Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2013-07-04-Speech-4-043-000"
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"en.20130704.9.4-043-000"2
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"Mr President, I want to start by warmly thanking colleagues from the different political groups who have worked on this report with me in an extremely constructive atmosphere. I also want to thank the many individuals and organisations – whether professional associations, non-governmental organisations or voluntary bodies – that have provided their direct experience and evidence about what is happening on the ground at the moment in our Member States to those who are particularly vulnerable. We have tried to reflect their voices in this report and provide some ways forward.
There are many other proposals in our report and I am sure we will hear those in the debate this morning. Once again, I thank colleagues for their very active input and support in this important issue.
We take as our starting point the declaration that all human beings are born free, with equal dignity and equal rights, and we believe that it is the responsibility of Member States to promote and guarantee those rights.
We are also saying that the fundamental values of the European Union should be respected even in a crisis situation, and access to care, healthcare and social assistance should be seen as a basic right for all within the European Union.
We know that times are hard in many countries, but we have also heard how political choices are making things harder. We have heard much in this Parliament about the dire situation of young people without employment. Yet some Member States stop health insurance after a certain period of time out of work. It is the European Year of Citizens, yet some Member States are making it more difficult for EU nationals to access healthcare to which they are entitled. The EU has a Roma strategy, yet we still have many examples of prejudice affecting access to healthcare despite the existing EU legislation.
The Parliament welcomed the Commission recommendation on children and the recognition of the need to invest in early years to enhance life chances, yet we are seeing an increasing number of children taken into care linked to family poverty, and others going without basic vaccinations. Rising costs, falling income and cuts in services make it difficult to maintain the preventative services to which our governments have signed up, and we are storing up longer-term problems.
We heard about those providing and receiving care: many of them informal carers, many becoming a vulnerable group in themselves. People with disabilities told us that not only are some places going back to old models of institutional care rather than supporting independent living, but the levels of hate crime against people with disabilities are rising as they are increasingly viewed as burdens. They are not the only groups now experiencing harassment or even violence.
So the list of problems is long, but we also try to look at some solutions. Some are straightforward, such as the provision of accurate and understandable information. Tackling discrimination and extending the legal framework at EU level would also be seen as useful. But we have also called for Member States to carry out social impact assessments on austerity measures and to address the shortfalls. The Commission and Member States, in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, and that means vulnerable people themselves, should monitor and address – that is the active part in national reform plans – which policies run counter to the EU’s 2020 poverty reduction targets.
We want the Commission to include social safeguards protecting care and social services and social protection systems in agreements with countries in receipt of financial assistance. Many of us find it incredible that that has not already been done.
We want to see support for carers and are asking the Commission to bring forward proposals for a carers’ leave directive. A social dialogue for the care sector could also help raise standards for the workforce."@en1
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