PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, Belgium – 27 January 2021
Living longer is one of the greatest achievements of the past decades. Yet, the new longevity and generational mix of our European societies require better coordination of EU policies on ageing and age mainstreaming across policy making. It is the responsibility of decision makers to make policies which respond to needs and aspirations of all age groups and populations. The Green Paper on Ageing provides opportunity to bring benefits for all generations which complement each other in their vision of society and in the solutions to shape and organise it.
As the largest European network representing older people, we hail the Commission’s initiative. To seize fully the potential of this initiative, we insist on the importance of ensuring that the consultation reaches out to everyone, including the older people on the ground, including those furthest from mainstream society.
Our request is upheld by the recent joint declaration of the current EU Trio Presidency that calls for “the active involvement of older persons in all decision-making processes affecting their lives and the development of mechanisms for the participation of relevant civil society organisations in decision making.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic, a comprehensive and coordinated approach to demographic ageing has become more urgent than ever. The Green Paper and its consultation must gather the intelligence of all generations and of relevant actors to build on the lessons of the pandemic. This will be indispensable to propose a forward-looking agenda on ageing which lays foundations for dignity of wellbeing of everyone as we live and get older.
AGE Europe Platform will work closely with the European Commission and all critical allies to ensure a fruitful debate which, hopefully, will lead to a White Paper on Ageing to propose concrete EU policy initiatives in support to national reforms for an inclusive society for all ages.
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