Dragos Pislaru announced the development of a national anti-poverty and social inclusion strategy: "Almost one in five Romanians lives on the edge of poverty."

The interim Minister of Labor, Dragoș Pîslaru, announced on Thursday that Romania has begun developing a national anti-poverty and social inclusion strategy, becoming the first member state of the European Union to respond concretely to the European call. Almost one in five Romanians lives on the edge of poverty, highlighting the necessity of this initiative.

Pîslaru stated that a ministerial order has been adopted to initiate the strategy and that funding of approximately 3 million euros has been requested from the Technical Assistance Program 2021-2027. The project aims to increase the administrative capacity of the authorities and involves all relevant institutions in combating poverty.

The minister highlighted the issue of young people who are not in education or work and emphasized that current social assistance measures are insufficient. He also mentioned that Romania faces a major problem related to healthy life expectancy and the vulnerability of children, with approximately one million children at risk of social exclusion. The European strategy emphasizes the importance of activating individuals in the labor market and access to quality jobs, which will be a priority within this initiative.