Activities of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2011/2052(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the European Platform against poverty and social exclusion
Amendments (66)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to the revised European Social Charter, in particular Articles 30 (on the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion), 31 (on the right to housing) and 16 (on the right of the family to social, legal and economic protection) thereof,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the most vulnerable groups have been those most severely affected by the crisis and the associated austerity measures, 116 million people in the European Union (almost a quarter of its population) are at risk of poverty and 42 million (i.e. 8%) live ‘in conditions of severe material deprivation and can not afford a number of necessities considered essential in order to live a decent life in Europe’1; whereas the most vulnerable groups have been those most severely affected by the crisis and the associated austerity measures; whereas the austerity measures currently being taken in the EU in the context of the ‘Euro Plus Pact’ and the ‘governance package’ will worsen the situation for these groups and will put at risk of unemployment, economic insecurity or poverty millions of people who were still managing to live on, and meet their basic needs from, their wages or retirement pension, __________________ 1 The European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion (COM(2010)758 final).
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas severe poverty represents a violation of human rights and a serious erosion of human dignity,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas in 2008 almost a quarter of the population of the EU-27 – 116 million people – were affected by at least one of the three forms of social exclusion recognised by Eurostat (i.e. they lived in economic poverty, conditions of severe material deprivation or a jobless household),
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas, according to a study published by Eurostat in 2008, poverty affects some 17% of the population of the 27 EU Member States, i.e. 81 million people, children and elderly people being the groups most at risk of poverty; whereas the same study also confirmed that the fact of having a job significantly reduces the risk of poverty in the EU,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas more and more young people – already among the most vulnerable sections of the population, most at risk of poverty and social exclusion – are also affected by the crisis and the associated austerity measures,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas poverty and social exclusion increased between 2000 and 2008 despite the undertakings given by the Union and the target, set at the Lisbon summit in 2000, of eradicating poverty in the EU by 2010; whereas it impossible to reduce poverty and social exclusion, or to boost inclusive growth, without combating inequality and discrimination,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Europe 2020 strategy aims to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty by 20 million, on the basis of three indicators (the at-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers, the material deprivation index and the percentage of people living in jobless households); whereas, given the figures of 116 million at risk of poverty and 42 million living in conditions of severe material deprivation, this aim may be an acknowledgement of the importance of combating poverty and social exclusion but it reflects the abandonment from the outset of millions of people in Europe, with the associated risk of generating threshold effects and excluding the most vulnerable people from the scope of policies geared to measurable results; whereas if the most intractable situations are not addressed from the outset, the policies implemented will have no impact on them,
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Europe 2020 strategy aims to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty by 20 million, on the basis of three indicators (the at-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers, the material deprivation index and the percentage of people living in jobless households); whereas this reduction target is an acknowledgement of the importance of combating poverty and social exclusion but, given the figures of 116 million at risk of poverty and 42 million living in conditions of severe material deprivation, it leaves out of count a section of the population at risk of poverty, abandoning in particular the victims of extreme poverty, with the potential consequence of driving the most vulnerable or disadvantaged into poverty or extreme poverty and making it all the more difficult for them eventually to get out of that situation,
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas, given the austerity measures that the Member States are in the process of adopting, which are a step backwards in terms of employment and social protection, there is no hope of achieving the Europe 2020 strategy aim of reducing by 20 million the number of people at risk of poverty on the basis of three indicators (the at-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers, the material deprivation index and the percentage of people living in jobless households),
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas poverty is detrimental to growth, increases public budget deficits and undermines the EU’s competitiveness, because poverty levels in the EU Member States have been high for very many years, the impact of poverty on the economies, accounts and public budgets of the Member States and the EU is steadily increasing,
