Alicia HOMS GINEL

Policy topics Alicia HOMS GINEL is active on

What Alicia HOMS GINEL has said (22)

• 2025-07-04 “E-002738/2025 Answer given by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on behalf of the European Commission The Commission collects, from relevant national authorities, annual data on reported work accidents related to “heat and sunstroke” via the European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW) data collection. 1 It also collects annual data on nationally recognised occupational diseases via the voluntary pilot data collection on European Occupational Diseases Statistics (EODS) 2 from Member States except Germany, Greece and Portugal. EODS includes, among available data breakdowns, information about the type of recognised occupational disease according to the ICD-10 3 classification of the World Health Organisation. The European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks 4 of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work collects data on “Heat, cold or draught”, and the European Working Conditions Survey of Eurofound 5 on exposure to “high temperatures”. The topic of heat at work and related data collections at EU level are of great relevance for the development of EU policy in occupational safety and health (OSH). The Commission is continuously working to improve the availability and quality of the data collections in OSH to further advance evidence-based policymaking, in particular concerning ESAW and EODS, and is doing so in cooperation with the Member States by organising working groups meetings and task forces. The topic of heat at work is considered in these activities. The first European Climate Risk Assessment 6 , highlighted the growing health risks from heat stress and the Commission committed to stepping up measures to ensure that exposed workers are adequately protected. 7 In 2026, it will adopt an integrated framework for climate resilience and risk management, 8 which inter alia will seek to ensure more efficient monitoring. 1 Data collection implemented by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 349/2011 of 11 April 2011 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work, as regards statistics on accidents at work. 2 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/experimental-statistics/european-occupational-diseases-statistics. 3 International Classification of Diseases 10th revision 4 ESENER - https://oshwiki.osha.europa.eu/en/themes/esener-2019-methodology. 5 EWCS - https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/surveys/european-working-conditions-surveys/europeanworking-conditions-survey-2024. 6 https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/eu-adaptation-policy/key-eu-actions/european-climate-risk-assessment. 7 COM(2024) 91 final - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52024DC0091. 8 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14770-European-climate-resilienceand-risk-management-integrated-framework_en.”
  EU competences on social policies · EU rules on hazardous working conditions
• “Thank you. President. Uh, I will turn to Spanish. Thank you. I wanted to ask because in this committee, one of the things that we discuss is the fact that we need to build housing because we need it, but we also need to think about renewing housing, which already exists. And we need to do that more quickly so that we can bring more housing onto the market. And one of the things which I noted from the The presentation is that we do not have enough data. That's going to be important when it comes to taking the right decisions, right political decisions, and putting them into practice. What I'd like to know from you is that we see that not everybody makes the same contribution to the environmental impact. And this leads to greater social inequalities. Do we have ways of assessing that inequality. And then obviously there's the issue of renovation. That is important. It's important to renew our homes sustainably. For families this could be an investment that some could make, but it would be important to to avoid energetic impoverishment in the longer term. It's important that we make sure that the renovations are as environmentally sustainable as possible. Uh, so it's a thing was an issue where we need to look at the whole chain of what we're doing to get it right. Thank you.”
  Energy performance of buildings
• “(10:47:10 – 10:48:24): Thank you very much, madam president. Today, we're talking about competitiveness and productivity that we should have in our European single market. However, there's a fundamental question that we're disregarding here for many regions. A nurse, for instance, a teacher. How would any worker of that type or other worker manage where you can't really make ends meet in the place where they live. This is something that's important for our districts, for our regions. People should be entitled to a dignified life. It's fundamental. You know, for instance, in my region, a 185% of the wage goes towards, housing accommodation. That makes it so difficult for our workers, for our local economies. They are falling apart with moving towards a social crisis. So the single market can't just be there to move capital freely around. It needs to be there for the lives of our citizens, our men and women. Social Europe is what we should be prioritizing here in all of our economies. Those who work in Europe should be in a position where they can also live in Europe. Mister Grazu”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much. As you rightly pointed out. Well, firstly, take stock of the initial Lock on the traineeships directive. This was held on November 18th. The Danish ambassador came along, as did the vice president, President Sato. The trilogue went very smoothly and it was very constructive. The main goal of the trilogue, as you rightly pointed out, was to present the negotiating mandates on the main points, clarifying the view of each institution in order that our teams could crack on with the technical work. This is the only trialogue we were able to hold under the Danish presidency. Nonetheless, technical meetings between the institutions are being held already on the various relevant aspects. Thank you. Um.”
