Member States should make use of available EU funds to help the most deprived in times of crises

Renew Europe calls on Member States to allocate more of their European Social Fund Plus money to organisations providing the most vulnerable and deprived citizens in the Union with assistance and food aid. With rising living costs, from sharp increases in energy and housing prices to food costs, support organisations and charities throughout Europe are seeing an alarming rise in citizens reaching out to them in need of basic support and food, struggling to make ends meet. At the same time, the funds of these organisations are getting increasingly depleted, leaving them unable to adequately respond to the high demand of people seeking help. For Renew Europe it is imperative to combat poverty in all its dimension and make best use of all available EU instruments to provide an adequate answer to the difficulties that people face in times of crises.

Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Mouvement Démocrate/France) speaks on behalf of Renew in the plenary debate initiated by Renew with the Council and Commission taking place directly after the plenary opening on Monday.

She says:

"Europe's rising precarity, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, and soaring food prices, screams for action. People skip meals, families suffer from inadequate housing, and the most vulnerable teeter on the brink of poverty. In a Europe striving for unity, access to food, decent housing and other basic needs must be non-negotiable. Government support needs to be complemented by EU action to make all available instruments more flexible to help the most deprived in times of crises. Renew urges the Member States to use more of their European Social Fund Plus money for this cause. The surge in food aid demand cries out for a strong and coordinated European response."