37 Amendments of Estrella GALÁN
Amendment 2 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to the Liege Declaration on Affordable, decent and sustainable housing for all signed by the 27 Housing Ministers on 5 March 2024,
Amendment 8 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 10 of February 2021 on reducing inequalities with a special focus on in- work poverty,
Amendment 14 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) supports, complements and adds value to the policies of the Member States in order to ensure equal opportunities, equal access to the labour market and to social infrastructure (such as social housing, education, healthcare), fair and high-quality working conditions, social protection, cohesion and inclusion;
Amendment 18 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the ESF+ is the only EU fund primarily focused on social policies, and is therefore unique in itself and is strongly effective and necessary in achieving social inclusion, together with the cohesion policy; whereas the ESF+ by itself is not enough to tackle structural inequalities and exclusion, and it is crucial to develop more holistic social policies at European Union level to guarantee its success;
Amendment 20 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas cohesion policies, the European Structural and Investment Funds and, in particular, the European Social Fund+ are strong tools for cohesion between southern and northern Member States, and whereas it is highly desirable to continue to strengthen southern border countries in migration crisis processes; Whereas the approach to cohesion policies and the distribution of funds, in particular the European Social Fund, must take into account the development of disparities not only between Member States but also within Member States and the disparities between urban and rural areas;
Amendment 23 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas different vulnerable groups have different needs, such as women in poverty, labour migrants, childrenmigrant people and refugees, victims of traffic in human beings, children, young people, homeless, Roma people, people with disabilities and elderly people; whereas the digital and green transition is much needed but also brings challenges for all people and all workers, and whereas to succeed in this endeavour, the EU must ensure a just transition that does not lose sight ofputs workers and vulnerable people in the center;
Amendment 32 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas in 2023, 94.6 million people in the EU-27 (21.4% of the population) were living in households at risk of poverty or social exclusion, with an at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate of 24.8 % for the EU-27: whereas almost one in four children in the EU as a whole is therefore at risk of poverty or social exclusion;
Amendment 34 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas 22.3% of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion are women, compared with 20.3 % of them that are men; whereas women in the EU-27 earn 12.7 % less than men on average; whereas decades of the gender pay gap have resulted in a 29.5% gender gap in pension income, a situation that creates an unequal level of economic independence between elderly women and men; whereas the impact of poverty on women and men differs and whereas indicators to better understand the feminisation of poverty such as age, life expectancy, income inequality, the gender pay gap, type of household and social transfers therefore also need to be considered; whereas synergies between various actions carried out and political measures supporting gender equality in employment, education, taxation policies and housing can help to combat deep- rooted causes of poverty and social exclusion more effectively;
Amendment 42 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the availability and affordability of decent housing is decreasing because of over-liberalisation of the market, real-estate speculation, unregulated short-term rentals and the lack of social and public housing, amongst other reasons; whereas the EU will have its first ever Commissioner for tackling the housing crises, and the first ever European affordable and sustainable housing plan, expected in 2025; whereas such proposals need to go hand in hand with national measures to reduce the short-stay rentals and to allow the intervention of the market in highly stressed areas;
Amendment 51 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas migrant people and refugee’s inclusion into society and the labour market can only be achieved if there is solidarity among, and united commitment of, all Member States and their societies; whereas successful inclusion requires not only the equal access in the labour market, but also complete social and political participation, access to housing, education, social protection and healthcare, including mental health support, with the objective of reaching full citizenship;
Amendment 58 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas persons with disabilities living in the EU continue to face discrimination, including the denial of decent accommodation and multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination in all areas of their lives; whereas persons with disabilities in all their diversity are entitled to enjoy their fundamental rights on an equal basis; whereas the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in all areas of life and society is crucial to reach an EU without barriers;
Amendment 62 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas there are vulnerable people within the European Union who are left on the margins of social policies and ESF+ funded programmes; whereas extraordinary efforts and structural changes are needed to reach all vulnerable people and to prevent this number from increasing;
Amendment 69 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Insists that the ESF+ must continue to be thean strategic key and primary financial instrument for supporting the Member States, people and regions in strengthening the social dimension of the Union;
