Motion for a resolution - B7-0011/2014Motion for a resolution
B7-0011/2014

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on an EU homelessness strategy

8.1.2014 - (2013/2994(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Raül Romeva i Rueda, Karima Delli, Rui Tavares, Jean Lambert, Elisabeth Schroedter, Nikos Chrysogelos on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0008/2014

Procedure : 2013/2994(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B7-0011/2014

B7‑0011/2014

European Parliament resolution on an EU homelessness strategy

(2013/2994(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Treaty on European Union, in particular Articles 2 and 3 thereof,

–   having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Article 9 thereof,

–   having regard to the revised European Social Charter of the Council of Europe, in particular Article 31 thereof,

–   having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Article 34 thereof,

–   having regard to its declaration of 16 December 2010 on an EU homelessness strategy[1],

–   having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2011 on an EU homelessness strategy[2],

–   having regard to its resolution of 11 June 2013 on social housing in the European Union[3],

–   having regard to the final recommendations of the European Consensus Conference on Homelessness of 9 and 10 December 2010,

–   having regard to the outcomes of the roundtable of ministers responsible for homelessness, organised by the Irish Presidency in March 2013,

–   having regard to the conclusions of the 19th informal meeting of European housing ministers of 9 and 10 December 2013,

–   having regard to the conclusions of the roundtable meeting of EU ministers with responsibility for homelessness on 1 March 2013, which include six principles to inform EU policy on homelessness and a call on the Commission to support and facilitate Member States in their efforts to combat homelessness through implementation of the Social Investment Package,

–   having regard to the 2012 annual report of the Social Protection Committee entitled ‘Social Europe: Current challenges and the way forward’, which reports a general trend of increasing homelessness in much of the EU,

–   having regard to its resolution of 3 July 2013 on the situation of fundamental rights: standards and practices in Hungary[4], urging the Hungarian Government to assume its responsibilities as regards homelessness and to put an end to the criminalisation of homeless people,

–   having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Towards a European agenda for social housing’ of October 2011, calling on the Commission to implement without delay an EU homelessness strategy as proposed by Parliament in its 2011 resolution,

–   having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘The problem of homelessness’ of 27 October 2011, in which it calls on the Commission to develop an ambitious strategy on the issue of homelessness and to support the Member States in developing effective national strategies,

–   having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas homelessness continues to affect people in all Member States and is an unacceptable violation of human dignity and human rights;

B.  whereas homelessness represents the most extreme form of poverty and deprivation, and has increased in recent years in virtually all Member States;

C. whereas poverty is not a crime and whereas homelessness is neither a crime nor a lifestyle choice;

D. whereas the countries hardest hit by the economic and financial crisis are witnessing an unprecedented increase in homelessness, especially youth homelessness;

E.  whereas homelessness has become a clear priority of the EU’s poverty policy in the framework of the EU 2020 Strategy and the EU Social Investment Package;

F.  whereas on 14 September 2011 Parliament adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution calling for an integrated EU strategy, underpinned by national and regional strategies, with the long-term aim of ending homelessness;

G. whereas six principles were agreed at the Ministers’ Roundtable on Homelessness in Leuven on 1 March 2013;

H. whereas several EU bodies such as the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee and Parliament have called on the Commission to develop an EU strategy on homelessness or something similar;

I.   whereas EU-level policy coordination in the area of homelessness, in the framework of the Open Method of Coordination for Social Protection and Social Inclusion and the Europe 2020 strategy, has added value to efforts at national, regional and local level over the past decade, and whereas there is a need and a demand to further develop this work with a more strategic and longer-term approach;

J.   whereas homelessness is by its very nature a multifaceted problem and requires a multifaceted policy response;

K. whereas increasing evidence shows that housing-led approaches to homelessness are the most effective in bringing about sustainable inclusion;

L.  whereas the Europe 2020 Strategy, and its headline target of lifting at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and social exclusion by 2020, require renewed efforts from the Member States and the EU, which should also be aimed at reducing homelessness;

