One in Five Europeans at Risk of Poverty, Says Mînzatu, as the First EU Anti-Poverty Strategy Gains Traction

One in five people in the European Union is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, among them 19.3 million children, according to Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu. In a statement released on Friday, ahead of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the Commission's social policy chief wrote that many people across Europe cannot afford basics such as housing, heating, food, healthcare or education, and that more than 1.4 million people are homeless or do not have secure housing.

"This is unacceptable and we all have a duty to act against poverty and exclusion," she wrote. The Commission adopted its first ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy earlier this year, built around the existing EU target of cutting the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030, including at least 5 million children, and helping eradicate poverty by 2050. Five months after adoption, Mînzatu says implementation of the strategy is "well under way".

The headline numbers are stark: roughly 93 million Europeans cannot afford a decent living, and progress has been slow even though the EU recorded a decrease of 3.5 million people at risk between 2019 and 2025. The Commission frames poverty not only as a social question but as an economic one, arguing that an economy that leaves almost 50 million people outside the labour market is wasting talent it can ill afford to lose.

The most concrete deliverable is close: EU ministers in the Council are expected to soon approve the Commission's proposal for a recommendation on fighting housing exclusion, which the Commission describes as the first EU legal act on homelessness. For the people it covers, that phrase is less about symbols and more about a shared framework for how member states recognise and tackle the harshest form of poverty. For those who can work, the Commission insists the best route out of poverty is quality jobs, which is why it pairs the strategy with a push on labour market activation.

The machinery behind the statement is busy. A first-stage consultation with the European social partners, the organisations representing employers and workers at EU level, was launched in July to gather views on possible EU action for people who face major barriers to entering the labour market. Mînzatu also announced that the Commission will soon launch a "Coalition against Poverty" with the private sector and philanthropy, and will test a European Child Guarantee Card, a digital tool intended to help children in need access the support they are entitled to.

The money is already moving too. In May the Commission opened a call under the European Social Fund Plus to help member states implement their national Child Guarantee action plans, including measures for Roma young people aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training. Brussels rarely turns poverty statistics into files this fast; the next test is whether the files turn into visible change before the next poverty day rolls around.

Attention now turns to the Council, where ministers are expected to approve the recommendation on fighting housing exclusion in the coming weeks. The Coalition against Poverty with the private sector and philanthropy is due to launch shortly, and testing of the European Child Guarantee Card will follow. The Commission is also waiting on the social partner consultation, which will shape whether EU-level action on labour market barriers becomes a concrete proposal. Watch for the housing exclusion recommendation as the first tangible marker of whether the Anti-Poverty Strategy delivers on its 2030 target.