Speeches

– Madam President, I want to thank you for this very enriching debate. All of you said ageing starts from the moment we are born, so ageing is a very complex phenomenon. Many of you said that ageing is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity since we said at the beginning that in the last 50 years we live 10 years more, which means that we live longer and healthier lives, so this is also very important. And I have to highlight once again that this is the first ever Commission which assigned one portfolio to demography, which shows how important demography is for us in Europe. So your report shows that tackling ageing requires a whole-of-government approach. You identify a common goal of ensuring intergenerational solidarity and upholding the rights of everyone at all stages in life. I have been listening carefully to the points you raised. Many principles of the European pillar of social rights relate to ageing, including the principle of lifelong learning, access to quality and affordable health and long-term care, pensions, many others. In synergy with the Green Paper, the European social rights action plan announced several initiatives relevant for ageing policies including the initiative on long-term care in 2022. The European Union gender equality strategy is also relevant in tackling ageing trends. It delivers on the Commission’s commitment to achieving a Union of equality. Women often align their decision to work and how to work with their caring responsibilities. They carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid work, which constitutes a significant share of economic activity. Accumulated lifetime gender employment and pay gaps result in an even wider pension gap and consequently older women are more at risk of poverty than men. This is what many of you highlighted today. Demographic change is happening in real time. Never before have citizens enjoyed such long and healthy lives. This is a major achievement of our social market economy model. Addressing demographic change is key to building a fairer and more resilient society. The European Union and its Member States can prevent or limit the negative impact of ageing. I reiterate once again, this is mostly in the competence of the Member States. For this, we need the firm commitment and engagement of young and older people. We need to foster intergenerational solidarity and responsibility with enabling policies. I want to thank Parliament for your work on ageing policies, and we look forward to continued cooperation on demography.

– Madam President, thank you for today’s opportunity to address a key demographic trend that is impacting our entire continent, namely ageing, a trend that will significantly impact the European Union in the coming years and decades. It is vital that we prepare ourselves now. Many thanks to the rapporteur Beata Szydło for the comprehensive report. The issues you address all echo the work of the European Commission, including health and long-term care, measures to encourage active and healthy ageing and social inclusion. Many of the competences linked to ageing are in the hands of the Member States. Nevertheless, the Commission has an important role in supporting the relevant measures at national, regional and local levels. The von der Leyen Commission is the first one to dedicate one portfolio to demography. Our work is based on the report on the impact of demographic change of June 2020. It is a valuable tool to help us to understand demographic change. We see how life expectancy at birth has increased by about 10 years for both men and women. One of the most prominent features of ageing is that the sheer number of older people will increase. Today, 20% of the population is over 65. By 2070 it will be 30%. Meanwhile, the share of people above 80 is expected to more than double, reaching 13% in the same period. The demography report lays the ground for the Green Paper on ageing. I want to emphasise the important message that ageing brings both challenges and opportunities. Ageing is not just a matter for older people. Everyone is impacted directly by the prospect of living a longer life, including the young. We must balance our policymaking for everyone across the entire life cycle, making sure we leave no one behind. Adopted in January, the Green Paper was launched in the European Union-wide discussion on ageing. It takes a life-cycle approach and reflects the universal impact that ageing has on all generations and stages in life. It highlights the importance of striking the right balance between sustainable solutions for our welfare systems and strengthening solidarity between the generations. In fact, the full title of the paper is ‘Green paper on ageing: fostering solidarity and responsibility between generations’. This highlights the importance we attach to inter-generational fairness. The paper’s public consultation closed in April. We gathered a total of 473 replies from 26 Member States, as well as some from non-European countries. We are now analysing the input and considering possible policy responses. In this context the Commission has recently published three reports related to ageing, namely the 2021 Pension Adequacy Report, the 2021 Long-Term Care Report, and the 2021 Ageing Report. The reports address some of the main challenges of a continent growing older and identify areas that are key to ensuring intergenerational responsibility and solidarity. I look forward to hearing your views today as we strengthen efforts to address the challenges of ageing and grasp its opportunities.