EU Policy BackgroundEmpowered by the new Articles 136 and 137 in
the Amsterdam Treaty, the Member States of the European Union
have made a common commitment to fight against social exclusion
and poverty. 60 million people in the EU today are poor or at
risk of poverty - which is defined as those living below a
threshold of 60% of median national income. The figure varies
considerably across Member States, from 8% in Denmark to 23% in
Portugal and 22% in Greece, Ireland and the U.K. Children and
young people, the elderly, the unemployed and lone parent
families have a particularly high risk of poverty. The EU has
set a target of eradicating poverty in the Member States by
2010. The Member States and the European Commission have
identified a series of severe risk factors that increase the
likelihood of being trapped in poverty, these being: long-term
unemployment, living long-term on low income, low quality
employment, poor qualifications and leaving school early,
growing up in a family vulnerable to social exc