Of course, it has not been announced by Mr Santer that I am going to be the Commissioner on Social Affairs. But I certainly can put it on record that I have indicated to him that it is my preference. We will not go into that just now except to hope that the matter can be finally resolved next Saturday in Luxembourg.

I should say, of course, that we did not have success in getting the new exclusion programme, the successor to Poverty III, agreed at Council. That was a great disappointment to me because President Delors had talked about that and we had sought extra funds which Parliament was very willing and happy to give us for this purpose.

There is a huge unemployment crisis and there is an increasing number of people marginalized in society. So I think it is only proper, taking the full principle of subsidiarity into account, that we should have an arrangement whereby we can indicate good practice and experience that could be applied right across the Union in dealing with the whole question of poverty. It has not happened yet but I am not without hope. I am not without hope that there will be some movement at the end of the German presidency, and if not, certainly in the French presidency, to bring that about.

We do not have any specific competences as far as housing is concerned. We do have one programme in so far as the European Coal and Steel Community housing situation is concerned but that is a reducing element as well. However, I accept that housing and good housing is an important aspect insofar as the whole integration of society is concerned and we participate in ministerial meetings on housing matters in the general sense.