  Youth employment & training
• “Thank you very much indeed. President. Commissioner. The extreme heat of this summer is not just an anecdote. It is a real threat and affects thousands of people across Europe. People who suffer from heat stress affects families and people who are seeing their energy costs soar because their homes are poorly insulated. So tackling this problem is not only to help the planet, but is also to save lives. Denying science, denying climate change will not help us because we find that these kinds of policies kill. We have seen this firsthand this summer. If we have just one extreme heat wave, then we see that that leads to the death of over 1500 people in Europe. And that is precisely why Spain is suggesting this sustainability pact. And it is important that it be ambitious and to be implemented as soon as possible. Let's be serious. Europe requires urgent responses. We need to invest in sustainable energy, and we need to help people in their homes and at work. And we need to defend the health and well-being of people above and beyond any ideology.”
  Climate efforts · EU climate adaptation and disaster preparedness
• “Thank you. Chair. We need to guarantee social and affordable housing. But I do not think that that will achieve all our goals. We need to guarantee rights. It cannot be speculative because speculation generates insecurity and precarity, particularly for young people. Single family households and workers. Families. So for everyone, we know that there are solutions and this can be done through mobilizing resources, as has already been said. But we also need strong political will. Housing is a fundamental right and this needs to be recognized. Now, we can see from the experience of our three panelists that I would like to ask them what concrete and measures do they think are the most effective, so that at a European level, we can ensure that housing can be protected from speculative speculation in the markets or market distortions. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much. We hear a lot about the right to property in this Parliament. And of course, that's legitimate. But the problem is that, um, this debate comes up quite often, and we have to also look at the rights of tenants. And what some political parties are saying. And it is concerning, particularly if it were to be reflected in our policies, the right to, uh, proper housing is a right. And, uh, at a time when so many people, so many families, young people, European citizens are facing an unprecedented housing crisis, uh, because of the, uh, unaffordable high prices or the constant threat of losing their house without any reasonable alternative. Then I would like to ask, um, Miss Owen and Mr. McKenna, what can we do to overcome this idea that we need to protect the right to property when there are so many other tools that could be used to protect the right to property? We know that, um, these quick turnovers can worsen the situation, um, in Europe and can also damage social cohesion, particularly for, uh, people and families who are forced out of their houses and have nowhere to go.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you very much to the Commission as well for the presentation on this task force. In too many regions across Europe, what we're saying is that where there's the greatest tension, where there's speculation, etc., where people are buying second or third homes, etc., rents for holiday homes, etc. what this is doing is forcing families to move away from their neighborhoods and have to change their lives completely. So I just want to share this. I know that housing cannot be run as a business. It has to be viewed as a right as it is. And I would just like to ask you also taking into account the freedom of freedom of movement, etc., all of the rights that we enjoy as Europeans. But I would like to know is the Commission considering any specific measures to protect residents in these areas where people are finding themselves forced out in regions such as mine as well? I come from an island, and sometimes it's impossible to stay on your own island and where you would ideally like to spend the whole of your life. So I understand the limitations here, but what measures can be undertaken in this respect?”
  EU regulation of short-term rentals
• “Thank you very much, chair. As an MEP and a citizen of the Balearics, it was interesting to hear from the representative of the Balearics government speaking about sustainability when at home. She says that there's no such thing as tourism saturation. Um, sometimes it seems that they need to deny the obvious reality to face the extreme right government. The European Commission itself says the opposite that we need to manage tourism flows to avoid situations of extreme tension, as we saw in the Balearics. But my regional government seems to prefer looking the other way. We've heard about the social ills, the lack of protection for the environment, and they are not responding to the real needs of citizens. This report was presented yesterday in the Committee of the regions and I think it says it all. This view on sustainability is not sustainable. We need to be more consistent. And I don't think you can come to Brussels and talk about sustainable tourism. When back home in your region, you're proving unable to manage things. So I wanted to ask if she really will focus on the social impact that tourism is having, and on the demands that the residents of the Balearic Islands are placing on her to be able to continue to live their lives there. Thank you.”
