mr president we have quite rightly heard a lot about economic recovery in the commission's proposal for the eu twenty twenty strategy but not enough in my opinion about poverty and that is why i was delighted that you mentioned poverty reduction in your speech
we have to remember that the most vulnerable in society suffer in any economic recession more than anyone else and that is why we have to put in place mechanisms to protect them
for instance i would like to see a target of a twenty-five reduction of eu citizens living in poverty as well as ensuring that those who are currently excluded from the labour market can gain access to good-quality work and that at the same time we have targets to eradicate undeclared work
we must also make sure that member states invest in social security and social protection systems as well as guaranteeing access to rights resources and universal services
i would also like to see an eu-wide target to end street homelessness by twenty fifteen by member states and to develop integrated homelessness strategies
in all these areas not only should parliament be consulted more and i was pleased that you did mention that but ngos working in the field as well
as far as the open method of coordination is concerned in the social field it needs to be strengthened
we all know it has not worked as well as it could have done but i believe it can work well in the future if the right mechanisms are put into place but only if those mechanisms are put into place
