Call to EU Heads of States to renew commitment to social agenda

Since the launch of the revised Lisbon Strategy, social NGOs have been extremely concerned by the overwhelming focus put on the economic dimension of the Strategy to the detriment of the social and environmental aspects, and by the reduction of social policy as a means to achieve economic growth and employment.

This is why ILGA-Europe supports the resolution adopted by the Social Platform which urges the heads of States to put the social objectives back at the heart of the Lisbon Strategy.

In particular, ILGA-Europe wants to highlight the resolution’s call upon Member States to:

• Address persisting inequalities, discrimination and exclusion in order to achieve more social cohesion and integration in EU Member States
• Prioritise the fight against poverty and social exclusion
• Take concrete and immediate measures to ensure effective transposition and implementation of the EU equality legislation

Patricia Prendiville, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe said:

“ILGA-Europe would like to recall that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people throughout the EU continue to be at particular risk of exclusion, poverty, discrimination and inequality in the access to goods and services such as education, health care, housing and pensions.”

For more information please contact

Juris Lavrikovs at + 32 2 609 54 16 / + 32 496 708 375

Notes for editors:

(1) ILGA-Europe is the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association and works for equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Europe.

(2) Full text of the resolution by the Social Platform of European Social NGOs is available on our website: www.ilga-europe.org/europe/news/european_social_ngos_adopt_resolution_fo...