Amendment A #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Ccalls on the Commission to involve civil society at national and European level and to make discussions with people living in poverty a formal part of the annual convention on povertyboost the involvement in the development of a European strategy at all levels of governance (European, national, regional and local) of organised civil society and of all stakeholders, such as NGOs, social economy organisations, service providers, experts in social innovation and the social partners, as well as people living in poverty themselves, in partnership with the associations in which they freely express their opinions and which have acquired experience and knowledge, particularly through the development of national platforms against poverty and social exclusion in each Member State; calls on the Commission to enhance cooperation between local, regional and national authorities and European Institutions, particularly the European Parliament; believes that the synergies should concern all stakeholders, including SMEs and entrepreneurs; calls for discussions with people living in poverty and social exclusion to be institutionalised, and to be extended at national level, and for their participation and contribution to be made a formal and central part of the annual convention on poverty and social exclusion, and calls for appropriate and regular follow-up of the recommendations so developed;
Amendment AA #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the Commission’s new strategy for implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights aims, in particular, to improve the most disadvantaged people’s access to fundamental rights; whereas the Charter must be respected in its entirety and whereas severe poverty represents a violation of human rights and a serious erosion of human dignity and encourages stigmatisation and injustice; whereas the key objective of income support schemes is to bring people out of poverty and enable them to live in dignity,
Amendment B #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for poverty awareness seminars to be organised in the European institutions and Member State governments by organisations which have specific experience of combating poverty and for experiments in joint training on social and exclusion issues to be made, bringing together European officials and people with hands-on experience of combating poverty;
Amendment BB #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas poverty and social exclusion increased and involved new social categories between 2000 and 2008 despite the undertakings given by the Union such as the target, set at the Lisbon summit of 23/24 March 2000, of eradicating poverty in the EU by 2010 or the progress which the Nice European Council of 7 to 9 December 2000 agreed should be made; whereas it is impossible to reduce poverty and social exclusion, or to boost inclusive growth, without combating inequality and discrimination, or if countries’ economies do not develop and there is no solidarity with the weakest members of society so that national wealth is not shared fairly,
Amendment C #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for regular, critical monitoring ofthe establishment of a regular, critical evaluation mechanism, involving the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, based on precise indicators at national and European level, by which the multiple dimensions of poverty can be evaluated and the Member States’ progress, by gender and age, towards achieving the poverty reduction target, and towards breaking this target down into sub-targets, can be measured, in view of the fact that the lack of a precise definition of poverty leaves too much leeway for the Member States, to break this target down into sub-targets; hus risking aberrant interpretations; calls on the Commission to improve national and European indicators relating to the comparability of national statistics on the poverty of vulnerable people and to promote, with Eurostat, the production of more precise statistics within a comprehensive scoreboard on poverty and social exclusion by means of which it will be possible to track the number of people below the 50% and 40% levels of median income and on this basis to conduct an annual evaluation of the situations of poverty in the EU, the statistical approach of which should be supplemented by a qualitative and participatory approach; calls on the Commission to ensure the policies implemented are beneficial to all and not just to those close to the poverty threshold;
Amendment CC #
Motion for a resolution
Considérant C
Considérant C
C. whereas the Europe 2020 strategy aims todopts, as one of its five major objectives, a soft target, i.e. one without sanctions, aiming at reduceing the number of people at risk of poverty by 20 million, on the basis of three indicators agreed by Member States (the at-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers, the severe material deprivation index and the percentage of people living in jobless households), and whereas this aim may be an acknowledgement of the importance of combating poverty and social exclusion but, given the figures of 116 million at risk of poverty and 42 million living in conditions of severe material deprivation, it reflects the abandonment from the outset of millions of people in Europe, with the associated risk of generating threshold effects and excluding the most vulnerable people from the scope of policies geared to measurable results; whereas if the most intractable situations are not addressed from the outset, the policies implemented will have no impact on them; whereas the European Platform against poverty constitutes one of the seven flagship initiatives of the EU 2020 strategy,
Amendment D #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for it to be made clear that the Commission will be legally accountable in on the Commission to fully take account of the correct horizontal social clause as specified in Article 9 TFEU, under which the EU is to take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health, and calls for the Commission to specify how the Platform will affect assessments of the implementation of that clause; calls for the social impact assessments of European policies to go into greater depthe, event that the horizontal social clause is not applied, and calls for the Commission to specify how the Platform will affect assessments of the implementation of that clause where those policies are not initiated by the Commission but by the European Council, as in the case of the Euro Plus pact; considers that such an in- depth analysis of the application of this clause will make it possible to avoid a levelling-down of social standards in Europe and to promote the development of a common social basis in Europe; calls for this social impact assessment to be made with the associations active in combating poverty and to take account of the situation of the poorest people in Europe as a reference; considers that these assessments should involve the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Commission’s departments responsible for social affairs under the responsibility of a director- general reporting to the General Secretariat of the European Commission;
