Abstract

Initially welcomed as a relevant step forward for the EU social dimension, the Europe 2020 quantitative poverty target, aimed at lifting 20 million people out of poverty by 2020, appears less reachable today than three years ago. Not only poverty is on the rise in Europe and recent austerity measures in several Member States might kill the "sick patient", also various contributions have cast doubts on the effectiveness of the new strategy in combating poverty and social exclusion. Against this backdrop, this article aims to assess whether, and to what extent, the current EU social policy tool-kit is efficient in counterbalancing the consequences of unfavorable economic developments and fiscal consolidation strategies, by promoting effective multilevel and multi-stakeholder governance of anti-poverty policies.