COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
C0M(92)542 final 
Brussels, 23 December 1992 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TOWARDS A EUROPE 
OF SOLIDARITY 
Intensifying the fight 
against social 
exclusion, 
fostering integration 
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CONTENTS 
INTRODUCTION p. 3 
I. THE CHALLENGE POSED BT SOCIAL EXCLUSION p. 7 
1.1. The changing nature of the challenge p. 7 
1.2. Risk of exarcerbation p. 11 
1.3. The importance of action at local level p. 13 
1.4. Promoting combined economic and social policies p. 14 
II. THE ADDED VALUE OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT P. 15 
III. PROSPECTS AND APPROACHES: THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR 
DELIBERATION AND COMMUNITY ! SUPPORT p. 18 
111.1. The economic mechanisms p. 19 
111.2. The potential contribution of structural policies p. 21 
111.3. A multidimensional approach to social exclusion p. 22 
111.4. structuring the dialogue between the various players p. 24 
111.5. Solemn affirmation of rights p. 26 
CONCLUSION p. 27 
ANNEX: Report on implementation of the Resolution 
of the Council and of the Ministers for Social Affairs 
meeting within the Council of 29 September 1989 on 
combating social exclusion (ECOJ N* 277 of 31.10.1989) p. 28 
STATISTICAL ANNEX p. 40 
2) 

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INTRODUCTION 
1. Social exclusion is a phenomenon which is of increasing concern to 
the various players in politics, business and social life, not to 
mention the public at large, whose concerns have been expressed on 
many occasions and in many forms. 
It is a phenomenon which affects all Member States, though national 
situations vary and the stress tends to be laid on different 
features in different countries and at different times, by way of 
example the most obvious forms of poverty, such as homeless people 
on the streets or violent riots in urban areas, or such aspects as 
the marginalisation of the very long-term unemployed, the 
persistence of poverty in certain rural areas, households falling 
into severe debt, upsurges in ethnic conflict and rejection of 
refugees or minorities. 
The multifaceted nature of these situations makes it difficult to 
address the problem statistically. The information available shows, 
however, that social exclusion is a major phenomenon. To take an 
example, the most recent comparable figures on low incomes in the 12 
Member States of the Community indicate that there were some 50 
million poor people in 1985<^). It is also important to bear in 
mind that there are now some 14 million unemployed, more than half 
of whom have been out of work for at least a year, and approximately 
a third of whom have been jobless for at least two years. More than 
a third (35%) of the long-term unemployed have never worked. 35% of 
all unemployed are less than 25 years old, i.e. 18% of those under 
25 are unemployed(^). Additionally non-governmental organisations 
estimate the number of homeless people in the Community at around 3 
million(3). 
2. The visibility of the phenomenon, the quickening pace and the 
extreme forms which social exclusion is assuming, have led to 
greater awareness of the problem. Significant initiatives have been 
taken. Measures and policies in this field are essentially the 
responsibility of the Member States and, where appropriate, of their 
regional and local authorities. The involvement of persons and 
organisations from both public and private spheres is fundamental to 
the implementation of such measures. 
3. The Community has, on various occasions, expressed the importance it 
attaches to solidarity and social cohesion, and its desire, subject 
to its modest resources and competences, make a contribution to the 
range of efforts undertaken. 
(1) EUROSTAT, Rapid Reports, Population and social conditions 1990.7. 
The definition of poverty for this statistical exercise is a person 
living in a household for which the disposable income per adult 
equivalent is less than half the average disposable income per adult 
equivalent in the Member State in which that person lives. The 
figures come from Family Budget Surveys, the income figures from 
information on household expenditure. 
(2) Employment Report 1992. 
(3) Source: European Federation of National Associations working with 
Homeless people, 1991. 
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At a time when perspectives are opening up for a gradual achievement 
of Economic and Monetary Union as well as Political Union, the 
Community cannot ignore situations which reflect, by their very 
existence and their scale, the need for the balanced construction of 
Europe, i.e. the need to combine economic ambitions with a concern 
for internal cohesion and its social dimension. 
Maximum support for European integration will only be forthcoming if 
the "social dimension" is developed. Such a dimension supported not 
only by the Member States and the Community institutions, but also 
by trade and professional associations, non-governmental 
organisations and public opinion in most Member States. We have 
recently seen various manifestations of public concern in this 
regard. There concerns merit particular attention at a time when 
budgetary adjustement measures taken by the Member States are often 
presented as being linked directly to the process of European 
integration. 
The Council has, on several occasions, voiced its concern with 
matters relating to social exclusion. On 18 July 1989 it adopted a 
programme for the economic: and social integration of the less 
privileged groups, commonly known as Poverty 3<4); this was 
followed, on 29 September 1989, by a resolution on combating social 
exclusion^). on 24 June 1992 the Council adopted a recommendation 
on guaranteed resources and benefits in social protection 
systems(6) and very recently - on 3 December 1992 - underlined in 
its resolution on employment how much importance it attaches to the 
question of social exclusion. 
Within the framework of the implementation of the principle of 
subsidiarity, the Community cannot assume the role appropriate to 
the Member States(?). Account thus taken of the responsabilities 
of the Member States are of their national, regional and local 
authorities the added value of Community action is at four levels: 
- The Community can contribute to the development and transfer of 
methods and know-how which are relevant to the current forms of 
exclusion, to the identification of good practice, to the 
creation of and support for networks enabling them to share 
experience and develop concerted initiatives at European level, 
and to the deeper understanding of the debate. 
The Community must also, with a view to coherent action, restate 
the positive development of its policies and analyse their 
impact in relation to the fight against social exclusion. 
(4) Council Decision of 18 July 1989 establishing a medium-term 
Community action programme concerning the economic and social 
integration of the economically and socially less privileged groups 
in society (OJ L 224, 02.8.1989). 
(5) OJ C 277, 31.10.1989. 
(6) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992. 
(7) Communication SEC(92) 1990, 27.10.1992. 
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- The Community can contribute to the resolution of certain 
problems, the scope of which, by their very nature, extends 
beyond national boundaries - for example certain groups, as 
minorities (travellers). 
- The Community can contribute towards the affirmation values 
common to all member States: with special reference to respect 
for human dignity. 
5. In presenting this Communication, the Commission takes into 
particular account two important conjonctural aspects: 
- The worsening world economic climate leading to recession 
- Contrasting expectations concerning social exclusion as reflected 
by the state of public opinion on this issue. A large part of 
public opinion is aware of the need for solidarity; on the other 
hand, however, the attitudes and ideologies of rejection - even 
of racism and xenophobia - engendered by fear of the future - are 
also echoed in public opinion, which also voices criticisms 
regarding the conditions of access to public services. 
6. This Communication thus covers two main issues : 
Firstly, it is an expression of the Commission's concern to 
contribute to the debate on fighting social exclusion in the 
Community, and to lay out proposals for Community action in this 
field which would be more vigorous than in the past but nevertheless 
taking into account the limitations in competence, resources and 
means. Such action illustrates the contribution the Community could 
make, respecting the principle of subsidiarity, to the combined 
effort needed to respond to one of today's major challenges. 
Secondly, it provides an account of the initiatives developed by the 
Commission over the past few years and promoting analysis and 
comparison of Member States' experiences and policies in combating 
social exclusion. These initiatives constitute largely a follow-up 
to the Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers for Social 
Affairs (Council of 29 September 1989) concerning combating social 
exclusion. The Resolution which stresses the necessity of global and 
multidimensional policies for combating social exclusion requested 
the Commission to compile a report, three years after the 
Resolution's adoption, on implementation of the recommended 
measures. This report, based on the work of an independent group of 
experts operating as the "Observatory of policies for combating 
social exclusion", is annexed to this Communication. 
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In the process of preparing the Communication, the Commission 
consulted the Member States both on the direction of future 
Community action and on the work of the Observatory, on which the 
report on implementation of the Resolution was based. 
Representatives of non-governmental organisations, local authorities 
and the social partners were also consulted. The proposals contained 
in this document have also been drawn from discussions with a large 
number of specialists at various European seminars held in 1991 and 
1992, particularly those in Lille, Rotterdam, Brussels and Porto. 
This Communication gives practical expression to a commitment made 
by the President at an important conference held in Brussels on 2 
and 3 April 1992, which convened representatives of the Member 
States, regional and local authorities, non-governmental 
organisations and the social partners. 
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I. THE CHALLENGE POSED BY SOCIAL EXCLUSION 
Poverty and marginalisation are nothing new and have - for quite 
some time now - given rise not only of various analyses and 
discussions of a scientific and political nature but also to 
numerous initiatives, both public and private in nature. But public 
attention and debate on these matters have greatly changed over the 
past 15 years in all the Member states, without necessarily matching 
the full extent of the phenomena in question. 
Looking beyond the diversity of national situations, the debates all 
emphasise the structural nature of a phenomenon which is tending to 
establish within society a; mechanism which excludes part of the 
population from economic and social life and from their share of the 
general prosperity. More particularly, they point to an important 
change over the past 15 years in the nature of the challenge itself: 
the problem is now not only one of disparity between the top and 
bottom of the social scale (up/down), but also between those 
comfortably placed within society and those on the fringe (in/out). 
1.1. The changing nature of the challenge 
In most Member States, the national authorities long considered 
poverty to be a "residual state of affairs which would disappear 
with progress and growth. Of course, this view was contested by 
various experts and non-governmental organisations, but it could 
also find some support in the improvements which social policy was 
able bring about in the well-being of the population as a whole and 
in the situation of disadvantaged categories such as the elderly and 
the disabled. 
Towards the end of the seventies, this image changed with the 
appearance of new forms of poverty and marginalisation; firstly 
those resulting from the economic crisis, particularly rising 
unemployment and insecurity in respect of labour conditions; then 
others persisting or developing as a result of the profound 
economic, technological and social changes which characterise the 
evolution of industrial society. The controversy surrounding the 
notion of the "new poor" is a reflection of this changed thinking, 
which has gradually yielded the idea that the situations 
encountered, and particularly the mechanisms causing them, are 
structural in nature. Any reference to social exclusion necessarily 
denotes demonstrating the impact of the above changes. 
