European Parliament Resolution on the Commission communication 'Towards a Europe for all ages - promoting prosperity and intergenerational solidarity' (COM(1999) 221 — C5-0185/1999 — 1999/2159(COS))
Date: 2000-12-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European social policy, age discrimination, economic and social cohesion, elderly person, employment policy, health care, labour market, pension scheme, population ageing

17.8.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 232/381

TEXTS ADOPTED

Friday 15 December 2000

1. Promoting prosperity and intergenerational solidarity

A5-0319/2000

European Parliament Resolution on the Commission communication ‘Towards a Europe for all
ages ( promoting prosperity and intergenerational solidarity’ (COM(1999) 221 ( C5-0185/1999
( 1999/2159(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(1999) 221 (cid:1) C5-0185/1999),

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 79) on building an inclusive Europe,

(cid:1) having regard to Recommendation 1074 (1988) by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly

on family policy, and specifically paragraph 5 thereof (1),

(cid:1) having regard to the Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC of 24 June 1992 on common criteria

concerning sufficient resources and social assistance in social protection systems (2),

(cid:1) having regard to the Council Recommendation 92/442/EEC of 27 July 1992 on the convergence of

social protection objectives and policies (3),

(cid:1) having regard to the Council Resolution of 30 June 1993 on flexible retirement arrangements (4),

(cid:1) having regard to the Declaration of principles of the Council of the European Union and the Ministers
for Social Affairs, meeting within the Council of 6 December 1993 to mark the end of the European
Year of the elderly and of solidarity between generations (1993) (5),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolution of 24 February 1994 on measures for the elderly (6),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolution of 16 February 2000 on the communication from the Commission on

a concerted strategy for modernising social protection (7),

(cid:1) having regard to Council Decision 2000/228/EC of 13 March 2000 on guidelines for Member States’

employment policies for the year 2000 (8),

(cid:1) having regard to the United Nations General Assembly resolution of 16 October 1992 on the procla-

mation of an International Year of Older Persons in 1999 (9),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolution of 16 April 1999 on senior citizens in the 21st century (cid:1) a new lease

of life (10),

(cid:1) having regard to the EC Treaty, in particularly Articles 2, 3, 13, 127 and 137 thereof,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinion of

the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5-0319/2000),

(1) Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, 3 May 1988 (3rd session).
(2) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 46.
(3) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 49.
(4) OJ C 188, 10.7.1993, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 343, 21.12.1993, p. 1.
(6) OJ C 77, 14.3.1994, p. 24.
(7) OJ C 339, 29.11.2000, p. 154.
(8) OJ L 72, 21.3.2000, p. 15.
(9) United Nations, General Assembly, Resolution 47/5/1992.
(10) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 506.

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A. whereas the longevity of the population, which is one of the major achievements of our times, will
nevertheless, in the next decades, lead to changes in the structure of society in some Member States,

B. whereas the Commission’s strategy to encourage states and citizens to create the necessary conditions
for a healthy and active old age must be targeted not only on the age group of 50 to 75, which is
mainly in the period of transition from working life to retirement, but also on the age group of over
75, whose situation would require a special report,

C. whereas supporting a policy for an active old age calls for concerted action between Community
policies and strategies and coordination of national social security systems, public health systems and
measures to combat discrimination,

D. whereas further measures to combat discrimination on grounds of age and exclusion from work and
from society in general could be justified by a more generous interpretation of Articles 13 and 137 of
the EC Treaty,

E. whereas preventive action should be backed up by specific measures for those older people, especially

women, living in poverty and precarious conditions,

F. whereas older workers are amongst those hardest hit by unemployment and technological develop-

ment, which are factors common to all Member States,

G. whereas there is a lack of official statistical data on unemployment among older workers of both

sexes,

H. whereas there is now a reference to older workers in the employment policy guidelines and the pro-
tection of these workers is one of the priority areas of the Council’s recommendations to Member
States,

I. whereas the organisation of work and working conditions are often unsuited to older workers’ real

needs and capabilities,

J. whereas older workers need assistance to adapt to technological developments and whereas the cur-

rent retraining and specialisation programmes are based on the wrong approach,

K. whereas lifelong learning has a role to play in people’s professional and non professional life,

L. whereas older people cannot be thought of as a homogeneous group and the diversity of older people
must be respected and taken into consideration through specific policies as far as individual needs are
concerned,

