• Our work

    Eurodiaconia links diaconal actors to examine social needs, develop ideas and influence policies impacting Poverty and Social Exclusion, Social and Health Care Services and the Future of Social Europe.

    Eurodiaconia also provides a platform for transnational networking and best practice sharing.  

     

  • Our vision

    As the leading network for diaconal work in Europe, we look to develop dialogue and partnership between members and influence and engage with the wider society.  We do this to enable inclusion, care and empowerment of the most vulnerable and excluded and ensure dignity for all.

     

  • Our goals

    We aim to see a positive social change in Europe through:

    Praxis, enabling membership engagement and partnerships

    Advocacy, creating a network of competence to impact policies at European and national level

    Identity and values, supporting the development of approaches and thinking on Diaconia in Europe today

     

Calendar Monday, May 21, 2012
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Migration

Migration is a global phenomenon that impacts on every part of society. At Eurodiaconia, we focus on migration in terms of the social inclusion of migrants through access to social and health care services.  We have written a policy paper on migration and access to services and a briefing which helps members of Eurodiaconia know how to get involved in our work on migration. We recognise that migration is a wide topic; however we will cover related topics in the Marginalisation and Exclusion Network in particular.

For more information on this topic please contact Catherine at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



Raising our voice about destitute EU migrants

On the 8th February, Eurodiaconia together with FEANTSA held a seminar on EU citizenship, homelessness and freedom of movement in the European Parliament. This event was held with the support of Italian MEP Niccolò Rinaldi and Swedish MEP Cecilia Wikström and the political group ALDE. The aim of the seminar was to raise visibility about this issue which has received very little attention at EU level, and to call of the European institutions to take concrete action in support of destitute EU citizens who have exercised their right to freedom of movement. 

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Heather Roy, SG Eurodiaconia (middle) Niccolo Rinaldi, MEP ALDE group (right)
The event received a lot of publicity and began with a press conference where Eurodiaconia Secretary General Heather Roy spoke to various press agencies about this issue which is of growing concern for Eurodiaconia members.  Over 50 participants attended the afternoon seminar where they listened to experience from the ground, including a presentation from Ole Meldgaard from Eurodiaconia member Kofoeds Skole, who deals hands on with destitute migrants in Copenhagen, as well as interventions from Stockholm City Mission, and Homeless Link, England. 

MEP Rinaldi stressed that the EU institutions are failing to connect to the issue and that they lack concrete answers, such as better use of EU funds. MEP Wikström described the issue as ‘shameful and undignified for Europe’. Director of FEANTSA, Freek Spinnewijn closed the event by airing his frustration about the lack of European legal framework to guarantee emergency care for homeless people and called for a European strategy to end homelessness.
 
Report available on EU citizenship, homelessness and EU free movement
20 February 2012

On the 8th February, Eurodiaconia together with FEANTSA held a seminar on EU citizenship, homelessness and freedom of movement in the European Parliament. To read a full report of this meeting as well as two of the presentations from the session ‘experience from practice’ see the links below. The aim of the seminar was to raise visibility about this issue which has received very little attention at EU level, and to call of the European institutions to take concrete action in support of destitute EU citizens who have exercised their right to freedom of movement.
 
Eurodiaconia calls on Danish Presidency to respond to EU migrant destitution
13 February 2012

Eurodiaconia recently sent a letter to the Ambassador of Denmark as well as several counsellors and attaches in the Permanent Representation of Denmark here in Brussels calling on the Danish Presidency to act on the issue of intra-EU migration and destitution. In the letter we highlight that although free movement has been a success of the European Union, there are many for whom mobility has become a poverty trap.  We make recommendations to the Danish Presidency and urge them to take action, as we strongly believe this issue requires an EU level response. The Danish Diaconal Council, one of Eurodiaconia's Danish members, also signed the letter which was also sent to the Danish Minster for social affairs and the Minister for employment. See here to read the letter. 
 
FEANTSA and Eurodiaconia demand clearer rules on free movement

Over the last few months, a number of Member States have raised the issue concerning EU citizens who have exercised their right to free movement and found themselves destitute in the host country. Some Member States have expelled, or threatened to expel such EU citizens without taking into account the procedural safeguards acknowledged by the EU acquis on free movement. FEANTSA and Eurodiaconia urge the EU to set clearer rules which would ensure the dignity of all EU citizens is guaranteed and no one is left destitute due to lack of adequate support services or because of access barriers linked to the nationality of the person, and oppose arbitrary repatriations which do not take into account what is foreseen by European law.

Numerous EU citizens have made use of their right to free movement and have successfully built up a new life abroad. However, there is evidence that for some the journey into a better life abroad has been less successful, and for whom mobility has become a poverty trap. Furthermore they have been hit hard by the economic and financial crisis which has reduced their access to the labour market.

Free movement is one of the foundations of the EU as acknowledged by the Treaty (art. 20) as well as by secondary law, notably regulation 1612/68 and directive 2004/38. However, despite being highly regulated and building on extensive case-law, interpretation of residence rights provided by free movement is still unclear, especially for people who do not have or no longer have any kind of income. Access to emergency support and accommodation as well as access to social welfare benefits and long-term homeless accommodation differ according to the host Member State.

Many Member States offer as a last resort to pay for the travel back to the country of origin. However, despite their difficult situation, considerable numbers of homeless EU citizens do not wish to return due to poor socio-economic conditions in their country of origin. As a result, people are forced to adapt to a situation of homelessness and risk accumulating other needs, for example in relation to their mental health.

Through the seminar organised on the 8th of February at the European Parliament, with the support of Niccolò Rinaldi MEP and the ALDE Group, we urge the EU to set clearer rules in order to:

v  better define the sets of criteria to be considered by Member States to ascertain if an EU citizen is an unreasonable burden to the social assistance system;

v  to ensure that no EU citizen exercising his/her right to free movement is left destitute;

v  to guarantee that EU citizens who are not self-sufficient have at least access to emergency accommodation and support;

v  to provide continued support to the person until the individual case regarding his/her residence rights has been assessed; 

v  to oppose arbitrary expulsions and make sure that the procedural safeguards as set by the directive 2004/38 are respected.

--------------ENDS--------------

For more details, please contact:

Mauro Striano, FEANTSA Policy Officer: +32 (0)2 538 62 65

Catherine Storry, Eurodiaconia Policy and membership development Officer: +32 (0) 2 234 38 62

Notes for editors:
Eurodiaconia is a dynamic, Europe wide community of organisations founded in the Christian faith and working in the tradition of Diaconia, who are committed to a Europe of solidarity, equality and justice. More information is available at: www.eurodiaconia.org

FEANTSA is the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless.   It is an umbrella of not-for-profit organisations which participate in or contribute to the fight against homelessness in Europe. It is the only major European network that focuses exclusively on homelessness at the European level.  More information is available at: www.feantsa.org
 
Study out on active inclusion of migrants
23 January 2012

The European Commission has recently published a study on "Active inclusion of migrants" which gives an expert assessment of the main trends in the situation of migrants with regard to social assistance and access to social services. It also includes an in-depth analysis of the main determinants of these trends, and a comprehensive account of the mutual interaction of migration policies and broadly defined social assistance policies.

Download study here

 
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