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A structural phenomenon 
10. The structural nature of the social exclusion process is emphasised 
in the Resolution of the Council and Ministers for Social Affairs 
meeting within the Council of 29 September 1989, which was the first 
Community text to contain the notion of social exclusion. Even if 
the concept is not in current usage in all Member States, 
questioning on the processes and situations it describes is 
something common to them all, precisely because the structural 
transformations in question affect all European countries. Thus, 
during the Eighties such questioning increasingly assumed a 
Community dimension: the successive Community programmes to combat 
poverty, several European Parliament resolutions, the abovementioned 
Resolution of the Council and Social Affairs Ministers and various 
Commission initiatives have made it possible to compare national 
situations and permitted a debate, based on joint analysis of 
situations, on the policies to be encouraged and implemented. 
11. The concept of social exclusion is a dynamic one, referring both to 
processes and consequent situations. It is therefore a particularly 
appropriate designation for structural changes. More clearly than 
the concept of poverty, understood far too often as referring 
exclusively to income, it also states out the multidimensional 
nature of the mechanisms whereby individuals and groups are excluded 
from taking part in the social exchanges, from the component 
practices and rights of social integration and of identity. Social 
exclusion does not only mean insufficient income, and it even goes 
beyond participation in working life: it is felt and shown in the 
fields of housing, education, health and access to services - all 
areas on which the resolution of 1989 laid particulat stress. 
Social exclusion is thus a multidimensional phenomenon stemming from 
inadequacies or weaknesses in the services offered and policies 
pursued in these various policy areas. Such insufficiencies and 
weaknesses often combine to affect both people and regions via 
cumulative and interdependent processes of such a nature that it 
would be futile to try to combat exclusion by tackling only one of 
its dimensions and ignoring, for example - de jure or de facto - the 
essential role played by housing or health in any integration 
process. 
Social exclusion affects not just individuals who have suffered 
serious setbacks, but also groups, particularly in urban and rural 
areas, subject to discrimination and segregation or victims of the 
weakening of the traditional forms of social relations. More 
generally, by highlighting the risks of cracks appearing in the 
social fabric, it suggests something more than social inequality 
and, concomitantly, carries with it the risk of a two-tier or 
fragmented society. 
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12. The kind of projects run under the Poverty 3 Programme bear witness 
the multifaceted nature of the social exclusion phenomenon. Most of 
them are concerned with employment-related matters (e.g. Antwerp, 
Perama, Argyroupolis, Limerick, Girona, Ato Belice, Utrecht, 
Almeida), but the scope extends to health (e.g. le Doubs, 
Charleroi), housing (e.g. Huelva, Porto, Perama, Munich, Weimar, 
Calais) and education and training (e.g. Saloniki, Limerick). 
The projects also yield a wide range of groups and locations. Some 
are closely concerned with ethnic minorities (Liverpool), ex-
prisoners (Bautzen), refugees (Saloniki, Berlin), single-parent 
families (Bristol, Hamburg), street children (Lisbon); drug addicts 
(Kallithea); some concentrate on rural areas (e.g. Almeida, Burgos, 
Covilha, Connemara), while others are centred on the urban 
environment (e.g. Calais, Mantois). 
13. Social exclusion is affected by a number of factors, such as: 
- persistent unemployment and especially long-term unemployment; 
industrial change and its effect on the labour market, 
particularly poorly skilled workers; 
- changes in social and family structures and the increasing 
breakdown of family structures; *-—-•• 
- changes to value systems, as illustrated by advances in 
collective solidarity but also by weakening of the values of 
cohesion and of tradicional forms of solidarity; 
- the trend towards social fragmentation and the consequences as 
far as participation is concerned, for traditional representative 
institutions; 
- changes in migration phenomena. 
We might also mention the persistence and spread of traditional 
forms of poverty, often concentrated in declining urban areas or in 
rural areas lagging behind in terms of development. 
A (variable) combination of these factors has led to growing 
resentment on the part of those excluded de facto from sharing in 
wealth with the risk of their being driven to desperate or 
disruptive or behaviour such as violence or drugs. Precarity 
generates fear of the future, often leading in turn to introversion, 
and sometimes to susceptibility to racist ideologies, xenophobic 
behaviour and various forms of extremism. 
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Diversity of situations 
14. Thus, the concept of social exclusion covers phenomena which have 
increased and become more visible during the past 15 years. The 
resurgence of homelessness (in particular in the large cities), 
urban crises, ethnic tension, growing long-term unemployment etc. -
constitute types of social exclusion which have most often caught 
the attention of the media and public opinion. Nor should one ignore 
the persistence of long-term destitution or underestimate the 
diffuse but massive fragility of a large section of the population 
affected by recurrent unemployment, insecure and atypical jobs, or 
threatened by industrial restructuring. 
15. This coincidence of phenomena explains the diverse and complex 
nature of the various situations which assume contrasting incidence 
and forms depending on the countries and regions concerned. The 
"excluded" do not, as is often assumed, form a homogeneous 
population category rejected by a supposedly homogeneous society. 
This of course poses the problem of targeting measures for certain 
categories (cf. the debate on targeting in the assistance mechanisms 
in the United Kingdom) or certain integrated policies (e.g. the 
debates on urban policy in France and on housing in Belgium). 
This explains why it is difficult to come up with a simple 
definition of social exclusion: the experience of those working in 
the field has shown that social exclusion refers, in particular, to 
inability to enjoy social rights without help, suffering from low 
self-esteem, inadequacy in their capacity to meet their obligations, 
the risk of long-term relegation to the ranks of those on social 
benefits, and stigmatisation which, particularly in the urban 
environment, extends to the areas in which they live. 
16. Satisfactory statistics on the scale of and trends in social 
exclusion are not available. However, work carried out in the field 
of low incomes suggests that poverty increased at the end of the 
Seventies and then stabilised at a high level. The findings also 
show that a number of individual situations are very precarious, as 
reflected in the existence of a highly fluid population hovering on 
the fringes of the poverty line. Although the basic core of the 
lastingly poor (in terms of income), is limited, a large number of 
people undergo (sporadically or recurrently) periods of poverty, 
often due to an unstable employment or family situation. From here 
it only takes exacerbating circumstances, such as the level and size 
of previous debt, health or housing problems, to provoke a slide 
into lasting poverty. 
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17. This can be illustrated by an example from a report produced by 
Tilburg University which, between 1986 and 1988, conducted a 
longitudinal study of monetary poverty in the Netherlands, based on 
data from the national households panel set up by the Dutch 
Statistical Institute (CBS). This study examined the poverty 
phenomenon in terms of the "official" poverty threshold represented 
by the guaranteed minimum wage in the Netherlands (ABW). For each of 
the three years in question (1986, 1987 and 1988), the study found 
that there were between 6 and 7% of poor households, over the period 
as a whole, only 1% of households had been continuously poor over 
the three years, and 3% over two years, but 13.5% of households had 
been poor for at least one year. 
18. A study of national labour market trends (long-term unemployment 
atypical jobs) and family structures (situations of isolation) 
confirms the extent of the vulnerability and the importance of 
remedial measures. 
This is shown to by the importance of national programmes and 
measures relating to long-term unemployment (e.g. the PESP in 
Ireland, the employment programme in the new German Lander, 
programmes for the long-term unemployed in France, and the active 
employment policy in Denmark) and the stress which certain countries 
are placing on action for certain types of families (e.g. in 
Luxembourg, and for single-parent families in the United Kingdom). 
1.2. Risk of exacerbation 
19. The international context provides major opportunities for Community 
development, but it also places serious constraints upon it, since 
the organisation of production, the technological choices and the 
labour market mechanisms in the Community are still strongly 
influenced by old models (many jobs involving very little training 
and too few jobs generated by growth). 
It is to be feared that the effects of all these exclusion 
mechanisms will be exacerbated in the next few years. The employment 
situation is unfavorable or uncertain, public funds are severely 
limited, the geographical distribution of social exclusion is 
fragmented, and family structures provide less of a safety net than 
in the past. 
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Employment trends 
20. The general economic development prospects hold out no hope of a 
short-term improvement in the situation. 
21. The upturn in employment from the mid-Eighties onwards was 
accompanied by a persistently high rate of unemployment, and 
especially a high level of long-term unemployment, which confirms 
that the lastingly marginalised population will be unable to 
(re-)integrate economically and socially on the strength of an 
improving economy alone. The employment situation has deteriorated 
since the early Nineties and there are evident risks of things 
becoming worse as growth declines, the world economic climate 
becomes rougher and as a period of recession is traversed. For 
experience has shown that the disparities within the Community and 
the inequalities between social groups tend to worsen in periods of 
low growthl&). 
22. Furthermore, the scale and speed of technological change in the 
various economic sectors lead to greater selectivity on the labour 
market and, therefore, to greater risks of social exclusion of the 
most vulnerable workers or those least able to adapt to these 
changes, in particular on account of their age or skills 
(automation, robotisation, industrial restructuring), with such 
risks enhanced in regions where there is scant economic 
diversification and where restructuring is on a massive scale. 
23. Finally, the development of different forms of employment, 
particularly atypical types of work, have a varying impact on the 
exclusion phenomenon. Atypical employment meets the needs of certain 
categories of worker and can actually be a positive step in helping 
disadvantaged sectors of the population back onto the labour market. 
But precarity of employment is another factor undermining security 
and protection and also leads to exclusion. To overcome this dilemma 
would mean the demands of flexibility falling mainly on those with 
the capacity to adapt, rather than on the most vulnerable workers 
and also, of course, better protection of the workers concerned. 
Certain countries (e.g. Spain) have recently emphasised on this 
point. 
Constraints on public spending 
24. Moreover, as integration of the European economies progresses, the 
quest for competitiveness and for budgetary rigour is causing Member 
States to stabilise or even reduce public expenditure and burdens on 
companies; this confronts Member States with difficult choices as 
far as fixing budgetary priorities is concerned. 
(8) Cf. Employment Report 1992 
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Social exclusion and geographical diversity 
25. Social exclusion takes different forms in the countries of northern 
and southern Europe, between prosperous and declining regions, and 
in towns and in the countryside^). The problem of poverty in rural 
areas should not be underestimated, particularly in view of the 
upheaval such areas are currently undergoing. With the lack of 
facilities and infrastructure in rural areas, the less privileged 
in these areas are doubly marginalised, as evidenced by projects in 
the Poverty 3 Programme, e.g. Almeida, Connemara, Burgos. Another 
point to be borne in mind is that a run-down countryside is often a 
cue for population movements from the country to the towns, leading 
in turn to urban poverty. 
