5.2.3 The Committee stresses the need for a coherent and well co-ordinated strategy that would meet the immediate and basic needs of military veterans - interventions that would contribute to long-term self- sufficiency. The improvement of the socio-economic conditions of military veterans is essential, given the potential political and social consequences this may hold. For this reason, the Committee stresses that the Department of Military Veterans should become fully operational as a matter of urgency. Specifically, the publication of a strategic plan, a separate budget vote, as well as the finalisation of a policy on military veterans requires immediate attention.