Networking for Financial Inclusion in Europe 1st ecdn Conference and General Assembly

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1 October 07 Newsflash No.7 Networking for Financial Inclusion in Europe 1st ecdn Conference and General Assembly Thur, 13th Dec., 14h Sat, 15th Dec., 14h Hotel Bedford, Brussels In less than two months time ecdn will be officially launched at the 1st ecdn Conference, taking place in Brussels. The conference and general assembly will provide a unique opportunity to start or increase networking with (future) member organisations across Europe on the latest developments, best practices and urgent needs with regard to financial education, debt advice and debt settlement procedures, research on financial exclusion, access to financial services and the development of the network as such. Reports on previous work and results of exchange in the above mentioned fields will be presented, in order to enable all participants to build on what has already been discussed and achieved. Besides there will be a possibility to learn more about expectations and views from other stakeholders who are active in the fight against over-indebtedness and financial exclusion. A detailed invitation, including registration form and practical information can be found enclosed to this Newsflash. See you soon in Brussels! Now online: A first version of the ecdn-website has gone online. It includes general information on the network and its members, as well as a calendar of upcoming events. In addition to the current information, two data bases on Data & Studies and Policies & Actions will be added by the end of the year. ecdn members will also be able to log in to a `members section, which provides additional information and internal documents that are accessible for members only. Once you are logged in, an additional MEMBERS MENU will appear including: «all issues of the ecdn Newsflash «ecdn statutes and internal rules «minutes and other material from and for seminars, working groups, management commitee etc page 1

2 ecdn: A growing network NETWORK DEVELOPMENT Following our call for membership in the summer, 16 organisations from 12 countries have officially joined ecdn as members of the network. Together with the founding members the network thus has grown up to 24 members. A short introduction of all members can be found in a special Newsflash edition which has been annexed to this issue! Join now! Increasing the strength and the influence of our network will depend on the number, the commitment and the activities from its members from across Europe. If you want to further contribute to strengthen the fight against over-indebtedness and social exclusion, join ecdn now! Statutes, internal rules and a membership application have been circulated previously or can be requested from Please note that in order to be able to formally be accepted as a member at the first ecdn Conference and General Assemby in Brussels we need to receive your application by the 15th of November at the latest. PUBLICATIONS Financial Inclusion: Lobbying the European Union As a result of the EU-FES-Project that has been analysing and discussing Financial Education and Better Access to Adequate Financial Services in the past two years, a small information booklet on Financial Inclusion: Lobbying the European Union has been published recently. The booklet gives concise information about key challenges with regards to fighting over-indebtedness and financial exclusion and provides ideas on how to lobby more recently the European Union and its member states to introduce more effective policies. The booklet is available for download in English, German and French from: Financial Services: Improving access for people with low incomes A second booklet draws on the results of a European survey and a conference on Financial Services that were also held within the framework of the EU-FES-Project. The booklet presents key recommendation, such as the guaranteed access to a basic bank account, the availability of social credits and loans, the necessity of regulations for responsible lending and national credit laws and of an integrated and European approach with regard to fighting financial exclusion. It also gives Best Practice examples from across Europe. Available for download in English, German and French from: Financial Education: Essential principles and ways forward The third booklet published by the four project partners of the EU-FES-Project informs about essential principles for Financial Education programmes. It presents recommendations on 'how to teach money matters' and introduces principles dealing with the definition, the implementation and the evaluation of Financial Education programmes as well as introducing Best Practice examples from across Europe. Available for download in English, German and French from: page 2

3 EVENTS EU Commission Conference: Towards a common operational European definition of over-indebtedness - Promoting financial inclusion for all in the European Union 11th December 2007, Brussels Just two days before the 1st ecdn Conference the European Commission/DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opporunities holds a conference on the findings of a study on an operational European definition of over-indebtedness, commissioned by the European Commission and carried out by the Observatoire de l Epargne Européenne (European Savings Institute - Paris), the Centre for European Policy Studies - European Credit Research Institute (Brussels) and the University of Bristol (Personal Finance Research Centre). A detailed programme should be available in the next weeks. Social Platform annual conference: Social NGOs getting ready for the post-lisbon: From growth and jobs to sustainable and social 26th November 2007, Brussels For a decade ( ) the Lisbon Agenda has defined the overarching priorities of the EU and directed all EU actions towards the same goal: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. Has Lisbon delivered its promises? And above all, what should be the next decade-long EU priorities and objectives? Taking stock of today s social reality, the Social Platform will present key findings and interpretation for the EU priorities agenda and discuss future developments with, among others: José Vieira da Silva, Portuguese Minister of Employment and Social Affairs Dalia Grybauskaite, Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget Vladimir Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Catherine Day, Secretary General, European Commission Davor Dominkuš, Director General, Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs of Slovenia Joe Grice, President of the EU Economic Policy Committee Further information are available from: Social Standards. 6th Social Round Table at the Azores EU POLICIES AND STUDIES The 6th Social Round Table was organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the Portuguese Presidency in Ponta Delgado at the Azores on October 16th and 17th. The core objective of this Round Table was to promote discussion on the positive effects of the concept of minimum social standards as a foundational element of strategies for overcoming poverty and exclusion, bearing in mind the need to adapt it to the realities and options of each country. This issue does help to forge important links to other areas of the fight against poverty and social exclusion, particularly to the agenda for active inclusion, incorporating the dual perspective of protection and empowerment. During the conference the Commission s suggestions for the consultation on active inclusion (see below) were introduced, several researchers, politicians and NGO representatives commented on this proposal as well as on the necessity of introducing adequate social standards across Europe. page 3

