EN
15.12.2022
Official Journal of the European Union
C 476/1
I (Resolutions, recommendations and opinions)
RECOMMENDATIONS
COUNCIL COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION of 8 December 2022 on access to affordable high-quality long-term care (2022/C 476/01)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 292, in conjunction with Article 153(1), point (k), thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, Whereas: (1)
Accessible, affordable and high-quality long-term care allows people in need of care to maintain autonomy for as long as possible and live in dignity.
It helps to protect human rights, promote social progress and solidarity between generations, combat social exclusion and discrimination and can contribute to the creation of jobs.
(2)
In November 2017, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights (1), setting out 20 principles to support well-functioning and fair labour markets and welfare systems.
Principle 2 promotes gender equality by fostering equality of treatment and opportunities between women and men in all areas.
Principle 9 promotes the right to work-life balance for people with caring responsibilities.
Principle 10 emphasises workers’ rights to a high level of protection of their health and safety at work.
Principle 17 recognises the right of people with disabilities to inclusion, in particular to services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society.
Principle 18 on long-term care states that everyone has the right to affordable longterm care services of good quality, in particular home care and community-based services.
(3)
Long-term care services organised by public authorities, at national, regional or local levels, are primarily considered social services of general interest as they have a clear social function.
They facilitate social inclusion and safeguard fundamental rights of all people in need of care, including older people.
(4)
Most carers are women according to the ‘2021 Long-term care report: trends, challenges and opportunities in an ageing society’ of the European Commission and the Social Protection Committee (2) (the ‘2021 Long-term care report’).
The gender-based gap in the distribution of care work is one of the key drivers of gender inequality in the labour market.
Women, on average, have lower incomes, including pensions, and are potentially less able to afford
(1) Interinstitutional Proclamation on the European Pillar of Social Rights (OJ C 428, 13.12.2017, p. 10).
(2) European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and the Social Protection Committee, Longterm care report: trends, challenges and opportunities in an ageing society, Publications Office, 2021.