Today, 17 October, is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Across Europe and across the world the gap between rich and poor is growing.
Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, on the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, said:
“This International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is important for the increasing the visibility of this issue. We must tackle this tremendous injustice of growing inequality through an integrated approach that sees eradicating poverty as a human rights issue. People cannot engage fully in society if they cannot afford their basic requirements; when they have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their children. That is why the Greens in Europe are committed to meeting the millennium goals and closing the poverty gap.”