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EU Presidency Statement - Social development Agenda item 3

Mme Chairperson, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

On behalf of the European Union I am pleased to take the floor on agenda item 3 (b) - Review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia and the Associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey as well as the EFTA country member of the EEA Norway align themselves with this statement.

The EU would like to take this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for the comprehensive reports prepared under this agenda item. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the respective UN bodies concerned for their significant work in promoting these themes to which the EU attaches great importance.

Mme Chairperson,

The growing number of elderly in the population represents an important achievement in the sense that more and more people have the opportunity to live long and fulfilled lives. However, it also presents new challenges to society especially when fewer workers have to support a larger segment of the population. The EU looks forward to further developing these thoughts during this session of the Commission, as well as in the Preparatory Committee next week.

The International Year of Older Persons in 1999 was an important achievement of the International Plan of Action on Ageing. Allow me to highlight what we in the EU found particularly valuable. The International Year of Older Persons

• contributed to enhance public awareness and to change attitudes towards older persons through public debates on their situation and role in society,
  
  
• reinforced a debate on civil, political, social and cultural rights of the elderly and development of new forms of participation in social life,
  
  
• encouraged the development of new economic and social policies to meet the needs of people of all ages,
  
  
• encouraged intergenerational solidarity and interaction,
  
  
• encouraged lifelong learning including through the use of Information Technology, and
  
  
• raised awareness of the contribution of older persons in different cultures and in different countries to the economic and social development.

Mme Chairperson,

Turning to the International Year of the Family and the observance of its tenth anniversary in 2004. The EU would like to emphasis the importance of raising awareness of the changing situation of families, including new living arrangements, as a result of social, economic, demographic developments. In this context, the EU would like to underline the challenge faced by many parents in trying to reconcile work and family life. Moreover, women have had to confront particular difficulties as their integration on equal terms in the labour force has been slow to accomplish and the sharing of family responsibilities is still uneven. The tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family offers a unique opportunity to address this issue as well as placing families in the wider context of development.

I now wish to address the situation of persons with disabilities, which is given high priority by the EU through, for example, the communication "Towards a barrier free Europe for people with disabilities" and an expert meeting in April 2001 in Sweden, on the same theme. The overall objective of the disability policy must be a society that enables all persons irrespective of age and disability to participate fully in the life of the community. States are under the obligation to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their human rights on an equal basis with other citizens. Emphasis should also be put on the continued and intensified implementation of the UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. In the efforts to achieve an inclusive society as well as the emphasis on their capabilities, the EU wishes to stress the importance of accessibility for persons with disabilities to health care, rehabilitation, social services and education. These are essential components for access to employment opportunities and to a sustainable livelihood and to improved living conditions. We look forward to next years Commission when the Special Rapporteur on Disability will present his report.

Thank you, Mme Chairperson.

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• EU Presidency Statement - Social development Agenda item 4  (16/2/2001)