“This is about strengthening the communication between the different generations in our society. It’s about ensuring that we safeguard the interests of different generations that are living together in our society, in both our policy and in our legislation.”
It is in this frame of mind that European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef launched, on Thursday 20 February, the EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness at the European Policy Centre.
According to him, it is a file that “is about [the] European Union thriving”—the aim being to offer each generation a chance in order to build a “stronger”, “more resilient” Europe that is better able to “grow even stronger”.
As the commissioner explained it, the strategy aims to address tangible challenges, such as intergenerational brain drain and the need to rethink flexible retirement models. Glenn Micallef believes, “One crucial element is [...] combining the experience and the knowledge of senior members of our society with the enthusiasm and creativity of young members”.
What really started on 20 February was, first and foremost, a process that will culminate in a strategy that is expected [to be revealed] in the first quarter of 2026 and that intends to be as open as possible to as many stakeholders as possible.
“So, what we opted to do [...] is to actually have a lengthier process in terms of time but one which is more inclusive,” explained Mr Micallef. The European Commission thus plans to organise a series of workshops and consultations involving institutions, experts, citizens, and civil society.
Beyond the consultations, the strategy aims to guide policymakers on issues such as housing, social security, and employment while ensuring fair and sustainable policies. [The idea of] creating an index to measure intergenerational fairness is also being studied.
The private sector’s involvement is yet another avenue to be considered.
The commissioner added, “Maybe one idea would be [...] to give incentives to the private sector to adopt practices that would comply with our ideas of fairness” so as to meet the main objective of competitiveness while aspiring to reduce intergenerational inequalities and ensure development that is sustainable and inclusive for present and future generations. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)