kfajdsl/voxpopuli huggingface dataset:
the commission has prepared guidelines on how these funds in particular the european social fund support homeless people social inclusion and employability in various ways such as through support services training centres and socio economic programmes.
migration. the commission wants to ensure that freedom of movement is respected in the european union in all countries and this was a subject of the debate
context. it is also untrue that the commission would be so to speak promoting mass
house; we would like to see more members of the european parliament in our meetings like at the people experiencing poverty conference.
we heard this morning from ukip that it was opposed to mass immigration.
if there are homeless among the indigenous population a house provided for a new arrival is a house denied to an existing resident.
however its leader said recently we want immigration we welcome immigration'.
through the progress programme the commission finances innovative social projects such as housing first europe which has delivered evidence that homelessness can be successfully addressed through the re housing of long term homeless people.
while planning and implementing policies confronting homelessness remains a matter of primarily national competence the commission fully supports the efforts of the member states in this domain.
studies show that shelter based approaches are costly and they do not lead to getting homeless people out of their situation in a sustainable manner.
finally i would underline that the effectiveness of homelessness related provisions can also be addressed in the commission's monitoring exercise within the framework of the european semester.
by targeting the very different causes of homelessness;
these funds are available to improve housing outcomes and housing remains a funding priority for the two thousand and fourteen two thousand and twenty financial framework. the european regional development fund may for instance finance integrated housing interventions and energy efficient housing renovations.
mainly in the more peripheral countries and regions reaching unprecedented levels among those who are more vulnerable such as the homeless.
and revising their practices on eviction.
in the context of active inclusion strategies specific attention is moreover being paid to accompanying measures ensuring access to good quality social and health services.
in the same vein this year we will start developing together with the oecd a comprehensive database on social policies for housing.
we also cooperate with the dublin foundation to monitor how housing quality influences social outcomes.
to this end the commission launched a pilot project on the right to housing which will look into the link between housing evictions and homelessness.
implementing comprehensive preventive housing led homelessness policies;
the commission is also very attentive to the interactions between state aid rules and housing policies.
the rise of poverty has also affected wider layers of society young people migrants and families with children.
to address street homelessness shelters are an immediate but only a transitory solution.
member states are therefore encouraged to report on their homelessness strategies in their national reform programmes.
the eu respects and promotes the right to social and housing assistance under the charter of fundamental rights to combat social exclusion and poverty. the social investment package presented by the commission in february two thousand and thirteen calls on the member states to eradicate homelessness in a sustainable way
the social investment package calls upon the member states to spend european structural and investment funds in a more strategic way.
for instance last november we set up a workshop on integrated strategies for re housing homeless people in the framework of the annual convention of the european platform against poverty and social exclusion. the commission is committed to working with experienced partners at european national regional and local level to support the member states in preparing and further developing such national strategies.
the european social fund can complement such integrated investments and can fund enhanced access to quality social services.
three five billion has been allocated to the recently adopted fund for european aid to the most deprived to provide non financial assistance to the most deprived people and explicitly address the food deprivation of homeless people combined with activities aimed at their social inclusion.
however i strongly oppose several amendments which do not respect subsidiarity particularly in the area of tenancy law.
this resolution recognises the fact that dealing with homelessness is up to the member states.
madam president it is extremely difficult to get decent statistics on the number of people who are homeless across the european union.
yes city councils do street counts of those who are sleeping rough but it is a wider problem.
homelessness is a local issue but we can bring together the experiences of all twenty eight member states to work to combat it.
we should ensure for instance that eu funds such as the european social fund can be used for programmes in this area.
being homeless renders it practically impossible for these people to participate in everyday life either by entering or re entering the labour market or by having a proper family life.
madam president the crisis of homelessness is a graphic illustration of the fact that europe is moving rapidly in the wrong direction in terms of the conditions of the people.
we need settled communities not footloose ones;
we need industrialists to take on apprentices and send them to university at their expense and we need those industrialists to invest in the poorer countries of europe to help raise their standard.
that offered a better way out breaking the circle.
it even benefited me but later governments abolished it. we need an education system in europe which caters for all abilities.
the province of the wealthy.
