madam president i believe the minimum income report that we have voted through in the committee on employment and social affairs is the best way forward and will achieve the widest support
that is why i urge you to reject amendments one and two
i have always been a passionate supporter of a minimum income in all member states and i have written it into all the reports i have ever done on social inclusion but i believe the best way of achieving this is through an exchange of best practice
in my view if we try to take the legislative route we will fail to take everyone with us and will not achieve what we all want a decent standard of living for all and to take people out of poverty and avoid homelessness
in the employment committee report we also say that the most effective way out of poverty is to give labour market access to all
one way of achieving this is to make sure the employment directive is implemented effectively across all member states
when formulating policy regarding poverty and social inclusion we must listen to people at the sharp end in other words those who are experiencing poverty and homelessness themselves
we must make sure that member states meet their targets for poverty reduction as outlined in the eu twenty twenty strategy
i would also like to point out in this debate that we are talking about a minimum income in other words out-of-work benefits and not wages
