Research initiatives of the European Union in the areas of sustainability, entrepreneurship, and poverty alleviation

In an effort to combat poverty and sustain growth, the European Union launched initiatives and invested funds to research the area of sustainable development and social cohesion. This article reviews funded projects of the European Union established over the last decade in the areas of entrepreneurship, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. The analysis reveals that in Europe the issue of poverty is seen more as an issue of inequality and as lack of integration rather than an issue of wealth. This has an effect in the way policymakers and public authorities adopt new measures to achieve social cohesion, thereby ignoring the contribution of the individual as an entrepreneur with social consciousness that could lead the efforts to alleviate poverty. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.