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Access to housing in the EU has become problematic in recent years. Demography and urbanisation-related structural factors, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, the cost-of-living crisis and (already high) housing prices that keep rising are preventing many people from accessing decent housing solutions. The lack of affordable housing supply only adds to this situation. These difficulties affect not only low- but now also middle-income households, as ...

This briefing provides a pre-legislative synthesis of the positions of national, regional and local governmental organisations on the European Commission's forthcoming European care strategy and related proposals. It forms part of an EPRS series offering a summary of the pre-legislative state-of-play and advance consultation on a range of key Commission priorities during its 5-year term in office. It seeks to present the current state of affairs, examine how existing policy is working on the ground ...

Commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, this study provides an overview of the implementation of Directive 2013/33/EU laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection. It outlines the legal framework and examines how gender related aspects and the reception needs of vulnerable groups are considered in practice in Munich (Germany ...

An unprecedented mass movement of asylum-seekers and migrants of all ages started in 2014, and has continued throughout 2015 and into 2016. Fleeing armed conflicts, mass killings, persecution and pervasive sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), these persons seek protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention, its subsequent Protocol and other international instruments. In times of such instability, women and girls are particularly at risk of gender-based violence, including sexual violence. Between ...

Upon request by the FEMM Committee, the study presents an overview of the most important issues faced by refugees and asylum seeking women in their host country regarding access to appropriate housing, including privacy and shelter in case of domestic violence, training and language courses, the labour market, and the health systems, including psychological support and trauma healing. A summary of international standards and of applicable European laws, as well as details on available funding from ...

2015 was a landmark year in the history of migration to Europe, with an unprecedented and constantly increasing flow of migrants making their way to the European Union. Fleeing poverty and war mainly in the Middle East and Africa, more and more people embarked on perilous journeys to reach the safety of Europe. In 2015, there was a significant surge in migrant transits across the eastern Mediterranean and the Western Balkans. The EU Member States bordering the Mediterranean Sea shared the challenge ...

Upon request by the LIBE committee, this study examines the workings of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), in order to assess the need and potential for new approaches to ensure access to protection for people seeking it in the EU, including joint processing and distribution of asylum seekers. Rather than advocating the addition of further complexity and coercion to the CEAS, the study proposes a focus on front-line reception and streamlined refugee status determination, in order to mitigate ...