‘Home help’ scheme

28.2.2007

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1178/07
by Panagiotis Beglitis (PSE)
to the Commission

The ‘Home help’ scheme has been operating in Greece since 2000, 75 % of the necessary funding being met by the European Union and 25 % by the national authorities, providing 1 097 teams of home helpers, a total of 4 000, for about 100 000 elderly and disabled people. The home help teams fulfil an extremely important social function, ensuring recipients a healthy and dignified existence in their home environment and improving their quality of life, thereby helping to alleviate social exclusion.

European Union home help funding is due to end on 30 June 2007, leaving a question mark over the continued operation of the scheme and possible job losses. Given that by this date, it will be necessary to have introduced the legal, financial and administrative reforms required in order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme with national funding and to have drawn up a national plan of action, as indicated by Commission K. Špidla in reply (P‑4455/05 of 9 January 2006) to my previous question:

Has the Greek Government provided the Commission with information regarding the form and substance of the necessary framework provisions and the drawing up of a national plan of action to ensure the financial sustainability of the scheme and its continued operation?

OJ C 293, 05/12/2007