Activities of Laura AGEA related to 2015/2223(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on meeting the antipoverty target in the light of increasing household costs PDF (473 KB) DOC (188 KB)
Amendments (28)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 27 October 2015, entitled ‘Commission Work Programme 2016 – No time for business as usual’ (COM(2015)610),
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the "chronic poor", often long-term unemployed, but sometimes employed on low salaries and whereas single people living alone with children who are not in employment or who are working less hours on average than the primary earner are consistently identified as among the most vulnerable groups;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. considering that there are as yet no established indicators of absolute poverty;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas bad or inadequate housing greatly reduces chances to lead a normal life; whereas living for extended period of time in low-quality housing can affect physical health;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. considering that one possible solution is to reduce mortgage or rent payments for families living in inadequate housing, so that they can spend money on refurbishing and improving their home instead;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
A c. whereas quality of housing (including appropriate insulation, etc.) of groups in vulnerable situations has decreased during the crisis, because of inability to fund maintenance;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 b. calls on the Commission and the Member States to create the conditions to guarantee all EU citizens basic social rights, such as the right to housing, and to contribute to ensuring that the universal concept of human dignity is reflected in every single moment of the life of every single person;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. calls for the Commission and the Member States to establish in law that a primary residence is immune from seizure, in order to provide mandatory protection for EU citizens’ right to housing;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. invites the Commission to present in 2016 in the context of the announced social pillar an EU framework directive on adequate minimum income; which would enable every EU citizen to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing and housing, and guarantee them resources and social assistance sufficient to lead a life compatible with human dignity and thus to lift them out of poverty;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. calls on the Member States to ensure a more efficient and targeted use of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) by national, regional and local authorities in order to tackle energy poverty; while it is desirable for these funds to be used to combat energy poverty, it is vital to constantly and carefully monitor the spending thereof, to ensure that the money is being used effectively;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls on the Commission to map the problem of homelessness, as well as fuel poverty in the EU, and in particular winter deaths amongst people living in cold homes; and to support the Member States in developing solutions;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 a (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 3 a (new)
- ensuring that the Member States, in collaboration with the relevant local authorities, make unallocated social housing available to poor families, establishing an agreement by which the tenants carry out necessary refurbishments to the property instead of paying rent;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 – indent 4 a (new)
Paragraph 5 – indent 4 a (new)
- ensuring a balance between supply and demand, since the productivity-pay gap is the principal cause of recession, unemployment and, consequently, increasing poverty;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. stresses that initiatives such as the Youth Guarantee must be put into effect with a comprehensive understanding of the employment regions in which they are to be implemented; this means redefining the role of job centres, i.e. to assist users, to take account of all the specific circumstances of these users, to update skills and to focus attention on developing sectors through direct contact with businesses, in order to ascertain the competences that the latter require potential employees to possess
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. cCalls on the Commission and the Member States to develop, adopt and implement an EU framework to reduce poverty and social exclusion in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy, consisting of concrete measures and actions, including energy poverty;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop, adopt and implement an EU framework to reduce poverty and social exclusion in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy, consisting of concrete measures and actions, including energy poverty, housing exclusion and homelessness;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. stresses that a decent income is a fundamental element for being able to live your life in dignity; recalls that 16.7 % of the population in the EU 28 in 2013 were at-risk-of-poverty after social transfers, and that today, these people are more often than not also at risk of absolute poverty; invites the Commission to present in 2016 in the context of the announced social pillar an EU framework directive on adequate minimum income;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. recommends that an EU framework directive on minimum income should specify which criteria Member States’ minimum income schemes would need to meet so as to lift people out of poverty; considers that such a framework would need to be rights-based, address the level of income, the non-discriminatory, efficient and easy access and the take-up, targeting especially those groups, who currently are excluded from or at risk of exclusion from minimum income schemes;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses that minimum income schemes should prevent and lift households out of severe material deprivation and allow for an income above the poverty threshold; recalls that a minimum income is a key instrument for delivering on Article 9 TFEU guaranteeing adequate social protection as well as on the fundamental right to decent living conditions, participating in society and protection of human health. Yet, the issue is not only income, but also access to services. In several countries people with debt problems have been left without insurance coverage and unable to pay for healthcare services;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Given that 22, 348,834 households (approximately 11% of the EU population) spend more than 40 % of disposable income on housing ; that the European Semester has identified housing cost overburden as a 'social trend to watch' ; and that 21,942,491 households (approximately 10.8% of the EU population) experience difficulty maintaining adequate household temperature, calls on the European Commission and the Member States to urgently identify, implement and maintain policy measures that enable households to meet housing costs, including housing allowances;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. recalls that poor households spend the largest share of their income on housing, utilities and food; stresses that one dimension of household expenditure of poor households – the cost of energy and the related issue of energy poverty lacks an in-depth assessment at Union level; calls on the Commission to improve internal cooperation so as to better link the energy policypolicies at all levels and the poverty policy;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. stresses that, while such investments are necessary, measures are considered to support families who do not yet have a home;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. stresses also the need to monitor the use of funds and to simplify information and access to these resources;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17 c. considers deplorable financial speculation concerning natural resources and energy sources, particularly those that are non-relocatable, such as hydroelectric power, for example, and, consequently, calls for the Commission and the Member States to take the necessary steps to reduce energy costs sustained by poor families, for example by using revenue obtained from the imposition of appropriate taxation;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22 a. recalls finally that energy policy alone will not effectively combat the issue of household expenditure; recalls that only a policy implemented with cooperation between the various players involved will allow decisive action to be taken against poverty;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. reiterates that energy must be ‘clean’, economical and accessible to all, and for these reasons, the Commission and the Member States must increase investment in research into ‘clean’ energy.