M. whereas a key element of the Europe 2020 Strategy is the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion flagship initiative, which includes several actions related to homelessness that have not yet been implemented;

N. whereas homelessness receives increasing focus in the framework of the EU Semester, with several Member States including homelessness as an anti-poverty priority in their 2012 and 2013 National Reform Programmes;

O. whereas the current EU policy framework and the social reality on the ground are paving the way for enhanced and more ambitious action on homelessness at EU level;

P.  whereas the European Consensus Conference of December 2010 provides a solid basis for more ambitious EU action on homelessness;

Q. whereas the immediate responsibility for tackling homelessness lies with the Member States, and in particular regional and local authorities, and whereas an EU strategy has a complementary role to play;

R.  whereas a stronger role for the Commission is possible within its current areas of competence and while respecting the principle of subsidiarity;

S.  whereas DG Employment is best placed to lead on homelessness, but several other DGs should also address homelessness within their areas of responsibility;

T.  whereas an increasing number of Member States have a holistic homelessness strategy and could benefit from European cooperation to further develop their policies;

U. whereas in some EU Member States public authorities have taken measures to penalise or criminalise homelessness which do not respect the fundamental rights of homeless people and are ineffective and usually expensive to implement;

V. whereas the criminalisation of homelessness does not belong in a democratic modern society and creates double penalisation of already socially excluded and poor persons;

1.  Urges the Commission to develop an EU homelessness strategy without any further delay along the lines set out in Parliament’s resolution of 14 September 2011 on an EU homelessness strategy and in proposals from other EU institutions and bodies;

2.  Calls on the Commission to establish a high‑level expert group to support the Commission with the preparation and further development of an EU homelessness strategy; stresses that this expert group should include representatives of the main stakeholders involved in the fight against homelessness, including national and local policy makers, researchers, NGOs, and people experiencing homelessness;

3.  Urges EPSCO to discuss and endorse an EU homelessness strategy on the basis of a concrete proposal from the Commission;

4.  Calls on the Commission to give due consideration to references to homelessness in the Country Specific Recommendations relating to Member States where progress on homelessness is urgently required; calls on the Member States to further strengthen the inclusion of homelessness in their National Reform Programmes;

5.  Calls on the Member States to develop comprehensive homelessness strategies which are housing-led and include a strong prevention focus and which take into account the guidance provided in the Commission communication entitled ‘Towards Social Investment for Growth and Cohesion’ and the Commission staff working document entitled ‘Confronting Homelessness in Europe’;

6.  Draws attention to its resolution of 14 September 2011 on homelessness for the key elements of an EU homelessness strategy, and calls on the Council and the Commission to deliver on the following elements:

•   Regular European monitoring of Member States’ progress on homelessness

•   An EU indicator on homelessness based on the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS) model to measure the extent of housing-related social exclusion

•   Research and knowledge building on homelessness policies and services, including cost-effectiveness studies

•   Social innovation in homelessness policies and services, including testing and scaling up

•   Link with EU funds, in particular the ESF, ERDF and FEAD;

7.  Invites the Commission to use the EaSI (employment and social innovation) programme as the main source of funding for an EU strategy to finance research and transnational exchanges, and to further build its cooperation with key European partners such as FEANTSA (European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless) and HABITACT (European exchange forum on local homeless strategies);

8.  Emphasises the need for social innovation to be supported both by the European platform against poverty and social exclusion and by the Framework Programme for Research with a view to analysing new policies aimed at improving access to housing and reducing homelessness;

9.  Calls on the Member States and the EU Presidency to hold on a regular basis a European Round Table of EU Ministers responsible for homelessness, as initiated by the Irish EU Presidency in March 2013; invites the Commission to provide practical and financial support for this meeting;

10. Welcomes the six principles agreed at the Ministers’ Roundtable on Homelessness in Leuven on 1 March 2013 under the Irish Presidency;

