EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2009 - 2014
Plenary sitting
8.1.2014
B7-0012/2014
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
to wind up the debate on the statements by the Council and the Commission
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
on an EU homelessness strategy
(2013/2994(RSP))
Inês Cristina Zuber, Willy Meyer, Paul Murphy, Jacky Hénin,
Martina Anderson, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Younous Omarjee,
Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, Nikolaos Chountis
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
RE\1014717EN.doc
EN
PE527.198v01-00
United in diversity
EN
B7-0012/2014
European Parliament resolution on an EU homelessness strategy
(2013/2994(RSP))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, especially
Article 34 thereof,
– having regard to the revised European Social Charter of the Council of Europe, especially
Article 31 thereof,
– having regard to its resolution of 14 September 2011 on an EU Homelessness Strategy1,
– having regard to its resolution of 11 June 2013 on social housing in the European Union2,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas access to housing is a fundamental right and a precondition to exercising and
achieving citizenship under conditions of full dignity; whereas guaranteeing access to
decent and adequate housing is an international obligation incumbent on the Member
States, which the Union must respect, given that the right of access to housing and to
housing assistance is enshrined in the constitutions of many Member States and
recognised in Article 34 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
Articles 30 and 31 of the revised European Social Charter adopted by the Council of
Europe and Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
B. whereas the neoliberal austerity measures, which have been reinforced by the so-called
Troika’s Memoranda of Understanding, notably as part of the so-called National Reform
Plans, Economic Governance and the European Semester, and which will be worsened by
the Fiscal Compact, are contributing to the deepening of the social and economic crisis in
a number of countries with more fragile economies, imposing a social setback of
civilisational dimension;
C. whereas these policies are leading to the reduction of workers’ wages, a decrease in
domestic demand and tax revenues, the dismantling of social protection systems and the
brutal reduction of public investment; whereas, as a result, life is becoming more and
more difficult for working-class families, and particularly for women, children and
immigrants from those social strata, who are the main victims of the increase in poverty,
unemployment and precarious and poorly paid work;
D. whereas in the EU more than 26 million people are unemployed, 19 % of children are
threatened by poverty, 8 % of people suffer from severe material deprivation, 24.2 % of
people are at risk of poverty, the working poor represent a third of working-age adults at
risk of poverty and there are 410 000 homeless people every night;
1
2
OJ C 51 E, 22.2.2013, p. 101.
Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0246.
PE527.198v01-00
EN
2/4
RE\1014717EN.doc
E. whereas the worsening economic and financial crisis and the implementation of austerity
measures, with falling wages and rising unemployment, in conjunction with high rents and
rising mortgage repayments, are leading to an increase in the number of evictions and
property seizures by banks, in particular in countries such as Spain, which has seen more
than 400 000 house evictions since 2008; whereas the absence of datio in solutum
engenders social and financial exclusion, which is a major obstacle to finding other
accommodation;
F. whereas mass speculation in the housing sector led to soaring profits for banks and
property speculators and a massive housing bubble; whereas the subsequent burst of that
bubble left millions of people across Europe in negative equity and at risk of losing their
homes, resulting in tens of thousands of forced evictions;
G. whereas the social and family profiles of people using social housing have changed, and
whereas there is now increased demand for such housing;
H. whereas in most Member States there is a shortage of social housing facilities and an
increasing need for affordable housing;
1. Considers it is necessary to identify these new social realities as a matter of urgency in
order to outline appropriate housing strategies that match the reality in each Member
State;
2. Points out that implementing the right to housing affects the implementation of other
fundamental rights, including political and social rights; takes the view that the right to
housing should be implemented through a guarantee that citizens and families will have
adequate housing which meet their needs and safeguards their well-being, privacy and
quality of life, thereby helping to achieve social justice and cohesion and tackle social
exclusion and poverty;
3. Calls for the development of an ambitious and integrated strategy, based on increasing
budget support and resources for national strategies, with the aim of ending homelessness
as soon as possible within the broader social inclusion framework;
4. Stresses that this strategy will only achieve results if it is integrated into an overall plan to
combat poverty and unemployment, promote economic development and end the
undermining of labour rights, standards and wage levels, combined with a spatial planning
and housing policy geared to meeting people’s needs and respecting their rights and not to
financial or speculative interests;
5. Considers that the EU should support the Member States in the implementation of their
transition strategies for homeless people, namely by:
•
adopting laws against speculation by controlling the price of housing;
•
creating a network of decent and adequate shelters in urban areas;
•
securing the universal and free nature of these shelters through framework legislation;
RE\1014717EN.doc
3/4
PE527.198v01-00
EN
•
guaranteeing regular monitoring of the population of each shelter by multidisciplinary
teams, including medical personnel, and the implementation of social inclusion plans
for individuals whose disability does not prevent an active life;
•
creating ‘immediate accommodation plans’, based on the use of housing stock in the
Member States (where such stock exists) or on the recovery of unused or vacant
buildings, thereby ensuring the availability of housing for all homeless people;
•
creating multidisciplinary teams to monitor all those participating in these plans and
intervene in problems of various kinds (addictions, mental and physical illness,
difficulties in entering the workplace, etc.) which affect this population;
•
adopting measures such as regulating for the introduction of datio in solutum (where it
does not exist) or declaring a state of emergency in the housing sector when needed in
order to guarantee the right to housing;
•
introducing an immediate moratorium on house evictions and passing laws that ban
evictions of homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments as a
result of the economic crisis;
•
introducing a public works programme to build new and decent social housing
facilities for all;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and
the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
PE527.198v01-00
EN
4/4
RE\1014717EN.doc