• 70% increase in homelessness in the EU over past 10 years

• Homelessness is one of the most severe forms of poverty, caused by a combination of structural, institutional, and personal factors

• Members states should decriminalise homelessness and provide equal access to public services such as health care, education, and social services

On Tuesday, Parliament approved a series of recommendations to combat homelessness and end housing exclusion in the EU.

In the resolution adopted with 647 votes in favour, 13 against and 32 abstentions, Parliament highlights the precarious living situation of over 700,000 persons who face homelessness each night in Europe, a 70% increase over a decade. It stresses that housing is a fundamental human right and calls for stronger action from the Commission and member states to end homelessness in the EU by 2030.

More measures needed at both EU and national level

To put an end to homelessness, the European Commission should support member states, improve monitoring, continue to provide funding, and present an EU Framework for National Homelessness Strategies. Member states should also adopt the principle of Housing First, which helps reduce homelessness significantly by introducing action plans and innovative approaches based on the concept of a home being a fundamental human right.

Supporting and reintegrating homeless people

The text sets out a series of recommendations for member states, including:

• taking responsibility in tackling homelessness and working on prevention and early intervention;
• exchanging best practices with other member states;
• decriminalising homelessness;
• providing equal access to public services such as health care, education, and social services;
• supporting integration into the labour market through specialised assistance, training, and targeted schemes;
• improving measures to gather relevant and comparable data to help assess the extent of homelessness;
• providing financial assistance to NGOs and supporting local authorities to secure safe spaces for those who are homeless and preventing evictions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• implementing long-term, community-based, housing-led, integrated national homelessness strategies;
• providing constant access to emergency shelters, as a temporary solution;
• promoting social entrepreneurship and activities that foster active inclusion.
• Finally, Parliament calls on the Commission and member states to use instruments available under the long-term EU budget (2021-2027) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility to improve employment opportunities and social integration for jobless households.

• Background

  The Committee on Petitions has received multiple petitions drawing attention to the massive spike in homelessness in the European Union brought about by higher housing costs, economic crises, reduced social protection, and inadequate policies.

  Reports on how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the affordability of housing in the EU indicate that economic recession and loss of jobs and income may further increase housing costs and homelessness rates in Europe. While housing policy does not fall under the EU’s jurisdiction, it can affect housing conditions indirectly through regulations (e.g. state aid rules, fiscal law and competition law) and measures, notably recommendations and guidelines.

• Le sans-abrisme a augmenté de 70% dans l’UE ces dix dernières années

• Le sans-abrisme est l’une des formes de pauvreté les plus graves, due à une combinaison de facteurs structurels, institutionnels et personnels

• Les États membres devraient dépénaliser le sans-abrisme et offrir un accès égal aux services publics tels que les soins de santé, l’éducation et les services sociaux

Le Parlement a adopté mardi une série de recommandations pour lutter contre le sans-abrisme et mettre un terme à l’exclusion en matière de logement dans l’UE.

Dans la résolution adoptée par 647 voix pour, 13 contre et 32 abstentions, le Parlement souligne les conditions de vie précaires de plus de 700 000 personnes confrontées chaque nuit au sans-abrisme en Europe, soit une augmentation de 70% en 10 ans. Il rappelle que le logement est un droit humain fondamental pour tous et demande à la Commission et aux États membres de mettre un terme au sans-abrisme au niveau européen d’ici 2030.

Plus de mesures sont nécessaires tant au niveau européen que national

Pour mettre fin au sans-abrisme, la Commission devrait soutenir les États membres, améliorer le contrôle, continuer à mobiliser les financements ainsi que présenter un cadre européen pour des stratégies nationales sur le sans-abrisme. Par ailleurs, les États membres devraient adopter le principe du logement avant tout, qui contribue à réduire sensiblement le taux de sans-abrisme en introduisant des plans d’action et des approches innovantes basés sur le concept du logement en tant que droit fondamental de la personne humaine.

Soutenir et réintégrer les sans-abris

Le texte présente une série de recommandations pour les États membres, notamment:

- assumer la responsabilité de la lutte contre le sans-abrisme, œuvrer de manière 

préventive et intervenir de manière précoce;

- échanger les bonnes pratiques avec les autres États membres;

- dépénaliser le sans-abrisme;

- assurer l’égalité d’accès aux services publics tels que les soins de santé, l’éducation et les services sociaux;

- faciliter l’insertion sur le marché du travail via une aide spécialisée, des formations et des programmes ciblés;

- améliorer la collecte de données pertinentes et comparables pour contribuer à évaluer l’ampleur du sans-abrisme;

- fournir une aide financière aux ONG et soutenir les autorités locales afin de garantir des structures d’accueil sûres pour les sans-abris et prévenir les expulsions, en particulier pendant la pandémie de COVID-19;

- mettre en œuvre des stratégies nationales intégrées de lutte contre le sans-abrisme qui soient fondées sur la communauté et axées sur le logement;

- assurer un accès permanent aux centres d’accueil d’urgence, comme solution temporaire; et

- promouvoir l’entrepreneuriat social et les activités qui améliorent l’inclusion active.

