The Ministry of Family Affairs, Integration and the Greater Region is also active at the European level:
- it has a representation in the Social Protection Committee for the social inclusion component;
- it is the national coordinator of the "Promoting social inclusion by reducing poverty" objective formulated in the National Reform Programme (NRP) in the context of the European Semester of the Europe 2020 strategy
- It is the managing authority of the "Operational Programme for Food Aid and/or Basic Material Assistance" of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).
Social Protection Committee
The Comité de la protection sociale (CPS) (Social Protection Committee) is an advisory policy committee to the Ministers in the Employment and Social Affairs Council (EPSCO).
Established in Article 160 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the committee pursues the following objectives:
- monitoring the social situation in the EU and the development of social protection policies in the Member States; to prepare reports on social inclusion, health care, long-term care and pensions, within the framework of the open method of coordination in the area of social protection and inclusion;
- facilitating the discussion and coordination of political approaches between national authorities and the Commission by preparing debates on social protection and on country-specific recommendations within the Council in the context of the European Semester. The SPC also drafts reports and opinions, either on its own behest or at the request of the Council or the Commission.
The Ministry is represented in the Social Protection Committee for the social inclusion component.
National Reform Programme
The Ministry is the national coordinator of the "Promoting social inclusion by reducing poverty" objective formulated in the Programme national de réforme (PNR) dans le cadre du Semestre européen de la stratégie Europe 2020 (National Reform Programme (NRP) in the context of the European Semester of the Europe 2020 strategy).
The European objective is to "promote social inclusion, particularly by reducing poverty and by ensuring that at least 20 million people are no longer at risk of poverty and exclusion.”
The Luxembourg government supports the conclusions of the European Council with measures contributing to the increase of employment rates of women and of single-parent families, with a goal of reaching an employment rate of 73% by 2020.
Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)
The Fonds européen d'aide aux plus démunis (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived - FEAD) supports actions by EU countries to provide material assistance to the most deprived.
The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) complements the Fonds social européen (European Social Fund - ESF). Its aim is to help people in precarious situations work their way out of poverty and social exclusion. It helps to meet their most basic needs, which is a prerequisite for being able to seek employment or pursue vocational training.
The Ministry is the managing authority of the Programme opérationnel d'aide alimentaire et/ou d'assistance matérielle de base (Operational Programme for Food Aid and/or Basic Material Assistance). Its implementation is subject to annual reporting (in French).
The European regulation establishing the European Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) stipulates that Member States must carry out two structured surveys of final beneficiaries over the entire programme period, the first halfway through the programme and the second in 2022. In Luxembourg, the second survey (in French) was carried out by ILRES in June and July 2022.
The Luxembourg national programme under the European Fund for Assistance to the Most Deprived was closed as of December 31, 2023.
Assistance for the most disadvantaged persons will be continued by the Ministry under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) "Investing in the future" under priority axis 6 "Combating material deprivation".