MEP Alfred Sant said that homelessness across Europe needs systematic and not partial solutions. For this, there is limited political appetite.
He said that, "the difficulty is that we must overcome a huge temptation to classify homelessness as a marginal problem. Europe is once again ignoring the minority of those who end up homeless following their failed attempt of a better life in another EU country."
Dr. Sant was addressing a seminar on homelessness among mobile EU citizens organised by FEANTSA, a European federation of organisations from different EU countries that work with homeless people.
"Homelessness is a serious problem in Europe, which is supposedly one of the richest, socially most advanced regions of the globe. Worse, as a problem, it is growing. Not just because of the phenomenon of irregular migration and the arrival in Europe of refugees in huge numbers, but also because of an increasing number of those EU nationals who choose to move to another EU country with the goal of achieving a better life but fail," said Dr. Sant.
The Maltese MEP said the real challenge is to understand how and why the European society we are trying to manage allows for homelessness. In reality, Dr. Sant said, this is far from being a marginal problem.
The event, hosted by MEPs Alfred Sant (S&D) and Sylvie Goulard, French MEP (ALDE) Alliance of the Liberals in the EP, explored why mobile EU citizens are vulnerable to homelessness, particularly with regard to precarious working conditions.
Representing Malta was Therese Cini Sarreo from the YMCA who gave an overview of the situation of homeless people from other EU countries in Malta.