Cuardaigh

Do thorthaí

Ag taispeáint 10 as 207 torthaí

In the run-off election on 19 November 2023, Argentinians elected right-wing populist Javier Milei, aged 53, as the country's new president. Four weeks earlier, on 22 October 2023, general elections had taken place to elect the president, vice-president, members of the national congress and the governors of most provinces. Following the primaries of 13 August 2023, to the great surprise of all experts, anti-establishment candidate Javier Milei, leader and founder of the La Libertad Avanza party, ...

Homelessness in the European Union

Staidéar 22-11-2023

This study, commissioned by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Petitions (PETI), demonstrates the need to change systems that respond to homelessness as an issue of individual dysfunction and inadequacy, to systems that end homelessness. The residential instability felt by the majority of those who are homeless needs to be addressed through the provision of integrated housing, welfare, and health services. Public policy should ...

People in Europe are living and staying healthy for longer, and this is considered to be one of the great developments of the last hundred years. However, in combination with low birth rates and economic uncertainties, this phenomenon puts into question the future financial sustainability of pension systems and several welfare state parameters. Pension systems are a key element of social protection for older people. They are meant to provide older citizens beyond working age with an income in the ...

Energy poverty in the EU

Briefing 18-09-2023

In 2022, over 41 million Europeans were unable to keep their homes adequately warm. Energy poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, considered to be caused by a combination of low income, high energy expenses, and poor energy efficiency in buildings. The EU has been addressing this issue in various legislative and non-legislative initiatives, most recently in the context of its climate policies and energy transition, as well as the energy crisis. The Gas and Electricity Directives ensure the protection ...

The victory in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers' Party, who ran on a platform of – among other things – protecting the Amazon and indigenous peoples' rights, has raised hopes in the EU of completing the long-standing negotiations on an EU-Mercosur association agreement. Since January 2023, Lula has deployed a number of recycled but updated policy tools from the early 2000s, which, it is assumed, will deliver similarly positive results ...

Political turmoil in Peru

Sracfhéachaint 13-04-2023

The political turmoil in the Andean region goes on. Following mass demonstrations, social unrest and political instability in Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador in recent years, it is now Peru that is suffering a deep political crisis. It all started after Congress removed the then President, Pedro Castillo, on 7 December 2022, after his self-coup attempt. His Vice-President, Dina Boluarte Zegarra, became Peru's first female head of state and its sixth president in five years. Violent protests have since ...

Food prices in the EU have risen dramatically over the past two years. The chain of disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, extreme weather events and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have led to severe shortages in the agri-food chain, resulting in higher consumer prices. The latest European Parliament Eurobarometer survey shows that the cost of living continues to be the main concern for European citizens. During the January I plenary session, Members of the European Parliament will ...

Governments seek to protect low-income households from the risk of poverty by regulating minimum wages and setting up support programmes that include both social insurance and social assistance transfers. At their centre are guaranteed minimum income schemes as last-resort income support. While minimum income schemes exist in all EU Member States, they are not always adequate; they do not reach all those in need, nor do they motivate people to return to the labour market. In many EU countries, the ...

Understanding transport poverty

Sracfhéachaint 26-10-2022

Transport poverty refers to a lack of adequate transport services necessary to access general services and work, or to the inability to pay for these transport services. Intertwined with social vulnerabilities, such as low income, old age or disabilities and with regional disadvantages, it has mainly been discussed at EU level in the framework of the 'fit for 55' package and the sustainable and smart mobility strategy. The European Parliament has addressed the topic on several occasions, in a resolution ...

Implementing the European Child Guarantee

Sracfhéachaint 19-10-2022

The aim of the European Child Guarantee, established by the Council recommendation of June 2021, is to help fight child poverty by securing access to basic services for vulnerable children. European Union Member States were to submit their action plans by March 2022, outlining how they intend to implement the guarantee by 2030. The national action plans delivered so far vary in approach, content and scope, raising questions such as how to measure progress and ensure implementation, given the lack ...