Amendment 79 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Insists that the main objectives of the ESF+ should be to achieve high employment levels with high-quality jobs, adequate wages, decent working conditions, healthy working environments and social security coverage, in order to develop a skilled, competitive and resilient workforce, ready for the twin transition and the future world of workensure the wellbeing of the workers, and to build fair social protections and inclusive and cohesive societies, with the aims of eradicating poverty and delivering on the principles and the headline targets set out in the EPSR;
Amendment 88 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for a strong, reinforced, stand- alone ESF+ with significantly increased public support for existing instruments aimed at providing for the poorestvulnerable groups in our societies; insists, therefore, on doubling the funding for the ESF+ post- 2027;
Amendment 94 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Expresses strong concerns over attemptsits rejection to split or merge the existing ESF+ with other funds, since that would create serious risks for the implementation of its objectives and those of the EPSR and its action plan, and the reaching of the ESPR’s headline targets; warns that unifying or simplifying funds may not improve their effectiveness and could lead to an exponential increase in poverty and social exclusion in the EU;
Amendment 102 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Believes that a different ESF+ governance would lead to the loss of priority given to social aspects, including employment and social inclusion projects, and to the funding not reaching local levels and those most in needvulnerable group, while increasing the risk of reallocation of funds for other purposes;
Amendment 111 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the participation, information and consultation of social partners, civil society organisations (CSOs) and representatives of the target groups in all design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation stages of the ESF+, to allocate adequate funding for this purpose and to prevent the exclusion of smaller actors;
Amendment 115 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that the current ESF+ programme was adopted before the emergence of crises that have caused high inflation and increased costs of living and complicated the access and keeping affordable housing, and therefore require higher public and social investment such that the existing ESF+ cannot meet current needs; calls on the Commission to ensure that a comprehensive, stable and large- scale needs- and rights-based budget is guaranteed for the ESF+ in the next multiannual financial framework; calls on the Commission to protect the budget allocation of the ESF+ from possible eventualities, such as emergencies or crises;
Amendment 121 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines that the ESF+ post-2027 should invest in tackling enduring social challenges and stay close to the general and specific objectives set out in the current ESF+, being flexible to new social realities as they emerge; emphasises the importance of the fund’s principles of shared management, clear objectives and thematic concentrations, and that most of the fund should be spent as close as possible to those using the fund;
Amendment 134 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that horizontal principles, such as gender equality, anti- discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, nationality, or racial or ethnic origin, and freedom of movement, should be integral to the ESF+; stresses the importance of an intersectional approach throughout the entire development and implementation of the fund;
Amendment 148 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Insists that the ESF+ should target the most disadvantaged people in our societies, regardless of their sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, nationality or racial or ethnic origin – in particular marginalised communities such as Roma people, people with disabilities or chronic diseases, homeless people, children and elderly people; calls for a cross- cutting gender approach along the ESF+; underlines that the ESF+ must be inclusive, with special attention given to all kinds of families, including single-parent families, families with more than two parents and rainbow families in diversity;
Amendment 156 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission, in the light of current challenges, to include in the specific objectives of the ESF+ the promotion of thea just transition, at the socio- economic integration of migrants, including labour migrants, the social inclusion of women who are victims of gender-based violence and the integratervice of the people, the social inclusion of migrants people, refugees, of victims of trafficking in human beings, of women who are victims of gender-based violence, of young people, of people with disabilities , while avoiding the exclusion of older people;
Amendment 167 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stressed that the European Pillar of Social Rights is a tool with sufficient potential to improve the lives of people living in the European Union; Underlines the need to turn its principles into obligations for Member states;
Amendment 171 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Insists that the eradication of poverty should be achieved with binding poverty-reductions targets at EU level; Stresses that reaching the EPSR’s targets on poverty becomes challenging, unless specific support is dedicated to alleviating the pressure on social protection systems andwhile reinforcing welfare systems, to mitigating the social impact of crises and to tackle the structural causes of inequalities; insists on dedicating support to ensure decent living conditions for all, with access to high-quality essential public services and to adequate minimum income; calls for the EU anti-poverty strategy, outlined in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s political guidelines for the 2024-2029 term, to be implemented via the ESF+, with its binding poverty- reduction targets, national living wage indices and reference budgets used as benchmarks, applying a multidimensional approach;