Amendment DD #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas poverty is detrimental to growth, increases public budget deficits and undermines the EU’s competitiveness, because poverty levels in the EU Member States have been high for very many years, the impact of poverty on the economy is steadily increasing; whereas poverty is detrimental to growth, increases public budget deficits and undermines the EU’s competitiveness, factors which in themselves create poverty and unemployment, particularly long- term unemployment, which affects one- third of the jobless, a situation that is worse in the more economically vulnerable countries; whereas the preservation of social rights in the European Union is fundamental in any attempt to address poverty,
Amendment E #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to identify more precisely the budget lines relevant to the Platform and the level of appropriations allocated to them, particularly as regards the ESF and its contribution to this flagship initiative through the funding of political priorities such as preventing school drop-out and addressing poverty among children, women, older people and migrant workers; calls on the Commission to set out its proposals on combating poverty and social exclusion in the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework in order to ensure adequate funding of the initiatives launched to combat poverty and social exclusion; calls on the Commission to identify the financial support needed for agreed thematic priorities and to urge Member States to support financially the participation of civil society at national level in National Reform Programmes, the Flagship Platform and National Strategies for social protection and social inclusion; recommends pressing ahead with, and providing increased budgetary funding for, the European programmes which can help combat the various aspects of social exclusion, poverty and social and economic inequality, including health inequality (the research Framework Programme, the Progress programme, etc.);
Amendment FF #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas employmentgrowth and employment, even in a decent job, alone isare not sufficient to lift people out of poverty, and whereas the problem of the working poor has gained increasing recognition in recent years, and whereas the segmentation of the labour market has increased, working and living conditions have very much worsened, particularly during the financial crisis, and work has become much less secure – a trend which must be combated; whereas the problem of the working poor has gained increasing recognition in recent years but is not yet being addressed to an extent commensurate with the challenges it represents for our societies; whereas the number of the working poor has grown considerably in recent years, with 8% of the working population suffering in-work poverty and where 22% of those at risk of poverty are in work1; whereas the fact of people having access to decent, egalitarian working conditions constitutes an advance in terms of reducing poverty and social exclusion among families and people living alone, __________________ 1 EUROSTAT (2009), SPC Report: SPC Assessment of the social dimension of the Europe 2020 Strategy (10 Feb. 2011)
Amendment G #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the open method of social coordination to be strengthened and applied correctly in the field of poverty, inter alia through the common development, implementation and evaluation of national strategies for social inclusion and protection, on the basis of commonly defined objectives, via national platforms against poverty, by exchanges of good practice on policies regarding effective access to fundamental rights and implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the revised Social Charter (not yet ratified by all Member States), in particular Articles 30 and 31 thereof; stresses that, in this context, the work of the Council’s Social Protection Committee should continue to be taken into account; calls for the Platform to promote and follow up the participation of local authorities, social economy enterprises and other local stakeholders in drawing up and implementing national strategic reports;
Amendment H #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to specify th, in consultation with the European Central Bank, to propose common principles used to define the ‘basket of basic goods and services’ accessible to all; required to enable everyone to live in dignity, and points out that these immediate needs are inseparable from respect for human dignity and effective access to all fundamental rights – whether civil, political, economic, social or cultural – without exception; calls for the target of price stability to be clarified so as to allow specific national situations to be taken into account that do not necessarily have a significant impact on the euro- system indicators;
Amendment HH #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the poverty threshold of 60% of median national income is a compelling, helpful and necessary indicator, but where of relative poverty, but should be complemented by other indicators such as the concept and calculation of a ‘basket of basic goods and services’ is just as muchat national level (which does not constitute a direct response to the specific situation of people suffering from poverty) and those agreed at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in June 2010 (at-risk-of poverty, material deprivation and jobless households) as a matter of public policy needs,
Amendment K #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Believes that particular attention and additional measures are needed for the homeless [...] social exclusion; calls upon the European Commission to develop urgently an EU strategy on homelessness along the lines of the 2010 Joint Report of the Commission and the Council on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, the final recommendations of the European Consensus Conference on Homelessness (2010) and the European Parliament resolution on EU Homelessness Strategy; calls on the European Commission to develop a detailed roadmap [...] Note: A citation referring to the resolution will be added by oral amendment.
