Officially presented at the European Parliament in January, the AGE Manifesto 2024 calls on the next European Parliament to addresses adequately population ageing and works toward a society for all ages.
The document identifies challenges faced by older people and proposes concrete actions, including the implementation of the EU Strategy for Older People.
“In order to utilise the great potential of older people and make it usable for all generations, a comprehensive socio-political framework is required that does justice to the dynamic process of ageing in all its diversity. This is why a “European Age Equality Strategy”, respectively, is so important for current and future European policy."
Seizing the momentum of the upcoming elections
The European Parliament is the only European institution that directly represents the voice of the 447 million citizens of the European Union.
Given the impact of European legislations and policies at the national level, it is important that all citizens are actively involved in the debates on EU action. The AGE Manifesto 2024 facilitates civic engagement, fostering dialogue between citizens and candidates.
The Europe we want is for all ages!
In our Manifesto, we call on the next European Parliament to:
- Promote age equality
- Foster participation and active ageing
- Ensure autonomy and well being
How?
- By working towards the adoption of an EU Age Equality Strategy, to uphold human rights equally at all ages and address barriers that keep us from living fairly and freely when we are older.
- By requesting a strong coordination between European Commission’s services whose work has a critical impact on ageing policies. This coordination shall be ensured by the Directorate General Justice and Consumers, responsible for equality.
- By re-establishing the Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations encouraging Members of the European Parliament to be champions for the rights of older persons.
A collective engagement
Drafted together with our member organisations across the EU, our AGE Manifesto is available in a long and shorter version (two-pagers), and has been translated into more than 10 EU languages.
To facilitate informed engagement, AGE Platform Europe has also launched a dedicated blog, featuring details of endorsing organisations and Members of the European Parliament, articles on the campaign, and updates on upcoming events. The platform encourages member organisations and civil society to actively participate in this campaign so that their voices can be heard.
Our three calls on a closer look
The three major calls of our Manifesto mentioned above – promote age equality, foster participation & active ageing, and ensure autonomy and well being – will be the focus of three Manifesto Explainers. In these policy documents, we will explore these calls in details and provide future EU officials with recommendations for changes.
Manifesto Explainers
- Our 1st Manifesto Explainer looks at Age Equality: what it means, why it is important and what we need to achieve it. You can download it below.
- Our 2st Manifesto Explainer looks at Fostering participation and active ageing: what participation and active ageing means, why is fostering participation in old age important and what do we need on EU level to achieve it.
- Our 3rd Manifesto Explainer looks at Ensuring autonomy and well-being: what does autonomy and well-being mean, why is it important to guarantee them and which EU policies can help in securing empowering labour markets, adequate pension and long-term care systems and prevent elder abuse.
Contact
Sarah Loriato
Policy Officer on Employment and European Parliament Liaison
