the following general objectives and guidelines:

Added:1. Is concerned that, in 2024, 93.3 million people in the EU were still at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including 20 million children, equating to one in four children in the EU, and that 27 million people in the EU were affected by severe material and social deprivation;

Removed:a) Recognition of poverty as a violation of human rights and the rights of peoples;

Added:2. Highlights that poverty is a complex phenomenon affecting all areas of life, rooted in systemic and structural injustice, and intersecting with historical inequalities based on gender and gender expression, race and ethnicity, religion, migration status, age, sexual orientation and disability;

Removed:b) Setting of the goal of urgently eradicating poverty by 2035 at the latest;

Added:3. Stresses that the most sustainable anti-poverty policy is one that prevents poverty from arising in the first place; calls for a comprehensive approach to prevention that tackles the root causes and the multidimensional aspects of poverty and social exclusion, as well as the points at which they intersect, with regard to access to quality jobs, social protection and minimum income, public services, education, early childhood intervention, healthcare, food, housing, energy and taxation; emphasises that combating poverty can only be achieved by promoting policies that ensure the indivisibility and universality of political, economic, social and cultural rights;

Removed:c) Proper coordination between the EU and Member States, as well as with regions, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, to achieve this goal;

Added:4. Recalls that poverty disproportionally affects marginalised and vulnerable groups of society, such as women, families, people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, Roma and Travellers, people experiencing homelessness, children in institutional care, LGBTQIA+ individuals, older and younger people, undocumented persons, migrants, persons with disabilities, people facing discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, people facing chronic diseases and addiction, informal carers and single parents; emphasises the need for targeted measures to address this, paying particular attention to those most vulnerable to extreme poverty;

Removed:d) A comprehensive and integrated approach to anti-poverty policies and measures and the goal of eradicating poverty as a cross-cutting criterion in sectoral policies;