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Parliamentary question - E-005830/2014Parliamentary question
E-005830/2014

Poverty emergency in Italy

Question for written answer E-005830-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Nicola Caputo (S&D)

The statistics relating to absolute and relative poverty in Italy are alarming, according to Istat, which has highlighted the fact that between 2012 and 2013 poverty increased from 6.8% to 7.9%. In a single year, therefore, the number of poor people increased by around 1 206 000.

In southern Italy, in addition to the increased incidence of absolute poverty (which increased from 9.8 to 12.6% between 2012 and 2013), relative poverty grew from 21.4 to 23.5%.

In Italy, around one family in five is poor, or near enough. In Europe, there are 17 countries in which more than a fifth of the population can be categorised as poor. 43 million EU citizens, including many children, do not have the food they need on a daily basis.

What will the Commission do to ensure that Member States commit themselves to earmarking a large part of the new Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) for food aid?

Does the Commission not agree that an integrated strategy to combat poverty in the EU needs to be launched, based on objective indicators and with a specific time-frame within which to be implemented, to ensure that the Europe 2020 goals are met?