Fighting Poverty and Social Exclusion in the EU A Chance in Europe 2020 Routledge Studies in the Political Economy of the Welfare State Series

In the field of anti-poverty policies, the interplay between the Europe 2020 overarching strategy and the 'Semester' have marked major discontinuity vis-à-vis the Open Method of Coordination for social protection and social inclusion (Social OMC) of the Lisbon phase. This book therefore asks whether and how Europe matters in the fight against poverty and social exclusion by assessing the emergence and possible institutionalisation of a European multi-level, multi-stakeholder and integrated policy arena in the new institutional framework.

Supranational developments, multi-level interactions, as well as the strategy effects at the national level are analysed in six European countries - Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, UK and Sweden ? with the aim to identify the key factors affecting the implementation of the Europe 2020 anti-poverty strategy.

This book will be of key interest to students, scholars and practitioners in social policy, political science and European governance, and more broadly to European Union politics, European integrations studies, sociology and economics.

1. Fighting Poverty and Social Exclusion in the Europe 2020 Framework: An Introduction [Ilaria Madama and Matteo Jessoula] 2. Europe 2020 and the Fight Against Poverty: From Target to Governance [Sebastiano Sabato, Chiara Agostini, Marcello Natili and Matteo Jessoula] 3. Europe Domesticated: Anti-Poverty Policy in the United Kingdom under Europe 2020 [Daniel Clegg] 4. The Reluctant European: EU2020, 'The Poverty Target' and the Swedish Welfare State [Håkan Johansson] 5. The German Way: Reaffirming Sovereignty, While Accommodating the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy [Katharina Zimmermann and Norbert Petzold] 6. The Game of Compliance: Polish Anti-Poverty Policy and Europe 2020 [Marianna Zielenska] 7. Lucky Timing and Propitious Conditions: Italy’s Anti-Poverty Policy under Europe 2020 [Ilaria Madama, Marcello Natili and Chiara Agostini] 8. Implementing Europe 2020 in Belgium: A Case of Coordinated "Hybrid" Governance for Social Inclusion? [Antonino Sorrenti] 9. Linking Lisbon and Europe 2020: The "Peer Reviews" in the Social OMC [Sebastiano Sabato] 10. Conclusions [Matteo Jessoula and Ilaria Madama]

Matteo Jessoula is Associate Professor of Political Science at Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Milan. He is also Director of the Welfare Laboratory, Director of the International Observatory on Social Cohesion and Inclusion, Coordinator of LPF-Comparative Politics and Public Philosophy Lab and National coordinator within ESPN-European Social Policy Network

.Ilaria Madama is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Milan in the Department of Social and Political Sciences. She is also Senior Researcher in the ERC-REScEU project, Coordinator of the EuVisions Observatory and Coordinator of the minor degree in Rights, Work and Equal Opportunities (DiLPO).