26. There are also disparities between urban areas: the developments 
observed tend to exacerbate the differences between conurbations 
and, within the latter, are accompanied by growing differentiation 
or segregation: here, too, some cities and urban areas will receive 
a boost while others will suffer recession or stagnation fraught 
with dire consequences, especially cities where economic decline has 
set in and, more generally, the run-down districts of conurbations 
which have become a refuge for rejected or stigmatised populations 
and where the social fabric is disintegrating. Here too, Poverty 3 
projects are very revealing (le Mantois, Munich, Saloniki, Calais, 
Porto, etc.). 
The break-up of family structures 
27. General changes in lifestyles and trends in terms of family 
structures are unlikely to be reversed. The increasing fragility of 
family structures and the instability of partnerships will 
inevitably mean an increase in situations of isolation. This again 
is evident in Poverty 3 projects on single-parent families (e.g. 
Hamburg, Bristol and Perama). 
There is already a significant proportion of single people on 
benefits and such people are known to run a greater risk of 
marginalisation (whereas an unemployed person living in a household 
in which another member is in active employment runs a lesser risk, 
and is more likely to find another job). It is worth remembering 
here that the resurgence of homelessness is partly linked to the 
increase in isolation and the break-up of family structures(10). 
1.3. The importance of action at local level 
28. Targeted measures aimed at combating social exclusion and 
encouraging integration or reintegration into economic and social 
life are often pitched at local or regional levels. 
Examples of this are the Social Renewal programme in the 
Netherlands, City Challenge in the United Kingdom and various 
national poverty programmes in Portugal and Ireland. 
(9) Cf. Europe 2000, Outlook for the Development of the Community's 
territory 1991, COM(91) 452 final. 
(10) Cf. Report of the Homelessness Observatory. 
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1.4. Promoting combined economic and social policies 
29. The scale of the problem of social exclusion and risk of further 
exacerbation call for a stronger and more sustained response through 
a combined economic and social policy rather than concentrating on 
the social side alone. 
Social policy has attempted to respond to the new problems, seeking 
- particularly in terms of social protection - to check or soften 
the effects of exclusion. 
30. In all Member States, rising unemployment has meant adjustment or 
even complete overhaul of the compensation system. It has also led 
to the development of public training schemes and employment 
assistance which have assumed increased importance in the countries 
most conscious of the need for "active" employment policies (cf. 
Denmark). Legislation on guaranteed resources has also been 
introduced or reformed in several Member States (cf. France, 
Belgium, Luxembourg and, at regional level, Spain). Some have also 
introduced new housing, health and insolvency measures (e.g. Belgium 
and France) seeking principally to extend the rights of the most 
vulnerable sections of the population(11). 
Recognition of the need for a multifaceted approach to the social 
exclusion problem has given rise to various initiatives, in rural as 
well as urban areas. Urban social development policies (cf. City 
Challenge in the United Kingdom, urban policy in France) or 
"community development" (e.g. Ireland), the integration and 
insertion programmes associated with resources guarantee measures, 
ventures in the cooperative, mutual and non-profit sector (e.g. 
Italy) or projects promoting economy-generated integration are 
typical examples which have involved the national and local 
authorities, the mutual and cooperative movement, non-governmental 
organisations, companies and trade unions. They constitute a rich 
source of experience and sound practice (one recent example is the 
Poverty Forum in Spain). 
(11) Cf. Report of the Observatory on policies to combat social 
exclusion, 1992. 
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31. These highlight the effectiveness of partnerships and the 
decompartmentalisation of institutions, the need to dovetail 
economic and social development, and the importance of those working 
in the field being well qualified, the need for responsible, active 
participation of the target population in implementing integration 
measures, the benefit of having strategies drawn up for specific 
regions rather than arrangements devised for administrative 
categories defined a priori. This, for instance, is the basic 
approach to the Social Renewal Programme in the Netherlands. 
The policies pursued in support of the long-term unemployed and more 
generally the active labour market policies (the Danish example is 
an interesting one in this respect) have also confirmed the need for 
broad mobilisation of the public and private players involved, for 
combining training measures (or those involving help in getting a 
job) with personalised support measures, and - on a wider front -
for tying remedial action in with measures aimed at preventing long-
term unemployment and removing barriers to integration in all 
fields. 
32. The efforts undertaken have also revealed the limitations of 
tackling social exclusion processes and situations via social 
policies alone. The multidimensional nature of social exclusion 
calls for overall development and integration policies. Its 
structural features require that prevention and integration measures 
be taken by all the players (including companies, which are all too 
often tempted to leave it to others to pay for the social 
consequences of their restructuring measures), and that they form 
part of all policies, especially economic policies. 
33. In other words, what we need to encourage and implement at all 
levels are global policies. It is important, then, to identify 
certain elements which would appear essential to a consistent and 
systematic approach. The experience gathered in the field by 
specialised bodies, NGOs and voluntary groups involved in combating 
social exclusion has revealed a number of areas which appear 
particularly sensitive in terms of creating or perpetuating 
situations of social exclusion, and therefore also in terms of 
remedying or preventing them: the labour market, in the broadest 
sense; the workings of the capital markets; scientific and 
technological development; the exercise of social rights; the 
structure and availability of the housing stock; initial education 
and acquisition of the basic knowledge required for life and work. 
II. THE ADDED VALUE OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT 
34. Community action on social exclusion is of a dual nature: 
- Assuming the diversity of the factors influencing social 
exclusion the Community fights against it first through its 
general social and economic policy and the contribution of its 
structural Funds to the improvement of the employment situation 
and to development. This contribution is far from négligeable but 
is not specifically geared to combating social exclusion and thus 
indirectly contributes towards it. 
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The community provides specific support to initiatives 
implemented in or by Member States, through various projects 
(food aid, specific programmes to foster innovation and exchange 
of experience, coordination of networks in specific fields, 
support for non-governmental organisations etc.); such action 
has, for some time, been modest and in some cases rather sporadic 
and even uncoordinated. There has, however, been a significant 
move over the past few years to make this actions more ambitious 
and improve its overall coherence. 
Structural policies and general policies 
35. Structural policies constitute a major attempt to foster a coherent 
Community economic and social policy. They are not specifically 
designed to combat social exclusion, but can make a significant 
contribution by promoting access to employment and regional 
development. 
The European Social Fund has contributed to improving the situation 
of disadvantaged categories in term of employment (the long-term 
unemployed, young people, and, of these, certain particularly 
vulnerable categories such as women and migrants). Moreover, money 
from the European Regional Development Fund and the European 
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund have helped regions in 
difficulty to improve their infrastructure and more generally aided 
their development or restructuring. 
36. To respond more effectively to the problems of the least well-off 
populations or people living in certain particularly deprived urban 
areas, specific programmes have been set up with their needs in 
mind. 
The ESF, for example, has set up a programme of Community 
initiatives to promote human resources (EUROFORM, NOW, HORIZON) 
which are transnational and innovative in character. The HORIZON 
initiative has a special section for the disadvantaged categories, 
providing for social and occupational integration measures for those 
affected by social exclusion. 
37. General Community policies can themselves make an indirect 
contribution to combating social exclusion. Let us not forget that 
the gradual completion of the single market has had a major impact 
on growth and the creation of jobs. Community action on employment, 
working conditions, social protection, free movement and migration, 
the social economy, positive action for women and equal treatment 
for men and women are also significant, if indirect, contributions 
to the fight against social exclusion. 
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Specific initiatives 
38. The Community has made exclusion a specific concern since the mid-
seventies. Obviously, it could not be regarded as a policy as such, 
but rather as a limited contribution with symbolic value. Its main, 
and for a long time only, form of implementation has been specific 
programmes. 
These programmes had limited funding, but as programmes rather than 
funds, their contribution should not be judged only on the size of 
their budget, their function being primarily to foster innovation 
and exchange. 
Community action began in 1975 with the first European programme to 
combat poverty (1975-80), supporting pilot projects in all Member 
States. Completed in 1980, the programme contributed in most Member 
States to promoting administrative and political consideration of 
the changing face of the poverty situation brought about by the 
crisis at the end of the seventies. It was followed up by a second 
programme (1984-89) strongly focused on transnational exchange of 
experience between local projects. The third programme, known as 
Poverty 3 (1989-94), which is still under way, is more ambitious, 
intended to promote experimentation with local economic and social 
integration strategies based on partnership, a multidimensional 
approach and participation. 
39. Within the framework of winter campaigns in certain Member States in 
favour of the most under-privileged the Commission made available to 
non-governemental organisations, food surpluses, the initial 
campaign was launched in 1987 and the budgetary attribution in 
respect of the last campaign was ECUS 150 M. 
40. Community action gradually became more diversified, especially 
towards the end of the Eighties, the aim being to draw public 
attention to the scale of the problem. Acknowledgement by Member 
States as evident from the Resolution of the Council and of the 
Ministers for Social Affairs meeting within the Council on 
29 September 1989. Similarly, recognition in Member States by a 
number of actors, demonstrated by the efforts of European-level 
consultation and cooperation among the networks of non-governmental 
organisations, towns and housing bodies. 
Against this background the commission set out to devise a series of 
initiatives of a more ambitious and more coherent nature. Parallel 
to implementing Poverty 3, it extended its support for NGOs, 
particularly their functioning as a European network (EAPN -
European Anti-Poverty Network, bringing together NGOs and voluntary 
groups concerned with combating poverty). 
The Commission also proposed, as a component of implementation of 
the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights for Workers, a 
recommendation on recognition of the right to sufficient resources 
and social assistance, which the Council adopted on 24 June 1992. 
This recommendation not only upholds the right to sufficient 
resources to live in a way befitting human dignity, but also 
emphasises the need to support this right through integration 
measures in the areas of health, housing, employment, training etc. 
- 18 -
The Commission has also helped to synergise the initiatives of the 
various players involved in combating social exclusion in the 
Community, particularly through organising a series of seminars 
promoting discussion and proposals. It has also contributed to 
research and evaluation work through such initiatives as setting up 
an observatory of policies for combating social exclusion. It has 
also, in its proposals for revising the Treaties, strongly asserted 
the need to intensify the fight against social exclusion. 
