Policy solutions for fostering inclusive labour markets and for combating child poverty and social exclusion

Fostering inclusive labour markets and combating child poverty and social exclusion are two of the key challenges that need to be tackled by Member States if the objective of the Europe 2020 Strategy of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is to be achieved. These challenges were identified following analysis of the National Reform Programmes (NRPs) which Member States submitted to the European Commission in April 2011. This short paper explores how these challenges can best be addressed and shares examples of good practices. It aims to guide the reader towards concrete policy solutions which can then be applied during the on-going implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The paper draws on a number of documents that have been produced in recent years in the context of the EU Social Open Method of Coordination and in particular on reports from the EU Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion, EU Social Protection Committee (SPC) reports, joint SPC/ European Commission reports, reports prepared on behalf of the Belgian Presidency of the EU and also on a range of EU Peer Review synthesis reports.