we need academic schools technical schools commercial schools sports academies drama schools universities and colleges of further education.
we need people trained in a range of skills and for them for the most part to remain in their homelands to develop prosperity there raising their standard of living and banishing homelessness through their own efforts.
i do not believe in the mass migration of people across europe promoted by this eu.
a coordinated approach is necessary and the eu has a responsibility to focus on this problem and to provide advice and strategy. there is a need for emergency help but also and above all for housing policies that provide a more permanent solution to homelessness.
i think that some of the issues have been mentioned here in relation to evictions which are new to the stage to some extent but there are many other issues which cause homelessness such as domestic violence poverty unemployment and mental health issues. we have a lot of information from the european federation of national organisations working with the homeless dealing with this.
the research is saying to us very clearly that a housing led approach is a better solution to the problem than anything else. however it requires all the stakeholders to accept that and it also needs to be implemented.
this is happening in some cases for example in ireland we are beginning to talk about a new build programme.
we might have properties available but in the wrong locations.
as has been said homelessness is the manifestation of one of the worst forms of extreme material deprivation and poverty.
i want to commend the organisations which are delivering services. particularly in my own constituency of dublin i know that the problem is reaching crisis levels which is why i welcome the fact that just this week my colleagues on dublin city council rejected proposed cuts in the homeless budget and instead voted through an increase.
we have no programme for the exchange of practice;
and indeed we really have no programme to plot a common course to end the scourge of homelessness.
given the ongoing concerns about security in this house can you assure us today that you are taking these matters seriously and that the so called review being conducted in secret by parliament's bureau will not merely be a tinkering exercise but a root and branch reform of security?
i take the point in relation to dna but if we do this if we give the name of somebody who is to be contacted then the dna can follow later.
the fact that it must now be produced within one hour is extremely welcome.
training courses are crucially important because what we need to do is to reduce the current differences between the different standards applicable in the different member states. concerning the passenger list one of the major traumas in the wake of an accident is the delay in getting the passenger list.
i support the proposal already alluded to by brian simpson and by the rapporteur that the european aviation safety authority should not in any circumstances have any role in safety investigation.
i believe this to be an excellent piece of work and i congratulate our rapporteurs and the shadows for their efforts.
it is also crucial to point out the need for an effective occurrence reporting system and the sharing of relevant information arising from incidents as well as for payment of adequate compensation. parliament has also in this revision raised an opportunity to revisit the area of protecting the rights of victims and relatives by insisting that assistance and information be made available within two hours.
the transport committee has i believe strengthened a number of provisions initially proposed by the commission.
finally i would point out to the commission the need to revise the occurrence reporting directive so that the two directives can complement each other.
i want to concentrate on two issues contained in the report firstly on how to improve the investigation of air accidents and secondly on the issue of the rights of victims and relatives of those involved in such accidents.
this represents an important step towards improving the quality of safety investigations strengthening their independence and encouraging high standards in investigation methods and training. it is important that the new rules reflect the advances achieved in safety with the european aviation safety agency which can from now on contribute to safety investigations with its expertise and experience in the areas of its competence.
the commission is committed to working expeditiously to complete the new rules with proposals to modernise the system of occurrence reporting for aviation incidents and accidents so that at the end of the day we can have the best tools effectively to do our work which is to protect the lives of european travellers.
thank you very much for a very constructive debate.
regulation on air safety in europe.
as the rapporteur said it has not been an easy file. on the contrary it contains issues that have required very delicate and sensitive negotiations in order to reach a balance between the prerogatives of independent safety investigations and those of justice authorities between the need on the one hand to conduct investigative work and the need to protect the anonymity of those who are affected by the investigation on the other.
we have done this because we want to learn the right lessons from that work and ultimately provide good and modern rules which will help us investigate professionally and prevent future accidents and incidents and which will guarantee a high level of air safety for european citizens.
it was therefore so important that both the council and parliament were ready to make the necessary compromises.
i would like to thank you all for that.
i would also like to underline that the commission shares the assessment of the rapporteur.
the agreed text represents a good and fair balance between the different interests involved.
of course at the end of the day the biggest winner today is the european passenger.
