European Consensus Conference on Homelessness (2010)
The European Consensus Conference on Homelessness was an innovative policy process seeking to establish common understandings on fundamental questions about homelessness in order to provide a basis for future policy progress. It was organised as a part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, during the European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion.
Lessons from Research
This overview of research on homelessness in the EU draws largely on the work undertaken by the European Observatory on Homelessness since its formation in 1991, supplemented by secondary literature from other sources. There is considerable evidence on homelessness in Europe but our knowledge remains very uneven with a lack of data and understanding on some aspects of homelessness. More crucially, there is relatively little research in the South and in the Central and East European member states. At EU level, the variations in definition that ETHOS will soon hopefully help address, have hindered the development of a wider perspective and consideration of this social problem at the supra national level. The following summarises the key findings from the overview.
Policy Recommendations of the Jury
Consensus conferencing is a specific tool for facilitating progress on complex issues where a lack of shared understandings blocks policy progress. The policy recommendations contained in this report are the outcome of the 2010 European Consensus Conference on Homelessness. They are the conclusions reached by an independent jury on a set of six key questions. These policy recommendations seek to provide a strong basis from which to make continued and enhanced progress on the issue of homelessness within the European Union, particularly within the framework of the new Europe 2020 Strategy, and the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion.