Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-15-Speech-4-043"
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"en.20011115.3.4-043"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the rapporteur for her serious and very committed work on this issue and also the work that our own committee has done, as Mr Rocard has just pointed out.
This action programme is a very serious and important step forward for the European Union. It is part of the recognition of the huge problem of social exclusion which is not only the result of poverty, although it is of course linked to it. Some of those links are picked up in the excellent report by Mrs Lynne which we will be debating later, concerning the European Year of Disabled People, and in Mr Nobilia's report which recognises the problems faced by elderly or disabled people in exercising, for example, their freedom of movement because disability benefits are not included in the coordination of social security systems.
In our discussions on this action programme, Parliament has insisted on the need for civil society to be involved in the programme itself and its evaluation. This involvement is critical. It is clear that the top-down policies, and the hope that overall economic growth would somehow overcome the poverty and lift the poorest out of that state, have not worked. It is the constructive involvement of the people themselves that is part of the solution. We therefore expect that the research and programmes funded with this modestly increased amount of money, a limited range as Mr Rocard has just said, will not just concentrate on policy but also on the process of policy formulation and funding decisions, which in itself could be an innovative dimension.
I recently attended a local government conference looking at the national social inclusion plans. Speakers representing organisations from groups which often experience social exclusion – poor people, those with disabilities, those from minority ethnic groups etc. – were asked whether they would rather see the implementation of a few policies that have worked elsewhere or have a full programme of real consultation, even if they did not then get what they wanted. The answer, without exception, was that they wanted to be consulted because that implied respect for their experience and their opinions.
It is also my hope that the activities funded under this programme will not just concentrate on work as the answer to exclusion. It is not a solution if the work is poorly paid and exploitative. I, like many others, look forward to reading and evaluating the results of this programme and hope that they will make real progress in tackling social exclusion."@en1
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