CoR Plenary (December 2021)

The proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (social pillar) by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council in November 2017 was the fourth major attempt to strengthen the social dimension of the European Union since its inception. At the Porto Social Summit to be held on 7-8 May 2021 the action plan will be one of the major inputs into discussions on the social aspects of medium- to long-term recovery from the coronavirus crisis, including unemployment, education and training, social protection and poverty.

This year's edition – the fourth in a series produced by EPRS – of the Demographic Outlook for the European Union focuses on poverty as a global, EU-wide and regional phenomenon, and examines how poverty interacts with demographic indicators (such as fertility and migration rates) or with factors such as the degree of urbanisation. It also observes poverty within different age groups, geographical areas and educational levels. The correlation of poverty and labour market participation and social exclusion is also analysed for different age groups and family types, as well as in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

This EPRS paper explores the impact on and implications for cities of current global trends, such as climate change, population growth, urbanisation, economic growth, increasing energy demand, higher connectivity and a changing world order, that will have direct consequences for the future of cities and their inhabitants.

Fighting poverty and social exclusion is a key priority, and to this end the EU supplements its Member States' aid to those most in need through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), which has a budget of €3.8 billion. Partner organisations selected by the Member States manage this support, providing food (e.g. distribution of food packages and meals) and material assistance (e.g. clothes), or activities to improve inclusion (e.g. better access to support and social services) to those in need. In parallel, the European Social Fund (ESF) remains the broader funding instrument fighting poverty and social exclusion. The coronavirus crisis poses specific risks for the most deprived and unparalleled challenges for the activities supported by the FEAD and the ESF.

This paper contains a broad overview of law and governance aspects pertaining to the
problem of homelessness. The prevention of homelessness has become a constitutional imperative. Yet this does not mean to say the law always works in favour of the inclusion and emancipation of the homeless. Rigid exclusions remain, in particular for immigrants, and repressive policies are on the rise. In the meantime courts soften the worse consequences of these policies by offering human rights remedies. This paper addresses the question of how European policy can respond to this state of affairs.

This paper shows the growing awareness of migration as a new structural factor
causing homelessness, next to more traditional structural factors such as the housing market and the social welfare system. The contribution shows that a fundamental debate is needed about the way homelessness statistics include and
exclude specific groups of homeless persons.