In Europe, 119 million people live in or with the risk of poverty and social exclusion. The reality of poor children, unemployed young adults, and working poor spread around the Union. In 2010 the "European Economic and Social Committee" launched "Europe 2020" - an agenda to heave 20 million people out of poverty by 2020. A journey through Italy, Portugal and Ireland investigating the causes of poverty, while challenging politicians and economic experts on the subject. Can Europe's fight against poverty be successful? In Europe you're considered poor if you have less than 60% of the average national income to live. That's 119 million people. Is there a European Master plan to change their lives for better - or have they simply been left behind? Do we have to accept the structural phenomenon of unemployed young people, poor children and the new working poor? What is the prize Europe will ultimately have to pay? Some of the main reasons for poverty are Europe's increasingly precarious working conditions. Relentless competition, new technologies and the transformation of the service industry are some of the reasons for this development. It is not only that minimum wages are being lowered, but layoffs are made much easier, which contributes to this social decline.
