Policy Brief n.50 - The EU’s Anti-Poverty Strategy: An evaluation and next steps
On 20 October 2025, Bocconi University hosted the event “The EU’s Anti-Poverty Strategy: Evaluation and Next Steps”, jointly organized by the Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). This policy brief collects and synthesizes the main materials from the event, including summaries of keynote interventions, contributions from panel speakers, and the presentations delivered throughout the day, highlighting the core insights that emerged from the debate.
Prepared by Pietro Galeone and Federica Maria Raiti.
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FilePB50_The EU’s AntiPoverty Strategy (390.39 KB)
The European Union faces a persistent poverty challenge: 93 million people (21 % of the EU-27) remain at risk of poverty or social exclusion despite decades of growth and welfare expansion. The first ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy announced by the European Commission aims to translate Europe’s social ambitions into measurable progress.
The forthcoming Strategy was discussed at Bocconi University’s “EU’s Anti-Poverty Strategy: Evaluation and Next Steps” conference, held in Milan on October 20th, 2025. This policy brief recaps the main lessons highlighted in the conference
Participants from academia, EU institutions, civil society, and people experiencing poverty discussed around three main topics for an integrated approach: prevention across generations – breaking intergenerational poverty through early-childhood education, skills, and life-course social protection; protection through adequate minimum income – ensuring real, stigma-free access to safety nets and simplifying benefit delivery; and finally investment in human and social capital – treating social spending as productive investment that fuels growth, inclusion, and resilience.
Six policy recommendations can be drawn from the discussion:
strengthen data collection, analysis and evaluation;
focus on a multi-generational approach to poverty alleviation;
harmonize anti-poverty instruments, ensuring an adequate minimum income as a last-resort safety net;
reframe social spending as investment, highlighting the costs of non-action;
promote participatory governance; and align social, green, and fiscal agendas.
Eradicating poverty is not charity—it is Europe’s most strategic investment in democracy, cohesion, and shared prosperity.
Europe’s commitment to eradicating poverty must now move from vision to implementation, participation, and coherence (Goulard & Ivanković Knežević, APSC). Effective delivery requires policies that are co-created with those they are meant to serve. Involving NGOs, local authorities, and people with lived experience ensures legitimacy, relevance, and public trust. Fighting poverty is not only about redistribution—it is about citizenship and equal access to housing, finance, healthcare, and education. Investing in inclusion strengthens social stability and underpins Europe’s competitiveness, green transition, and digital transformation (Goulard, APSC).
At the same time, delivery must become simpler and more accessible. Streamlined administrative procedures and digital tools can improve take-up and rebuild confidence in public institutions (Ivanković Knežević, APSC). Stronger data collection and place-based approaches are needed to capture the multidimensional nature of poverty and to target resources where they have the greatest impact. Sustained investment in childcare, early education, and vocational training is essential to disrupt intergenerational cycles of disadvantage.
A new narrative must accompany these reforms—one grounded in dignity, rights, and empowerment, not in “deservingness.” Enhancing financial and pension literacy across all age groups will be crucial to ensuring long-term security and resilience for future generations.
Taken together, these reflections reaffirm the central message emerging from the conference: eradicating poverty is Europe’s most strategic social investment.
To achieve this ambition, the following recommendations emerge:
Embed prevention across generations. Integrate child, youth, and elderly policies to ensure continuous protection and opportunity throughout the life course.
Guarantee adequate and accessible minimum income. Simplify procedures, strengthen outreach, and link income support to activation and training opportunities.
Reframe anti-poverty policy as social investment. Treat social investment expenditure such as on childcare, education, housing, and inclusion as productive human capital formation.
Strengthen data and evaluation. Support evidence-based policymaking through systematic use of micro-data, pilot projects, experimental methods and impact assessments.
Promote participatory governance. Involve people experiencing poverty, local actors, and civil society in policy design and monitoring.
Ensure policy coherence. Align social, environmental, and fiscal measures to ensure the green and digital transitions contribute to inclusion rather than deepen divides.
In conclusion, eradicating poverty is not only a moral imperative but a defining test of the European project itself. Every person lifted out of poverty strengthens the Union’s resilience, cohesion, and democratic legitimacy — turning the right to a dignified life into a lived reality for all.
IEP@BU does not express opinions of its own. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
