Activities of Silvia COSTA related to 2012/0295(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Fund for European aid to the most deprived (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Fund for a European Aid to the Most Deprived
Amendments (31)
Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2 a) Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union underlines that the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 b (new)
Recital 2 b (new)
(2 b) Article 6 of the Treaty of the European Union underlines that the Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Amendment 23 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (hereinafter the ‘Fund’) should strengthen social cohesion by contributing to the reduction of poverty in the Union by supporting, primarily through the provision of food supplies, national schemes that provide non-financial assistance to the most deprived persons to alleviate food deprivation, homelessness and material deprivation of children.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4 a) The Fund cannot replace public policies undertaken by Member State governments to limit the need for emergency food aid and to develop sustainable targets and policies for the full eradication of hunger, poverty and social exclusion.
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The number of persons suffering from material or even severe material deprivation in the Union is increasing and those persons are often too excluded to benefit from the activation measures of Regulation (EU) No […CPR], and, in particular of Regulation (EU) No […ESF], thus entailing the risk that one of the key Europe 2020 objectives – that of reducing the number of poor people in the EU by 20 million, starting from the most deprived persons, most of whom are women and children – might not be met.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) The Member States and the Commission should ensure that equality between men and women and consistent gender mainstreaming are promoted at all stages of the development, programming and implementation of the national operational Fund management programmes under Article 1, using evaluation methods based on gender budgeting.
Amendment 39 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) It is necessary to establish a maximum level of co-financing from the Fund to the operational programmes to provide for a multiplier effect of Union resoThe Member States most in need of the Fund are least likely to be able to afford to co-finance the measurces, while the situation of Member States facing temporary budget difficulties should be addressetherefore the Fund should be 100% funded by the Union in order to ensure the highest possible uptake of the Fund.
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) The strategies and ways out of poverty and destitution should take account of the fact that the main problem for the poorest people is that of the loss of their dignity and independence as persons and citizens, which makes them and their families even more fragile and discriminated against and has serious repercussions on women and children;
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Recital 16 a (new)
(16 a) All citizens in the European Union should be treated equally and yet levels of deprivation differ across Member States. The Commission should produce a report showing what percentage the European funds make up of national budgets for aid programmes for most deprived persons.
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 b (new)
Recital 16 b (new)
(16 b) Much of the work undertaken by associations working with the provision of food to Europe's most deprived is undertaken by volunteers. Therefore, the process for applying to be a beneficiary of the Fund must not be prohibitively complicated.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a). The provisions should also ensure that the Fund complies with EU social and environmental policies such as combating all forms of discrimination in programming, management and access to aid and combating food waste, including through awareness-raising campaigns in which women can play a strategic role;
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18 a) Member States and partner organisations should work actively with large and small scale companies throughout the food supply chain, in line with their corporate and social responsibility programmes, as well as economical incentives, to reduce food waste and to ensure this produce is made available to associations working with Europe's most deprived.
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) In order to set out an appropriate financial framework, the Commission should establish, by means of implementing acts, an annual breakdown of global resources by Member State using an objective and transparent method reflecting disparities in terms of poverty and material deprivation, such as absolute and relative poverty thresholds.
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In order to maximise effectiveness of the Fund, in particular as regards the national circumstances, it is appropriate to set out a procedure for potential amendment of the operational programme; the procedure should involve social organisations that are active in helping the most severely deprived people nationally or that directly represent the most deprived, ensuring that there is an adequate presence of women.
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) In order to improve the quality and design of each operational programme and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the Fund, ex ante and ex post evaluations should be conducted. Those evaluations should be supplemented by surveys by involving the most deprived persons, who are the first to be affected by these measures. Those evaluations – in the light of the indicators for the entire population and child- specific indicators set out in the Eurostat study on Measuring material deprivation in the EU – should be supplemented by surveys, including data broken down by gender and data concerning children and minors, on the most deprived persons who have benefited from the operational programme and, if necessary, by evaluations during the programming period that take account of the gender impact. The responsibilities of Member States and the Commission in this respect should be specified.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3
Article 3
The Fund shall promote social cohesion in the Union by contributing to achieving the poverty reduction target of at least 20 million of the number of persons at risk of poverty and social exclusion in accordance with the Europe 2020 strategy. The Fund shall contribute to achieving the specific objective of alleviating the worst forms of poverty in the Union by providing non- financial assistance to the most deprived persons as a way to supplement, rather than substitute, national poverty reduction policies and through the commitment to reduce their dependency and help them to enjoy their fundamental rights. This objective shall be measured by the number of persons receiving assistance from the Fund and by the gradual reduction in their numbers due to an improvement in their condition.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
(1a) The Member States may allow such distribution to take place through vouchers, payment cards or other prepaid cards for the purchase of products, also in order to simplify access for the end recipients and promote their autonomy.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. The Fund may support accompanying measures, complementing the provision of food and goods, contributing to the social inclusion of the most deprived persons while taking account of the specific requirements of women and men, as noted through their active involvement.
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)
(2a). The Fund may support actions and measures to expand and improve access of the end recipients to local supply chains – also through vouchers or other mechanisms – to reduce food waste and to launch information and education campaigns that involve primarily women as strategic stakeholders, also in cooperation with local schools and media.
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The Fund shall be used to complement national strategies, not to replace or reduce national, long-term, sustainable poverty eradication and social inclusion programmes, which remain the responsibility of Member States.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. The Commission shall take into account the extent of dependency of the most deprived persons on Union food programmes for the distribution of food to the most deprived persons as a result of the participation of Member States in programmes under Council Regulations (EC) No 129/2005, (EC) No 1234/2007 or Regulation (EU) No 121/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point i a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point i a (new)
(ia) a description of the priority individuals at whom the programme is to be targeted, taking into account specific local and/or social needs, also in the light of the different age and gender distribution of severe deprivation.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. The Fund may support accompanying measures, primarily complementing the provision of food and goods, contributing to the social inclusion of the most deprived persons. It should also encourage collaboration with organisations which focus on the eradication of poverty and long-term social reintegration.
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. Operational programmes shall be drawn up by Member States or any authority designated by them in cooperation with the competent regional, local and other public authorities as well as bodies representing civil society and bodies responsible for promoting equality and non-discrimination, in order to clarify the procedures, objectives and results expected in relation to poverty reduction, taking into account territorial, social, generational and gender imbalances.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 21 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
The food and the goods for homeless persons or for childrenthe most deprived persons may be purchased by the partner organisations themselves.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 12 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 12 a (new)
(12 a) The Fund shall be used to complement national strategies, not to replace Member States' authorities' responsibilities, for eradicating poverty and social exclusion, notably through the provision of long-term, sustainable programmes aiming at social reintegration rather than alleviating immediate food deprivation and material needs.
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 12 b (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 12 b (new)
(12 b) Member States, and the bodies designated by them, shall build partnerships with companies throughout the food chain to create programmes allowing food companies to reduce waste and fulfil corporate and social responsability programmes, and for associations working with Europe's most deprived to gain access to food resources.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the costs of purchasing food and basic consumer goods for personal use of homeless persons or of childrenend recipients;
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. The global resources available for budgetary commitment from the Fund for the period 2014-2020 shall be EUR 23 500 000 000 at 2011 prices, in accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex II.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 24 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 1 a (new)
This platform shall include encouraging an exchange between those working on immediate material deprivation alleviation and organisations working for longer- term, sustainable social reintegration, and looking at how links could be developed between these different objectives.