  EU strategy for tourism development
• “Thank you very much. Madam president. Commissioner, it is an unprecedented situation. What do we do when millions of young people in Europe cannot, uh, realise their ambitions? Uh, people don't have enough for housing. The union is not just under obligation. It must act. Uh, we look at the report from, uh, Marcus Rose, uh, looking at modifying rules so cohesion funds can go to sustainable housing, it makes it easier for the member states to have the tools to build, to provide dignified housing for all, and to ensure that every euro that we invest into housing goes directly to the people who need it, and not into the hands of speculators. What is at stake here is people's lives, their dignity, and the future of entire generations. The EU needs to live up to these expectations. We should not lose this opportunity. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, chair. And in fact, yesterday we were able to talk about this. And I know that we've been working on this for months, so I would like first and foremost, before we start asking some questions, I want to talk about Barcelona. And I know that we saw some data and according to the city council in Barcelona to try and they actually have a support of over half the Population in terms of coming up with these elimination of short term rentals. And I think it's important to mention this, although I do think it's important to make sure that we have a measure which is proportionate and which can then be implemented with peace of mind. Yesterday we talked about short term rentals as one of the problems when it comes to the housing crisis. But of course, this is not the only problem. We know that there are many different issues and different faces that this housing housing crisis has. However, we have talked about different data which pinpoints indicates that short term rentals are an issue, particularly when it comes to high intensity areas. And I wanted to mention this because one of the matters that we're looking at is whether we need to have Legislation at European level to try and regulate this matter. And so when it comes to the social purpose, the social use of housing, one of the reasons that we want to look at the legislation, to think about how to draft this itself and to think about the different areas where there is a high level of tourism, and to look at how we address the issues so that we can protect the local population so that they are not having to leave their areas and to try and ease the pressure, because we can see that tourism, there are tourism hotspots as well, and we need to try and avoid the local people, local residents having to leave their areas or their cities, and perhaps in certain areas we can have some targeted measures which can also help us to to at the same time protect the economy of these areas. That's everything I wanted to say just now.”
  EU regulation of short-term rentals
• “Yes, I will do it in Spanish. Thank you very much, Commissioner, and thank you for coming to the Housing Committee and for taking part in these debates. And as Andrea said, for setting out the, um, affordable housing plan, which we're discussing today. I wanted to ask about this idea of an affordable housing house. I think this is really going to be a key to help to solve citizens concerns. And I think that it's a a very good measure. But I just want to know what kind of well, on the criteria that you were referring to, what kind of vision do you have? Because the example that you gave. Um, to try to do something about our short stay housing, but I wanted to focus more on protecting residents. If someone comes from wherever they come from and they want to stay in a certain city, uh, you know, and they have a third or fourth house, um, we know that certain houses are empty. That's something that does exist. So first houses, houses where people actually live have to be prioritized. And then just, uh, to, uh, finish. Um, I mean, I always say this, but please take account of the specific, uh, challenges of, uh, vulnerable areas such as islands, for example, which are extremely vulnerable and can't extend their housing too much more.”
  EU regulation of short-term rentals
• “It's worth highlighting that we want to try and ensure that people remain on this territory, and we need to address housing for this matter. Is this also one of the other factors because we talked about rents beforehand. But the other point is to look at non-residents and how they're purchasing houses on the islands. And then ultimately they spend very short periods on the islands. So I would like to ask you what measures you would like to implement to address this matter, because I think that islands are particularly affected by this. And this is something which I have some experience of myself. And what has been the most effective when it comes to ensuring affordable housing in your regions? And perhaps we can draw inspiration from this to think about the European level, and also so that we can support you and help you come up with solutions. Thank you very much, Georgios.”
