For better protection of minimum income for all European citizens

Together with the partners of the European Anti-Poverty Network, Caritas Europe, ETUC, Eurodiaconia and the Social Platform, we add our voices to the Council’s invitation to the Commission to “initiate an update of the Union framework to effectively support and complement the policies of Member States on national minimum income protection”. We hereby present our joint sign-on statement to call for an EU framework to strengthen the safety net for all! We are supported by 45 MEPs, 33 EU-level civil society organisations, 42 academics and the Worker’s Group of the EESC, representing support from throughout the political spectrum, from all over Europe.

Before the coronavirus crisis, one in five people were at risk of poverty and social exclusion. That is nearly 110 million people without enough money to make ends meet and to live a dignified life. This failure to meet the Europe 2020 poverty target threatens the credibility of Social Europe, with millions more expected to be dragged into poverty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is no time for business as usual.

One of the best ways to prevent people being dragged into poverty is to build individual and societal resilience – and strong social protection systems are the cornerstone of such resilience. In this context, adequate, accessible and enabling Minimum Income schemes have an essential role to play as an ultimate safety net. The EU Council recognised this on 12 October, issuing Council Conclusions on “Strengthening Minimum Income Protection to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond”.

We know from our work that the lack of adequate, accessible and enabling minimum incomes is a key priority for people experiencing poverty throughout Europe. These Council Conclusions are the long-awaited springboard to move forward on a legally binding Framework Directive on Minimum Income, which would guarantee everyone’s right to an adequate minimum income and enable their full participation in society across the whole life span. We call on the European Commission, and specifically Commissioner Schmit, to respond to the Conclusions by making an ambitious proposal for an EU Framework Directive to guarantee an adequate, accessible, and enabling Minimum Income. #EUMinimumIncome

European Union News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity

Emmaus in Switzerland

Extracts from an interview with Jérémie Udry, national delegate for Switzerland on the Regional Council of Emmaus Europe.

Can you tell us about how Emmaus began in Switzerland?

A conference was given by Abbé Pierre in Bern in February 1956. Marcel Farine and his wife Thérèse were touched by Abbé Pierre’s speech and thus decided, two days later, to launch an operation for donations of funds and merchandise in Bern. They then founded the ‘Emmaus Friends Committee’ in Bern.

The same thing happened in Zurich where the ‘Friends of Abbé Pierre’ association was created around the same time. Marcel Farine was the first Chair of the Emmaus Switzerland Federation and later on, in 1971, he also became Chair of Emmaus International.

In 1957 an Emmaus ragpicking community was created in Geneva. This was the first Emmaus community to be created outside of France. In the canton of Jura the first Emmaus initiatives were launched in 1959 but the Emmaus Jura group was only officially created in 1963 in Boncourt. In 1975 the Étagnières community was created near Lausanne. Next came the community in Sion in 1979, Ticino in 1983, Fribourg in 1985 and La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1987. In 2017 the Emmaus Friends Committee in Bern moved premises and became an Emmaus community.

In Geneva in June 1958 the Emmaus Switzerland Federation was created with the encouragement of Marcel Farine (who became the first Chair of the Federation), Edmond Kaeser and Jean Ziegler. The Emmaus Switzerland Federation was a founding member of Emmaus International and remains a member to this day.

What activities/initiatives are led by Emmaus in Switzerland today?

The role of the Emmaus Switzerland Federation is to coordinate and support the activities led by our member groups as well as to build relationships with partner associations, to lobby politicians, to be part of the debate on the causes of poverty, to create unity amongst our groups, to offer solidarity, to represent the movement and build a relationship with the local, regional and federal authorities as well, of course, as with Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International.

The communities have a duty to welcome any person who is in difficulty and to help them in their social and professional integration in the community. The main activities led by the groups include: collecting materials and repairing what we collect and when necessary we also offer a home collection service. The companions are essential to our Emmaus solidarity shops and feeling useful at work helps these people to recognise their own value.

What are the main challenges for the Swiss groups at the moment?

The main challenge is to strike the right balance between our social mission and the need to make profit to support our organisation (we have no other sources of income). We need to find this balance for the sake of the cohesion of our team.

In the groups we’ve had some recent changes in our management teams and committees. New ideas have since come to the fore and these varying points of view have helped us to challenge things we used to be certain about and to shake things up a little bit.

