Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on the coronavirus impact on European

aid for the most deprived. The coronavirus crisis has made life even more difficult for the most

deprived people in our society. To protect them, as well as the workers and volunteers delivering aid to them,

and ensure that no one falls through the net, the EU has had to take some exceptional measures.

Stay with us.

Around 24 million people in the EU, that's just over 5% of the population,

cannot afford to heat their homes properly, eat meat or fish regularly, or buy colour TV.

The concept of severe material deprivation is based on the inability to afford some items considered necessary or desirable

for people to live in a decent way.

It affects mostly single parents, single adults and families with three or more children.

Across the EU, the problem is especially acute in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania,

with Luxembourg and Scandinavian countries experiencing the lowest rates.

So what is the EU doing to help this vulnerable group?

Since the onset of the 2008 financial and economic crisis, fighting poverty and social exclusion

has become a key priority for the European Union. Since the late 1980s, the EU's food distribution program for the most deprived has been

using agricultural surpluses to ensure that no one is left without a meal.

And in 2012, the Commission announced the creation of a new fund for European aid to the most deprived.

With more than 3.8 billion euros from the EU coffers,

the fund seeks to alleviate the worst forms of poverty by providing assistance for the most deprived.

It also works in conjunction with member states' national poverty eradication and social inclusion

policies, supporting their actions to provide food and basic material assistance

to the poorest, such as clothing and basic hygiene items.

...