Preventing Poverty in the European Union

Abstract

Preventive policies have to be an integral part of any strategy to bring about a significant and lasting reduction in poverty. Of course, lifting people out of poverty is also essential, but this can only be a part of the plan. Preventing poverty in the first place and then preventing its recurrence must form a clear and specific part of the strategy. This article begins by examining prevention within the anti-poverty strategies promoted by the European Commission through the objectives set out in its Reports on Social Inclusion. It also considers preventive measures presented in countries' National Action Plans on Social Inclusion and the Commission's responses to these. The second part of the article discusses why prevention has been given less priority than the Commission's specific objectives would seem to require. The paper concludes with an exploration of the issue of poverty prevention at a broader, structural level and suggests key elements for such a strategy. Preventing poverty requires more attention to the underlying causes of poverty and the wider, structural factors that help to perpetuate it if a successful attack on the problem is to be sustained over time. This includes better linking of social and economic policy and closer attention to the ways in which widening and persistent inequalities handicap anti-poverty policies and undermine government effort – especially when they are combined with declining mobility.