Some 88 MEPs from almost all political persuasions (with a majority of S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL MEPs and a total absence of ECR and ID) pledged, in a declaration issued on Tuesday 7 July, to shed light on the treatment of people living in long-term care facilities during the pandemic.
In response to a joint letter sent by the AGE Platform, the European Federation of Public Service Unions and the European Disability Forum, MEPs who signed the declaration commit to “reconstruct what has happened” during the pandemic, but also to increase the focus on these institutions and to find collective housing alternatives for these particularly vulnerable people.
In a letter sent at the beginning of July to European Parliament President David Sassoli, the group leaders and the chairpersons of the Employment and Social Policy and Petitions Committees, the three above-mentioned organisations had asked the European Parliament to act and launch a survey “to assess the failures in addressing and managing the crisis in this sector”.
According to a study published by the AGE Platform, abuse (e.g., total isolation practices) against older people has increased by almost 40% in some Member States (see EUROPE 12506/30). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)