PRESS RELEASE
17 September 2024
AGE is deeply worried by the lack of a dedicated portfolio on equality, which runs against EU’s commitments and founding values.
We call on Members of the European Parliament to act fast to rectify this issue.
In the aftermath of the Press statement by President von der Leyen on the next College of Commissioners, AGE Platform Europe is deeply concerned by the absence of a dedicated portfolio on Equality as previously announced in the European Commission President political guidelines.
In the proposed structure, “Equality” appears to be only a sub-part of the portfolio of the Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management and it is not even cited by President von der Leyen in the explanation of the role of appointed Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, which represents a huge step back from the accomplishments and commitments of the previous Commission, despite the continued mention of the ‘Union of Equality’ by President von der Leyen.
“Equality is one of the values upon which the European Union was founded and merits a dedicated Commissioner”, comments AGE Secretary General, Maciej Kucharczyk, on behalf of our network of more than 100 organisations, directly representing millions of older persons in Europe. “At a time when inequalities are increasing in our societies across all population and age groups, the EU must step up – not scale down – its efforts to achieve a ‘Union of Equality,’ building on the legacy of President von der Leyen’s engagement over the past five years, for people of all ages. It is completely inappropriate to lump together such an important issue for EU’s internal and external affairs under the broad Preparedness and Crisis Management portfolio”.
Promoting equality will enhance the Commission’s quest for prosperity, security and democracy. AGE will work together with our members across the EU, our allies at the European Parliament and other civil society networks to ensure that the position of a standalone Commissioner on Equality is restored.
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