Counting the homeless in Europe: ‘compare before harmonising’

Abstract

After having outlined the debates around the definition of homelessness and the issues concealed by terminological problems, we will describe the two major clashes that emerged as this plan for an indicator was being put in place. The first was the opposition between the public and charitable sectors, the second that between the various EU member states. The most evident of these clashes was the first one, since it was embedded in institutions and expressed publicly. The second, which involved the member states, was less visible, particularly in this initial phase of the statistical exercise, in which national governments as such were not represented. Thus, the harmonisation process (reaching a consensus) was carried out within a supposedly ‘denationalised’ space by actors committed to this principle.