EAPN: Fighting for a Social Europe Free of Poverty

1. EAPN: Fighting for a Social Europe Free of Poverty PeP Meetings Exco Nov 2014 EUROPEAN ANTI-POVERTY NETWORK RÉSEAU EUROPÉEN DES ASSOCIATIONS DE LUTTE CONTRE LA PAUVRETÉ ET L’EXCLUSION SOCIALE

2. Time Line • Note: What's presented is dependent on receiving continued support from the Commission, getting new levels of support from the Parliament and probably additional financial support to complete the package. Note the EAPN Fund has been a small but vital part of the funding of recent meetings. • Nov 2014: Exco Evaluates 2014 Experience and agrees strategic direction and main lines for the coming year • Jan 2015: Barbara agrees staff resources to be allocated for the work in the coming year (ambition may need to be adjusted) • February 2015: Meeting of National Coordinators to make detailed agreements for the coming Year’s Meeting and to reflect on how this process is facilitating participation (this meeting is in EAPN Core Budget, ideally it could be combined with Parliament hearing which might allow a second meeting of National Coordinators to happen later in the Year) • February 2015 (?): If support available from the Parliament: PeP Hearing in the Parliament (Minimum two people per delegation, to have a dialogue with MEPs re outcomes of 2014 meeting) • Sept/Oct 2015: 14th PeP with support from the Commission and the Luxembourg Presidency • Cycle begins again • Key Questions: Is this Time line Agreed? Now that the Participation sub-group in the Exco is not there, who is the reference group in EAPN for ongoing developments?

3. Achievements • Act as a catalyst for national participation processes and facilitates the direct participation of PeP in EAPN and other organisations at National and EU levels (e.g. visibility an the Annual Convention, Participation in Key EAPN Conferences..): • Gives visibility to the fact that the EU works on the combating of poverty and social exclusion • Contributes to policy making: The Meetings have identified and contributed to some key areas of policy development such as adequacy of minimum income, child poverty, housing and homelessness, indebtedness, the links between discrimination and poverty (particularly the realities for Roma community), and the impact of liberalization on public services and the EU poverty reduction target. • A Barometer in relation to social and economic developments in Europe: The meetings provide early warning signs of negative trends impacting on social cohesion and highlights positive practices emerging in different countries. • Supports People experiencing Poverty to become more active in their societies • The Meetings are not a replacement of Anti-Poverty Organisation:

4. Original Idea and Evolution of Meetings • Originally based on Social Open Method of Coordination – National Action Plans on Inclusion • Objective 4 Direct participation of people experiencing poverty • Share Experiences from the national level of implementing objective 4 so as to strengthen this participation • This model has broken down and so a new logic for the meeting was developed • See who the meeting is for and aims and objectives set out below, which reflect this change. • The meetings also moved from being EU Presidency events to meetings organised by EAPN with support from Commission and Presidency. This has had advantages (greater flexibility for how we organise the meetings example in tents) and disadvantages (less stable funding, harder to get high level participation)

5. Who is the European Meeting of people experiencing poverty for: • Delegates • People experiencing poverty who are starting to connect to anti-poverty organisations • Some previous delegates to help with continuity • Guests • Rep of National and EU level Institutions (Political and Functionaires) • Rep of NGOs, Social Partners, Academics and other relevant actors • Key Question: Do we have a shared agreement on who the delegates should be?

6. Aims of the Meetings • To empower the delegates in their journey from People experiencing Poverty to Activists with direct experience of Poverty engaged in their communities and organisations • To strengthen the participation of people experiencing poverty in Anti-Poverty NGOs and relevant policy making processes at local, national and EU levels • To facilitate exchange and learning and to stimulate further exchanges and joint projects • Reality Check: on the similarities and differences between countries and for guests to check the reality of their approaches to fight poverty against the experience on the ground, as well as to adjust their policies and actions as necessary • To strengthen the participation of people experiencing poverty in relevant EU policy making processes • Key Question: Do we need to adjust these aims? (in light of discussion on the topic of who the meetings are for?)

7. Key Challenges • Ensuring that the meetings are part of a process providing a reality check for the EU policy-making cycle and EAPNs work (hence trying to secure participation in the Annual Convention and in EAPN’s own Policy Conferences and internal workings). • Key Question: Is the Exco satisfied with the progress in this regard (see report that was sent on follow up and preparation of 2014 PeP Meeting)? What other improvements could be made? • Hearing in the EU Parliament (ambition for 2015). This was part of EAPN’s Election Campaign and would bring a new element to the process. • Key Questions: How should this element be developed? Who should participate? Can it be combined with a meeting of the National Coordinators? • Funding of the meetings remains a key challenge. • Key Question: Any ideas on how to improve the funding of the meetings?

8. Main Lines for the Coming Year Key Question: Is there agreement on other key strategic direction or ‘main lines’ to be pursued in the coming year?