EUROPE IS LOSING THE BATTLE AGAINST POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WILL WARN

3.00.00pm GMT Wed 14th Nov 2007

European countries must do much more to prioritise the fight against poverty and social exclusion and share best practice more effectively if we are to beat poverty and tackle social exclusion according to a key report set to be adopted tomorrow by the European Parliament.

Liz Lynne, Liberal Democrat MEP for the West Midlands, rapporteur for the report and Vice President of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee commented ahead of the vote tomorrow:

"We face a huge challenge in Europe - and this challenge is one of fairness. I don't think most people would believe that in 2007, as we celebrate 50 years of the Treaty of Rome and 50 years of economic growth, over 72 million European citizens continue to live in poverty. And yet despite increasing prosperity, the gap between the rich and poor in many Member States is only increasing."

"This report calls on Member States to set a minimum wage at a decent level; 5 EU Member States have no minimum wage at all and in others it is so low that 8% of all EU citizens now suffer from in-work poverty, which is scandalous.

"It is also important that a strong safety net be provided in all Member States to ensure that all citizens are entitled to a decent minimum income should they need it.

"But for the 1 in 6 who live in financial poverty, there are many more that are excluded from society for other reasons. Barriers to opportunity are complex, but there is no need to reinvent the wheel - many of the causes of social exclusion are common to all Member States and some countries are leading the way in tackling these, so surely we ought to be learning from each other. We must look at how each EU country deals with these issues and learn from them.

"Inequality, poverty and social exclusion continue to haunt millions of EU citizens, placing a responsibility on all of us to do more. A failure to act will mean the continuing exclusion and alienation of millions of people. Europe's vision must be freedom and opportunity for all."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Liz Lynne MEP is rapporteur of the 2007 joint report for the European Parliament on Social Protection, Social Inclusion and Social Reality Stocktaking. The report is the European Parliaments response to the adoption by the European Council in Spring and the European Commission of reports on social reality stocktaking.

The Parliament's report comes ahead of the revision of the Lisbon Agenda and the mid term review of social policy. It is not calling for a whole raft of legislation at EU level. It is saying current legislation should be implemented equally across member states. The main thrust of the report however is emphasising what we can learn from each other through an exchange of best practice.

The report also emphasises:

· That 78 million European citizens continue to live in poverty and 8 % of the European Union suffers from in-work poverty and the gap between rich and poor in many Member States is increasing,

· That over 50 million people or around 16 % of the European Union's total working population are disabled and the rate of unemployment of disabled people is twice as high.

· That carers, the largest unpaid workforce in the European Union, deserve recognition for the central role they play in community care.

· Calls on Member States more effectively to implement existing Community legislation in the employment and social policy field

· That it is vital for Member States to help those who become disabled whilst in employment to retain their jobs

· That imprisonment without adequate rehabilitation and education often only lead to further social exclusion and unemployment;

· The need for equal access to goods and services for all.

· That Member States and the European Union should place greater emphasis on problems related to addiction to gambling

· Calls on the Member States to pay attention to growing indebtedness that leads to a higher risk of poverty

· Believes that a lack of decent and affordable accommodation in all Member States is an important contributing factor to driving and trapping people in poverty.

· Calls on the Commission and the Member States, in cooperation with those representing disabled persons' organisations, to develop national, regional and local initiatives to promote feasible employment opportunities for disabled persons

· Welcomes the deinstitutionalisation of disabled people but notes that this requires a sufficient level of community-based services favouring independent living

· Urges Member States, if they have not done so, to move towards the provision of high quality and affordable personal care for elderly people and people with disabilities

· Calls on the Member States to exchange best practices relating to encouraging pupils not to drop out of school without gaining the necessary skills to join either the labour market or vocational and higher education institutions and to ease the transition from school to work;

· Calls on Member States to encourage public sector employers to aim to create workplaces that are more representative of the communities they serve

· Calls on Member States to provide more effective child protection systems which include early intervention services to respond to the needs of vulnerable children and the provision of therapeutic services to help maltreated children overcome the effects of abuse;

· Calls on Member States to develop a more constructive approach to drugs policy with the emphasis on prevention, education and treatment for addiction rather than criminal sanctions

· The need to tackle inequalities in health and access to healthcare suffered in many ethnic minority communities.

· Notes that in all Member States, alcohol and drug abuse can lead to crime, unemployment and social exclusion; further notes that poverty and social exclusion can lead to alcohol and drug abuse; considers it to be unacceptable that the only access to treatment and advice for many people is through the prison system and calls on the Member States to exchange best practice

· Calls for more attention to be paid to homeless people by Member States, especially in access to housing, health, education and employment

· The need for all Member States to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

· The need for a human rights-based asylum policy and to consider more legal immigration routes; Member States to look at the possibility of allowing asylum seekers to work.

· National legislation to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable workers; and to enforce anti-trafficking legislation.

· Member States to sign and ratify the Convention on the rights of migrants workers and their families.

Please find the draft report to be adopted by parliament here:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A6-2007-0400+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN