European Parliament
Lívia Járóka  (PPE ),
in writing.
I welcome that Cyprus specifies the promotion of the European Union's social agenda as a key point of its agenda and the protection of children as one of its priorities. Poverty is becoming a more pressing issue in the EU and most countries, extreme poverty and deprivation are concentrated in marginalized communities, such as the Roma, and children represent a large share of these populations, who are particularly vulnerable to deprivation. Targeted and complex policy measures are needed to safeguard the institution of family in Europe, to address the socio-demographic changes affecting family structures, to combat child poverty, and to change the employment patterns. Eliminating child poverty however, is inseparable from the efforts to improve the situation of the families and we need immediate action to stop families falling behind, and rebuild our social and territorial cohesion, because it would be an unforgivable sin to loose further generations. It must be ensured that consolidation measures will not have further negative impacts on people at risk of social exclusion. Marginalized communities demand a special focus, since they constitute a huge reserve of idle workforce and are disproportionately overrepresented among those living in poverty.

