Call to address structural causes of poverty in EU

On the occasion of the World Day of the Poor, which will be celebrated on Sunday 17 November 2019, COMECE and Caritas Europa encourage the European institutions and the Member States to enhance their social policies in order to combat the structural causes of poverty, promoting integral human development and putting an end to poverty in the EU.

According to recent statistics, nearly a fifth of the population in the European Union live in poverty or at risk of poverty. Unemployment, adverse economic and working conditions, especially among young people, affect millions of families, who are denied a fair and just remuneration that would allow them to live in dignity.

In his message “The hope of the poor shall not perish for ever”, Pope Francis invites all of us to reflect on the growing inequalities between rich and poor in our societies and their painful consequences, and asks us to “encourage more and more people to cooperate effectively so that no one will feel deprived of closeness and solidarity”.

On this occasion, the General Secretaries of COMECE and Caritas Europa, respectively Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto and Maria Nyman, address their recommendations to the EU institutions in a joint statement and a series of video messages.

More video messages are available here:

World Day of the Poor – COMECE & Caritas Europa call for EU to use MFF to lift people out of poverty

World Day of the Poor – COMECE & Caritas Europa call for EU to fight child and family poverty

World Day of the Poor – COMECE & Caritas Europa call for EU to eradicate in-work poverty