Amendment MM #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas unemployment among young people, which is already higher than for other age groups, has exploded in the EU since the crisis and now runs at over 20% reaching a critical level in all Member States, which puts young people at risk of falling into poverty from a very early age; whereas this alarming situation calls for urgent political, economic and social responses and will, in combination with demographic changes, aggravate skills shortages; having regard to the vital role that vocational training can play in helping young people and low skilled workers to join the labour market; whereas, however, getting a job does not always mean escaping poverty, and whereas young people are especially susceptible to falling into the category of working poor,
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas employment alone is not sufficient to lift people out of poverty, and whereas the problem of the working poor has gained increasing recognition in recent years but is not yet being addressed to an extent commensurate with the challenges it represents for our societies,
Amendment N #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Ccalls for equal rights and equal social protection for all workers in each Member State, with due regard for differing practices, collective labour agreements and legislation in the various Member States and for the subsidiarity principle, for respect for equal rights and equal social protection for all in each Member State, whether they are Union citizens or third- country nationals; calls on Member States to fight against illegal and undeclared work;
Amendment NN #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas migrants are being hit hard by the economic crisis, nd ethnic minorities, including undocumented migrants, are especially vulnerable workers being hit hard by the economic crisis and consequently by increased poverty and social exclusion because of the precarious, temporary or atypical work they are likely to be doing thanks to their place of origin or lack of qualification; whereas migrant workers should enjoy the same working and pay conditions and the same right to training and social protection as nationals of the countries in which they are working,
Amendment P #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Acknowledges the need to assess the impact of EU funds in terms of achieving the poverty reduction target, even where this is not their primary objective, where possible, the effectiveness, impact, coordination and value for money of EU funds, especially of the European Social Fund (ESF) in terms of achieving the poverty reduction target, even where this is not their primary objective, reducing the economic discrepancies, prosperity imbalances and differences in living standard levels across EU Member States and regions, and therefore promoting economic and social cohesion; maintains that priority must be given to projects that combine employment targets and strategies with integrated active inclusion approaches, such as projects designed to strengthen intergenerational solidarity at regional and local level or which specifically contribute to realising gender equality and the active inclusion of vulnerable groups; stresses the importance of effective action for solidarity, including reinforcement, anticipation of transfer and reduction of cofinancing in respect of budgetary funding for creating decent jobs, supporting productive sectors and fighting poverty and social exclusion, rather than creating new forms of dependence; stresses the importance of supporting the combat of poverty and social exclusion, and access to quality employment and non discrimination, ensuring adequate income and promoting access to quality services;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the fact of people having access to decent, egalitarian working conditions constitutes an advance in terms of reducing poverty and social exclusion among families and people living alone,
Amendment R #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to initiate a horizontal anti-discrimination directive with a view to further eradicating discrimination; Urges the Member States to agree and adopt as soon as possible the proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008)0426); calls on the Commission to continue to support the overcoming of technical difficulties within the Council in order to ensure a swift agreement is reached, and to close gaps in the existing anti-discrimination legislation which is currently not covering all relevant aspects, with a view to further eradicating discrimination, including social discrimination; Note: A citation referring to the Kosa report will be added by oral amendment.
