Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, in a written answer on 29 July 2026, defended the European Commission's first-ever EU Anti-Poverty Strategy as the central tool to tackle persistent poverty and social inequalities across the bloc, while acknowledging that progress remains uneven and that further measures are needed to protect vulnerable workers.
The answer was given to a parliamentary question by Loucas Fourlas (EPP, Cyprus), who had highlighted rising cost of living, inflationary pressures, wage inequalities, and limited purchasing power as threats to social cohesion. Mînzatu noted that the EU has committed to a 2030 target of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million, including at least 5 million children, a goal endorsed by the European Council in June 2021. She reported that by 2025 the EU had recorded a decrease of 3.5 million compared to 2019, while the figure for children remained broadly stable.
the Anti-Poverty Strategy (COM/2026/538), adopted earlier in 2026, sets an ambition to accelerate poverty reduction by 2030 and eradicate poverty by 2050 through a life-cycle approach, active inclusion, labour market integration, access to essential services, and adequate income support. Mînzatu also committed to further action on in-work poverty, including a forthcoming Commission Recommendation, and to increased enforcement to ensure full transposition of the 2022 Directive on adequate minimum wages.
On the question of whether existing policies are sufficient to achieve substantial social convergence, Mînzatu stressed that combating poverty is a collective responsibility requiring efforts at all levels of governance, social partners, civil society, the private sector, and people experiencing poverty themselves. She pointed to the principles for effective anti-poverty policies set out in a staff working document (SWD/2026/771) as a tool to support engagement.
The answer is largely declarative and reaffirms existing commitments rather than announcing new numerical targets or deadlines. It signals that the Commission expects progress to come from implementation of the Anti-Poverty Strategy and enforcement of existing legislation, rather than from new legislative proposals. Institutional follow-up will likely focus on monitoring national poverty reduction targets and the transposition of the minimum wage directive, with the promised Recommendation on in-work poverty expected in the coming months.