European Parliament calls for an EU Homelessness Strategy

The resolution calls on the EU to increase its coordination and support Member States in aligning their policies in order to fight against homelessness all across the EU. This would require to continue on previous work at the EU-level to deliver a EU-wide strategy that makes concrete progress.

It is worth noting that the resolution builds on a series of events and policy documents adopted recently such as on the European Consensus Conference on Homelessness, Written Declaration on an EU Homelessness Strategy (61/2010) as well as on a Written Declaration on Ending Street Homelessness (111/20007) in 2008. It also follows the Belgian presidency during which homelessness was made a priority.

The resolution for EU homelessness strategy was prepared by MEP Pervenche Berès (France, S&D)and MEP Karima Delli (France, Greens/EFA) on behalf of the EP Employment and Social Affairs Committee.

FEANTSA - EPHA member - "congratulates the Parliament on its commitment to ending homelessness, which is a violation of human dignity and fundamental rights, and looks forward to further co-operation with the European Commission and other institutions in order to support follow-up of this Resolution."

Particular points of interest in the Resolution

The European Parliament calls on

 the Commission to establish a working group for an EU homelessness strategy and to involve all stakeholders in the fight against homelessness, including health actors;

 Calls for an EU homelessness strategy to go beyond monitoring and reporting, go beyond-GDP approach that EPHA advocates for and deliver a package of activities to support the development and sustainment of effective national and regional homelessness strategies;

 Calls for a specific focus on ‘housing-led’ approaches under the social innovation strand of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion;

 Calls for an EU homelessness strategy to focus on the promotion of quality services - including healthcare - for homeless people and urges the Commission to develop a voluntary quality framework as stipulated in the Communication on the European Poverty Platform;

 Calls for homelessness to be mainstreamed across relevant policy domains - including health, agriculture, education, gender, research - as an aspect of the fight against poverty and social exclusion;

 considers that it is up to the Member States to define the remits of affordable and social housing and that an EU Homelessness Strategy should be fully compliant with the social housing policy of Member States

EPHA related articles

 Final recommendations of the European Consensus Conference on homelessness

 European Parliament calls upon EU for concrete action towards ending homelessness - FEANTSA Press Release

 Ending homelessness - a call for action in the EU

 European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion - first dialogue meeting of the EU Stakeholder Group

 Council Conclusions on the Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion

 EPHA briefing on "beyond GDP"

 MEPS call for new indicators to complement GDP

 EPHA Briefing Paper on Health Inequalities