FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS – SOCIETAL ISSUES / DEMOGRAPHY
EU Council calls on Member States to take account of ageing populations in their public policies
Brussels, 16/03/2021 (Agence Europe)
The Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Policies welcomed on Monday 15 March the adoption of conclusions on ‘Mainstreaming Ageing in Public Policies’: an echo of the recent European Commission Green Paper on ageing populations in the EU (see EUROPE B12645A3).
By 2060, average life expectancy will reach 84 years for men (eight years more than today) and 89 years for women (seven years more), the findings show.
The EU Council calls for this trend to be “fully taken into account” in order to allow decisions “to cover the needs of all age groups” in terms of access to care services and social protection, for example.
States are also invited to take this trend into account and to promote the “silver economy”, presented by the EU Council as “a source of jobs and economic growth, particularly for the health and long-term care sectors”.
The conclusions therefore call on the EU27 to each develop guidelines and recommendations “on how maximise to the benefits, to deal with the potential risks and to address the main challenges of the increasing longevity of the population”. This is to ensure that ageing is well integrated into their public policies, both national and local.
Member States and the Commission are also called upon to ensure that representatives of different age groups are included at all stages of public decision-making processes.
AGE Platform Europe welcomed the adoption of the conclusions, including in particular the commitment to “close the gaps” in the protection of older people’s rights and the call for action to address the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for older people, “especially in the long-term care sector”.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/3rWt4dx (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)
