Introduction

This chapter introduces Poverty and Social Exclusion in European Union Law by putting it into context and providing some initial remarks. To this end, the chapter first sets the scene by providing some background on the state of the role of EU law in contributing to the policy objective of combating poverty and social exclusion. This background leads to the aim and purpose of this book, covered in the second section, which explains the focus of this book and goes over its outline. The last section provides a number of necessary clarifications regarding the concept of poverty and social exclusion used throughout the entire manuscript as well as some alarming data.