Glossary & Acronyms
The term e-accessibility refers to the user-friendliness of information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, by people with disabilities. Websites need to be developed so that everyone, whatever his/her age and capacities, can access the information.
EAPN = European Anti-Poverty Network
AGE Platform Europe is a member of EAPN.
EBU = European Blind Union
EC = European Commission
ECHR = European Convention on Human Rights
ECJ = Court of Justice of the European Union
The terms eHealth and mHealth (mobile health) refer to the use of new technology in health. Work in this area covers many different issues such as transfer of information between healthcare professionals and institutions, and the use of digital solutions by patients to monitor their health condition either through a computer, tablet or their smartphone.
The European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) is an EU iniative introduced by the ‘Innovation Union’ - one of the 7 flagship initiatives in the framework of the EU 2020 Strategy - to address major societal challenges. The overarching goal of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP AHA) is, by 2020, to enable citizens to live longer independently in good health by increasing the average number of healthy life years by two. It seeks to foster EU citizens’ healthy, active and independent living and improve the sustainability and efficiency of social and health care systems, while creating new opportunities for businesses.
Elder abuse is used to describe a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action which causes harm or distress to an older person or violates their human rights. It may include physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, financial exploitation and neglect. Elder abuse happens everywhere, including at home within the family, at home with health and social care services, or in care institutions. It can be intentional or unintentional (‘bad care’).
EP = European Parliament
EPHA = European Public Health Alliance
AGE Platform Europe is a member of EPHA.
EPP = European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) (European Parliament)
EPSCO (Council) = Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Affairs (Council of the European Union)
ESF = European Social Fund
EU = European Union
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted within the European Union on a wide range of major topics concerning European citizenship: enlargement, social situation, health, culture, information technology, environment, the Euro, defense, etc. The objective of those surveys is to monitor the evolution of the public opinion in the Member States so as to support decision-making and help assess work at EU level.
Eurofound is the European Foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions. This EU agency provides knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies.
Europe 2020 is the EU's growth strategy for the current decade, which succeeds the Lisbon Strategy (2000-2010). Its goal is to establish a social market economy that is “competitive, innovative, sustainable and inclusive” in promoting the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the European economic model. Among the Europe 2020’s five main targets are the rise in the employment rates of the 20-64 year-olds to 75%, the rise in investment in research & development/innovation to 3% of the EU's GDP and the lifting of at least 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion from the baseline of 2008.
Other targets concern climate and energy efficiency and educational performance. The mid-term assessment carried out in 2014/2015 showed that while targets on education and climate are broadly on track, there remains underinvestment. Employment rates have been stagnating and poverty rates worsening. In the 2016 Annual Growth Survey, the Commission highlights though that the rise in poverty rates has been stopped and that employment rates are rising again, bringing the employment target again into reach
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) allows one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of Member States to call directly on the European Commission to bring forward an initiative of interest to them in an area of EU competence, for example environment, consumer protection, transport or public health. The objective of this initiative (introduced by the Lisbon Treaty) is to strengthen the EU participatory democracy in enabling European citizens and civil society organisations to directly influence the political agenda of the EU.
The Committees of the European Parliament aimed to support the European Commission in initiating legislation. These committees - working on different specific areas - will advise the Commission by producing reports, proposing amendments to the draft legislation, and providing, if necessary, a drafted legislative resolution
List of EP Standing Committees:
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AFET Foreign Affairs
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DROI Human Rights
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SEDE Security and Defence
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DEVE Development
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INTA International Trade
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BUDG Budgets
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CONT Budgetary Control
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REGI Regional Development
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PECH Fisheries
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JURI Legal Affairs
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PETI Petitions
The European Semester is a comprehensive policy coordination process, which consists in an annual cycle of economic and fiscal policy coordination supposed to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth by the end of the decade. Through this process, the European Commission evaluates whether and to what extent the commitments undertaken by the Member States allow the EU to meet headline targets of the Europe 2020 strategy in essential areas such as employment rates, research and development, education - and the fight against poverty.
The Semester is also a tool in macro-economic surveillance in the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact: governments submit their national budgets to the Commission in autumn, which approves or requires amendments to the budgets before their debates in national parliaments. The recommendations stemming from the Semester, proposed by the Commission and always adopted by the Council of economic and finance ministers, therefore also concern the targets for new debts (3% of GDP) and total debt (60% of GDP) introduced in the Maastricht treaty.
EY2012 = European Year 2012 (for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations)