Amendment S #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the Commission’s desire to clarify the legal framework applicable to social economy enterprises so that there are no obstacles hindering their contribution to poverty reduction; , through various initiatives, to take more account of the role of social economy actors – as defined in Parliament’s resolution of 19 February 2009 on the social economy – in particular by clarifying the legal framework applicable to social economy enterprises (for mutual societies, foundations and cooperatives) so that there are no obstacles hindering their making a full contribution, with legal certainty, to reducing poverty and social exclusion by proposing innovative and sustainable responses to citizens’ needs, while stressing that the social economy is not limited to this scope of activities; is concerned, however, about the lack of reference to the Statute for a European association, given that the not-for-profit sector is a major actor in the fight against poverty; stresses, however, that the measures currently proposed to promote the social economy, in particular associations and mutual societies, do not adequately reflect its potential contribution to the policy to combat poverty and social exclusion, the economy and the European social model and, more generally, do not match its role in responding to the consequences of the economic and social crisis; stresses, in particular, its demands and expectations in relation to the recognition of SSGI, as reaffirmed in the resolution of the European Parliament on the future of social services of general interest adopted on 5 June 2011 (A7-0239/2011); notes the proposals for a revision of the Community provisions on public procurement procedures and state aid, and recalls its demand for them to be adapted to the specific nature of the tasks of SSGIs and to the way in which they are organised; supports the creation of decent jobs and the provision of personalised job-seeking assistance via specialised training and placement agencies and social economy enterprises in view of their expertise in helping disadvantaged persons enter employment; reiterates its call for a framework directive on the quality and accessibility of social services of general interest, in particular in the areas of health, education, public transport, energy, water and communication; Note: A citation referring to the De Rossa report will be added by oral amendment, and amendment 312 will be voted on outside the compromise.
Amendment T #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. AdvocatesRecommends the Member States to adopt a proactive decent housing policy in order to ensure universal access to decent, affordable housingquality housing at affordable prices or on preferential terms of purchase, and to prevent the loss thereof, with guaranteed access to services essential to health and safety, the lack of such housing being a serious affront to dignity, along with a proactive energy policy that steps up the use of renewable energies and boosts energy efficiency in order to combat energy poverty; calls for more attention to be paid to housing for migrants, who are often exploited and forced to live in sub- standard housing; recalls Protocol 26 annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon on social housing and calls for the provisions contained therein to be respected, in particular on the Member States’ freedom to organise social housing, including the question of financing; encourages the Member States to implement special housing programmes and opportunities for homeless people, in view of guaranteeing the most basic standards of living for the most vulnerable in society;
Amendment U #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for Roma people, and the organisations that represent and work with them, to be actively involved in the elaboration and implementation of the national Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020, so as to contribute to achieving the EU poverty target; calls on the European Union and the Member States to establish the European strategy to promote Roma inclusion as soon as possible, and calls on the Member States to propose, by the end of this year, measures to promote the inclusion of Roma in accordance with the European framework for coordinating national Roma inclusion strategies presented by the Commission in April 2011; stresses that, as with the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the inclusion and integration of the Roma will require greater effort to achieve, by 2020, their full inclusion and an end to the numerous forms of discrimination to which they are subject; 16a. calls for other marginalised communities such as immigrants to be involved in all EU or Member State policies relating to their social inclusion;
Amendment V #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the fight against child poverty to focus on prevention through the provision of equal access to high-quality early childhood serviceseducation and care services, in order to prevent children from starting school life with multiple disadvantages, and to other provisions for children (activity centres during the school period and holidays, etc., extracurricular, cultural, sports activities, etc.), ensuring that the network of such services and centres covers all areas adequately; calls for financial support for proven services and the systematic integration of family-support policies in all relevant areas of activity, combining a universal approach with targeted measures for the most vulnerable families, in particular the families of handicapped children, single-parent families and large families; calls for the relationship between parents and children to be given particular attention in programmes to combat poverty and social exclusion in order to prevent children being placed in care as a consequence of severe poverty;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the poverty threshold of 60% of median national income is a helpful and necessary indicator, but whereas the concept of a ‘basket of basic goods and services’ is just as much a matter of public policy needs and does not constitute a direct response to the specific situation of people suffering from poverty,
Amendment Z #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the most vulnerable groups have been those most severely affected by the crisis and the associated austerity measures, 116 million people in the European Union are at risk of poverty and 42 million (i.e. 8%) live ‘in conditions of severe material deprivation and can not afford a number of necessities considered essential in order to live a decent life in Europe’1; whereas poverty is the unacceptable reflection of an uneven distribution of wealth, income and resources in a prosperous European economy; whereas the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and disabled people, have been those most severely affected by the financial, economic and social crisis and the austerity measures currently being taken in the EU in the context of the ‘Euro Plus Pact’ and the ‘governance package’, which could worsen the situation for these groups and put at risk of unemployment, economic insecurity or poverty millions of people who were still managing to live on, and meet their basic needs from, their wages or retirement pension, notably as a result of cuts in public service and social assistance budgets; whereas applying tougher conditions and penalties in social activation policies in response to the crisis aggravates the difficulties faced by the most vulnerable people at a time when few decent jobs are on offer; whereas the gap between rich and poor is getting ever wider as the crisis continues; __________________ 1 European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion (COM(2010)758 final).
