Green Paper on Ageing
Date: 2020-11-16
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU financing, EU regional policy, common transport policy, education policy, health policy, social dialogue



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ROADMAP  






Roadmaps aim to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work in order to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities. Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the problem and possible solutions and to make available any relevant information that they may have. 






Title of the initiative




Green Paper on Ageing 







Lead DG – responsible unit 




SG.E.3






Likely Type of initiative




Green Paper 






Indicative Planning




Q1 in 2021






Additional Information




https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/impact-demographic-change-europe_en 






This Roadmap is provided for information purposes only and its content might change. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by the Roadmap, including its timing, are subject to change.










A. Context, Problem definition and Subsidiarity Check






Context






Against the background of demographic change, the Commission plans to launch a wide policy debate with a Green Paper on Ageing.


In her Political Guidelines for the next European Commission, the President von der Leyen referred to demography as one of the mega-trends – alongside climate change and digitalisation - that are transforming European societies. In the mission letter for Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, the President tasked her to present a Green Paper on ageing, launching a debate on long-term impacts, notably on care and pensions, and on how to foster active ageing. As part of this, there is a need to assess whether social protection systems are fit to deal with the needs of an ageing population.  


On 17 June 2020 the Commission presented a Report on the Impact of Demographic Change (COM (2020) 241 final) and an accompanying Staff Working Document (SWD(2020) 109 final), setting out the relevant evidence and analysis and being based on the most recent demographic projections by Eurostat (April 2020). 


According to the Commission’s Adjusted Work Programme 2020 the adoption of the Green Paper is scheduled for 2021. 







Problem the initiative aims to tackle







Europe is going through a process of profound demographic change with its working-age population shrinking and the share and number of older people projected to increase. These changes have implications for Europe’s ability to sustain economic growth and the living standards of its population. At the same time, the changes in the age-structure will go hand in hand with a shift in the demand for goods and services. One aspect of this is that the need for health care and long-term care can be expected to grow. Together with the increasing need for adequate pensions, this development will have an impact on the sustainability of public budgets. Different regions are affected differently by population ageing, which will have implications for regional cohesion and convergence. At the same time, untapped potential and opportunities need to be better harnessed. This includes for instance, the silver economy, innovation, or voluntary work as an economic and societal factor.


The Green Paper will set out the key issues and discuss ways to anticipate and respond to the socio-economic impacts of demographic change and to harness the opportunities. The Green Paper will also reflect on the implications for the cohesion in our societies, looking beyond the purely economic side of demographic change.








Basis for EU intervention (legal basis and subsidiarity check)






·Protocol (No 2) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality stipulates that “before proposing legislative acts, the Commission shall consult widely. Such consultations shall, where appropriate, take into account the regional and local dimension of the action envisaged.” 


·Any follow-up action on the Green Paper will have specific legal bases, depending on the action. 


·The Green Paper will be discussing a development that is relevant for Europe as a whole. The subsidiarity principle will be respected when developing follow-up actions to the Green Paper. 


·EU level action supports Member States’ actions to address the identified problems. 







B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how 







·The Green Paper will set out the key issues and discuss possible ways to anticipate and respond to the socio-economic impacts of demographic change.


·The Green Paper could approach the issue from different angles, such as: 



-How to meet people’s needs - taking into account both the challenges that come with an ageing society as well as the new opportunities;


-How to ensure sustainable growth against the background of a shrinking working-age population and how to offer adequate and fiscally sustainable social protection;


-Explore the impact of ageing at the regional and local level; 


-Finally, the Green Paper could go beyond purely economic issues, taking into account the implications for cohesion in our societies.



The objective of the Green Paper is to ask stakeholders what type of actions they consider the most appropriate. Stakeholders’ contributions will be taken into account when developing possible follow-up actions, taking into account the principle of proportionality. 







C. Better regulation






Consultation of citizens and stakeholders






oStakeholders identified are, in particular: Member States, regional/local authorities, Social Partners, stakeholders active on ageing-related issues in a wide sense, including health and caring sectors, and education and training, international organisations, academia, experts, think tanks, business organisations.  


oAdoption of the Green Paper is planned for 2021. Its adoption will kick-off a 12-week public consultation. The Green Paper and questions will be available in the 24 official EU languages. Replies can be made in any of these EU languages.


oOther relevant external input will also be taken into account, including: 


§the European Parliament is preparing two reports on (i) ‘Old continent growing older and the impact of ageing on society’ and (ii) ‘Reversing demographic trends in EU regions using cohesion policy instruments’; 


§the Economic and Social Committee’s exploratory opinion ‘Demographic challenges in the EU in light of economic and development inequalities, adopted on 7 May 2020’; 


§the Committee of the Regions is preparing an opinion ‘Demographic change: proposals on measuring and tackling its negative effects on EU regions’.  


§Furthermore, Council conclusions on Demographic Challenges – the Way Ahead - were adopted on 8 June 2020, during the Croatian Presidency. The German Presidency is preparing Council conclusions focusing on the rights of older people and the role of voluntary work during the 2nd semester of 2020. 


§Demography issues are being discussed in ad hoc meetings with relevant stakeholders.


oA synopsis report on the results of the consultations (or a follow up document for example in a form of a communication, including results of the consultation) will be provided.







 Evidence base and data collection






·The Commission presented on 17 June 2020 a Report on the Impact of Demographic Change (COM(2020) 241 final) and accompanying Staff Working document (SWD (2020) 109 final), which set out the relevant evidence base for the Green Paper. The report was based on the most recent demographic data projected by Eurostat (April 2020).


·No impact assessment will be prepared as a Green Paper is a consultative document. However, if relevant, impact assessments will be prepared for the possible follow-up actions.