41. Support for pilot projects and sheering of exchange programmes, 
cooperation with NGOs, local authorities and the social partners, 
publications by the Observatory of policies for combating social 
exclusion and the proposals on guaranteed resources are all examples 
of the Community's contribution to the exchange and transfer of 
experience. 
The Ministers of Housing of the Community Member States recently 
confirmed such a Community contribution which the Presidency drew 
from the meeting, held in London on 24 and 25 November 1992, 
calling on the Commission to facilitate an exchange of information 
on such matters as programmes dealing with "Quartiers en crise". 
Recognition of this input is, without doubt, one of the achievements 
of past Community action. By seeking to improve coherence between 
these measures and to achieve greater synergy between the various 
individual initiatives, the Commission now acts as a catalyst for 
schemes and exchanges promoting the European dimension in combating 
social exclusion. This has started a drive which has raised 
expectations of a more solid Community commitment. 
These expectations do not extend only to strengthening specific 
initiatives which the Community has run hitherto. They also embrace 
the Community's capacity to reflect on the impact of its policies 
and to work towards preventing social exclusion by encouraging more 
job growth and accompanying measures for economic and social change. 
III. PROSPECTS AND APPROACHES: THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN DELIBERATION AND 
COMMUNITY SUPPORT 
42. The prospects for action must take account not only of the 
limitations of Community competences but also of the imperatives and 
constraints in terms of Community resources. 
Prevention and cure: an integrated strategy 
43. Combating social exclusion means not just working to prevent it from 
developing but also to find a cure to the current situation. 
Prevention efforts must concentrate on tackling the cumulative and 
interdependent mechanisms generating exclusion and which, for the 
most part, stem from the structural changes taking place in Europe's 
economies and societies. Finding a cure for the situations 
encountered involves fostering resolute action aimed at economically 
and socially integrating the people, groups and regions involved. 
- 19 -
Within the limits of its competences and resources, the Community 
can contribute to combating social exclusion in line with these two 
complementary approaches, which call for a global and integrated 
strategy. Implementation of such a strategy must take account of the 
diversity of national and regional situations, and must be suitably 
tailored to supplement and' stimulate, in the best possible way, the 
policies pursued in Member states by the relevant public authorities 
and private organisations. 
This does not only mean the possible strengthening of specific 
initiatives, which have so; far been the Community's main input in 
this area, but also examining how Community policy as a whole can 
contribute to combating social exclusion. 
It should be remembered here that the Maastricht Treaty, in the 
accord on social policy concluded by 11 Member States, makes 
"combating exclusion" one of the goals of social policy (Article 1) 
and "the integration of persons excluded from the labour market" one 
of the fields in which Community decisions can be adopted by a 
qualified majority. 
III.l. The economic mechanisms 
44. The economic impetus initiative, just adopted by the European 
Council in Edinburgh, provides obviously the basic framework for 
this integrated approach. 
Budgetary aspects 
45. The Member States are currently in the process of adapting and 
restructuring their budgets. It is their responsability, in this 
connection to take the measures appropriate to their specific 
national situations. 
However, given the political need to combat social exclusion, it is 
important that whatever provisions are adopted should enable efforts 
already in progress to combat and prevent social exclusion to be 
pursued as far as possible1. 
With this aim in mind, arrangements should be made at Community 
level for promoting an exchange of information and experience 
relating to allocation of public resources in the fight against, and 
prevention of, social exclusion. 
Employment and labour 
46. A second major area is the!labour market and the conditions for 
generally upgrading job skills in business entreprises over the next 
few years. Given the opening-up of the Eastern and Southern European 
countries in particular, it is highly likely that the pace of such 
- 20 -
changes will increase. The draft Treaty on European Union explicitly 
refers to this. The main question is what will happen to low-skilled 
members of the workforce. Can companies simultaneously take on the 
tasks of re-skilling these; people and modernising their plant 
without incurring excessive costs? A balance has to be found, with 
due regard to different national situations and traditions, between 
the burdens taken on by a) companies, and which will be of a 
temporary nature, and b) those taken on by the authorities and which 
are liable to become permanent and thus finally affect 
competitiveness via taxes and social security contributions. This 
question could be broached by the Community within the European 
social dialogue framework. 
47. In this regard, the social; partners delivered a joint opinion on 
3 July 1992 expressing their serious concern at rising unemployment 
and stagnation of the labour market, and calling for a new 
impetus(*3) to generate recovery from within the Community and a 
new cooperation strategy to increase employment. 
48. The Community could also continue and step up its initiatives to 
foster in-company human resource management policies which avoid 
generating new exclusion processes. 
The developments observed in a number of enterprises, especially as 
regards introduction of "anthropocentric production systems" 
particularly geared to preventing exclusion, should be particularly 
encouraged. 
Mention should also be made of the ideas and proposals on the 
organisation of working time and the protection of vulnerable 
workers. 
The discussions and proposals on the "social economy", more 
particularly the European statutes for associations, mutual 
groupings and cooperatives and new forms of undertakings created 
by, or intended for, disadvantaged persons should be pursued. 
Convergence of economic and social protection policies 
49. The Council Recommendation of 27 July 1992 on the convergence of 
social protection objectives and policies establishes a link 
between economic policy and social protection policy, when 
presenting the Recommendation, the Commission emphasised the 
essential link between convergence of economic policies and of 
social protection policies;. This means, in particular, that 
convergence of economic policies can make a useful contribution to 
developing an advanced social protection system, to which Europeans 
aspire and which is featured in the Maastricht Treaty (Article 2), 
and which is in itself an important productivity factor. The 
Commission's proposed strategy for aligning social protection 
objectives and policies, adopted by the Council, demonstrates the 
possibility of taking such a step while respecting the respective 
national systems and traditions. 
(13) Economic impetus decided by the European Council in Edinburgh (cf. 
§ 45). 
- 21 -
III.2. The potential contribution of structural policies 
50. In the field of economic and social cohesion the Community has 
already gained rich experience of structural policies undertaken in 
cooperation with the Member States. Since these policies were 
reformed in 1988, a central role has been accorded to partnership, 
to integration of measures and continuity of programming; these 
features can be constructively applied to policies for combating 
social exclusion. 
51. In its document "From the Single Act to Maastricht and beyond: the 
means to match our ambitions"(14), the Commission stressed that 
integration of people excluded from the labour market was one of its 
principal concerns for which it intended to devise structural 
policies. 
The Community's structural policies can help to prevent social 
exclusion, and can also help to integrate those excluded. Developing 
these policies - particularly objectives 3 and 4 - should contribute 
significantly to implementing the proposed integrated strategy. 
Helping to prevent social exclusion 
52. Up till now, the structural Funds have contributed to combating 
social exclusion mainly in an indirect and preventive manner. 
This is an important role, especially with regard to the development 
of disparities within the Community, and it should be continued and 
intensified, especially to benefit the least favoured regions. 
The structural policies must also help to anticipate and provide 
support for industrial change, thereby serving an important 
preventive function. The aim should be to encouragé forward 
employment planning with a view to preventing unemployment and 
social exclusion rather than to remedying such situations. 
Contributing to integration 
53. The recent community initiatives and the programmes on "human 
resources", including HORIZON and NOW, have involved measures of a 
more targeted and specific nature focusing on disadvantaged 
populations (HORIZON) and women in a vulnerable position vis-à-vis 
the labour market (NOW). These measures contain not just training 
and job promotion schemes, but also a number of individual or 
collective flanking and support measures which have proved very 
effective in opening up the way to real economic and social 
integration. 
(14) COM (92) 2000 final, 11.2.1992 
- 22 -
54. In the event of intensified Community action, structural policies 
and particularly European Social Fund intervention could further 
promote pretraining and integration measures and continuing 
vocational training which is a key factor for ensuring integration 
of the populations in question. The aim would be, within the 
framework of future developments concerning the structural policies, 
to promote schemes which respond to the multidimensional nature of 
social exclusion and its concentration in deprived areas, and which 
involve a partnership-based approach mobilising the relevant 
players. 
The Commission will bear these possibilities in mind in its 
proposals relating the revision of rules governing structural Fund 
intervention 
III.3. A multidimensional approach to social exclusion 
Tackling all aspects of social exclusion 
55. To ensure the success of the strategy to combat social exclusion, 
the general and structural: policies must be supplemented by policies 
specifically promoting economic and social integration. 
The general principle is affirmed by the Resolution of the Council 
and of the Ministers for social Affairs meeting within the Council 
on 29 September 1989. It received practical expression in the 
Council Recommendation of 24 June 1992 on guaranteed resources and 
benefits in social protection systems, adopted within the framework 
of implementation of the dispositions contained in the community 
Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers. 
56. It is important for these specific policies to address all the 
fields in which social exclusion arises or is generated: education, 
training, employment, health, housing and access to services (cf. 
the above-mentioned Resolution of 29 September 1989). 
The Recommendation of 24 June 1992 on guaranteed resources and 
benefits stressed, in this! context, the need to combine financial 
support for the most deprived with all the measures necessary for 
their economic and social integration. 
A Community programme to foster | and support innovation 
57. As regards implementation of these measures. Community action is, of 
necessity, limited, even if the Structural Funds could make a 
greater contribution to implementing some of them. But the Community 
can make a useful contribution to comparison of experience and 
policies as well as to promoting exchanges between the players in 
the field and the policy-makers. 
58. This is one of the functions of the specific programmes for 
combating poverty undertaken in the past: they have made it possible 
to mobilise the players, support innovative approaches, exchange 
experience and promote public and political debate. 
- 23 -
59. The Poverty 3 Programme, currently underway, ends in June 1994 and 
will be evaluated in an interim report to be produced in 1993. On 
the basis of the report's findings, the Commission will propose a 
new programme drawing on the achievements and experience of the 
current programme (in particular with regard to geographical 
concentration and the principles of partnership, multidimensionality 
and participation). 
This new programme could be more open, especially to coordinated 
large-scale schemes, for example at national or regional level, to 
innovative projects currently run by private partners (NGOs, two 
sides of industry, cooperatives, etc.), but also to measures other 
than local projects in the strict sense (research, evaluation, 
stimulation of debate and innovation). 
