Brussels, 11/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - By 288 votes against (mostly the EPP-ED group), 262 votes in favour and 73 abstentions, the European Parliament finally rejected this week the slightly amended own initiative report by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL, Portugal) on the social situation in the EU. Once again, the vote reflected a clash between left and right at the EP. In her report, Figueoredo stressed the need to prioritise the problems of unemployment, poverty, social exclusion and fighting discrimination, and examine the services directive from the viewpoint of its expected impact on the labour market and the quality of services.
During the debate, Jacek Protasiewicz (EPP-ED, Poland) warned against excess bureaucracy as an obstacle to business. Françoise Castex (PES, France) focussed on a division of wealth that encourages solidarity rather than competition between rich and poor regions. Congratulating Ms Figueiredo, Sepp Kusstatscher (Greens/EFA, Italy) said that one could not fail to react when one sees that one citizen in every seven is threatened with poverty in wealthy Europe. Social justice is the best way to combat inequality, he claimed. 'Totally' supporting the Figueiredo Report, Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL, Germany) drew attention to the situation facing children, who are particularly vulnerable to poverty. Using UNICEF's figures, Zimmer said the number of children in poverty had increased to 1.5 million in Germany. Irish Co-President of the UEN, Brian Crowley, said that when talking about social Europe, one had the responsibility to aid the most vulnerable. At the same time, he argued against any excess fiscal burden and called for investment in life-long training.