(Strasbourg) One in five Europeans – around 93 million people – are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and among children the figure rises to one in four, totalling nearly 19 million across the EU. European Commissioner for Social Rights Roxana Mînzatu highlighted this as she presented the Anti-Poverty Strategy adopted on 6 May at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, noting that “the fight against poverty is a collective responsibility”. “For the European Union, this is a truly unacceptable situation that should have been avoided”. The EU – the commissioner added – is lagging behind its target of lifting 15 million people out of poverty by 2030: “We are at 3.7 million. Time is running out and we must step up our efforts”. The package presented in recent weeks is based on three pillars: an EU anti-poverty strategy, the reinforcement of the Child Guarantee, and a proposal on housing exclusion. “Quality work is the surest way out of poverty”, Commissioner Mînzatu assured, announcing consultations with the social partners and measures to tackle in-work poverty, which affects around 8% of the workforce in the European Union. Finally, a recommendation is also planned to improve access to services and raise awareness of everyone’s rights. On the issue of children, “the best investment is in the early years of life”, the commissioner said, who then added on housing: “We must act before people lose their homes”.