With regard to development of social exclusion phenomena in the 
urban environment and problems specific to deprived areas, it could 
include innovative action aimed specifically at promoting employment 
and integration in the urban environment, in conjunction with 
corresponding measures to be undertaken by the structural Funds in 
this field. 
60. This programme should permit a more significant contribution since: 
it must be aimed at combating social exclusion, promoting 
integration and fostering solidarity, and it should therefore be 
drawn up in conjunction with the Community's other policies and 
programmes, for example in the field of economic, education, 
employment and structural policies. 
Broad consultations will take place with the various players 
concerned in order to draw up the programme. 
More knowledge is needed 
61. The complexity and diversity of social exclusion situations and 
processes, and the difficulties encountered in defining, quantifying 
and explaining them, as well as those encountered in evaluating the 
policies implemented, call for increased efforts to improve and 
disseminate the relevant knowledge. 
This could be an effective contribution to defining in detail the 
policy guidelines governing a principled multidimensional approach 
to social exclusion. 
This calls for improved statistical analysis and work to provide an 
overall picture - via qualitative and quantitative indicators - of 
the multidimensional nature of social exclusion. This would also 
involve assessing the effectiveness of the policies and action 
implemented and helping to identify suitable methods and practices. 
- 24 -
62. Promotion of such research must therefore be an element of the 
proposed programme, while also falling within the scope of general 
policy on statistics and scientific research. In this connection, 
the Commission's working paper on the Fourth Framework Programme of 
Community activities in the field of research and technological 
development (1994-98) includes themes directly connected with the 
problem of social exclusion(x*). 
63. The Observatory of policies to combat Social Exclusion, set up by 
the Commission in 1989, has the task of stimulating debate and 
comparing experience via analysis and evaluation of the policies 
undertaken. Given the diversity of the institutions involved in 
implementing such policies; it should aim to provide a better 
understanding of the relations between the policies undertaken and 
the players involved; given its central role in stimulating debate, 
it must also focus each year on the specific fields requiring 
greater comparison of national experience. Its work should dovetail 
in an overall manner with that similarly aimed at improving 
knowledge, in particular research into quantitative and qualitative 
indicators (15) and the local observatories which may be involved in 
certain projects. 
64. Finally, as a follow-up to the two recommendations from the Council 
on convergence of social protection objectives and policies and on 
common criteria for sufficient resources and social assistance, the 
Commission will analyse the trends in social protection and 
guaranteed resources policies with a view to submitting a regular 
report on social protection in Europe, one of its aims being to 
analyse how social protection contributes to combating social 
exclusion and to economic and social integration. 
III.4. Structuring the dialogue between the various players 
Active participation by those involved 
65. As a fact of life closely tied up with the economy, public measures, 
the rule of law and rights (and thus the main elements in 
development of society), social exclusion can be combated only 
through the active participation of all those who contribute - via 
their political, institution, professional, associative and civic 
responsibilities - to such development. Above all, the exclusion 
problem needs the greatest possible participation of the populations 
actually concerned, who should be fully fledged partners in any 
integration drive. 
The public authorities are directly involved: the Member States, 
those responsible for* economic and social policies at the top, the 
community (via its economic and structural policies and its 
responsibilities in the social field) and the local authorities 
(which are directly responsible for implementing concrete measures 
and, to some extent, determining the approach taken). 
(14) COM(92) 406 final, 9.10.1992. 
(15) There will very shortly be a European seminar on these subjects 
organised by the UK government. 
- 25 -
The private players are just as involved, since it is often they, 
being in the field, who devise the necessary measures or explore new 
pathways: the associations, voluntary groups, cooperative bodies and 
also the two sides of industry already contribute - to different 
degrees - to the fight against social exclusion, both in prevention 
and in integration terms. These private players also have a 
responsibility at national and at Community level: doesn't the 
dialogue between the two sides of industry address, and shouldn't it 
further address, for example, the general economic trends affecting 
the social exclusion processes? 
Joint action and partnership 
66. Therefore, the challenge is to coordinate and dovetail the various 
levels of responsibility and the players at each of these levels. 
Stepping up the fight against social exclusion also means defining 
and forging maximum synergy between the policies, institutions and 
people involved. Partnership - something increasingly frequently 
affirmed in public measures (local, national and Community) and 
which is also a key element in the Poverty 3 Programme - must be a 
concern and demand of all players. 
67. What we need here is enhanced cooperation between the Commission and 
the national authorities. The Commission exchanged views with 
government representatives when drafting the current Communication. 
It intends to enter into broad consultation: with the national 
authorities on all the aspects broached herein, both as regards 
solemn recognition of certain rights and the future specific 
programme to combat exclusion as well as the strategies underlying 
economic and structural policies. 
Such consultations with the national authorities should not simply 
mirror the work done by existing groups - such as the Advisory 
Committee for the Poverty 3 Programme and the body consisting of the 
directors-general of social security - which have their own set of 
tasks. It should aim to obtain a commitment from Member States at 
high level and to stimulate debate addressing the multidimensional 
nature of the policies required to combat social exclusion. This 
approach, which involves combining economic and social elements in 
public measures, could be implemented by setting up a body at high 
level. 
68. The Commission also intends to boost its cooperation with 
solidarity-promoting associations, voluntary groups and non­
governmental organisations, particularly by continuing the permanent 
dialogue and exchanges/consultations already underway with the 
associations in the European Anti-Poverty Network. 
69 Stress must also be placed on the important role played by the two 
sides of industry in this field, due not only to their direct 
involvement in general economic and social developments but also due 
to their new responsibilities stemming from the Maastricht Treaty. 
It should also be noted that in some Member States companies and 
trade unions have backed or initiated specific measures to combat 
social exclusion. 
- 26 -
70. Finally, the regional and local authorities, with which the 
Commission enjoys fruitful! dialogue, naturally have an important 
contribution to make in thé form of measures and action devised 
mainly at local level. 
71. It is particularly necessary to have discussion between all of these 
players within a partnership framework, this being vital for 
effective implementation of strategies addressing exclusion in all 
its dimensions. 
The Commission therefore intends systematically to continue the 
dialogue it has started with these players so as to develop a 
specific form of social consultation, which could also make a useful 
contribution to the discussions between the two sides of industry at 
Community level. 
72. The Commission intends to work, within its own structures by 
improving the coherence of;its initiatives, to promote the necessary 
political commitment and reinforce the partnership approach, 
without, however, creating unnecessary and unwieldy internal 
bureaucratic structures. 
73. In conclusion, mobilisation of society against the unacceptable 
phenomenon of exclusion requires media involved and Heightened 
awareness of the values of;solidarity. The Commission has encouraged 
the establishment of a group of European journalists ready to 
participate in mobilising public opinion. This group will launch an 
information drive, and specific awareness-heightening measures will 
also be drawn up. 
III.5. Structuring the dialogue between the various players 
74. The integrated strategy and multidimensional approach proposed could 
be firmly founded on recognition of a set of rights. 
The Community is, among other things, based on the rule of law. Its 
values and goals espouse fundamental rights, including respect of 
human dignity, of which social exclusion constitutes, to some 
extent, a denial. 
This principle of respect for human dignity is anchored in certain 
national constitutions or laws and is of real importance in the 
fight against social exclusion. It was recognised in the Council 
Recommendation of 24 June 1992, which affirmed people's fundamental 
right to sufficient resources and social assistance in order to live 
in a manner commensurate with human dignity. 
The Community charter of Fundamental social Rights of workers 
affirms a number of rights; which, if respected, can contribute 
significantly to preventing exclusion (this is the case for example 
of the provisions on fair pay). However, since it concentrates on 
the rights of workers, it only indirectly or partially (social 
protection, elderly persons) touches on the rights needed for 
integration of people excluded from the labour market. 
- 27 -
Solemn, but not binding, recognition by the community of the rights 
stemming from respect of human dignity would clearly demonstrate its 
political resolve to combat social exclusion. It would help to 
create an important basis for the measures to integrate those 
excluded from the labour market as set out in the social chapter of 
the Maastricht Treaty. 
75. Therefore, the Commission intends to reflect in depth on such rights 
both in terms of their potential for, and conditions of integration, 
analysis on the rights underpinning respect of human dignity should 
not focus solely on providing people with basic guarantees; it 
should also, and perhaps in particular, open up opportunities for 
integration and thus address the conditions necessary for real 
citizenship. 
Such reflection should include an analysis of "sound practice" and 
proved policies in the Member states for implementing those rights. 
CONCLUSIONS 
The Commission views this Communication as one stage in the deliberations 
on how to step up the Community's efforts to combat social exclusion. 
Broad consultation will be undertaken on this matter (including on the 
prospects and approaches set out) during a seminar to be jointly 
organised by the Commission and the Council Presidency in 1993. 
In this manner the Commission wishes to contribute to devising the 
policies and measures to be taken by the most appropriate players and to 
promoting a Europe of greater solidarity, while rejecting fatalistic 
acceptance of social exclusion and recognising that respect of human 
dignity is something to which all citizens have a right. 
- 28 -
ANNEX 
REPORT 
on implementation 
of the Resolution 
of the council 
and of the Ministers for Social Affairs 
meeting within the Council 
of 29 September 1989 
on 
combating social exclusion 
(ECOJ No 277 of 31.10.1989) 
- 29 -
INTRODUCTION 
1. The Council and the Ministers for Social Affairs meeting within the 
Council on 27 September 1989 adopted a Resolution on combating 
social exclusion in which they undertook to continue and, as 
necessary, step up, the efforts undertaken in common as well as 
those made by each Member State, and to pool their knowledge and 
assessments of the phenomena of exclusion (§9). 
The Resolution calls on the Commission to study the measures taken 
to combat social exclusion and to report, within three years of its 
adoption, on action by the Member States and the Community in this 
area (§10). 
2. This report is essentially based on the work carried out by a 
network of independent experts set up by the commission in early 
1990, known as the Observatory of policies for combating social 
exclusion. In 1990 and 1992, this network drew up national reports 
and a summary of the situation in Europe, resulting in publications 
which give an overview of information available on an area which is 
difficult to analyse because information sources are generally few 
and far between. 
