EU Inclusion Strategies Group

The EU/ISG is the permanent working group established to deliver on Goal 1, Objective 1.1  and 1.2 of new Strategic Plan through Strategy 1:

Goal 1: A social and sustainable development model that tackles poverty, social exclusion and inequalities is at the heart of decision making in Europe.

Objective 1.1: EAPN will work to ensure that the Europe 2020 strategy, the Platforn against Poverty and the Social Inclusion strategy (Social OMC), the Employment Policy (European Employment Strategy and Cohesion Policy (Structural Funds) delivers progress to: effectively mainstream social concerns, reduce poverty and inequality and ensure that public policies, programmes and intervention reach people living in poverty, including the most disadvantaged.

Objective 1.2: EAPN will work to support its members to effectively engage in public debates and national and European policy making, on poverty, social exclusion and inequality.

Strategy 1 proposed in the Strategic Plan:

Being an innovative and active partner and to be a relevant reference point, shaping and influencing EU inclusion policies and strategies.

Activities 

The group will develop together an effective way of working to deliver on the objectives. Infornation and experience will be mutually exchanged between the members of the group and the secretariat, and there will be a focus on capacity building to enable members to engage actively at national and EU level in promoting effective anti-poverty policies. The main activities that will be carried out by the group are likely to include:

Infornation and exchange on EU developments related to Europe 2020, Flagship Platforns, Social OMC, Employment, Structural Fund future framework agendas, national policy developments and EAPN actions.

Mutual learning and capacity building: 

on EU processes and policy proposals, 

how to engage in stakeholder processes at national and EU level (NRP/Social Report/Platforn Against Poverty, European Employment Strategy  and Structural Funds future Framework)

how to develop own national anti-poverty strategy proposals in the context of structured dialogue with national decision-makers.

3)   Members developing effective anti-poverty inputs through structured dialogue with institutional partners at national level to feed into EU Inclusion Strategies, feeding back developments, and contributing to a joint analysis of all inputs.

4) Building common policy positions and other instruments, proposing Task Forces on specific topics to EXCO and participating in them.

5) Developing lobbying campaigns and alliances to deliver on the objectives of the group. 

6) Organizing one EU policy conference a year in cooperation with the EXCO and smaller lobbying events.

The infornation/capacity building activities are primarily tools to enable members to take action to influence anti-poverty strategies at national and EU level, which is the main goal of the group.

Methodology/Way of Working

As it is a large group (35), an effective way of working will need to be developed. The sessions will be organized in dynamic, interactive workshop/ seminar fornat. There will be the potential for smaller fixed thematic working groups within the meeting programme (for example: on Structural Funds Future Framework, Macro-economic input to NRP, Employment and Social Inclusion, Active Inclusion, Educational inequality…). The group will also propose and participate in Task Forces, developing a concrete product or outcome over a fixed period, in liaison with the group, projects, and participation in useful alliances at national and EU level. Formal decisions will be taken in a more fornal, structured fornat ie with votes if necessary. The group will report to the EXCO once a year.