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Deposit collectors in Cologne (archive image)

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The Council of Europe has called on Germany to make more efforts in the fight against poverty.

A Council of Europe report published on Tuesday speaks of “growing inequality” in the Federal Republic.

The high level of poverty and social exclusion in this country is disproportionate to the wealth.

The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Dunja Mijatovic, welcomed the measures taken by the federal government.

These included attempts to reform the social system to make it more accessible, increase social security benefits and offer more training opportunities for the unemployed.

However, further efforts are needed to combat “growing inequality”.

Among other things, Mijatovic called for breaking the cycle of growing child poverty.

Existing obstacles to access to social rights must be removed.

In addition, urgent measures are needed to address the acute shortage of affordable housing, especially in urban centers, using all available means.

This also included interventions in the housing market.

In order to prevent and eliminate homelessness, comprehensive and long-term measures are necessary, such as changes to tenancy law.

Particular attention is also needed to address the rise in xenophobia, which has the potential to undermine social cohesion and destabilize democratic institutions.

From Berlin it was said that the federal government shared "the Commissioner's concerns regarding the increasing number of homeless people in Germany."

The German side pointed out that it had been decided for the first time to adopt a national action plan to overcome homelessness.

Turnaround towards social housing stock

The stock of social housing in Germany has “melted down” from around three million apartments in 1990 to around one million social rental apartments currently.

However, it is currently planned that the federal government will provide the states with a total of 18.15 billion euros in federal funds for social housing construction between 2022 and 2027.

This sum will be co-financed by the federal states, "so that experience shows that more than twice as much will be available for the creation of social and affordable housing."

This “initiated the trend reversal towards a perspectively rebuilding social housing stock”.

To combat xenophobia, Berlin said that the federal government is "currently working on a new strategy" with a "comprehensive approach" that should include "repressive" and "preventive" approaches.

46 countries belong to the Council of Europe.

The country organization based in Strasbourg advocates democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The now published report follows a visit by Mijatovic to Germany at the end of last year.

She met federal ministers and representatives at local level and from civil society.

jok/AFP