European Commission 2024-2029 : Austerity and competitiveness

We now know the list of European Commissioners put forward for the 2024-2029 term of office. It is no great surprise that the European Commission is heading in a worrying direction for the future of our activities and our values. It is now up to the European Parliament to hold hearings with each of these candidates to decide whether or not they should be appointed to the post of European Commissioner.

The strong presence of conservative and right-wing parties is a source for concern, as at the European level, these parties are rarely receptive to our cause and share very few of our values. This raises concerns about their ability to defend social rights, equality and climate justice, issues that should be at the forefront of European concerns. Of the 27 Commissioners proposed (one per Member State), 12 are from conservative parties, five from liberal parties and one is from a far-right party. Furthermore, five are labelled as independents, but are in fact close to right-wing and far-right parties. Only five Commissioners are from social democratic parties.

With regard to content, we are also concerned about the loss of the Social and Employment Commissioner position and the appointment of three different Commissioners responsible for migration policies, with a prevalent use of terms such as “prosperity”, “competitiveness” and “security”. In the letters sent to the Commissioners to define their roles, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unapologetically defends a vision of Europe geared towards competitiveness, economic growth and security. At Emmaus, this choice raises alarm bells, as it promotes a Europe of increasingly closed borders and an economic model that favours big business, while neglecting social issues, human rights and crucial environmental concerns.

However, there are a few positive points worth highlighting. The establishment of a Commissioner for the circular economy, whose tasks will include working on drafting a law on the circular economy. The creation of a Commissioner for “energy and housing” now makes access to housing an integral part of European responsibilities, which has not been the case until now. Lastly, the implementation of an anti-poverty strategy has been announced, and we will endeavour to take part in it with our partners, despite the unfavourable political context in terms of reducing the causes of poverty.

Circular economy / The environment Defending human rights / Migration European Union News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity

European Commission Credit: EmDee, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Emmaus Campus: young people take centre stage!

European young people are increasingly affected by precariousness and the Emmaus movement is seeking ways to meet their needs. This idea also involves reviewing our practices to allow young activists to join us. In Paris, the Emmaus Défi group is trying to meet this twofold challenge by creating Emmaus Campus, a young and inspiring integration project! We met Mederic, its director:

Can you tell us why Emmaus Défi came up with the idea of setting up Campus?

In 2020, Emmaus Défi made three observations:

We were at maximum capacity in our current premises, with 150 employees on work integration schemes… and yet, similarly to all the other Emmaus groups, a large number of people were still knocking on our door and we were unable to help them.
The precariousness of young people has doubled over the last twenty years and was further exacerbated in the wake of the COVID crisis. The Emmaus movement was only partially able to address this issue.
Young people are increasingly keen to get involved, but we have not geared our welcoming and volunteering methods to suit them.

Through the creation of Emmaus Campus, Emmaus Défi aimed to set up a scheme that would address these three issues.

How does it work specifically?

Emmaus Campus carries out “classic” Emmaus group activities. It runs a work integration project that supports people experiencing job insecurity by offering solidarity-based work involving the collection, sorting and sale of second-hand items. We simply tried to add a youth dimension to every aspect of our work:

We welcome a higher proportion of young people among our employees, in order to meet our target of ¾ under the age of 30.
We set up our shops near universities or places where young people gather, such as the campus at the Sorbonne Nouvelle faculty, or Forum des Halles shopping centre.
We regularly organise pop-up sales on campuses and at universities.
We offer special sales and discounts in our shops to enable young people to buy articles at low prices (-30% for under 30s).
We organise solidarity donations of clothes for students facing hardship.
We welcome a lot of interns and have launched “Pass Campus”, a voluntary scheme for young people.
By the end of the year, we will initiate “inser-jeunes”: a mobile team made up of 100% employees under 30 on integration schemes, who will receive appropriate support and carry out collection, sales, awareness-raising and distribution activities in student settings.

What advice would you give to other groups in Europe who would like to set up a similar activity?

Go for it! The starting point is actually fairly straightforward. You just need to tailor your current activities to a specific group of people, with particular needs and constraints. Start by listening: what do they need and want? In terms of your group’s current work, what is preventing them from becoming potential volunteers or beneficiaries?

It seems obvious, but the challenge of welcoming young people in our groups is absolutely vital for the future of our movement. It’s an enormous source of creativity and energy that we cannot do without!