aviation safety and protection of passengers is a priority for the commission and has been the primary concern of all of us around the negotiating table.
this approach has the added benefit of encouraging institutional shareholders to take a positive role in promoting women to positions of leadership but the real problem of gender equality exists one step down at the management level.
not only is it patronising to women it is completely against the concept of shareholder engagement that we are all so keen to foster in european companies.
more diversity on boards when twinned with effective selection procedures that put the correct focus on expertise and experience has been proven to be good for corporate governance.
madam president one of the cross cutting themes in this report is the call for wider representation of women on boards of companies an aspiration that i entirely agree with.
the best way to achieve meaningful non tokenistic representation of women on boards is by industry initiatives such as the thirty club in the united kingdom which encourages business leaders to take affirmative action in moving voluntarily towards a better gender balance at all levels of their organisation.
if this report can go into all sorts of issues in relation to abortion and war and everything else why is it that we can never hear from this author or this committee any concern about the destruction of women because they are women on such an extraordinary scale?
according to the principle of subsidiarity these are issues within the competence of member states and i do not see why these issues are included in this report.
since the report has gone into all sorts of issues which are not the competence of the parliament why has it not gone into the issue of gendercide?
there are one hundred million women missing in the world because of gender based abortion.
i look at spain for example and belgium where they introduced gender quotas.
i look at the irish parliament.
we need to reinvent our political system so that it is gender balanced.
we sit and lecture and mandate gender equality for any number of private institutions and already have legislative proposals on the table covering diversity on the boards of financial institutions yet the ecb itself does not currently have a single woman on its executive board.
i refuse to accept that there are no competent women out there able to take part in economic decisions that affect the lives of over five hundred million eu citizens or that the bank's dealings with greece and other troubled economies over the coming years would not benefit from a female perspective.
one would expect the eu institutions themselves with many politically appointed executives to be leading the way.
madam president this report is a classic example of do as i say not as i do.
let the eu institutions fix their own gender deficit before turning to others.
i cannot understand why one of the most influential institutions in the eu namely the european central bank does not get included in the scope of this report.
many member states still think it is acceptable to consider an all male shortlist every time a position on the ecb comes up.
considering that fifty one of the uk population is female this imbalance becomes stark.
we must encourage improvement on the twenty four eu national average of women in political decision making roles.
however what i do oppose is the eu creating a top down approach whereby they impose quotas and other measures to address the gender imbalance.
it is regrettable that women are so badly under represented in politics.
i therefore support ideas such as mentoring programmes whereby training and exchange programmes could be used to better promote young women's political participation and i commend the work of the conservative women's organisation in the uk in encouraging young women.
the situation is even worse in westminster in the uk where twenty two of members of parliament are women.
similarly i cannot support the recommendation for an agreement for financial support on a common core curriculum.
if we can work on a diverse platform for education within my member state why not amongst the eu and as described here within the forty seven countries?
madam president whilst i support the bologna process which although not an eu initiative has forty seven countries agreeing to facilitate movement for study or employment between countries within the european higher education area i was not able to support this report as i firmly believe that education is and should remain a competence reserved for member states.
so i do not agree with a number of the recommendations that have been made in this report. although i would not be opposed to additional cooperation between universities or other education institutions in third countries and the eu i am opposed to any harmonisation of academic standards at the eu level and beyond.
even within the united kingdom wales england scotland and northern ireland have differences in their curricula and although they have some harmonisation of academic standards they are not always the same and do not need to be.
instead i much prefer the big society idea promoted by my very own prime minister david cameron.
two thousand and ten given this slow uptake i do not back the calls for the creation of a dedicated european year of the social economy and neither do i support the initiative put forward in the report for urgent improvements within the commission with regard to the organisation and financial resources dedicated to the social economy.
maybe other eu member states should look at the uk and copy this example.
madam president this report is supposed to be about equality between men and women in the european union.
instead the focus of this report was diverted to abortion reproductive rights and the definition of the family all of which are subsidiarity matters. i voted against paragraph forty seven reproductive rights and access to abortion;
on issues such as quotas i firmly believe it is up to the nation state and national parties to decide how they will address the gender imbalance.