Prompted by the commission, the 1992 reports were discussed with the 
Member States and subsequently amended or supplemented, and several 
countries undertook to publicise them widely. 
This document makes substantial reference to those reports, what has 
been adopted here is basically a summarised report aiming to trace 
the broad outlines of, and illustrate with a few examples the 
general trends observed over the reference period (September 1989 -
June 1992). It does not go into extensive detail of the measures 
adopted, as this information is available in the observatory's 
national reports. Nor does it attempt a comparative analysis of 
these measures, as this would duplicate the existing general report. 
It should be noted, however, that some of the analyses have been 
limited by lack of information and serve an illustrative function 
rather than being exhaustive. This in itself constitutes grounds 
enough for a systematic evaluation of the policies implemented, 
which is a precondition for exchange of experience and of sound 
practice. 
3. This report is part of a more general Commission communication on 
combating social exclusion which gives a broad analysis of relevant 
Community initiatives over the past few years. The analysis has not 
been included here, the aim being rather to concentrate on measures 
taken in the Member States since the Resolution was adopted. 
- 30 -
4. This document is therefore in three parts: 
a recap of the guidelines for national and Community action put 
forward in the Resolution; 
- an overview of the background to implementation of the 
Resolution; 
a presentation of developments in national policies on combating 
exclusion since the Resolution was adopted. 
I. THE RESOLUTION OF 29 SEPTEMBER 1989 
5. The Resolution of 29 September 1989 includes the first reference in 
a community text to the concept of social exclusion. It particularly 
emphasises the varied nature of the situations defined by social 
exclusion: "the process of social exclusion is spreading in a number 
of fields, resulting in many different types of situation..." (§2). 
It also recognises the structural nature of the factors behind this 
development, particularly employment trends (§3). 
6. Against this background, the Resolution asserts the need for a 
global approach to fighting exclusion, which would mean backing up 
economic development policies with specific integration policies 
(§4) to tackle the structural aspect, and, in response to the 
diverse nature of the problem, measures guaranteeing adequate 
resources for the individuals concerned (§5) and giving them access 
to decent living conditions through social and occupational 
integration measures with an emphasis on access to education, 
training, employment, housing, community services and medical care 
(§6, §7). 
In this connection the Resolution also points to the effectiveness 
of coordinated policies based on partnership and participation (§8). 
II. BACKGROUND 
7. The policy against social exclusion should be seen in the context of 
the background against which that policy has developed. The two most 
important factors in this respect are firstly that the policy on 
exclusion implemented since 1989 largely stems from a set of 
developments originally initiated as part of the broader field of 
social policy, and secondly the impact of the changes in the 
Community's general economic and social situation over the past few 
years. 
8. Social policy rarely undergoes major upheaval. Generally, it 
develops slowly through the addition of new measures or ongoing 
reorientation of existing measures, through a gradual process 
involving a settling period, diversification and rearrangement which 
only gradually brings about any far-reaching reorganisation. It 
therefore comes as no surprise to observe that there have been few 
significant breaks with previous policy in the Member States since 
the Resolution was adopted. Continuity has been the overriding 
feature, with uninterrupted development in three main directions. 
- 31 -
The first is a general trend towards decentralisation of social 
policy, affecting all Member States in different ways according to 
their own institutional structure, and most often taking the form of 
growing involvement of elected representatives in the fields of 
local economic development and management of local social welfare 
programmes, particularly in urban areas; but such activities face 
lack of funding capacity on the part of regional and local 
authorities and are limited by the level of national support 
granted. 
Another main trend is ongoing development of social protection 
systems which are having to adapt both to constraints on spending 
and the demands created by growing unemployment, an ageing 
population and health costs. Here too, national situations vary 
considerably (depending on historical factors, the state of their 
economy and the political priorities of their governments), and some 
of the forms it has taken are the introduction of means-testing for 
certain benefits, growing attention to the problem of dependence on 
social security benefits, and the related debate on implementation 
of active, incentive-based employment policies. 
The other main trend is the growing importance of non-governmental 
organisations which also vary not only from one country to another, 
but often within an individual country. In some cases this 
development has meant a redistribution of roles between the public 
sector and independent associations (and sometimes churches or even 
the private sector) and setting up a legal framework for cooperation 
between them. 
These main trends, which were in evidence before adoption of the 
Resolution, and to some extent are reflected in its content, have, 
on the whole, continued. 
9. The general background to the policies on combating social exclusion 
has, however, changed over the past few years, particularly from an 
economic point of view. 
In the years leading up to adoption of the Resolution, there had 
been strong economic growth, several million jobs had been created 
and the situation of the labour market had improved considerably, 
even though it had not been possible to reduce unemployment, 
particularly long-term unemployment, to the desired extent. 
Since the beginning of the 90s, this situation has changed. The 
world economy has deteriorated, growth has slowed and unemployment 
is again on the increase, making short-term development prospects 
bleak and uncertain. This situation has affected the availability of 
public funding while extending the problems social policies have to 
deal with. It has also increased the difficulty of finding 
appropriate solutions to the problems posed by regional disparities 
and social inequality: as stated in the 1992 Employment in Europe 
report, experience has shown that such problems tend to get worse 
rather than better in periods of low growth. 
The general situation has also been altered by developments on the 
fringes of the Community, two of which have a direct impact on 
social exclusion: one being German unification, and the other 
increased pressure from migration. 
- 32 -
III. NATIONAL POLICIES AGAINST SOCIAL EXCLUSION 
10. The concept of social exclusion is not in current usage in all 
Member states, some preferring to refer to poverty or (cumulative) 
disadvantage. Irrespective of the words used to describe it, the 
situation takes many different forms within any single country and 
differs from one country to another. There can be no doubt, however, 
that public awareness of the problem has increased in all Member 
States since the Resolution, and public authorities, NGOs and public 
opinion are expressing increasing concern. 
The debate centres around different aspects. Sometimes the emphasis 
is on migration and refugees (e.g. B, D, EL), sometimes on long-term 
or extremely long-term unemployment and exclusion from the labour 
market (e.g. DK, F, NL); or on the problem of low income (P). 
Discussion is sometimes directly linked to specific policy making, 
as is the case with the minimum income (F, ES) or can be part of 
more general consideration of the functions of the welfare state 
(UK: Citizens' charter) or discouraging the passivity engendered by 
certain forms of social protection (DK, NL, UK). It is sometimes 
fuelled by association or media campaigns focusing on particularly 
visible problems or those which in any case catch the public's 
attention, such as the homeless (UK, F), drugs (IT), child labour 
(P), and inner city crises (F). 
Diversity apart, they bear witness to the growing recognition of the 
problem of social exclusion. This is borne out by the fact that 
several Member States have, over the past few years, set up or 
brought back into operation structures for discussion and 
coordination or channels for financing action on social exclusion 
(e.g. B, DK, F, P, IT). 
Guaranteeing adequate resources 
11. As emphasised in the 1989 resolution, combating social exclusion 
means, amongst other things, more careful targeting of social 
protection measures to guarantee adequate resources for everyone. 
Prior to 1989, national and general resource guarantee (or "minimum 
income") provisions existed in eight community countries (B, DK, D, 
IRL, LUX, NL, UK, F), France being the last to have introduced this 
kind of minimum social protection system, which until then had been 
organised around minimums for specific categories. In other 
countries there were regional or local initiatives (I) or measures 
for specific categories (particularly I and P, the amounts in 
question being very low), since 1989, several Member States have 
taken steps to extend or relax access conditions (B) or to set up 
new systems (ES: non-contributory pension schemes and minimum income 
systems set up by the Autonomous Communities ). 
The scope of these provisions cannot be assessed without examining 
access conditions for the low income categories and comparing the 
level of benefits with the general standard of living and prices in 
the Member States. Information on these aspects is limited, but 
would suggest that a sizeable section of the low income categories 
is officially or practically excluded from resource guarantee 
- 33 -
benefits (for reasons of age, nationality or residence (e.g. F, 
LUX), over-complex procedures or fear of stigmatisation or the 
investigation of personal circumstances that applying for benefits 
would entail (e.g. D)). It would also suggest that the amounts in 
question, which vary considerably from one country to another, are 
still quite low and do not always keep pace with the cost of living 
even where purchasing power is kept relatively stable over an 
extended period. 
From a resource guarantee point of view, there has been general 
progress since 1989, and the problem was the subject of a Council 
Recommendation adopted on 24 June 1992.f1) 
Its importance was also emphasised in the Community Charter of 
Fundamental Social Rights for Workers adopted in 1989. 
However, on the evidence of the Recommendation, much progress 
remains to be made not only in the Member States which do not yet 
have any general national provisions, but also in those whose 
provisions are restrictive in certain respects. 
Furthermore, methodical assessment is absolutely essential to 
establish the impact of current measures, most importantly with 
regard to situations of long-term dependence resulting from the 
provisions adopted, their effect on access or return to employment 
and the social integration of the individuals concerned, and how 
they fit into the general development of social protection, such 
assessment exercises do exist (particularly In France) but are all 
too infrequent. 
General policies 
12. Combating exclusion means taking action in a number of areas. This 
is true both of prevention, which calls for general improvements in 
policy on employment, education, training, housing, health etc., 
concentrating particularly on removing the discrimination and 
segregation which are the side-effects of the original policies. 
This also applies to the reintegration of those excluded from 
mainstream society, which would mean a general improvement in their 
living conditions requiring specific solutions to specific problems. 
Working on the limited information available, the Observatory of 
policies for combating social exclusion has undertaken a systematic 
analysis of the main sectoral policies. This was a joint effort 
which involved identifying the social rights explicitly or 
implicitly recognised by and in particular policies (e.g. the right 
to education or housing) and examining the extent to which policy 
effectively implemented those rights (where applicable by 
introducing compensatory measures for the most disadvantaged). The 
Observatory also examined the measures designed to meet the 
priorities of specific population categories. 
The analysis is too extensive to be covered here, but certain 
general conclusions are summarised below. 
(1) OJ No L 245 of 26.9.1992, p. 46 
- 34 -
Education and training 
13. The right to education is universally recognised by the Member 
States, but either implicitly or in very vague terms. There has been 
plenty of evidence to suggest that the education system, which is 
intrinsically selective, tends to propagate social inequality. 