M. whereas the rise in the average age of the population is one of a number of significant factors causing

pressure on some Member States’ social protection systems,

N. whereas there is no empirical evidence for a sharp rise in health care costs due to demographic
change in the age group of 55 to 75, as health care costs increase only slightly more than the increase
of the Member States’ GDP,

O. having regard to the large number of older people without the capacity to lead an active social life,
who are totally dependent on their families, and the impact this has on the other members of their
families,

P. whereas the burden of caring for older people is not shared equally between family members, but is

borne by women, and whereas there is a lack of accessible social infrastructure,

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Q. whereas older people wish to lead active lives after retirement,

R. whereas promoting intergenerational solidarity cannot be reduced merely to questions of financial
solidarity (or ‘socio-economic adjustments’), but must be achieved through holistic support of family
structures and the unofficial links that make up intergenerational solidarity,

Stresses that the process of adapting society to the ageing of the population should be viewed as a
1.
means of recognising the true value of older people and not simply a unilateral adjustment to labour
market conditions, in view of the fact that older people contribute to society in many ways other than
by means of paid employment, and calls on the Commission to explore better ways to make use of the
vast experience and skills of older people;

2.
Endorses the strategy for a healthy and active old age, but calls on the Commission to ensure that
this is not the only criterion for acceptance of older people in society; calls on the Commission and the
Member States to promote information campaigns at local, national and European levels on the integration
of older people in economic, social and cultural life with a view to disseminating the idea that older people
constitute a valuable resource, combating negative stereotypes and to consolidate equality and solidarity
between the generations as a basis for social peace and a European social model;

3. Welcomes a holistic approach towards ageing, based on coordinated action between the strategy for
employment, measures to combat discrimination and social exclusion, ensuring public pensions provide a
decent retirement income and providing high quality health care for all;

Calls on the Commission and Member States to develop special policies and specific programmes for
4.
each category of older people, given that older people are not a homogeneous group but have varying
qualities of life and degrees of economic self-sufficiency;

5. Welcomes the Commission’s recognition that older women form a particularly vulnerable group,
which is often discriminated against in many ways and situations and requests that preventive action
should be backed up by specific measures for those older people, especially women, living in poverty
and precarious conditions;

Considers that the proposal for a Council directive establishing a general framework for equal treat-
6.
ment in employment and occupation (1) is not an adequate means of guaranteeing the rights of older
people; calls therefore on the Commission to submit a proposal for a directive on the basis of Article 13
of the EC Treaty, for the specific purpose of combating age-based discrimination;

Calls on the Commission to give due consideration to the scale and gravity of discrimination against

7.
older people at work in the context of the EQUAL Community Initiative;

Calls on the Council to implement measures aimed at monitoring compliance with the recommenda-
8.
tions made to Member States on employment policies, with specific reference to older workers and meth-
ods for exchanging information and best practice between Member States;

Considers that action on ‘age-proofing’ of policies and measures is required in the same way as
9.
gender-proofing has been mainstreamed in structural fund programmes and in the employment guidelines
of Member States;

Considers that the EU should, as part of the ESF’s activities, encourage Member States to promote
10.
the creation of special posts designed to help older people and to set up new occupational retraining
programmes for older workers, aimed at:

(cid:1) adapting them to the different training requirements,

(cid:1) making full use of the experience of older workers in training young people,

(cid:1) enabling older workers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies;

(1) OJ C 177 E, 27.6.2000, p. 42.

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Calls on the Member States to support flexible models so as to adjust working hours in such a way

11.
as to optimise the occupational input of older workers;

Endorses an active strategy of improving health and safety at work adapted to the needs of older
12.
employees, thus benefiting all employees and calls on the Commission to examine health and safety reg-
ulations from the perspective of older workers, with a view to modifying them;

Calls on Member States to take practical steps to promote, by means of professional updating and

13.
retraining measures, the reintegration of older people (cid:1) both men and women (cid:1) into working life;

14.
Takes the view that lifelong learning must be recognised as being important throughout life and not
only in relation to paid employment or the labour market; considers that the notion of lifelong learning
should also apply to the time after retirement and the access of older people (cid:1) either retired or employed
(cid:1) to lifelong learning schemes should be facilitated;

Calls also on the social partners at national and European level to provide appropriate opportunities
15.
for older workers to adapt to technological developments and to make provision for flexible arrangements
for working hours, industrial relations and retirement;

