On January 28th 2020, the Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs got an opportunity to attend an event organized by the Hellenic Anti Poverty Network “People Experiencing Poverty” held at the European Parliament’s Office in Greece. Hellenic Anti Poverty Network is a part of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) – the largest European network of national, regional and local networks, involving anti-poverty NGOs and grassroot groups as well as European Organisations, active in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, since 1990.
The discussed points included:
- the participants’ experience at the European Voices of Poverty Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty (PeP) which happened on 19-20/11/19 in Brussels and the results of this meeting;
- the first research data of the Hellenic Anti Poverty Network.
Despite the fact that the EU has one of the strongest economies among other world regions, poverty is one of the most acute problems even in the known to be prosperous countries. Nowadays, PeP face various hardships in their daily life. People in need find it difficult to get access to housing, good quality health care service, adequate minimum income, decent jobs and equal employment opportunities as well as to be involved in the lives of their communities and societies.
The Greek delegation that went to the European Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty (PeP) in Brussels included immigrants from Cameroon, Guinea, Kongo. Two of the delegates were present at the event and spoke about their personal experience at the meeting in Brussels, as well as their life stories. They shared gratitude for the chance to attend this meeting as they realized the power of solidarity with other PeP in different European countries.
The second part of the event included the presentation of Poverty Watch 2019 – the first research data of the Hellenic Anti Poverty Network done in collaboration with the EAPN. The figures and numbers on unemployment and poverty in Greece were highlighted, among those:
- 1,064,526 unemployed people seeking for a job as of 12/2019 according to the Hellenic Manpower Employment Organization;
- the long-term unemployed, especially older people, have less than a 30% chance of being reintegrated into the labor market;
- the most intractable poverty (43.3% of the total) is faced by the unemployed population according to the General Confederation of Greek Workers;
- 5% of young people aged between 15-34 who completed education 1-3 years ago do not work; child poverty (under the age of 16) rate is 32.2; 35.6% of all households were unable to pay utility bills on time (as of 2018 according to Eurostat);
- 6% of Greek households cannot afford the cost of maintaining their home (rented or own), affecting young people dramatically. Housing prices rose by 7.4% in the first nine months of 2019 (10.3% in Athens), which is expected to contribute to the increase in poverty;
- the average retirement age in Greece is 67 years old for both men and women (the highest among other countries of the EU);
- Wages and salaries are below 2006 levels.
Unfortunately, with reaching the 30th anniversary of the EAPN existence the set goals concerning fighting poverty are not met. Since poverty is an attack on fundamental human rights, it is the EU’s responsibility to establish concrete targets that should be implemented. Such meetings as the one in Brussels in November 2019 manifest the bottom-up approach helpful in combating poverty, as they empower PeP to share their insights sitting at the same table with policymakers.
Article written by the IRTEA’s European Solidarity Corps volunteers – Project “Volunteers United in Diversity”
