There is a shared unease among all Europeans. Before starting the interview with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, I was chatting with a member of the European University Institute (EUI) who lived in Florence itself. He, thirty; me, twenty-five. Quickly, our conversation shifted to a question: the difficulty of accessing housing. Because if there is one issue that unites a young person in Berlin, Brussels, Florence or Madrid, it is this problem, on which I felt compelled to ask Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu.
The context was favorable: we were at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the EUI, and two days earlier the European Commission had announced its first European-wide poverty strategy, led by Mînzatu herself. She is fully aware of the parallel challenges — “Europe must catch up in industry, economy and technological sovereignty”, she explains — but she sees them as avenues to reach a legitimate and necessary objective: “a European social model that benefits all people, not just an elite or a few specific regions”.
Mînzatu moves with ease, with a lot of natural confidence, and she knows that her portfolio is not simple: it touches on highly sensitive issues, with ambitious objectives — “to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by 15 million by 2030” — but which, in terms of resources and competences, may be sidelined. The conversation starts from there: how can Europe talk about competitiveness or strategic autonomy without marginalizing the social promise that has defined the European project.
Mînzatu y de Diego hablan sobre la Estrategia de la UE de Lucha contra la Pobreza. Foto: Agenda Pública. Todas las imágenes han sido ajustadas con IA para mejorar su iluminación.
My first question is about Europe. We talk a lot about competitiveness, industry, defense, and strategic autonomy. How does the social agenda fit into that conversation?
The European social model is an asset to our economic model. In fact, it should be one of its distinctive advantages. After all, what is the point of wanting more competitiveness and more prosperity? To ensure that people have opportunities, protection, and a dignified life.
Europe must catch up in industry, economy and technological sovereignty. To do this it needs to invest in technology and capital, create a more agile environment for industry, reduce the fragmentation of the single market, remove barriers and improve the rules on state aid.
But within all that there must be guarantees that the final destination is a European social model that benefits all people, not just an elite or certain geographies. That is, for me, the idea of a true European economic model: one that incorporates its social assets.
In that line, you have presented the European poverty strategy. Specifically, what should change for a person in Romania, Spain or Italy after this strategy?
There are 93 million people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Europe. And we do not know how that figure will evolve after energy shocks and the recent crises.
The poverty strategy starts from a lifecycle approach and a multidimensional perspective. We ask what to do for children in poverty, for young people at risk of exclusion, for people who work or are seeking employment but remain poor, and also for those outside the labor market. There are many women, older people and people with different vulnerability statuses.
Income is an important part, but not the only one. A person can have wages and yet still not have enough to live. They may lack access to adequate services, or their children may not be able to access the health or education they need. We also talk about energy poverty and poverty in transportation.
“What we are proposing is an integrated approach. We must look at each person in vulnerability, understand their different needs, and offer support that combines several services”
There are three central elements in the strategy. The first is a potential legal instrument to improve the activation of people who are outside the labor market. We are not talking about people who are unemployed in the strict sense, but about people who are not looking for work. In Europe there are around fifty million people in that situation. Some study, others consider themselves retired, but there are also many people, especially women or single-parent families, who cannot work because they lack the right supports.
Think of a woman who cannot take a job because she does not have access to a nursery or a safe environment for her children. Or perhaps she lacks the necessary skills, or she pays rent higher than the salary she could earn. She may receive rental assistance or have access to childcare services in some country, but in a fragmented way. What we propose is an integrated approach. We must look at each person in danger, understand their distinct needs and offer support that combines several services: income support, training to access employment, childcare and other resources. We are talking about personalized and integrated services.
The strategy does not spell this out in such detail, but it does mention a possible legal tool to improve activation of people outside the labor market. There will be consultations with social partners on its content. For us, it is one of the strongest elements of the strategy, because we believe that access to quality jobs for all is the best way to lift people out of poverty and live with dignity.
“We have to assume collective responsibility in Europe toward tens of millions of people who could enter the labor market”
This will involve debates with Member States and also investment. But we cannot talk to people at risk of poverty only in terms of benefits, nor simply tell them to look for work. We must assume collective responsibility in Europe toward tens of millions of people who could join the labor market.
Many are women. That is why they suffer career interruptions due to a lack of childcare services and, later, lower pensions. It is also a gender equality issue. In other cases we talk about people with a disability who could work if they had enough personalized assistance or if the employer adapted the job.
The tool could take the form of a directive establishing minimum standards in Member States for this type of services. The other two major elements are the fight against child poverty and against housing exclusion, with different initiatives in both areas.
De Diego le pregunta a la comisaria europea por los objetivos de su nuevo plan contra la pobreza. Foto: Agenda Pública
The plan has been well received, but there are sectors that expected an increase in funding. Do you think that with these resources it will be possible to achieve the proposed objectives?
There is already a commitment from the Member States and the European Union: to reduce by 15 million the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by 2030. In addition, we have a broader ambition: helping Member States eradicate poverty by 2050.
When we look at the 2030 targets, we see we are not on track. Of the 15 million targeted, we have helped around 3.7 million, almost four million, exit that situation. In the coming years we would need to reach 15 million, and that is going to be very difficult.
Helping people out of poverty requires financial resources, and the European Union already invests, especially through the European Social Fund Plus. But money alone is not enough. It also matters how it is invested.
If bonds are issued to compensate energy prices, but a single mother also needs employment, training, and childcare support, that isolated aid will not lift her out of poverty. That is why we want to combine European financial support with a new way of delivering services: integrated, personalized and more effective.