  EU policy on urban development
• “Yes. Very briefly. Thank you, Madam Chair. Will the issue of short term rentals is something that we've looked at several times in our committee and for our group. As my colleague said, this is a priority. And I'd like to ask a couple of clear questions, if I may. Firstly, given that the social function of housing needs to be a priority, I'd like to know how we could. Ensure that new short term rental rules can ensure that It housing fulfills its social function. And then another question which measures could produce results in terms of protecting the right to appropriate housing? Given all this short term rental that we're seeing. And then, as Laura said, well, one of the amendments that we're trying to table is this idea of. Recognizing areas where short term rentals are more of a threat than an opportunity, so that we can impose measures that are nuanced and a bit stricter in certain places than others. I think this is important because given the legislation we have at the moment in cities such as mine, Palma, I mean. I don't think there are any, uh. No short term rentals have permits that act as such. And yet there are still many adverts. So I really think we need to try and limit this kind of thing. Thank you.”
  EU regulation of short-term rentals
• “Yes, thank you very much, chair, and welcome to the Commissioner. First of all, I should like to thank you for the commitment that this Commission has made in the context of this housing plan, which is going to be presented in the next few days, starting with the housing issue. This is a crisis, which of course varies depending on the region. It can be affected by material goods, by lack of labor, and also by excess demand, which can be created by mass tourism in some areas. And then we have the islands which have also been mentioned. And then specific resources are the sales prices, for example, and whether there is any intervention tourists, second housing people who are not resident all the time. So going beyond the regulation that we're going to see in the short term, could you think of the introduction of the recent affected market? I think this is a very important when we're looking at the strong pressures in some areas and also in looking at the challenges that are being faced, perhaps we could look at not just islands and regions, but also the very much outer regions, the outermost regions.”
  EU policy on urban development
• “Thank you very much. Madam president, vice president. We socialists believe deeply in the European social model. Social and fiscal justice, redistribution of wealth and strong and high quality public services. This is the right path, guaranteeing that no child should live in poverty, and that housing should cease to be a luxury and become a fundamental right. But Europe is showing symptoms of weakness. Workers who aren't earning enough to cover their needs. People suffering from homelessness. And the extreme right is now taking advantage of these conditions to start sowing doubts about the whole democratic system. The far right is actually an accomplice because they are calling for tax breaks for the most privileged, which in fact destroy public systems, as in the case in my region, the Balearic Islands. So we need to defend democracy and the European project. We need measures that create an integrated Europe and combat poverty, strengthen our social model and make sure that poverty is banished from Europe.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Thank you, chair. Vice president. A question that was already brought up was overpopulation. When we look at that, we also have to think about Ireland territories because we also have an additional difficulty here. So that's my first comment. Then on the mid-term review, as you've explained, we recognize that affordable housing is a strategic priority for the EU and it's included by the Commission in these plans. And we're very happy with the flexibility to be able to reprogram funding and deal with these urgent issues. It's very important that we're clear, because this housing crisis isn't just about investment, although, of course, it does have to do with this, but it's also got to do with the model because we have structural issues with accessing houses, not just amongst vulnerable groups and young people, but also with the working class. So it's essential that we ensure that funds are used for affordable housing, but it's also very important that we go further and that we ensure that the public funds remain, um for public issues. And we need to avoid speculation. We need to stop speculation from being such a big issue for the market and in local regions. And we need sustainable solutions. So my question is, will the Commission ensure that the additional investment will also be followed by a transformation of the model, and to ensure that the speculation we put an end to the speculation and so that this is sustainable for future generations.”