4 Results of a transnational project on minimum social standards that was initiated by Anti Poverty Networks from several European countries were also presented. According to Fintan Farrell, President of the Platform of European Social NGOs, the EU has to show that it can move beyond information exchange to broader mutual learning involving all stakeholders and show its commitment to progress on policy goals. This must come down to moving forward on more binding instruments to improve social standards across the whole EU, if we are to make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty as agreed in Lisbon If the EU wants to make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by 2010 it is vital to include all stakeholders, and above all to listen to people experiencing poverty, added Fintan Farrell, who also is the director of the European Anti Poverty Network. Further information on the minimum social standards project is available from: Eurobarometer Special Survey on Poverty and Social Exclusion According to the opinion of a great number of Europeans, poverty is a widespread and growing phenomenon across Europe, and it is mostly due to unjust realities that people end up in. Long term unemployment and low wages and pensions were mentioned most often, when people were asked about causes for poverty in the framework of a special Eurobarometer survey, that was recently published. Consequently the availability of a good job is seen as the most important element that protects against poverty. The study also asked about people s attitude towards homeless people and interviewed them with regards to their ideas about a decent standard of life. Respondents widely agreed especially with regard of children s needs and confirmed that each child should get at least three meals a day, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, fitting shoes and sufficient outdoor space to play. The study is available for download from: Why in your opinion are there people who live in need? Because they have been unlucky 19% source: Because of laziness and lack of willpower 20% No answer 11% Because there is much injustice in our society 37% It s an inevitable part of progress 13% Commission Consultation on Active Inclusion During the 6th European Social Round Table that took place on 16th/17th October at the Azores, the European Commission launched a new consultation on the active inclusion of people furthest from the labour market. The consultation proposes to deepen social policy cooperation at EU level by adopting a set of common principles. These principles would and should guide implementation of the three strands of active inclusion, which are defined as: «sufficient income support «actice labour market policy «better access to quality services Member States activities should be supplemented by an EU framework that supports the subsequent monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the common principles. The Commission plans to propose a set of common principles in the form of a recommendation, which would constitute the basis for Council conclusions and a European Parliament resolution. EU financial instruments, such as the European Social Fund which invests over EUR 10 billion a year in people are also available to support the active inclusion approach. The full text of the consultation is available for download at: Responses to the consultation can be submitted until the 28th of February 2008 to empl-active-inclusion@ec.europa.eu page 4

5 NEWS FROM ACROSS EUROPE Austria: Number of people who seek debt advice keeps increasing The number of people who seek debt advice has increased by 9-11% in the first half of The amount of debt has increased also, the average debts of clients seeking support at Austrian debt advice centres is 63,618 Euro (+5%), with a median debt of 39,117 Euro (+ 3,2%). There is also a continous increase in over-indebted people who seek to solve their situation through a legal debt settlement procedure, with 5,486 procedures until end of third quarter 2007, 75% of all people who start legal debt settlement procedures are supported by the Austrian debt advice centres. Germany: Consumer credits and bankruptcies on the rise The number of private bankruptcies has significantly increased in Germany with 51,500 (+ 18%) legal debt settlement procedures, that have been opened in the first half of consumer credits with a volume of 34 billion Euro were granted, more than half of them for buying a car. Belgium: Electrical shop chain offers consumers credits An electrical shop chain in Belgium has started to offer 'easy' consumer credits in cooperation with Royal Bank of Scotland. The Credits can be requested by internet or in the shops. A decision of whether the credit will be granted is taken within several minutes, according to some criteria that obviously were put together by an international commission; the money is made available within 5 days. The available amount of credits per costumer goes up to 50,000 Euro, the possible duration from 12 to 84 months. More information (in French) is available from: What s going on in your country? The ecdn Newsflash is an ideal opportunity to share recent developments with regard to over-indebtedness and financial exclusion or inclusion! with anyone else in Europe. If debt problems are increasing in your country, new debt settlement regulations are lobbied for or introduced or an exciting financial education programme has started... or other interesting developments in the field of financial exclusion are to be reported, please let us know! You can also use the ecdn s e-group ecdn-forum to exchange information. If you are not registered yet, please subscribe by sending a blank (empty) message to: ecdn-forum-subscribe@yahoogroups.com page 5