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas unemployment among young people, which is already higher than for other age groups, has exploded in the EU since the crisis and now runs at over 20%, which puts them at risk of falling into poverty from a very early age,
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas migrants are being hit hard by the economic crisis because of the precarious, temporary or atypical work they are likely to be doing thanks to their place of origin or lack of qualification,
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
Na. whereas migrant workers should enjoy the same working and pay conditions and the same right to training and social protection as nationals of the countries in which they are working,
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to involve the European Parliament and civil society at national and European level and to make discussions with people living in poverty a formal part of the annual convention on poverty;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Commission to involve civil society at national and European level, and to make discussions with people living in poverty a formal part of the annual convention on povertys well as people living in poverty themselves, in partnership with the associations which deal with them and in which they participate;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for experiments in joint training on social and exclusion issues to be made, bringing together European officials and people with hands-on experience of combating poverty;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for experiments in joint training on social and exclusion issues to be made, bringing together European officials and people with hands-on experience of combating poverty;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for regular, critical monitoring of the Member States’ progress towards achieving the poverty reduction target, and for the Member States to break this target down into sub-targets, in collaboration with the associations involved in the fight against poverty; calls for a set of indicators to be chosen by means of which it will be possible to track the number of people below the 50% and 40% levels of median income and to ensure the policies implemented are beneficial to all and not just to those close to the poverty threshold, and also calls on the European Union to devise a comprehensive scoreboard on poverty and social exclusion to be published each year, the statistical approach of which should be supplemented by a qualitative and participatory approach;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for regular, critical monitoring of the Member States’ progress towards achieving the poverty reduction target, and for the Member States to break this target down into sub-targets; calls for a set of indicators to be chosen by means of which it will be possible to track the number of people below the 50% and 40% levels of median income and to ensure the policies implemented are beneficial to all and not just to those close to the poverty threshold, and also calls on the European Union to devise a comprehensive scoreboard on poverty and social exclusion to be published each year, the statistical approach of which should be supplemented by a qualitative and participatory approach;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls, in the light of the current crisis situation, for a detailed and up-to-date study to be conducted urgently into the numbers of people living in poverty and people at risk of poverty in the coming months;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls on the Commission to draw up and present an annual report to the European Parliament on the Member States’ progress in reducing poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for it to be made clear that the Commission will be legally accountable in the event that the horizontal social clause is not applied, and calls for the Commission to specify how the Platform will affect assessments of the implementation of that clause; calls for this assessment of the social impact of European policies to be carried out, in association with Article 9 TFEU, with the persons concerned, taking the poorest amongst them as a reference, and with the associations involved in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, and calls for the fight against poverty and for access to basic rights to be coordinated by a secretariat reporting directly to the President of the Commission, in coordination with DG Employment and the Commission’s social policy committees and the associations referred to;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to identify the budget lines relevant to the Platform and the level of appropriations allocated to them; calls on the Commission to set out its proposals on combating poverty and social exclusion in the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the open method of coordination to be strengthened and applied correctly in the field of poverty, inter alia through the common and regular evaluation of national strategies for social inclusion and through exchanges of good practice on policies for effective access to fundamental rights, and for it to enable the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the revised Social Charter, in particular Articles 30 and 31 thereof; calls on those Member States which have not yet done so to ratify the revised European Social Charger, including via the open method of coordination;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to specify the common principles used to define the ‘basket of basic goods and services’ accessible to all; stresses that this ‘basket’ represents only an immediate and specific response to the problem of poverty, and points out that these immediate needs are inseparable from respect for human dignity and effective access to all fundamental rights – whether civil, political, economic, social or cultural – without exception;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls for the Platform to be geared towards asserting the rights which enable everyone to live in dignity, particularly in the field of employment, housing, health care, social security and adequate living standards, justice, education, training and culture, and the protection of families and children; calls for the Fundamental Rights Agency to produce a study on effective access by the poorest people to the whole range of fundamental rights and on the discrimination they face, with