There has been one issue following the Covid-19 crisis: waste management. Major changes in the sector of waste management are currently underway. Paper and textile are no longer being bought, they are now taxed instead. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find solutions for excess textiles.

How have things been going since the health crisis and how did you adapt to the situation?

Despite the losses incurred due to 2 months of inactivity the groups are getting by just fine for now. During the post-lockdown period our groups received lots of donations and our second-hand shops had plenty of customers.

During the semi-lockdown period some of the communities received financial support from a Foundation. The number one concern for the communities now is the risk of being put in isolation by the authorities.

At the general assembly of the Swiss federation, due to the great recovery in our groups following the crisis, we decided to contribute all profits made on Friday 9 October in the Emmaus shops across Switzerland to the International Covid-19 Emergency Fund. There was a round of applause when this decision was taken!

News Switzerland

Emmaus Italy: training for young activists

Since 2015 Emmaus Italy has been running a training course in non-violence, this course focuses on peace, on how to resolve conflicts and on the values promoted by Abbé Pierre and by Emmaus. This course is aimed at raising awareness amongst young people, helping them to feel inspired by Emmaus’ initiatives and to feel part of the movement.

Every year dozens of dozens of teachers and coordinators in scout centres, in local associations and in universities send out an appeal in order to organise this training course which is completely free of charge.

Nicola Teresi, the leader of the Emmaus Palermo group and a specialist educator on the topics of peace and conflict resolution, met hundreds of students from various schools and universities across Italy. He was able to strike up a relationship of trust with many of these students. After meeting him many of these young people decided to sign up for summer camps and asked if other events could be set up in order to go into more detail on these topics which are closely linked to the history of the Emmaus movement.

Now students at schools and universities can choose from the following courses run by Emmaus Italy:

Conflicts, migrations and the exploitation of human beings
The mafia economy, excessive consumption and social, anti-mafia initiatives
How to handle and transform conflict situations
School: bullying and non-violent communication
Grassroots politics: participatory processes and the role of young people in enforcing social change

The courses adopt an interactive, participatory approach where the participants are challenged to defend their ideas.

The number of young people involved in Emmaus Italy is on the rise, we now have over 50 mature, responsible, young volunteers ready and willing to help our association.

Defending human rights / Migration Italy News

Emmaus in Romania

A discussion with Gelu Nichitel, national delegate for Romania on the board of Emmaus Europe

Hey, Gélu! What can you tell us about the groups in your country?

Bună ziua ! In Romania we haven’t created a national organisation yet but we have three groups:

The Emmaus Iasi Foundation, created in 2001 following a project launched in 1997 by a Franco-Romanian group to support homeless people who had been in orphanages. This group is located in north-east Romania.
The Emmaus Satu Mare group, created in 2010 but which is a continuation of an association which has been managing Romania’s orphanages since 1990. This group is located in north-west Romania.
The Târgu Jiu Amicii Emmaus group, created in 2011 to provide financial support to an association which was launched in 1994 and which manages a centre for children. This group is located in south-west Romania.

Because the groups are so far from one another in Romania we do not work together on a daily basis but we see one another regularly at the meetings of the task group called ‘the Romania collective’. We also organise exchanges of companions and volunteers between the Romanian groups.

What are the main income-generating activities led by the groups?

We have 5 sales areas in total, including one which is in the countryside, so each group has either 1 or 2 bric-à-brac shops and this is our main source of income. The merchandise mainly comes from western Europe. Our groups have close partnerships with the Emmaus groups in Switzerland, Germany, France, the UK, Sweden and Finland. We receive almost 50 lorries, or 580 tonnes, of merchandise per year. This material may not have been given a second life in the countries of origin but in Romania it helps to create economic activity for our groups.

The Satu Mare group receives 150 tonnes of merchandise thanks to European solidarity and collects 10 tonnes of material locally. Almost 95% of this material is reused or recycled (it is either sold on, donated or used as material within the community). The group’s two shops are thus able to offer a wide choice of materials and objects. Emmaus Satu Mare also has an outside café area where they serve food and drinks. In addition, the group has started to specialise in construction, teaching young people about the building industry and doing jobs both inside and outside of the community.

At our group in Iasi we receive almost 190 tonnes of material per year but only 5% of it comes from local donations. 90% of the merchandise is then reused or recycled (it is either sold on in one of our two shops, donated, used to build greenhouses or fences, used as firewood, etc). One of our shops, located in the countryside, helps to support the poorest by providing them with a source of income. As well as selling this merchandise we also lead agricultural activities.

