The new Social Policy Agenda 2006-2010. Paper prepared for the Dutch Presidency Conference, ‘A Social Europe – let’s deliver’, Rotterdam 8-9 November 2004

The European Commission is currently preparing a new European Social Policy Agenda to cover the years 2006-2010. The European Social Policy Agenda is a framework policy document which outlines the main values, objectives, headings and proposals for social policy for a given period of time.

According to EAPN, the new Social Policy Agenda 2006-2010 must take account of an economic, social and political environment that has changed significantly since 2000. Principal of these are the larger numbers of people living in poverty. Within the EU15, the total number of people living in poverty was 55 million. The enlarged European Union must now address the fact that 68 million people now live below the reference poverty line.