Help to the needy: praise by Caritas and NGOs “Civil society organisations welcome the European Parliament’s approval of the new Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)”, on 25th February: the statement is contained in a joint press release by Caritas Europa, Eurodiaconia, European Anti-Poverty Network, European Federation of National Associations for the Homeless, Red Cross. FEAD “makes a considerable contribution to delivering goods and support to citizens living in poverty and social exclusion”, write the NGOs, that invite to integrate the new fund “into wider and comprehensive national anti-poverty strategies so as to maximize its effects at national level”, so that it may complement and not replace Members States’ intervention. The 3.5 bln euro fund is allocated for a seven-year period, to be spent for material assistance (food, clothing, household products, school material, etc.) as well as for social inclusion. Signatories call upon member states to involve NGOs in a meaningful manner at the different stages of the programming, and to use this fund for the unconditional support of the most vulnerable and excluded, who are further away from the labour market, and to base their actions on the protection and promotion of dignity of each person and their fundamental rights, and in the pursuit of the common good”. Catalan independence: Reding, “a serious mistake” “This is the time for solidarity and working together, not for separation or division”: these were the explicit remarks by EU Commissioner for Citizenship and Justice Viviane Reding, commenting on the referendum on the independence of Catalonia, self-convened by the majority of political forces and by the regional authorities of Barcelona for next November 9, against which both the Spanish government and the EU voiced their opposition. During a “dialogue with citizens”, held in Barcelona on February 23rd, answering a question on the subject, Reding highlighted the negative consequences of popular vote and underlined the need to prevent divisions in Europe. Moreover, the Commissioner from Luxembourg conveyed her closeness to the region, her appreciation of its culture, art, and food: “I love Catalonia!” she said. But shortly after Reding once more voiced the stand of the Commission, which on several occasions raised the question of Catalonia’s presence in the EU: “The law says that an independent Catalonia would no longer be part of the Union and would have to apply for EU membership again”. With the division of Spain, the region would no longer be part of the euro-system and citizens would loose their EU citizenship and related rights. “I understand your wish for more autonomy. I respect your desire for independence”, but A Catalonia out of our Union would weaken Europe. It would weaken Spain. And it would weaken Catalonia – economically and politically”. The Commissioner thus invited Barcelona and Madrid to remain partners, to find “A new arrangement that accommodates both the needs of Catalonia and its citizens as well as those of Spain as a whole and its citizens”. The questions on Catalonia also regard Scotland, where a referendum for independence – whose terms have been agreed with London – on September 18. Labour market: unbalances between northern and southern Europe The latest issue of European Vacancy Monitor, a 40-page survey released on February 24 by the EU Commission, reveals “a shortage of labour supply in countries such as Austria, Denmark Sweden, Estonia and Latvia, while competition for jobs is increasing in countries such as Greece, Slovakia and Spain”. The document highlights the strengths and weaknesses of labour market recruitment in EU countries, highlighting a “widening gap in job opportunities between Northern and Southern countries. The most problematic situations are found, inter alia, in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal, all countries severely hit by the effects of the crisis with skyrocketing unemployment, especially among young people. László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, said: “Diverging job prospects in Northern and Southern Europe underline mismatches in the European labour market, linked also to Eurozone asymmetries”; in his opinion, “Labour mobility might help to reduce those imbalances”.
