- For a strong social Europe: The European Pillar of Social Rights and its Action Plan
- European Child Guarantee to Combat Child Poverty
- “For a Strong and Equal Europe” – Series of events on the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan
- Social aspects of the UN Agenda 2030
- Counselling services for (working) family carers in Austria and Switzerland
- The anti-gender movement in Europe
News
For a strong social Europe: The European Pillar of Social Rights and its Action Plan
With the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and its 20 principles in 2017, the European Union has set guidelines for a strong social Europe that is just and inclusive and offers opportunities for all. In order to translate these principles into concrete actions, the European Commission adopted the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan in March 2021. In the current issue of our Newsletter, we present both instruments in detail.
The anti-gender movement in Europe
Right-wing populist and anti-feminist movements mobilising against gender equality as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) have gained strength across Europe in recent years. This strengthening also brings to light an increasingly transnationally organised and financed independent anti-gender movement that attacks the rights of women and LGBTIQ* persons as well as civil society. This is evident not only at the national (and local) but also at the European level, where alliances are organising transnationally in attempting to undermine the foundations of the European Union and to reverse already existing consensus on European level.
The latest issue of the newsletter of the Observatory provides an introduction to the emergence, main lines of argumentation, and actors of the transnational anti-gender movement in Europe. To do so, the newsletter takes a look at the specific case of the Istanbul Convention. Furthermore, the newsletter provides insights into three focal topics: transnational financing structures of the anti-gender movement, increasing anti-trans attacks and corresponding counterstrategies, as well as gender-based cyber violence.
European Child Guarantee to Combat Child Poverty
Child poverty is widespread in Europe, even in economically strong countries. One in four children in the European Union is at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities even further. In March 2021, the European Commission adopted the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, which aims to reduce the number of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the European Union by at least five million by 2030. To achieve this, an integrated approach is needed that focuses on the causes of poverty and social exclusion, and that breaks the intergenerational cycle of poverty.On 14 June 2021, the EU Member States adopted a Council recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee. Its aim is to prevent and combat the social exclusion of children in need by guaranteeing access to a set of key services, e.g. access to early childhood education and care, education, healthcare or healthy nutrition and adequate housing. The European Commission has called on the EU Member States to establish a national action plan covering the period until 2030 to implement the European Child Guarantee.