the participation of NGOs in which socially excluded can freely express themselves;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls for the Platform to be geared towards asserting the rights which enable everyone to live in dignity, particularly in the field of employment, housing, health care, social security and adequate living standards, justice, education, training and culture, and the protection of families and children; calls for the Fundamental Rights Agency to produce a study on effective access by the poorest people to all the fundamental rights and the other rights enshrined in the international agreements to which the Member States are signatories, and on the discrimination they face, with the participation of NGOs in which socially excluded can freely express themselves;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for equal rights and equal social protection for all workers in each Member State, regardless of whether they are nationals of a Member State;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission to act quickly to take the measures necessary to maintain the food aid programme for disadvantaged people which was called into question by the European Court of Justice judgment of 13 April 2011; deeply deplores this situation, coming as it does at a time of serious economic and social crisis, which the austerity measures currently being taken by the European Union under the 'Euro Pact' and the 'governance package’ will exacerbate;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Acknowledges the need to assess the impact of EU fundscoordination of EU funds and their impact in terms of achieving the poverty reduction target, even where this is not their primary objective; maintains that priority must be given to projects that combine employment targets and strategies with active inclusion;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to submit national reform programmes consistent with the aim of the Platform, and calls on the Commission to refrain from restricting the Member States’ capacity for investment and social spending in the context of economic governance, bearing in mind that poverty reduction requires smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as indicated in the Europe 2020 strus to step up our efforts and mobilise all parties and all our resources to significantly reduce poverty and extreme poverty in the medium term and to greatly reduce or eradicate poverty by 2020 at the lategyst;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Amendment 302 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls onfor the Commission to initiate auncil to adopt as soon as possible the new horizontal anti- discrimination directive initiated by the Commission with a view to further eradicating discrimination, including social discrimination;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. WelcomNotes the Commission’s desire, to clarify the legal framework applicable to social economy enterprises so that there are no obstacles hindering their contribution tohrough various initiatives, to take more account of the role of social economy enterprises so that they can make a full contribution to reducing poverty and social exclusion, while stressing that the social economy is not limited to this scope of activities; stresses, however, that the measures currently proposed to promote the social economy, in particular associations and mutual societies, do not adequately reflect its potential contribution to the policy to combat poverty and social exclusion, the economy and the European social model and, more generally, do not match its role in responding to the consequences of the economic and social crisis; stresses, in particular, its demands and expectations in relation to the recognition of SSGI, as reaffirmed in the report by Mr de Rossa; notes the proposals for a revision of the Community proverty reductionisions on public procurement procedures and state aid, and recalls its demand for them to be adapted to the specific nature of the tasks of SSGIs and to the way in which they are organised;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Advocates a proactive housing policy in order to ensure universal access to decent, affordable housing, along with a proactive energy policy that steps up the use of renewable energies and boosts energy efficiency; stresses that the lack thereof, or the great difficulty in accessing them, represents a serious affront to human dignity; calls for more attention to be paid to housing for migrants, who are often exploited and forced to live in sub- standard housing; recalls Protocol 26 annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon on social housing and calls for the provisions contained therein to be respected, in particular on the Member States’ freedom to organise social housing, including the question of financing;
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for Roma and their associations to be involved in all EU or Member State policies relating to their social inclusion; calls on the European Union and the Member States to establish the European strategy to promote Roma inclusion as soon as possible, and calls on the Member States to propose, by the end of this year, measures to promote the inclusion of Roma in accordance with the European framework for coordinating national Roma inclusion strategies presented by the Commission in April 2011; stresses that, as with the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the inclusion and integration of the Roma will require greater effort to achieve, by 2020, their full inclusion and an end to the numerous forms of discrimination to which they are subject;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the fight against child poverty to focus on prevention through the provision of access to early childhood services and other provisions for children (activity centres during the school period and holidays, etc., extracurricular, cultural, sports activities, etc.), ensuring that the network of such services and centres covers all areas adequately; calls for the relationship between parents and children to be given particular attention in programmes to combat poverty and social exclusion in order to prevent children being placed in care as a consequence of severe poverty;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls for special attention to be given to the future of young people and for a clear strategy to help young people find a decent first job commensurate with their level of training;