After the European Commission (see EUROPE 12645/3) and the Member States (see EUROPE 12679/25), it is now the turn of the European Parliament to adopt its recommendations for dealing with the ageing population in the European Union. MEPs reviewed Beata Szydło’s (ECR, Poland) draft own-initiative report on the subject on Monday 5 July in Strasbourg.
The text, which is still far from unanimous, will be put to the vote on Wednesday. It provides a detailed overview of the ageing of Europeans and its consequences: a decline in the number of people of working age - down 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 -, increased exposure of older people to the risk of isolation and social exclusion, growing dependence on family carers - who are still mostly women - and the impact on pension and social security systems, to name but a few.
This is followed by a series of recommendations. The draft report firstly calls on the Commission and Member States to “redouble their efforts” to combat all forms of discrimination against older people in areas such as employment, access to care, housing and training.
The text also includes a number of suggestions to provide more support for carers, encourage intergenerational exchanges, combat the isolation of the elderly and put an end to the violence to which they are still subjected, particularly in the context of their care.
Points of contention
However, it is difficult at this stage to guarantee that the text will be adopted as it stands. The MEP in charge of the dossier is herself expected to vote against the draft report and to support an alternative proposal co-authored with two of her colleagues from the ECR group.
Former Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło and her group are unhappy with some of the contributions made to the text in the course of the negotiations with the other groups.
The draft report calls, for example, on the Commission and States to defend sexual and reproductive rights and to ensure that demographic challenges are not used to undermine these rights.
The text, which addresses the issue of violence against older women, also calls for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention (see EUROPE 12692/21) and for the inclusion of a gender perspective in the reform of pension systems.
During the work in the parliamentary committee, tensions also centred on the issue of housing: the Greens/EFA group, in particular, insisted that states should be asked to provide the financial means to provide “affordable housing” for the elderly.
These are all points on which the plenary will be called upon to decide and whose adoption remains difficult to anticipate, as these subjects are still being debated even within the ranks of the EPP group.
To view the draft report: https://bit.ly/2SNqvhA
To consult the amendments: https://bit.ly/2Vc3TIv (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)