16. Makes the compatibility of family and working life one of its goals and calls for a better division of
family duties between men and women and for an employment and social protection policy that takes
better account of women’s and men’s obligations in the care of older people and of children; considers
that greater use should be made of family policy and tax policy to promote labour force penetration by
women;

17.
Calls on the Commission and Member States to give due consideration to the special circumstances
of people who are prevented from continuing their occupational life because of severely disabled family
members or involuntary unemployment, and who (cid:1) as a consequence (cid:1) suffer a loss of income and
greater economic dependency, because of inadequate pension cover;

18.
Calls on Member States to cover the cost, e.g. through care insurance, of caring for older people
who are in homes and unable to look after themselves, or to reimburse the expenses of doing so to
families who help them;

19.
Calls on the Commission to promote medical and social studies and research work, exchanges of
findings and projects to safeguard the human dignity and improve the quality of life of older people who
are no longer independent, are disabled or suffer from disabling diseases, such as ostomates or those suf-
fering from Alzheimer’s disease;

20.
Points out that the economic need for older people to remain in the labour market does not neces-
sarily coincide with the true interests, wishes and preferences of all older people and encouraging ‘active
old age’, must not be used as an excuse to diminish, or fail to develop, adequate support services and
pensions for older people;

21. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to limit compulsory early retirement; endorses, however, the
idea of encouraging voluntary gradual or partial retirement and takes the view that when people reach
pensionable age they should have an option to continue working or retire from work;

Believes that the challenge to society is to sustain a pensions policy based on the firm principle of
22.
intergenerational solidarity, which will help sustain the cohesion of society and maintain the principle of
earnings-related pensions;

Takes the view that the Commission should avoid desperate and draconian measures to cut back on
23.
hard-won gains on pensions; considers that comprehensive, long-term policies are needed to meet the
challenge of the rise in the average of the population over the next two decades and beyond; considers
that an assessment should be made of the contribution that different elements such as higher levels of
employment, extended working lives, increased savings, changes in social benefit structures and new immi-
gration policies can make to close the pensions funding gap;

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24.
Calls on the Commission and Member States to give older people the opportunity to participate in
planning and implementing programmes on economic, social and cultural life; welcomes in this context
the Commission’s intention to support a Europe-wide Forum on older people, bringing together existing
organisations, thereby strengthening the representation and involvement of older people at EU level;

25.
Considers that the independence of older people is essential for guaranteeing a high quality of life
and that, therefore, more emphasis has to be laid on psycho-social factors and self-respect, with a view to
overcoming the sense of loneliness and abandonment which leads many older people to lose motivation
and therefore their independence; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to identify ways
of promoting greater mobility for older people, especially in rural areas and island regions; calls for the use
of new technologies and a more suitable urban environment, which is geared to the needs of a society
which will include increasing numbers of older people;

26.
Calls on the Commission and Member States to introduce innovative models for urban planning,
transport and housing to ensure quality of life for older people, enabling them to maintain their indepen-
dence and self-reliance;

27.
Urges the Commission to increase Member States’ awareness, not only of the need to improve the
working lives of older people, but also of the need to promote their active involvement in social and
cultural life, which represents a valuable contribution to society, both by setting up neighbourhood cen-
tres, facilities to provide social activities combined with the social security needed, services dedicated to the
special needs of older people, facilities to promote active citizenship and participation, senior citizens’
universities as well as leisure and hobby facilities, and also by supporting volunteer work and participation
in associations by senior citizens, also with a view to demonstrating solidarity with those who are older
than themselves; considers that particular attention should be paid to how involvement by older people in
the social economy i.e. Third System, would help to strengthen and enhance the social cohesion of com-
munities;

Calls on Member States, in cooperation with the Commission, to use major cultural and sporting

28.
events, such as the Olympic Games, to develop the senior citizens’ voluntary work movement;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop appropriate methods enabling them to

29.
foresee in good time coming demographic changes;

30.
Calls on the Commission to collaborate closely with the candidate countries, particularly those with
similar demographic trends to the European Union, in order to collaborate closely to promote the profes-
sional and social integration of older people;

Hopes that the Commission will prepare a communication on the growing economic significance of

31.
tourism by senior citizens and will promote tourist travel in the European Union by older citizens;

32.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.