11. Calls on the Social Protection Committee to integrate homelessness into its monitoring work in the framework of the EU 2020 Strategy including the Social Protection Performance Monitor, based on the Joint Assessment Framework, and the National Social Reports;

12. Calls on the Commission to mainstream homelessness across all relevant EU policy areas, and encourages the Commission to involve different Directorates-General in the development and implementation of an EU homelessness strategy under the leadership of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion;

13. Invites the Commission to focus on the following as priority themes for an EU homelessness strategy:

•    Housing-led/Housing First approaches to homelessness as a social investment

•    Link between free movement and homelessness

•    Quality of homelessness services

•    Prevention of homelessness

•    Youth homelessness;

14. Believes that Members States and their local authorities, in cooperation with tenants’ organisations, should implement effective prevention policies to stop tenants being evicted, especially the most vulnerable households and in particular during very cold periods, on the basis that, in addition to the human cost of evictions, in particular for families, covering and preventing missed rent payments and arrears of rent is a less costly option for the relevant authorities;

15. Invites the Commission and the Council to consider introducing an EU guarantee to make sure that nobody in the European Union is forced to sleep rough because of a lack of (emergency) services adapted to his/her needs; believes that a guarantee of this kind could be modelled on the Youth Guarantee and use the same governance structure;

16. Urges the Member States to develop social and affordable housing adapted for the most vulnerable individuals in order to prevent social exclusion and homelessness;

17. Calls on the Member States and their local and regional authorities to implement effective incentive measures, on the basis of forecasts of housing needs, in order to combat the phenomenon of housing remaining unoccupied in the long term, particularly in densely populated areas, with a view to tackling property speculation and to converting these properties into affordable and social housing;

18. Expresses its concerns about the mortgage situation in Spain, Ireland and now Greece, in particular about the waves of evictions which will generate large numbers of homeless persons; considers that the updated Spanish mortgage law is not consistent with the ruling by the European Court of Justice of 14 March 2013; calls on the Commission to urge Spain to guarantee the proper transposition of Directive 93/13/EEC; calls for a reform of the banking sector in such a way that it meets the needs of society by banning home foreclosures for unpaid mortgages; recommends to Member States that they adopt a tenure‑neutral housing policy to prevent housing bubbles;

19. Urges both the Commission and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to focus more on the implications of extreme poverty for access to and enjoyment of fundamental rights, bearing in mind that the fulfilment of the right to housing is critical for the enjoyment of a full range of other rights, including several political and social rights;

20. Calls on the Member States to use all resources available to eradicate the worst forms of poverty, including homelessness; warns that decreasing the visibility of people experiencing homelessness is aggravating the situation;

21. Calls on the Member States to immediately put an end to the criminalisation of homeless people, including in Poland, Hungary and Belgium, and to change the discriminatory practices used to prevent homeless people from accessing social services and shelters, notably in England and the Netherlands;

22. Calls on the Commission to monitor this process closely and to issue country-specific recommendations wherever necessary to make sure human dignity is respected throughout the EU;

23. Calls on the Member States to stop violating international human rights treaties and to fully respect any agreements they have signed, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Council of Europe’s revised Social Charter;

24. Calls on the Commission to make sure its policies and policy recommendations do not lead to human rights violations;

25. Calls on the Commission and Member States to encourage exchanges of good practice as regards the effective implementation of the right to housing;

26. Considers that an EU Homelessness Strategy should fully respect the Treaty (TFEU), which affirms ‘the essential role and the wide discretion of national, regional and local authorities in providing, commissioning and organising services of general economic interest as closely as possible to the needs of the users’; considers that responsibility for fighting homelessness lies with the Member States and that an EU homelessness strategy should therefore support Member States in taking up this responsibility as effectively as possible while fully respecting the principle of subsidiarity;

27.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Social Protection Committee and the Council of Europe.