European solidarity provides 240 tonnes of merchandise per year for the Târgu Jiu group. Local collections provide just 1 tonne per year. 90-95% of this merchandise is then sold on in our second-hand shop, donated or recycled.

Who is involved in Emmaus in Romania and what social initiatives are led by the groups?

The way the three groups operate varies massively.

The Târgu Jiu group uses the profits from the shop to support a children’s centre which is managed by the team along with a dozen or so volunteers. The association supports 15 children aged 8-18, 15 young adults and 10 families. Another initiative is being launched: a building is currently being renovated in order to house 6 companions and thus start a real Emmaus community in Târgu Jiu.

The Satu Mare group works with young people under the age of 30 and despite being an Emmaus community it is classified as a ‘reintegration enterprise’ by the Romanian authorities. The group currently hosts 25 companions, both men and women, and relies on the support of around a dozen volunteers. The team leads training initiatives, provides socio-educational support and helps people get back into working life. The group focuses on access to housing with its project to renovate housing for young people.

In the Iasi group, where I am the director, we have two housing centres, one in the countryside and the other in the city. We currently have 22 companions, both men and women, across the two centres. They are supported by the staff team and around 15 volunteers. Our outreach work in the winter is extensive and provides support for around 150 homeless people in the city of Iasi (we offer them food, administrative support and donations of furniture and clothing). Furthermore, Emmaus Iasi supports several families, helping them with their housing or nutritional needs.

In total around 140 people are involved in the Emmaus movement in Romania as companions, volunteers, staff members or friends of the movement. Local and national networks are being created or strengthened like with the FONSS (Federation of Social Support NGOs) and with the Romanian Food Bank.

What challenges are your groups facing at the moment?

Romania is currently facing an economic crisis and this situation has got worse with the global health crisis. We have received small amounts of public funding recently (from a State unemployment fund) but we’ve had to mainly rely on support from other sources.

In Iasi we’ve received financial support from the French Embassy for our initiative helping the homeless during the state of emergency. We are continuing to do the rounds thanks to finances secured during the state of emergency for an initiative led as part of the FONSS.

We saw a rise of support and solidarity during the crisis with donations coming in from the general public, from our partners and from businesses. Our partnerships became stronger and this allowed us to offer solidarity to other associations. We recently received a donation of two lorries full of milk and shared this with around 10 other associations as well as giving some of it to the rural, marginalised people we support. The Iasi group has a lack of reserve funds and this external support thus helped us to get through the crisis.

The get-back-to-work scheme in Satu Mare has faced challenges due to the high rate of unemployment at the moment. The job market has become very competitive recently. The group may have to rethink the way they run this scheme and adapt the type of support they provide.

None of the three Romanian groups have had to ask for financial support from Emmaus Europe or Emmaus International due to the health crisis, which is a pretty good sign. European solidarity, under the European transport programme, was started up again in June following a 3-month break due to Covid-19 and this has helped our groups to get back on track. Our income-generating activities are back to normal levels but nobody knows what the future will hold with the coronavirus. Anyway, we’re all in good health and none of us have had the virus so far, touch wood!

Do the Romanian groups have any original or interesting ideas for future initiatives that you can tell us about?

At Emmaus Iasi we have a farm site we call the Belvedere where we’ve been growing fodder, cereals and vegetables for around 15 years now. We want to scale up our economic activities (the bric-à-brac shop and the vegetable commerce) and our farming activities (the orchard, the greenhouses and the rearing of livestock) so that we can create a third housing centre. We’d also like to be able to offer training and social reintegration schemes focusing on how to grow fruit and vegetables, how to make cheese, etc. In the long term we’d also like to build individual housing at this site.

During the Covid-19 crisis the Belvedere project allowed us to keep our food costs low and to have an extra source of income. During a period when we had to avoid having lots of people working indoors, such as in our sales area, the companions were able to work outdoors and learn more about the sectors of farming and construction.

We are looking forward to being able to finish this project and develop the activities we want to develop on this site. We have been able to see how the different steps in this process (construction, furnishing the buildings and starting the farming work) have had a positive impact on the companions both personally and professionally. We are also excited about getting back in touch with other Emmaus groups in Europe to talk about farming. Hopefully we’ll hear from you in spring?

News Romania