Activities of Gabriele ZIMMER related to 2008/2034(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT Report on promoting social inclusion and combatting poverty, including child poverty, in the EU PDF (285 KB) DOC (186 KB)
Amendments (18)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas poverty and inequality disproportionately affect women; whereas the average income of women is just 55 % that of men; whereas women are highly and disproportionately affected by poverty in old age; whereas inaccessibility to high quality services excessively increases the risk of poverty for women,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas regional and local authorities already have a prominent responsibility for providing general public services and benefits, but are at the same time subject to the restrictive pressure of public budgets,
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Considers that Recommendation 92/441/EEC needs to be broadened and updated in the light of the results of the European Union’s social reality stocktaking and the proposed holistic approach to active inclusion, and also that that Recommendation should take due account of the emergence of new social risks linked to demographic change and the knowledge and service economy;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Endorses the Commission’s view that a more holistic approach to active inclusion should also include a special focus on the eradication of child poverty, on the elimination of inequalities concerning access to health care and health outcomes, on tackling poverty and social exclusion linked to public and private pensions and retirement, and on the provision of decent and high quality long-term care;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission to propose a specific directive prohibiting discrimination based on disability, based on Article 13 EC Treaty, prohibiting discrimination in all fields of life and complementing Directive 2000/78/EC;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls on the Member States to examine their often complex and entangled mesh of income support schemes, whatever their specific nature (inter alia, minimum income schemes and related benefits, contributory replacement income schemes), with a view to improving their accessibility, effectiveness and efficiency;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Asks the Commission to improve the benchmarking and monitoring in the Open method of Coordination by improving the collection and availability of high quality data and developing clear and precise indicators covering all aspects of an holistic approach to combating child poverty and social exclusion, including housing of children and families;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Welcomes the commitment to the Convention of the Rights of the Child by the Commission and Member states; calls on the Commission and Member States to establish a clear connection between the child rights agenda and the agenda to combat child poverty and exclusion as child poverty and deprivation is a violation of fundamental human rights and encourages Member States to have regard to the recommendations of the Convention Committee in response to the implementation reports from State parties and non-governmental organisations’ alternative reports when preparing their social inclusion strategies;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Recommends the Member States to attach greater importance to the fact that cuts in grants for specific services such as dinner money, free teaching materials and school buses, and for essential leisure and out-of-school educational opportunities, lead to direct social exclusion, in particular for children from socially vulnerable families;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Highlights the potential of the social economy, social enterprises, the not-for- profit sector and the public employment sector to provide supported employment opportunities and working environments for vulnerable groups, which should be explored and supported to the fullest by Member States and Community policies (ESF, Regional and Cohesion Funds, etc.);
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Agrees with the Commission that for those who cannot work for different reasons (such as severe disability, age or incapacity, the impact of persistent and generational poverty and/or discrimination, overload of family or care responsibilities or local area deprivation.), active inclusion policies must provide income support and supportive measures to prevent poverty and social exclusion and to enable them to live in dignity and participate in society;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Stresses that access to goods and services should be a right for every EU citizen and therefore calls on the Commission to propose specific directives relating to all areas not already covered by Community legislation adopted on the basis of Article 13 of the Treaty in order to combat discrimination in access to goods and services including disability, age, religion or belief or sexual orientation;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Welcomes the Commission’s focus on better accessibility (availability and affordability) and quality of services (user involvement, monitoring, performance evaluation, good working conditions, equality in recruitment policies and service provision, coordination and integration of services and adequate physical infrastructure);
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Calls on the Member States to adopt a health-in-all policies approach and to develop integrated social and health policies to combat inequalities in health care provision, prevention and health outcomes, especially concerning vulnerable groups and the most difficult to reach;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Supports the Commission’s view that with respect to updating Recommendation 92/441EEC and the Open Method of Coordination on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, there need to be appropriate indicators (e.g. statistical data on the average disposable income, household consumption, the level of prices, minimum wages, minimum income schemes and related benefits) in order to demonstrate whether the basic right to sufficient resources and social assistance to live in dignity and have an income above the at-risk-of-poverty rate is respected in each Member State;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Encourages the social partners to continue with their efforts already started with the Joint Social Partner Analysis and their work programme 2006 – 2008 on the integration of disadvantaged people in the labour market; considers that better governance is needed to coordinate those labour market related activities of the social partners on the one hand and the broader civil dialogue (NGOs etc.) on social inclusion beyond employment on the other hand;