Around twenty senior representatives from the main religious confessions discussed effective ways of combating poverty and social exclusion as an imperative for European governance. Representatives from Christian, Jewish, Muslim religions as well as from the Sikh and Hindu communities met in Brussels on the invitation of President José Manuel Barroso in an event co-chaired by Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament and Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council.

This was the sixth in a series of annual meetings launched by President Barroso in 2005. In this ocasion, and for the first time the meeting took place in the new context of the Lisbon Treaty which foresees in its Art 17 that the Union maintains an "open, transparent and regular dialogue" with religion, churches and communities of conviction.

In the European Year against poverty and social exclusion 2010 and through the European Poverty Platform, European institutions engage in a dialogue with civil society, NGOs, public authorities and other providers of social services to find new approaches, actions and partners in a Europe-wide effort to eradicate poverty.

Promoting employment, inclusive growth and social cohesion is at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy. One of the EU-wide agreed objectives is to reduce by at least 20 million the number of Europeans exposed to poverty and social exclusion by 2020. Progress will be measured by three major indicators, namely at-risk-of-poverty; material deprivation, and jobless households.

The discussions took place in a frank and open spirit, underlining the continued commitment to foster social cohesion and increase a sense of solidarity and civic engagement among Europeans, and emphasising that overcoming the current crisis will only be possible when people and social justice are at the heart of European policies.

The faith leaders from fourteen Members States (France, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and Denmark) expressed their support for the Europe2020 strategy and its social and education targets.