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services, promoting reductions in employment and social protection rights, which are seen as generating increased poverty, exclusion and inequality. However, having the strategy in the first place is seen as providing an important benchmark for the aspirational objective of sustainable and inclusive growth. It has offered a potentially positive agenda, helped to keep poverty on the agenda, and has driven an expanding debate about the need to mainstream the social dimension better within economic policy. The targets have also played an important role in delivering EU funds, with the priority of 20% of ESF on social inclusion and poverty, as well as other EU funding lines (eg FP7 and PROGRESS). We believe that the basic tenets of the strategy and process still offer important ingredients that could make a difference if properly implemented.

## Key Positive Elements

The Strategy was seen as an important agenda-setting instrument, which could keep poverty at the centre of the overarching policy debate and potentially deliver real results on poverty if combined with an effective strategy. The introduction of Guideline 10 on social inclusion and poverty to underpin the Semester and the development of NRPs, combined with the European Platform Against Poverty, seemed to offer the potential for a dynamic engagement of all actors and cross-sectoral delivery across different DGs. Clear references to the quality of jobs in Guideline 8 are also a significant step forward, further explored by the European Commission commitment, in the European Agenda for Skills and Jobs flagship initiative, to review the concept of quality work and develop a comprehensive framework of indicators. Participation and stakeholder engagement were supported by Recital 16, giving a strong requirement of stakeholders, including civil society engagement in the whole process, particularly the NRPs.

## Failure to make progress on poverty reduction

However, However, as recognized by the Commission's Europe 2020 stocktaking document , instead of 4 progress towards the target of a 20 million reduction, poverty and social exclusion have shockingly risen to affect 1 in 4 within the EU: 124,2 million (2012), an increase of over 6.6 million since 2010. Instead of progress towards the employment target (75% in employment), employment has also steadily declined, from 68.9% in 2009 to 68.4% in 2012 with an increase of unemployment from 7.1% in 2008 to 10.9% in 2013. Equally worryingly, employment has become an increasingly insecure route out of poverty, with an increase from 8.6% to 9.1% of households classified as working poor. Efforts to reach the numerical employment target, without complementary safeguards regarding the quality of jobs and employment, only undermine the achievement of the poverty reduction target. The situation for young people has been even worse with youth unemployment rising to 24.2% compared to adults (9.6%) and with an increase in young people not in education or training (NEETS) to 13.2%. This, while youth poverty stands at a staggering 29.7% in 2012. The impact across Europe also has not been equal. As highlighted by the new Social Scoreboard, inequality is also continuing to rise

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