Amendment 201 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Shares the ambition to prioritise the tackling of the housing crises, and insists that the ESF+ post-2027 should enhance timely and equal access to affordable, decent, sustainable and high-quality services promoting access to housing; ensuring the development of enough social and public housing; believes that all the Member States must invest at least 5 % of their ESF+ resources into tackling homelessness;
Amendment 209 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Emphasises the need to ensure sufficient financing of the ESF+ post-2027 for high-quality and public education for all, as well as the option for workers to skills development, upskilling, reskilling and lifelong learning, and for the addressing of skills shortages, ensuring that individuals can successfully navigate labour market transitions;
Amendment 223 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for a strengthening of efforts to support the implementation of the Youth Guarantee with an increased earmarking for all Member States that dedicate at least 15 % of their ESF+ resources; repeats in this context its call on the Member States to ban unpaid traineeships; and the need to ensure the social security rights and contributions of the trainees;
Amendment 237 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the importance of the ESF+ in focusing on different groups with different needs; stresses, therefore, the importance of allocating support to projects on the socio-economic position of migrants, including labour migrants, the social inclusion ofal inclusion of migrant people, refugees, victims of trafficking in human beings, people with disabilities, Roma people, the ageing population in society, women and children, and female-headed households; insists that the ESF+ post- 2027 incorporate other aspects of social inclusion, such as housing, health and family circumstances and the support of community-based services;
Amendment 256 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls for the ESF+ to boost the implementation of the European care strategy by investing in quality early childhood education and care through community-based, person-centred, high- quality, affordable and accessible care systems; insists on the ESF+ to reinforce the deinstitutionalisation of care;
Amendment 261 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. StresseRecalls that the implementation of the EPSRonly way to ensure upward social convergence is through public expenditure and the reforms needed to comply with the country-specific recommendations in the European Semester are alsoe austerity measures would jeopardise the EPSR targets; stresses that the implementation is dependant on the strong support of the ESF+ for certain policy measures, especially those related to strengthening social welfare systems, ensuring inclusive and high-quality public education, reducing child poverty and eradicating homelessness;
Amendment 274 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Commission to allocate consistent financial resources to capacity- building, with the aims of empowering social partners and CSO’s to play a relevant role in areas of their competence, of strengthening their capacity to engage in social dialogue and civil dialogue both at EU and national level and of enhancing social partners’ actions – and include technical assistance for these three purposes – with an adequate minimum percentage investment obligation from the Member States; further insists that social partners and CSOs should be guaranteed access to funding for social policy objectives in all the Member States on an equal basis;
Amendment 278 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Underlines that it is of the utmost importance that small social enterprises and CSOs have access to all aspects of the ESF+; calls for an increased co-financing rate from Member States of at least 90 % for measures targeting the most deprivedvulnerable people implemented by CSOs, and at least 70 % for those implemented by social enterprises;
Amendment 289 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Member States to ensure thatcoordination between regional and local authorities and organisations have a say in projects financed from national budgets;
Amendment 300 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls for strong and more effective social and environmental conditionalities in rules on public procurement and concessions, with effective sanctions; encourages the Commission to create a comprehensive database, supplementing the Eurostat data, to allow for timely and reliable monitoring of the developments in employment, living conditions and industrial relations;
Amendment 306 #
2024/2077(INI)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls for the reduction of the administrative burden and bureaucracy, notably by simplifying the application processes for accessing funds and the reporting procedures for organisations, in particular for civil society and social economy organizations, and those of a smaller size; warns that simplification must not compromise the fundamental principles of shared management, transparency and accountability, ensuring the proper administration of public funds;
Amendment 234 #
2024/0176(BUD)
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 b (new)
Paragraph 49 b (new)
49 b. Underlines the importance of saving lives at sea; highlights the need for the Commission to present a legislative proposal to establish an EU Search and Rescue Fund to show solidarity among Member States in the carrying out of SAR obligations;