the call for the european observatory on gender based violence to be made operational as soon as possible is fully supported while i agree that the eu victims' package must include provisions to support women who have been forced to marry or who have been the victims of genital mutilation as a result of religious practices.
gender stereotypes often leading to discrimination in the workplace must also be addressed.
we must address especially in times of economic crisis where belts are tightening the problem that women earn on average.
there are many points of agreement within this report but often it goes too far and i cannot support this.
however the report goes on to call for eu influence over maternity leave quotas for female representation in elected positions the combating of gender based violence through eu wide legal instruments and pension rights all of which i believe are better addressed at a national level rather than at a european level.
what we do not need is to put them there through non flexible eu legislation which establishes targets and quotas for women.
member states need to look at their own political systems and decide how best to support women in these fields.
member states must have the right to decide what is best for their government and how to format their government. who is in the government is up to the electorate.
candidates must always be selected on merit and the ability to do the job.
this report is patronising to women and it is venturing outside the eu jurisdiction.
madam president i voted against the berlinguer report on the contribution of the european institutions to the consolidation and progress of the bologna process which is not a bad thing per se but it should stick to the mutual recognition of degrees and diplomas.
i feel strongly that educational policy should be primarily the preserve of the governments of the eu member states.
a particular concern to the british conservative delegation are the repeated calls for more places and funding for higher education.
given that the british government has recently made efficiency savings in the areas of higher education and increased tuition fees we find it difficult to agree with a report that states that such cuts have a negative effect on attempts to strengthen the eu's social dimension.
setting up local cooperatives to meet local needs should be the obvious solution. however i think the concept of european cooperative societies misses the point.
setting eu directives to harmonise the concept of a cooperative is not what is necessary to make setting them up easier.
the real problem is the huge amount of red tape and bureaucracy that any number of other eu directives and regulations create and thus stifle small businesses no matter whether they are organised as cooperatives social enterprises or for profit businesses.
i can only hope that the commission's commitment to a social business initiative and all businesses across the eu will turn words into action and actually deal head on with the issue of red tape and bureaucracy which affects all of my welsh businesses however they may be structured.
madam president i voted against the in 't veld report on equality between men and women in the eu. the report of course has many positive elements on gender equality which i support such as work in the field of preventing domestic violence forced marriages female genital mutilation discrimination in the workplace and unequal pay for the same work.
lastly matters to do with abortion are a personal conscience matter and in my view should be deal with under subsidiarity by national parliaments and national governments and individual mps not meps.
madam president along with my group the ecr i abstained on the lechner report on jurisdiction and matters of succession and on the creation of a european certificate of succession.
we agree with the report for the most part but found it difficult to agree on the clawback mechanism as this mechanism is alien to the legal system and traditions in england and wales which i represent. we would be concerned were it introduced that it would adversely affect charities in the uk as it would affect the certainty with which they can view donations.
the clawback mechanism applies retrospectively. there is potential for gifts or donations given to charities during the lifetime of a benefactor then being annulled by their legal heirs upon the benefactor's death.
given the council's refusal to allow an exception on this point for the uk we felt in the ecr that we could not opt into this regulation.
as the connecting factor in the absence of a choice of law the effect of the regulation on the system of administration which exists in ireland and the issue of lifetime gifts or clawback.
while some progress was made on the issue of habitual residence the issue of administration of estates and the restoration of lifetime gifts or clawback were not resolved to ireland's satisfaction.
madam president this report on the authentic instruments in matters of succession and the creation of a european certificate of succession seeks to give legal clarification that the law of one eu member state can apply in the case of when a deceased person owns property in more than one member state.
i am particularly concerned with the issue of clawback which raises uncertainty in a person's estate suggesting that their decisions pre death may not be final.
importantly this gives individuals the right to freely choose whether they would like to give a portion of this to a charity for example after their death.
no eu legislation should interfere with this personal decision.
i am in favour of gay rights and so on but i am afraid that this report has missed the opportunity for the whole house to be in agreement on the equality of men and women because it touched upon issues of strict subsidiarity which is not acceptable because it provokes this parliament to be divided where this parliament should have been united.