WRITTEN QUESTION E-2915/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Common Pension Policy.
Date: 2000-09-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European social policy, pension scheme, population ageing, social-security harmonisation

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/129

The suggestion of isolating the national market according to the collection system for glass packaging
waste would be contrary to the general objective of the current Directive on packaging and packaging
waste, which is to harmonise national management systems for packaging waste.

(1) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993.
(2) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994.
(3) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997.

(2001/C 136 E/148)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2915/00

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 September 2000)

Subject: Common Pension Policy

With its increasingly ageing population, Europe must lend more practical measures and greater awareness
to dealing with the issue of a Common Pension Policy.

The various aspects of all the social security systems and the pension systems in particular in the individual
EU countries are extremely varied due to differences in institutional structural conditions, budgetary and
economic situations, social attitude and demographic development. Reforms are being discussed in all
Member States. It may be that at European level it does not suffice to hold these discussions on the basis of
a few general fundamental principles; rather efforts must be strengthened towards gradually creating a
Common Pension Policy.

Therefore, does the Commission already have any practical suggestions to make regarding this matter or
does it have any idea of the practicability and nature of such a Common Pension Policy?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(10 October 2000)

The Commission agrees that pensions are a major policy issue in the light of ageing populations. In its
communication of 14 July 1999, (cid:145)A concerted strategy for modernising social protection(cid:146) (1), it identified
making pensions safe and pension systems sustainable as one of four key objectives. This has since been
endorsed by the Council, and the Lisbon European Council mandated the newly created (cid:145)High Level
Working Party on Social Protection, taking into consideration the work being done by the Economic
Policy Committee, ((cid:133)) as its first priority, to prepare, on the basis of a Commission communication, a
study on the future evolution of social protection from a long-term point of view, giving particular
attention to the sustainability of pensions systems in different time frameworks up to 2020 and beyond,
where necessary.(cid:146)

The communication requested by the European Council will be adopted shortly and will present a
framework for future cooperation with a view to making pensions safe and pension systems sustainable.
However, the Commission will not be proposing a (cid:145)common pensions policy(cid:146). The responsibility for
reforming pension systems will remain with the Member States, although they could clearly benefit from
an exchange of information at Community level.

Nevertheless, the Commission firmly believes that a European debate on the future of pensions should not
only take place among governments and invites all interested parties to make their contribution.

(1) COM(1999) 347 final.