Ukraine is entering the fifth year of its war with Russia, and financial support for Kyiv remains one of the European Union’s key instruments of assistance. So far, the EU and its member states have provided Ukraine with nearly €195 billion in aid. Work is now under way to make a €90 billion loan available to Ukraine. In February, the European Parliament adopted a package of three legal acts that would enable this step, but formal approval from all member states is still required. That approval, however, has been thrown into doubt following statements from Hungary.
The European Commission is expected to present an EU anti-poverty strategy later this year—set to be the first comprehensive document of its kind at Union level. In a recent report, Members of the European Parliament called for stronger efforts to combat poverty, with the goal of eliminating it by 2035. Key proposals include creating a €20 billion budget for the European Child Guarantee and earmarking a defined share of European Social Fund Plus resources specifically for anti-poverty measures.
“Our report says that poverty should not be linked only to a lack of income or a lack of work, but also to a lack of access to education, housing and healthcare. This multi-dimensional understanding of poverty is something new, but also very good,” Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, a Member of the European Parliament from Poland’s New Left, told the Newseria agency. “I hope the European Commission, after hearing our recommendations in Parliament, will prepare strong legislation to put this new strategy into practice.”
Parliament: poverty is a violation of human dignity
During its February 2026 session, the European Parliament called for increased funding and better coordination of EU action to fight poverty and social exclusion. In the report—adopted by 385 votes in favour, 141 against and 53 abstentions—MEPs urged the European Commission to recognise poverty as a violation of human dignity and to take urgent steps to eliminate it no later than 2035.
Parliament also wants stronger support for member states in implementing the European Child Guarantee. The initiative aims to ensure children have access to free early education and school activities, free healthcare, healthy nutrition and adequate housing. In the view of MEPs, this initiative should be backed by a dedicated €20 billion budget. They also argue that member states should allocate 5% of their European Social Fund Plus resources to anti-poverty projects—or 10% if child poverty and social exclusion rates exceed the EU average.
“I hope this happens, because everyone understands the scale of the problem we are facing,” Scheuring-Wielgus says. “The subjective poverty indicator for the EU is around 17%, in Poland around 16%, while in some countries it is as high as 30–36%. Solidarity matters here.”
Tens of millions at risk, children hit hardest
European Commission data show that in 2024, 93.3 million people in the European Union were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Twenty million of them were children. The problem affects about one quarter of all children in the EU, and particularly those with disabilities. According to the European Disability Forum, around 29% of people with disabilities in the EU are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. In 2024, 24.6% of young people with disabilities left education early, compared with 8% among their peers without disabilities.
“People with disabilities are 61% more exposed to poverty than healthy people. That shows how serious the problem is—and how seriously we must treat it,” says Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak, an MEP from Poland’s Civic Coalition. “Every member state would have to take strong action to fight poverty. This cannot be achieved only through report language or Parliament’s work. Member states have a lot to do here as well.”
Different diagnoses, different policy prescriptions
Former Polish minister of family, labour and social policy Marlena Maląg—now an MEP from the Law and Justice party—argues that Poland has done a lot in recent years to make child poverty a marginal issue.
“Above all, socio-economic benefits—from the 500+ and 800+ programmes to the 13th and 14th pensions—have meant that in Poland today poverty does not have the face of a child. These socio-economic programmes genuinely improved people’s situation. Unfortunately, today we see that this support is no longer there,” Maląg says. In her view, poverty levels remain relatively high across the EU, while “socialists” present solutions that appear to raise living standards but ultimately do not.
She adds that what is needed most are policies that strengthen entrepreneurship and boost the competitiveness of European companies—without which it is difficult to speak of rising prosperity. In her assessment, this is currently being hampered by climate policy that “pressures” industry.
“We need to take the muzzle off entrepreneurs so they can drive the economy. If they grow the economy and the EU becomes competitive, then life will keep getting better,” the former minister stresses.
Work, wages, housing and an end to homelessness
In the report adopted during the plenary session, MEPs argued that full employment and social protection should be core objectives of economic and social policy. They called on the Commission and member states to promote policies that protect workers’ rights and ensure decent wages—including equal pay for equal work.
To end in-work poverty, Parliament says the EU needs better access to childcare services and career guidance. The report also highlights the need for greater investment in policies that ensure universal access to housing. It calls for completing an action plan to end homelessness across the EU by 2030, including concrete measures targeted at children and families, workers who have lost their jobs and women.
