On 16th October 2019, older citizens representing national members of AGE Platform Europe travelled to Brussels to meet their newly elected Members of the European Parliament.
Elections are always a time of reshuffling. These European elections 2019 were no exception, with a European Parliament welcoming a substantial share of new MEPs. Since June 2019 then, older citizens and their representative organisations have been working in coordination to establish new contacts with their elected representatives. The objective of this post-election campaign was two-fold:
- Present AGE and its member organisations as relevant interlocutor when it comes to ageing;
- Re-establish an Intergroup on Demographic Change and Solidarity between Generations for the next term to ensure the European Parliament will be equipped with a dedicated forum to discuss all these matters.
This campaign peaked with a ceremony in the premises of the European Parliament on 16th October 2019 where older citizens invited and met their MEPs. We warmly thank MEP Brando Benifei, one of the youngest members of the European Parliament, who kindly hosted the event and thus, gave a concrete example of the intergenerational ambition of the Intergroup.
AGE members had the honour to welcome MEP Rainer Wieland, Vice-President of the European Parliament who gave an introductory word much in line with the spirit of the Intergroup:
‘It is not my idea of society that one-part talks about old white men and women and another part talks about young people that must be taught’ said Mr. Wieland.
The Intergroup on Demographic Change and Solidarity between Generation is fuelled with the desire to keep the discussions going among all political groups to address the challenges coming along demographic change ‘not as a threat but as an opportunity to renew our generational contract’, reminded AGE President, Ebbe Johansen. Elizabeth Gosme, Director of COFACE-Families Europe, who is campaigning together with AGE for the re-establishment of the Intergroup, emphasised how supporting carers, and promoting the autonomy of persons with disabilities are important to build solidarity between generations.
We had the pleasure to welcome among the participants to this ceremony MEPs Bettina Vollath, Franc Bogovic, Milan Brglez, Tanja Fajon, Marisa Matias, Ljudmila Novak, Romana Tomc, Carlos Zorrinho and Julie Ward.
> Discover the pictures of the event
> Visit our Parliament blog for more
For more information:
- about the Intergroup or about AGE activities with the European Parliament, please contact Philippe Siedel: Philippe.Seidel@age-platform.eu
- about AGE campaign to reestablish the Intergroup, please contact Estelle Huchet: estelle.huchet@age-platform.eu
