Marking the celebration of the International Day for the eradication of Poverty, around eighteen representatives of philosophical non-confessional organisations met in Brussels on 17 October with President José Manuel Barroso, Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament and Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council. They discussed effective ways of combating poverty and social exclusion as an imperative for European governance.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is an opportunity for people across the world to acknowledge the effort and struggle of those living in poverty, and the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries.

Within the framework of the European Year combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010, Presidents of the main EU institutions engaged 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.

For the first time this meeting takes 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. The discussion took place in a frank and open spirit, where representatives come from eleven Member States (France, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Romania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Ireland) and expressed their support for the Europe2020 strategy and its social and education targets.

They also underlined the continued commitment to foster social cohesion and increase a sense of solidarity and civic engagement among Europeans, in a situation where EU citizens called for urgent action against poverty and felt it as a closer phenomenon to their entourage. They emphasised that overcoming the current crisis will only be possible when people and social justice are at the heart of European policies.

Promoting employment, inclusive growth and social cohesion is at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy. Progress will be measured by three major indicators, namely at-risk-of-poverty; material deprivation, and jobless households. These EU indicators and the regular monitoring of progress will provide accountability of the Member States.

Two other headline targets of the Europe 2020 strategy reflect the need to improve equity and quality in education: reducing school-drop-out rates to less than 10% and increasing the share of 30-34 years old having completed tertiary or equivalent education to at least 40% by 2020.