Social cohesion is one of the declared objectives of the European Union. This book analyses the EU Social Inclusion Process, the means by which it hopes to meet this objective, and explores the challenges at local, regional, national and EU levels.

The fact that post-socialist European Union (EU) countries are struggling with implementation of the EU's social inclusion policy is well known. But why is that so? Are the problems solely connected with how inclusion policies are enforced, or could it just as likely be the way policies are designed that creates challenges? This book explores experiences with inclusion policy implementation in seven different post-socialist EU countries. It focuses particularly on two groups of people in constant danger of social exclusion: people with Roma background and people with disabilities. So far, researchers have studied these issues primarily through policy analysis, and thus not provided knowledge on what actually happens in local contexts where welfare services are produced. This book sheds light on implementation processes at different levels, both at the policy level and in local welfare production. The picture painted here is one of complex and conflicting considerations in inclusion policy implementation, between historical and cultural heritage from the communist period, and EU inclusion policy based on Western European political principles. This book will appeal to undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as postdoctoral students in social science, disability studies, educational science, and others. The book will also be useful for researchers and others interested in the development of inclusion policies and EU integration issues. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

How do we involve less advantaged young people in mobility projects, and how do we engineer and implement these projects to make participation a realistic option for all? This book presents the state of the art of learning mobility in the very complex and heterogeneous European youth field, bringing together contributions from all over the continent. The authors present empirical research findings that explore and analyse the experience of participants from a range of different backgrounds, in varied learning mobility settings – exchanges, volunteer service, camps – and in diverse regions of Europe. This volume addresses two interrelated questions: first, how learning mobility can be used as a tool for inclusion, providing disadvantaged and excluded people with opportunities and assets; and second, how focusing on inclusion can become a more intrinsic part of learning mobility projects and initiatives. The book is divided into three parts, spanning the range of stages and dimensions of the learning mobility process: access, reach and target; processes, strategies and practices; and effects, outcomes and follow-ups. Relevant for those with experience but also directed to newcomers to the field, this work provides an explanation of the main concepts and issues in the light of current developments in youth policy and practice in Europe.

Inequality limits young people's chances in life. Yet equality is the basis of democracy and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights secures the rights and freedoms of the young "without discrimination on any ground". Research shows that inequality - in opportunities, wealth or health, for example - is widespread in Europe and that the citizens of richer countries do not necessarily have healthier profiles than those of poorer countries. The citizens of egalitarian countries, on the other hand, have the highest life expectancy. This book examines many aspects of inequality and opportunity for young people including schooling, employment, social exclusion, labour migration, trafficking, disability, cultural and religious discrimination, youth work, and opposition and resistance.

This book challenges the underlying presupposition that regular employment is the royal road to inclusion. Drawing on original empirical research, it investigates the inclusionary and exclusionary potentials of different types of work, including activation programmes. Active social policies in the EU makes an important contribution to the debates in this area by: reporting on original international comparative research; reflecting on and critically assessing current activating policies; evaluating the consequences of these policies, as well as challenging the premises they are based on; including the perspectives of service users in its analyses; offering recommendations for the future design of activating policies. The book will be invaluable for students, lecturers and researchers of social and labour market policies and policy makers. It is essential reading for those interested in issues of inclusion, activation and the role of types of work in promoting inclusion.

This report contains the second generation of National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion which have been prepared by the Member States and constitute a strong political acknowledgement, three years after the Lisbon Summit, of the continuing challenge to ensure social inclusion across the European Union.

This book attempts to answer the question: "How can Europe 2020, the EU's new strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, lead to a stronger social EU with less poverty and greater social cohesion?" Examined in depth are achieving the EU's ambitious social objectives to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and exclusion by 2020 and the Union's four other mutually reinforcing targets. A key objective of the book is to take a critical look at and draw lessons from the past, 2000-2010 Lisbon Strategy. Another important objective is to explore the format and role of EU coordination and cooperation in the social field in the new EU governance framework, in a context marked by slow recovery after the global economic crisis. Finally, the book also makes proposals for the further reinforcement of this coordination and cooperation and for the improvement of the different instruments available at EU, national and sub-national levels.