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European Network Against Racism

ENAR

The European Network Against Racism is a pan-European network advocating for racial equality and civil society cooperation.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament) and European Environmental Bureau and

14 Jan 2026 · Attack against civil society

Meeting with Lena Schilling (Member of the European Parliament) and Climate Action Network Europe and

17 Nov 2025 · COP30 Negotiations

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and The European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and

5 Nov 2025 · Anti-discrimination

Response to EU Anti-Poverty Strategy

24 Oct 2025

ENAR is the only pan-European anti-racism network that combines advocacy for racial equality and facilitating cooperation among civil society anti-racism actors in Europe. The organisation was set up in 1998 by grassroots activists on a mission to achieve legal changes at European level and make decisive progress towards racial equality in all EU Member States. Across Europe, racialised people are disproportionately affected by poverty, income disparities, and limited access to housing, education, and financial services (ENAR, 2024). Data from the FRA and the OECD produced between 2021 and 2024 show for example that 32% of children under 16 living in immigrant households experience relative poverty, compared to 21% of children in native-born households, that people living in households of Muslim respondents are twice as likely to struggle to make ends meet compared to the general population, with 18% facing financial difficulties versus 9% overall, and that 80% of Roma are at risk of poverty, against 17% of the general population. Strong action from the EU through the forthcoming EU Anti-Poverty Strategy is crucial. CSOs consultations led by the European Commission in 2024 show that there has not been a significant improvement in racialised people's quality of life in recent years. A human rights-based, intersectional and properly resourced EU Anti-Poverty Strategy is essential to achieving this goal. We recommend that the Strategy be guided by the following principles: 1. Address the root causes of poverty, notably by (1) examining the connections between structural racism and the current economic conditions of racialised communities, by (2) systematically researching and measuring the intersectional and intergenerational aspects of poverty, with the use of disaggregated by race/ethnicity, religion, gender, migration status, class, and other relevant indicators, and (3) embed reparations in the Strategy, such as redistribution and debt cancellation both within and beyond the EU. 2. Prioritise investments and equitable access to social rights and social protection, regardless of social, cultural, residential status, or any other condition, as well as people invisible to traditional poverty indicators. 3. Ensure coherence with other EU frameworks, notably the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the upcoming Anti-Racism Strategy and policies addressing the climate and social crises. 4. Ensure robust and multi-level implementation by requiring Member States to develop national and local anti-poverty strategies, increasing monitoring and sanctioning non-compliance. An inclusive and intersectional Anti-Poverty Strategy can be ensured by: 1. A strong and ambitious EU Anti-Racism Strategy providing clear understanding and operational working definitions of "intersectionality" and "structural racism", as well as specific forms of racism (ENAR, 2025). 2. A strong and ambitious EU Civil Society Strategy ensuring the meaningful participation of civil society and impacted communities during all policy stages. 3. Adequate funding through the MFF as well as the introduction of progressive wealth taxes and redistribution mechanisms. We also call for the implementation of economic measures centred on human rights and sustainability, moving away from a growth-focused mindset that fails to reduce poverty and inequality, perpetuates violations of planetary boundaries, and exploitation of the Global South (UN Doc A/HRC/56/61, 2024). As a member of Social Platform, the European Anti-Poverty Network and the Ad hoc advocacy coalition on the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, ENAR supports the recommendations put forward by these networks. Finally, find in the attached report our analysis on the racial wealth gap in Europe, a research highlighting the need to tackle the roots rather than only the effects of poverty and social exclusion.
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Meeting with Hadja Lahbib (Commissioner) and

14 Jul 2025 · Anti-racism strategy

Meeting with Szabolcs Schmidt (Head of Unit Justice and Consumers)

14 Jul 2025 · Introductory meeting and exchange of views on the new EU anti-racism strategy

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament)

19 Mar 2025 · Anti-Racism and Diversity Week

Meeting with Roxana Mînzatu (Executive Vice-President) and

13 Dec 2024 · Roadmap towards an EU anti-poverty strategy

Meeting with Rima Hassan (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Dec 2024 · Anti-racisme en Europe

Meeting with Ana Catarina Mendes (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Amnesty International Limited and

18 Nov 2024 · Exchange of views on the Rule of Law Report 2024

Meeting with David Cormand (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Nov 2024 · AI Act

Meeting with Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament) and Amnesty International Limited and

16 Oct 2024 · Cooperation on LIBE related matters

Meeting with Tineke Strik (Member of the European Parliament) and Amnesty International Limited and

16 Oct 2024 · LIBE Civil Society Meeting

Meeting with Brando Benifei (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Feb 2024 · Interview on the situation of the rights of minorities in Europe

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament) and Equinet - the European Network of Equality Bodies

9 Feb 2023 · Speaker: Being Black in Europe - Two Years on From the BLM Protests, What Change Has There Been in Europe

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

9 Nov 2022 · Speaker: European Commission Workshop on Structural Racism: Intersectionality and structural racism

Meeting with Ana Carla Pereira (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit), Christoph Nerlich (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit) and

22 Jun 2022 · Social Platform position on an EU Solidarity Strategy to respond to the Ukraine crisis

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner) and Amnesty International Limited and

6 Apr 2022 · Cabinet Dalli invited Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to discuss concerns equality and non-discrimination CSOs are raising regarding the situation of people fleeing from the Ukraine

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and European Environmental Bureau and

10 Dec 2021 · European Green Deal and racial justice issues in climate, energy, transport and environment policies

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament) and The European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and Vrije Universiteit Brussel

17 Nov 2021 · Speaker: Discrimination in Europe in times of COVID - How to combat it?

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner)

29 Aug 2021 · Seminar on Structural Racism in the Private Sector

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner) and Amnesty International Limited and

8 Dec 2020 · CCIF and the situation for civil society organisations in France.

Meeting with Brian Synnott (Cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson)

23 Jul 2020 · European Commission action plan on anti-racism

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner)

19 May 2020 · Discrimination on the grounds of racial and ethnic origin

Meeting with Ylva Johansson (Commissioner) and

5 May 2020 · Migrants’ challenges in the current COVID-19 crisis and their contribution to economic recovery

Meeting with Ylva Johansson (Commissioner) and

14 Feb 2020 · Consultations on the New Pact on Migrations

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (First Vice-President)

17 Feb 2016 · Roundtable

Meeting with Marianne Thyssen (Commissioner) and

14 Sept 2015 · Employment situation of ethnic and religious minorities

Meeting with Alice Richard (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Bernd Martenczuk (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

14 Sept 2015 · Fundamental rights colloquium

Meeting with Daniel Braun (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

14 Sept 2015 · Fundamental rights colloquium

Meeting with Paraskevi Michou (Acting Director-General Justice and Consumers)

5 Jun 2015 · Directorate D funding program

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (First Vice-President) and

14 Apr 2015 · Annual Colloquium on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner) and Amnesty International Limited and

16 Feb 2015 · Equal Treatment Directive

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner) and Human Rights Watch and

9 Jan 2015 · Roundtable with NGOs on fundamental rights and non-discrimination

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (First Vice-President) and Amnesty International Limited and

9 Jan 2015 · Roundtable with NGO's on fundamental rights