In the proposal for the next multiannual financial framework, Member States will receive an allocation through a national plan. At least a quarter, i.e., a minimum of 14%, must be dedicated to social investment, investment in people. Is this enough? No. But each Member State faces different challenges in competencies, poverty or inclusion, and can allocate more resources flexibly.
“Fighting poverty is a collective social responsibility. The business sector, philanthropic organizations and international financial institutions must also join in”
The budget is now in full negotiation between the European Parliament and the Council. We facilitate those discussions and provide support. But in the strategy we also say something important: fighting poverty is a collective social responsibility. The business sector, philanthropic organizations and international financial institutions must also join in.
That is why we will launch a poverty coalition. The idea is not to limit the expectation to the European budget or national budgets. The European budget can support Member States in competitiveness, a social Europe or technological transformation, but eradicating poverty requires a commitment from society as a whole.
Member States’ competences are very relevant in this matter. How can the Commission help them focus their policies on this objective?
It is true that Member States have the main competence. The Commission has several tools. The first are the European funds, the cohesion policy and the European Social Fund. These instruments have often helped shape national policies.
For example, when the Child Guarantee was adopted, Member States with high levels of child poverty were asked to ensure every child has access to basic services: housing, education, healthcare, one meal a day and other supports. They were also offered funds from the European Social Fund Plus. That changed national policies: governments became more active, more efficient and contributed their own resources. It did not solve the problem completely, because child poverty remains very relevant, but it shows that the European Union influences Member States’ policies with funding and soft tools like recommendations.
The second tool is the European Semester. Traditionally it is known as a process to align the fiscal and economic trajectories of Member States with the European Union. But recently we have introduced a social dimension. Each year we evaluate each Member State also from a social perspective.
It is important to adjust budgets and avoid excessive deficits, but not at the expense of the social fabric. That is why we assess risks of social divergence: poverty, school dropout, employment rates, gaps, unemployment. Then country-specific recommendations are formulated.
“We propose that each Member State have a poverty strategy. If it already has one, it should update it; if not, it should design one”
Those recommendations matter a lot. The recommendations of the 2027 European Semester, if negotiations progress, will be used in discussions with each Member State about its budget for 2028-2034. The way they design their plans should reflect how they propose solutions and how they invest in the challenges identified by the European Semester.
Moreover, we propose that each Member State have a poverty strategy. If it already has one, it should update it; if not, it should design one. And we believe that coordination must be at the center of government: in the presidency, in the prime minister or in the presidency of the Council of Ministers. It cannot be the sole responsibility of the Minister of Labour or of Social Affairs.
Poverty is an economic and social issue. It is also about investing in vulnerable people so they can be economically independent and contribute to the economy. That reduces future budgetary pressure. And investing in childhood is, without a doubt, one of the investments with the best returns.
Mînzatu explains how housing and social policy intertwine. Photo: Agenda Pública
Before starting the interview, we were discussing the housing problem. It is a central issue in practically all Member States. You have pointed out that the poverty strategy also addresses housing. How does it connect with social policy?
Housing is a very complex issue. In some Member States, like my country, the problem has to do with mortgage and loan costs. It is a homeownership-based model, but young people or young couples cannot afford to buy a home in large cities, even with good salaries.
In Western Europe, rents in big cities have surged, and that creates exclusion, especially among young people. That is why the Commission, coordinated by Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner for Housing, presented a European plan for affordable housing with measures for different beneficiary categories. It is not limited to the vulnerable.
In the poverty package I focus more on people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, at risk of eviction or eviction victims. In other words, I look at the social dimension of housing and access to social housing, including for young people.
We have proposed a Council Recommendation. It is a soft legal tool. But it is the first of its kind to set in writing a political orientation on how Member States should align their efforts against housing exclusion.
“It is essential to identify as early as possible the people affected by homelessness, at risk of homelessness, in emergency accommodations or at risk of eviction”
The first element is data. It is essential to identify as early as possible the people affected by homelessness, at risk of homelessness, in emergency accommodations or at risk of eviction. Then we propose early warning systems, debt counseling and mechanisms placed where they are most effective.
This can be part of social services, but it can also go further. In universities, for example, one can detect the situation of young people before it is too late, before they drop out or lose their housing. We must also look at people starting or developing their working life and offer debt counseling and financial education. It is a preventive part of the strategy.
Afterwards comes the housing first approach. If a person has no roof, giving clothes or a hot meal is not enough. The first thing is a roof over their head and, afterwards, the services they need. If they are in a shelter, you have to design the path to temporary housing and then to a long-term solution. Housing must be the first level of intervention, accompanied by the necessary services.
We also address high rents and evictions, within the limits imposed by the Treaties. From the European level we cannot impose certain legal solutions, as it is the competence of the Member States. But we can point out that it is important for Member States, through incentives, to encourage landlords to opt for long-term rentals rather than short-term rentals.
We do not want to distort the market, but it is not sustainable to avoid this debate. Many large cities are affected by short-term rentals.
The recommendation also includes measures on evictions and relations with banks to better protect tenants and achieve a more balanced approach. In addition, we argue that public investment, whether through state aid or European funds, should prioritize affordable and social housing projects. The sustainability of construction is important, but affordability should be part of the awarding criteria when public money is involved.
“We need a protection mechanism that allows acting as early as possible against different forms of housing exclusion”
For me, the most important thing is prevention: early warning capacity, early detection and action before the situation deteriorates. It does not solve the entire problem, but it can be a decisive change. We need a protection mechanism that allows acting as early as possible against different forms of housing exclusion.
Thank you very much.