Pour conclure, le Parlement appelle la Commission et les États membres à utiliser les instruments disponibles au titre du budget à long terme de l’UE (2021-2027) et de la facilité pour la reprise et la résilience afin d’améliorer les possibilités d’emploi et l’intégration sociale des ménages sans emploi.

Contexte

La commission des pétitions a reçu de nombreuses pétitions attirant l’attention sur la hausse massive du sans-abrisme dans l’UE, en raison de l’augmentation des coûts du logement, des crises économiques, du recul de la protection sociale et de l’inadéquation des politiques.

Les données recueillies sur les conséquences de la crise du COVID-19 sur l’accessibilité financière du logement dans l’Union indiquent que la récession économique et la perte d’emplois et de revenus pourraient encore faire augmenter les coûts du logement et les taux de sans-abrisme en Europe. Bien que l’Union européenne n’ait pas de compétence directe en matière de politique du logement, elle peut avoir une incidence indirecte sur les conditions de logement grâce aux règlements (par exemple via des règles relatives aux aides d’État, le droit fiscal et le droit de la concurrence) ainsi que par des mesures telles que des recommandations et des lignes directrices.

Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-11/cp200147en.pdf

Languages available:  bg es cs da de et el en fr hr it lv lt hu mt nl pl pt ro sk sl fi sv

Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 147/20

Luxembourg, 24 November 2020

Judgment in Case C-59/19

Wikingerhof GmbH & Co. KG v Booking.com BV

A hotel using the platform Booking.com may, in principle, bring proceedings against Booking.com before a court of the Member State in which that hotel is established in order to bring to an end a possible abuse of a dominant position

Even though the practices which are thus the subject of complaint are implemented within the context of a contractual relationship, the rule of special jurisdiction in matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict laid down in the Brussels Ia Regulation is applicable to them

Wikingerhof GmbH & Co. KG, a company governed by German law operating a hotel in Germany, concluded, in 2009, a contract with Booking.com BV, a company governed by Netherlands law which has its seat in the Netherlands and operates an accommodation booking platform. That contract was a standard form contract provided by Booking.com which stated, inter alia, the following: ‘The hotel declares that it has received a copy of Version 0208 of the General Terms and Conditions … of Booking.com. These are available online at Booking.com …. The hotel confirms that it has read and understood the terms and conditions and agrees to them. The terms and conditions form an integral part of this contract …’. Subsequently, and on several occasions, Booking.com amended its general terms and conditions, accessible on that company’s Extranet. 

(...)

Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-11/cp200145en.pdf

Languages available: bg es cs da de et el en fr hr it lv lt hu mt nl pl pt ro sk sl fi sv

Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 145/20

Luxembourg, 24 November 2020

Judgment in Joined Cases C-225/19 and C-226/19 R.N.N.S. and K.A. v Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken

A Member State which adopts a decision refusing a ‘Schengen’ visa because of an objection raised by another Member State must indicate, in that decision, the identity of the Member State concerned and the specific ground for refusal based on that objection, accompanied, where appropriate, by the reasons for that objection

An Egyptian national, living in Egypt (Case C-225/19), and a Syrian national, living in Saudi Arabia (Case C-226/19), applied to the Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken (Minister for Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, ‘the Minister’) for ‘Schengen’ visas 1 in order to visit members of their respective families living in the Netherlands. Their applications were refused however and, in accordance with the Visa Code, that refusal was notified to them by means of a standard form, 2 containing 11 boxes to be ticked depending of the reason for the refusal. In this case, since the sixth box was ticked, the refusal of a visa was based on the fact that the persons concerned had been considered to be a threat to public order, internal security, public health or the international relations of one of the Member States. 3 That refusal of a visa was the result of objections raised by Hungary and Germany, which had been consulted beforehand by the Netherlands authorities in the context of the procedure laid down by the Visa Code. 4 However, the forms sent to the persons concerned did not give any indication of the identity of those Member States, the specific ground for refusal out of the four possibilities (threat to public order, internal security, public health or the international relations of one of the Member States) or the reasons they had been considered to be such a threat.

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