We could, and should, come up with many different types of Emmaus groups, tailored to specific groups of people, focussing on the most vulnerable and people whose needs we are not yet fully addressing. Emmaus for seniors, Emmaus for single-parent families, Emmaus for people with disabilities, etc. This would enable us to become even more inclusive and to really welcome everyone.

France News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity

Credit: Emmaus Campüs

Emmaus and European advocacy

Europe – a vital decision-making level for Emmaus’ work

European policy plays a pivotal role in the daily lives of each of us, directly influencing aspects such as labour rights, efforts to address precarity, health, production and environmental issues. For example, European law governs workers’ rights across Europe and migration policy, and directly affects our collection, sorting, reuse and recycling work, which are fundamental aspects of the Emmaus groups’ efforts.

Emmaus proposals for a Europe that regains hope

It is vital that the MEPs understand the urgent need to stand shoulder to shoulder with the most deprived people, go further on climate issues, and support the work of our groups. To this end, Emmaus Europe has drawn up a number of proposals for the EU 2024-2029 legislative mandate in order to create a Europe of renewed hope:

General proposals Detailed proposals

The Emmaus Europe team is at your disposal to help you set up specific actions on some of these proposals if you would like to do so.

Contact: eve.poulteau@emmaus-europe.org

General information

Emmaus denounces

Emmaus International, Emmaus France and the Abbé Pierre Foundation are making public serious acts committed by Abbé Pierre.

The Emmaus Movement is making public acts of sexual assault and sexual harassment committed by Abbé Pierre between the late 1970s and 2005. These incidents affected employees and voluntary workers of some of our member organisations, along with young women that Abbé Pierre knew from his own personal circle. The Movement commissioned Groupe Egaé, a firm specialising in violence prevention, to listen to testimony and conduct analysis. This work made it possible to gather testimonies from seven women. One of them was a minor when the first incidents took place. According to the information gathered, several other women were subjected to similar incidents, but their testimonies have not been heard. A strictly confidential system to hear testimonies and provide support has been set up for victims or witnesses of unacceptable behaviour by Abbé Pierre.

A year ago, Emmaus France received a first-hand account from a woman who was subjected to sexual assault* by Abbé Pierre.
An Emmaus Movement delegation met the victim and heard her testimony.

Following this meeting, an internal investigation was launched by Emmaus International, Emmaus France and the Abbé Pierre Foundation to establish whether other similar incidents had occurred. This work was conducted by Caroline De Haas, of Groupe Egaé, who heard testimonies from seven women reporting behaviour that may amount to sexual assault or sexual harassment committed by Abbé Pierre between the late 1970s and 2005. One of them was a minor (16 or 17 years old) when the first incidents took place. According to Groupe Egaé, it is reasonable to consider that other people were affected, although it is difficult to estimate how many.

Our organisations commend the courage of the people who gave their testimony and, by speaking out, made it possible to bring these events to light. We believe them, we know that these intolerable acts have left their mark and we stand by them.

Investigation report Groupe Egaé

These revelations have shaken our organisations, where the figure of Abbé Pierre plays a major role. We all know his story and his message. These acts profoundly change the way we regard this man, who was known above all for his struggle against poverty, destitution and exclusion.

At a time when urgent social issues and the need to defend the most vulnerable people are particularly pressing, the day-to-day work carried out by all employees, companions and volunteers within the Emmaus Movement is vital. Solidarity, mutual assistance and unconditional welcome of the most disadvantaged are our raison d’être.

The Emmaus Movement combats all forms of violence and is intent on denouncing the unacceptable acts committed by a person who has played a major role in its history. We owe it to the victims. We also owe it to all those who, for over 70 years, have carried out the Movement’s work on a daily basis. We share their pain and anger, but also their resolve to continue working, every day, to build a fairer and more supportive world.

As of today, the Emmaus Movement has set up a strictly confidential system for gathering testimonies from people who were victims or witnesses of unacceptable behaviour by Abbé Pierre. This system is managed by Groupe Egaé and will offer people the opportunity to be heard, anonymously should they so wish, in addition to providing them with guidance and support.

* The law at the time classified this type of act as indecent assault.

Contact presse : mouvementemmaus@2017.fr

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European Commission 2024-2029 : Austerity and competitiveness