Failure at school or dropping out without qualifications is another 
factor in causing and propagating exclusion. Some Member States have 
taken specific steps to reduce the difficulties encountered at 
school by disabled children or those from disadvantaged families, 
particularly immigrants (e.g. Lux, B) or offering a "second chance" 
to those originally failing or dropping out of the school system 
(e.g. IRL). 
The latter initiative continues an idea adopted some ten years ago 
in respect of post-school education for young people with few 
qualifications. It could also be combined with measures to combat 
illiteracy, a problem which is ill-recognised and exists on a scale 
which is quite certainly underestimated. 
Evaluation shows such policy to be positive, but limited by lack of 
effective mobilisation of the educational establishment, lack of 
training of educators and budgetary constraints, leaving a sizeable 
proportion of the population with few or no qualifications, despite 
participation in such initiatives. 
Employment 
14. Employment policies can be seen as an attempt, within the 
constraints of the labour market, to implement the right to 
employment. But clearly there are jobs and jobs: along with the 
traditional salaried position there are now all kinds of non­
standard or "atypical" forms of employment - part-time, temporary 
work on a fixed-term basis - and there has been an upturn in self-
employment. Most jobs created within the past few years fall into 
these categories (particularly in Spain) which tends to destabilise 
protection against unemployment and, at least in certain countries, 
can lead to more arduous or dangerous working conditions (ES). 
Assessment of employment policy must include consideration of pay 
levels, action on unemployment, retirement and early retirement 
measures etc. 
The report on employment, which the Commission has published 
annually since 1989, gives more details on these aspects. As regards 
exclusion, observations must be of a general nature in view of the 
difficulty of making comparisons between Member States. 
The most important consideration is unemployment benefit, which has 
a direct impact on the living conditions of those who, through 
temporary or long-term exclusion from the labour market, are 
vulnerable to the risk of exclusion. National systems are complex, 
particularly in the way they combine insurance and assistance, and 
some countries also have specific provisions on early retirement, 
invalidity, redundancy or short-time working which are used as 
alternatives to unemployment benefit proper. 
- 35 -
Examination of them reveals major disparities in terms of the 
proportion of unemployed persons in receipt of benefit, the amount 
of that benefit in relation to their former pay, how the level of 
benefit is affected by the duration of unemployment, and the least 
protected categories of worker. If lack of or low unemployment 
benefit is a factor contributing to exclusion, there is a tendency 
in most Member States towards restrictive measures, affecting 
insurance schemes particularly, to cut down costs. 
Another area for consideration is that of "active" employment 
policies, i.e. those concentrating on access or return to employment 
rather than compensation for the unemployed. These policies found 
increasing favour in the 80s throughout the Community, and in many 
countries received the support of the social partners (e.g. NL, B). 
They can be considered as policies against exclusion in that they 
emphasise increased participation in employment. They have given 
rise to numerous specific programmes aimed particularly at young 
people and the long-term unemployed. Such policies can also be 
associated with measures to involve local authorities more closely 
in fighting unemployment (NL, DK) and associate a specific 
occupational integration element with minimum income policy (F, 
LUX). It is difficult at this stage to make a detailed analysis of 
their impact on social exclusion. The most that can be said is that, 
despite the steps taken, long-term exclusion from the labour market 
is still a major problem which has remained relatively impervious to 
the policies implemented. A study of barriers to integration in the 
labour market has shown, moreover, that many of the problems 
encountered cannot be tackled through the 1; our market alone, 
requiring action in other areas. 
Housing 
15. Over the past few years the increasing number of homeless and the 
urban crisis have the brought the housing issue into the spotlight. 
People with direct experience of the problem confirm that there can 
be no real social integration without decent housing conditions. 
In most Member States, housing policy in the 80s (and even the 70s) 
was marked by reduced involvement of the public sector in favour of 
construction in general, particularly assisted-rent housing schemes. 
There have been some changes recently (e.g. D, IRL) but these have 
not affected the general tendency towards more involvement of the 
private sector due either to economy measures by national or 
regional authorities or, in some cases, to recognition of a tendency 
among the middle classes to take advantage of schemes which were 
intended for the most disadvantaged. Means-tested financial 
assistance for low income households is an alternative to assisted-
rent housing schemes which is more likely to benefit those with a 
genuinely low income, and many countries have made a move in this 
direction. 
The housing problem for the most disadvantaged is still extremely 
worrying: urban growth and the general direction lifestyles have 
taken, including cohabitation, have brought about increases in 
prices and demand, which is more acute in the countries and regions 
with a particularly high influx of migrants and refugees (EL, D); 
36 -
the deteriorating conditions of some existing housing, particularly 
of assisted-rent housing estates, has brought about particularly 
severe urban crisis situations (F, UK) ; the growing problem of 
isolation, accompanied by low income, particularly for one-parent 
families, or economic and social marginalisation, particularly 
affecting the homeless, have lengthened the waiting lists and 
demonstrated the inadequacy of existing measures. Finally, the 
encouragement of house ownership at a time of high interest rates 
has plunged households, particularly those affected by unemployment, 
into severe debt (UK, F). 
Some countries recognise the right to housing, at least for families 
with dependent children, and their local authorities therefore play 
an important role in this respect (DK, UK). Others have extended the 
scope of housing benefits (F), taken steps to solve the debt problem 
(F), and more generally set up wider-ranging schemes to house the 
most disadvantaged (F and, recently, through price controls, ES). 
These measures, some of which are too recent to be evaluated, are, 
however, restricted to a few countries and appear to fall well short 
of what is necessary. 
Health 
16. The right to health care is an element of the European social 
protection model, to be implemented either via a public health 
system or organisation of a health insurance scheme (or a 
combination of these). In the former case, the risk of exclusion 
lies in possible obstacles to access to the system or organisational 
problems (hospital organisation, acceptance of emergency cases, 
etc.). In the latter case, the main potential problem is non-
membership of a scheme or only partial reimbursement of expenses. 
While there has been plenty of research into the general efficiency 
of health schemes, few have specifically studied the problem of 
access for those without means. Some Member States have 
systematically included access to health care in their resource 
guarantee measures (F, LUX). Others have undertaken to improve the 
quality of primary health care (ES) and extend the rights of 
patients (UK). Some of these initiatives have involved improving 
community services for children (EL, UK). Certainly, health care is 
one of the most pertinent indicators of the exclusion problem 
(including problems related to drugs, AIDS, mental illness etc.). 
NGOs specialising in medical assistance for the poorest sectors of 
the community confirm the scale and specific nature of the problems 
encountered (F). There is not, however, a strong enough basis for 
drawing up a table giving an overview of the conditions governing 
recognition and effective implementation of the right to health 
care. 
This has since been included in the Council Recommendation of 
27 July 1992 on the convergence of social protection objectives and 
policies(2) and the Commission will undertake further analysis as 
part of the follow-up to this Recommendation. 
(2) OJ No L 245 of 26.08.1992 
- 37 -
Measures aimed at specific categories 
17. The sectoral policies described above are not generally designed 
specifically to combat exclusion. Tending to be highly 
compartmentalised and designed to meet the needs of the population 
as a whole, or a population perceived as average, they cannot 
respond adequately to the problems experienced by those who do not 
conform to this average and/or whose needs span several different 
areas. They are also unlikely to respond to the needs of a 
particular region or district. 
18. Stemming from these limitations, and the activities of certain 
influential pressure groups which have managed to bring their own 
particular priorities into the public eye, all Member States have 
policies claiming to respond to the multiple needs of certain 
population categories such as the elderly, women or migrants. 
These policies can carry a certain stigma with them, particularly 
where they tend to isolate their target group from the rest of the 
population. Often they only address part of the problem under 
consideration (e.g. income, in as far as differential scales can 
easily be established, and supplementary benefits envisaged for a 
series of administrative or demographic categories). They also to 
some extent introduce category-related elements into sectoral 
policies. Any breakdown by category must, furthermore, be relatively 
arbitrary or abstract and is bound to involve overlap (it is 
possible to be young, female, unemployed and a migrant all at the 
same time). 
Finally, certain category-specific policies are so only in 
appearance - integration of migrants and ethnic minorities is 
obviously linked to combating racism, which cannot strictly be seen 
as a policy applying to a particular category. 
The emphasis of category-related measures therefore depends on 
Member States and their traditions, particularly as far as combining 
problems common to several population categories is concerned. In 
many cases, "category-related" means interpreting general policy as 
it applies to specific categories, rather than actually designing 
policy for those categories. 
Bearing in mind this reservation, the specific situation of certain 
population groups justifies a general approach to at least some of 
their rights. This applies, for example, to the elderly, who 
constitute a heterogeneous category and whose material situation 
has, in fact, improved significantly in all Member States. It also 
applies to migrants and ethnic minorities who are covered to some 
extent by specific policies in respect both of legal residence 
conditions and general conditions of reception. There is some link 
with general policies such as equal opportunities for men and women,, 
particularly as their practical application tends to be in the form 
of positive action for women. 
The coexistence of sectoral and category-related policies often 
leads to the coexistence of ministerial departments and social 
institutions whose functions tend to overlap or even compete. This 
is yet another good reason for improving coordination of policy and 
practices. 
- 38 -
Specific policies 
18. The above policies can be described as general in that they apply to 
the population as a whole, or to categories defined essentially in 
demographic terms, rather than to individuals or groups within those 
categories who are most threatened or already affected by exclusion. 
Some elements are targeted at the most disadvantaged sectors, 
particularly means-tested financial benefits, but this is not their 
main priority. Their function is above all preventive, and this 
aspect should not be underestimated. Such policies afford genuine 
protection against the risk of long-term exclusion, and maintenance 
and extension of existing policies of this nature which, by 
definition, tend to avoid stigmatisation, could be considered an 
essential condition for combating exclusion effectively. 
Other policies are explicitly designed to counter the problem of 
social exclusion, and are aimed at individuals or specific 
districts. 
The predominance of such policies depends to a large extent on how 
far the exclusion debate has developed in the Member State 
concerned, and how far institutions are capable of accepting 
consultation between the different parties involved and 
decompartmentalisation of different areas. 
19. The resource guarantee measures referred to above are an example of 
this kind of specific policy, particularly where they are 
accompanied by more general support in areas such as housing or 
health, and attention to occupational and social integration. 