  EU policy on urban development
• “Thank you very much, Madam President. Commissioner. Today, the commission has kept its promise responding to the demands of citizens and what the Parliament has been calling for so energetically, which is this affordable housing plan? It's a European response to something all too familiar to too many people. Insecurity of housing Soaring all the time. This is based on the correct diagnosis, which is the crisis of accessibility. And, um. Is a social crisis, too. Um, we believe that we need to change our approach. We can't just build houses without thinking about who we're building for. We need to have social justice. We need to have public social housing, which is affordable and dignified and sustainable. We have to ensure that people can have a home without, uh. This using up all of their income. We have to have a protective housing policy. This is not an ideology. We don't want to leave anyone behind in such a serious crisis as the housing crisis that we're in.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you very much, Madam President. Today we're talking about competitiveness and productivity that we should have in our European single market. However, there's a fundamental question that we're disregarding here for many regions. A nurse, for instance, a teacher. How would any worker of that type or other worker manage where you can't really make ends meet in the place where they live? This is something that's important for our districts, for our regions. People should be entitled to a dignified life. It's fundamental. You know, for instance, in my region, 185% of the wage goes towards housing, accommodation that makes it so difficult for our workers, for our local economies. They are falling apart. We're moving towards a social crisis, so the single market can't just be there to move capital freely around. It needs to be there for the lives of our citizens, our men and women. Social Europe is what we should be prioritising here in all of our economies. Those who work in Europe should be in a position where they can also live in Europe.”
  EU housing policy
• “Thank you chair. As I was saying, the points I tabled as rapporteur were those you are already aware of. In other words, the scope and objective of the directive, the traineeships agreements, fighting against abusive practices and hidden employment data gathering and seeing to it that transposition and implementation is swift and efficient. The meeting went to show that there were significant differences in the stances of both the Parliament and the Council. So we are engaging in a wearisome and complex negotiating process. Nonetheless, the institutions said, look, we're prepared to move forward constructively, and as far as the Parliament is concerned, we will do our level best to ensure that the agreement sets the bar high, that it's fair and fulfils the expectations of young people in Europe so that they get what they're entitled to. This is only the first trialogue. It's the start of that process and we will still be negotiating. Negotiation is the watchword.”
  Youth employment & training
• “Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I, too, would like to ask. Now, a number of different questions have come up with regard to the short term rentals. This is one of the major debates that's ongoing right now, and we do hope that the Commission will be able to reflect upon this in the report, because it's not covered sufficiently. And it's a problem that there are certain areas that where there's particular pressure on this particular front. Uh, there are in some regions opportunities. But in the Balearic Islands, for example, where I'm from, this is a major problem that has to be confronted and the opportunities are not there right now. So I think something that would work very well. Is, uh, establishing particular zones, particular criteria for specific zones. And we could establish which regions, which regions, um. Of course, the mayors would be the best to be able to delineate these particular zones, but establish limits in particular zones where short term rentals simply ought not exist or ought to be seriously curtailed. So I think we're going to have to be much more strict, much more rigid on this particular issue, uh, particularly, uh, illegal activities on platforms. And, um, I think much more has to be done and there has to be great surveillance. If you like vigilance on this particular front in order to deal with the problems on the market that are resulting from these distortions on platforms. And let's not forget, many people are being simply expelled from their own neighborhoods. They can't live there any longer.”
  EU regulation of short-term rentals
• “Thank you very much, chair. And thank you very much for coming to present this opinion, which is very interesting. I would like to ask a number of questions. I've got a doubt about one aspect. And then I'd like to ask you about another couple of aspects as well. So there's one point which one of the speakers mentioned at the end of his speech related to this agricultural land? And I think it's important that we kind of define this properly, because it could be quite dangerous otherwise. For for example, I come from an island, and if we have a proposal put in these terms, it could be quite dangerous. So I just want to understand what we're talking about when it comes to these rezoning, because I understand it's very difficult in an opinion to explain it fully. So I just want to take the opportunity of having you here with us to to give further explanations. I also wanted to ask about a principle which has been mentioned, this idea of housing first. And I would like to know, because I read through the opinion report and you've talked about the economic impact of having housing. But of course, we know that housing needs to be a right first and foremost. So I'd like to hear a little bit more about this principle of housing first, so that we can come up with a fair solution, particularly when it comes to this crisis which we are experiencing across Europe. Thank you.”
  EU housing policy