In autumn 2021 we sent an open letter to President Ursula von der Leyen in which we regretted the lack of a comprehensive response to the conclusions of last year’s European consultation on the Green Paper on Ageing. As a follow-up to that letter, our President and Secretary General met on 26 January European Commission’s Vice-President Dubravka Suica responsible for democracy and demography.
This face-to-face meeting was an opportunity to express our members’ commitment to work together with the European Commission on its current and planned initiatives on ageing and older people. We discussed, for example, how to make the digital transition age-friendly, how to properly address the issue of quality long-term care in the future European care strategy, or how to make the voice of older people heard at the conference on the future of Europe.
Referring to President Ursula von der Leyen’s ambition to create an Equality Union, Vice-President Suica reiterated her commitment to mainstreaming ageing in all EU policies and initiatives and made a clear pledge for a more equal and inclusive society throughout the whole life course. AGE welcomes the Commission’s willingness to continue the dialogue with older people. While we regret the current position of the EU executive not to present a white paper on ageing or a specific strategy on age equality, we remain committed to supporting the Vice-President in her efforts and actions to integrate demographic and equality aspects into all relevant EU policies and to coordinate them across all Commission services. We concluded the meeting by reiterating our call to policy makers to seize the full potential of older people for society and to strengthen equality in old age.