France's response has been to link minimum income to integration 
policy in the form of individualised contracts (this kind of close 
link has not, however, explicitly been introduced for the other 
"social minimum" categories in the French social security system). 
Other Member States have the same policy of economic and social 
integration of those in receipt of resource guarantee benefits, but 
do not directly link its implementation to the benefits granted 
(e.g. NL, LUX, DK, B). These policies can be linked to steps taken 
under the active employment policy to promote reintegration of the 
long-term unemployed into the labour market. These initiatives, 
which are eligible for aid from the European Social Fund have, in 
several countries, prompted the creation of specific national or 
regional funds or specific action plans (e.g. B, DK, IRL). 
20. The growing crisis in urban areas, particularly on assisted-rent 
housing estates, and increasing difficulties experienced by their 
inhabitants, have led several Member States to set up integrated 
urban action programmes tackling the housing environment, local 
services, employment and social life simultaneously. Examples are 
the French urban social development programme and the British "City 
Challenge" and Dutch social renewal programmes. 
These all revolve around mobilising local authorities and creating 
channels for consensus and cooperation between the local parties 
involved (including non-governmental organisations and, 
occasionally, companies). They can give rise to genuine partnership 
contracts for social and economic development of a specific 
district. The State's role is to support such action financially 
and provide impetus at national level. 
- 39 -
The principles of partnership and a multidimensional approach to 
exclusion are, in fact, among the key principles of the Poverty 3 
programme (1989-94) adopted shortly before the Resolution. It is 
also worth pointing out that some national programmes have been 
organised specifically to combat poverty along the general lines of 
the Poverty 3 programme (e.g. P). 
The main difficulties encountered by the integrated action 
programmes lie in the quality of local partnership (which is subject 
to rivalries or tension between institutions) and coordination of 
activities (if this is not to be limited to simple juxtaposition, 
there must be cooperation and strategic and operational planning of 
activities by all those involved, particularly where the main aim is 
dovetailing of economic and social development). 
The diversity of objectives and application of these policies makes 
assessment of them still more difficult. There is no guarantee that 
local development initiatives reach the most disadvantaged sectors 
of the population, nor that combined efforts are enough to check the 
downward spiral of disintegration in the crisis areas. It would 
also seem that the success of action does not only depend on 
mobilising institutions, but also on their capacity to offer and 
accept proposals for active participation and involvement in local 
decision making and management, in this respect, some of the 
programmes can be seen as real experimentation in social innovation. 
21. Just as local programmes depend on consultation and cooperation 
between the parties involved, national policies depend on 
coordination between the various ministries. As indicated above, 
this is far from guaranteed. Some Member States (F) have set up 
specific authorities and could go to the extreme of creating a 
separate one for every new policy introduced. Others have tried to 
draw up general cooperation frameworks bringing together those 
involved at local level (I) or national policy agreements involving 
the social partners (Programme for Economic and Social Progress, 
IRL). 
There has also been a tendency, in several Member States, to set up 
or revive national committees responsible for proposing 
administrative reforms or new measures to increase policy 
effectiveness (B, IT, DK, IRL). Some of these are preparing the 
ground for social protection or employment policy reforms. 
- 40 -
STATISTICAL ANNEX 
Poverty Incidence In 1980 and 1985 (Poverty line taken as 
50% of National Average Equivalent Expenditure In respective years) 
% HOUSEHOLDS 
(1000) % 
Belgium 
Den ma/lc 
F.R. of Germany 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Ireland 
Italy 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
United Kingdom 
EUR12' 
* Except Luxembourg for which no data were made available. 1980 
(1000) 
6.3 
8.0 
10.3 
20.5 
20.3 
18.0 
18.5 
12.0 
6.9 
31.4 
14.1 
14.1 226 
166 
2 592 
604 
2 129 
3503 
167 
2 237 
345 
906 
2 808 
15 683 5.2 
8.0 
9.2 
17.4 
17.8 
14.8 
17.4 
14.7 
7.9 
31.7 
18.9 
14.4 189 
166 
2 306 
527 
1924 
2 947 
162 
2 760 
403 
948 
3 790 
16 122 % PERSONS 
1985 
(1000) % 1980 
(1000) 
7.1 
7.9 
10.5 
21.5 
20.9 
19.1 
18.4 
14.1 
9.6 
32.4 
14.6 
15.5 701 
407 
6 448 
2 073 
7 829 
10313 
625 
7941 
1 363 
3 167 
8 226 
49 093 5.9 
8.0 
9.9 
18.4 
18.9 
15.7 
19.5 
15.5 
11.4 
32.7 
18.2 
15.4 583 
409 
6 074 
1817 
7 257 
8 681 
684 
8880 
1 661 
3310 
10 324 
49 680 
Source : EUR0STAT 
- 42 -
Unemployment rates in the Member States, 1985 and May 1992 
% labour force 
Unemployment rates, 1991 
% labour force 
• <4 
4-8 
GR national data only 
Source : Employment Report 
- 43 -
10 Share of the unemployed who have been unemployed for longer than 
1 year in the Member States, 1985 and 1990 
Share of the long-term unemployed looking for their first job or 
looking for work after inactivity in the Member States, 1990 
100 r 
80 
60 
40 
20 % total 
I Seeking work after inactivity 
I Seeking first job 
L no data 
DK D UK F NL IRL P EUR12 E GR ! 
- 44 -
Share of unemployed receiving unemployment compensation in the 
Member States, mid 1980s and 1990 
I mid 1980s 
• 1990 
No data Emd 1980s 100 
Long-term unemployed as a share of the unemployed in the 
Community, 1983, 1986 and 1990 
% unemployed job-seekers 
> 12 months search > 24 months search 
Source: Employment Report 
- 45 -
LONE PARENTS IN THE EC LABOUR FORCE 8URVEY 1989 
Percentage of Households with Children under age 18 which are 
headed by Lone Mothers and Lone Parents 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Germany 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
UK 
Eur 12 9 11 
Source: Eurostat: Labour Force Survey 1989: Special Analysis carried out by the EC Statistical Office 
Notes: * Lone parents who live in the household ot others are not included. To that extent these 
figures underestimate the number of lone parents. On the other hand, they do not exclude all those who 
are cohabiting, nor some with a temporarily absent spouse (although the survey "overs those who are 
normally resident in the household so that there should be few of the latter) and to that extent they 
overestimate the number of lone parents. 
* A star * in the table indicates that the numbers in the sample were too small to be 
reliable. (In this table the figures for lone mothers and lone fathers were added together which is why 
there is no total for Luxembourg) Lone Mothers Lone P< 
% % 
8 10 
28 31 
10 12 
4 5 
5 6 
10 11 
8 9 
5 7 
8 * 
9 12 
8 10 
14 15 
46-
TRENDS IN ANNUAL NUMBERS OF RECIPIENTS OF MINIMUM BENEFITS 
BELGIUM 
1976 1981 1986 1991 
GERMANY 
1978 1982 1986 1991 
IRELAND 
1976 1982 1987 1990 
PORTUGAL 
1983 1986 1989 1990 
base 100 for the first year 150 
100 
50 
0 DENMARK 
ISSUE mm 
1980 1983 1986 1990 
SPAIN 
1983 1986 1989 1991 
NETHERLANDS 
^^M 
1975 1980 1985 1991 
UNITED KINGDOM 
200 
150 
100 
50 
0 £«3 
1976/77 1981/82 1986/87 1989/90 
Source: Observatory on fiational policies to combat social Exclusion 
Synthecir; Reocu'l 
47 
Notes to Figure 
In some countries, there arc several schemes of minimum benefits. Except where otherwise staled, this 
Figure concentrates upon those schemes which (a) are general, rather than being targetted on particular 
population groups; (b) are intended for normal maintenance expenses. The country notes give further explanation 
where appropriate. 
Belgium: The data refer to recipients of the "Subsistence Income" (Minimex), which is a nationally guaranteed 
social assistance scheme. The figures do not include recipients of the Guaranteed Income for the Elderly (GIE): 
.. . . ). Nor do they include recipients of locally administered social assistance schemes. 
Denmark: The data refer to families who are receiving locally administered social assistance, which is in general 
granted only to people who are not entitled to any other State benefit. The data are confined to those faimilies 
who receive payments for normal maintenance; they do not include persons who received social assistance benefits 
intended for education and training (unless they also received normal maintenance assistance). 
France: The Revenu Minimum d'Insertion is too recent to allow an analysis of trends. 
Germany: Social Assistance refers to "Laufende Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt", administered by local authorities. 
Figures refer to the number of recipients at the end of the year in question. "Recipients" refers to the number of 
persons in households which are receiving social assistance. The 1991 figures refer to the western Lander only. 
Ireland: Social assistance here includes supplementary welfare allowances, family income supplement and rent 
allowance, along with a variety of schemes for particular groups, including unemployment assistance; non-
contributory pensions for widows and orphans; assistance for deserted wives, unmarried mothers and prisoners' 
wives. 
Italy: National data are unavailable because (apart from social pensions for the handicapped and the elderly poor), 
these minima are decided at the local level, both in terms of the amount paid and the rules of entitlement. 
Luxembourg: Data for the numbers of recipients of the Revenue Minimum Garanti were available from 1987 
onwards. These have not been included in the present report because it was not possible to present the trend over 
the same period as for the other countries. 
Netherlands: Figures refer to the ABW benefit (General Social Assistance Scheme) and RWW benefit 
(Unemployment Assistance) combined. They do not include the elderly who are receiving minimum pensions. 
Portugal: These data refer to beneficiaries of a variety of different social minimum benefits: the old age and 
invalidity minimum pensions of the contributory regime; the social pension (means-tesled) of the non-contributory 
regime for elderly and invalid people; the social unemployment benefit, also means-tested, which was introduced in 
1985. 
Spain: Recipients of Assistance Pensions and Unemployment Assistance. 
United Kingdom: Until 1988/89: Families in receipt of Supplementary Benefit of housing benefit supplement.. 
Until 1989/90: Families in receipt of Income Support. Changes in the social security system in 1988 mean that data 
for years before and after that date are not directly comparable. Data are for Great Britain (i.e. excluding 
Northern Ireland). 


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