Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-15-Speech-2-013-000"
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"en.20111115.5.2-013-000"2
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"Madam President, I should like to begin by thanking all those who have worked together constructively in drafting this report: Members of this House, organisations representing different groups, and other colleagues.
I would just like to emphasise one point: austerity measures within the framework of European economic governance cannot be allowed to endanger employment or social protection. Just keeping an eye on inflation rates, deficits and debts is not enough. Member States must also be accountable for trends in poverty and Parliament must receive regular reports on this. The report therefore stresses the need within the platform for regular monitoring of progress made by Member States.
All these recommendations were broadly the subject of discussions at the first convention of the European platform against poverty and social exclusion in Kraków and were quite favourably received by the actors on the ground in the fight against poverty. It is crucial for them to be involved, as the report recommends.
I would therefore call on my fellow Members to lend massive support to this report, as was the case in the Committee, so that Parliament is finally able to send a positive signal to its citizens at a time when they are feeling under pressure.
In 2010, 116 million people were at risk of poverty, more than 20% of our fellow citizens; 8% of Europeans were experiencing severe material deprivation; and these numbers must be greater today with the crises that we are currently going through.
Consequently, the 2020 strategy adopted here set itself the objective of reducing the number of poor to 20 million and this platform aims to provide a tool in combating this problem, which, in itself, is a violation of basic human rights.
The whole thrust of this report, in addition to outlining how it is to operate, is primarily to give the European Union and the Member States a road map with recommendations for policies which can be implemented to achieve this objective. The fact that it has been adopted by this Parliament takes on a particular significance in current political and economic circumstances. It is essential for people to see that the Union is not only concerned about Member States’ debts, but also about their economic and social circumstances and that there are still institutions and MEPs who are promoting a sense of solidarity between the Member States and their citizens.
The report also contains a statement relating to current circumstances and the food aid programme for the most deprived which we would like to see maintained at 500 million in both the short and the long term. Yesterday, the Council of agriculture ministers reached an agreement to do this, at least in the short term. That is good. At last, we have a positive signal on this matter. That was the least we could expect, but what concerns me is the reluctance, and even the threats made by certain Member States against the Union’s social policies before we got to that point. The long-term problem has not even been resolved yet.
I should like to raise some more basic points covered in this report. Firstly, certain categories of people who are more vulnerable to the risk of poverty, such as children, women, the elderly, the disabled, migrants and the Roma, need individual treatment and therefore each group is covered separately in the report.
Next, a variety of factors can lead to poverty. They, too, are subject to specific recommendations. That is the case, for example, of the lack of decent and accessible housing, of decent jobs, of high-quality, accessible and non-discriminatory social services, of education systems that reduce the early school leaving rate and professional training that is tailored to the jobs market. It is also the case, quite simply, of financial resources to meet basic needs and, consequently, a minimum income in Europe within a Community legislative framework.
In order to implement such policies at European level, we are, of course, calling for the Commission to mobilise European funds to finance poverty-eradication initiatives, especially the European Social Fund and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund.
It should be palpably obvious that, at European and national levels, we cannot carry out public policy without adequate funding. We must have investment in social affairs if we are to eradicate poverty and stimulate the growth that will create jobs and set us on a virtuous circle."@en1
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