Commissioner Diamantopoulou's Speech on ageing at UNECE

Sumario: September 12, 2002: Speech by Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner responsible for Employment and Social Affairs. Responding to ageing in the European Union. UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing Berlin (Berlin)

Ministers, Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to address this Ministerial Conference on Ageing on behalf of the European Commission.

We very much appreciate that the UNECE, in collaboration with our German host, has taken the initiative to call this important conference. Our window of opportunity for responding to ageing in the European Union is limited. The sooner we take concrete steps to implement the Madrid 'Plan of Action on Ageing' the better.

I would like to congratulate all the contributors for the quality of the final documents, and for the work that has gone into preparing the Regional Implementation Strategy, and the Political Declaration that accompanies it. I am particularly pleased to see that you have been able to draw inspiration from the approach that we have developed in the European Union.

Most EU countries have had to respond to ageing already. And yet our population developments over the next decades seem unlikely to alter our rather disturbing status as one of the most aged regions in the world.

Already older people in the EU out-number children. By 2050, unless something changes, one EU citizen in three will be at least 60 years old. One in ten will be over 80 - the vast majority of them being women.

Ageing affects all generations. Not just those who are old. It impacts across the full spectrum of our policies, too. Employment. Training. Health care. Pensions. And, of course, public finances.

It also knows no borders. All Member States are affected. Which is why the EU Member States have decided to intensify their cooperation on policy responses to the ageing challenge.

And why they have put in place a policy framework to tackle the economic, employment and social impact. As part of the 10-year programme for full employment, higher growth, social justice and sustainable development, agreed at the Lisbon European Council in the year 2000.

In our work within this framework in the EU we are aiming to do 4 things:

To raise growth, productivity and employment levels. So as to increase income levels. And maintain the basis for strong, viable social welfare systems;
To adjust to the ageing and shrinking of our workforce. By raising employment levels and prolonging work life. Particularly of women and older workers;
To review and - where necessary - reform national pensions systems within a common EU framework. Thus securing adequate, sustainable and adaptable pensions for present and future generations;
To ensure full access to sustainable high quality health and long term care for ageing Europeans.

We are confident that EU-wide co-operation can contribute substantially to the achievement of these aims. And we welcome this initiative, from the UNECE, to widen and deepen international co- operation on ageing issues.

In this respect, the gender dimension is particularly important. Because women have a vital role to play in all policy responses to ageing.

In most countries, women represent the major part of the potential additional labor reserve that could be mobilized in the face of the shrinking, ageing, work force.

At the same, women also provide the bulk of care for children, and dependent older people.

With women, on average, living six years longer than men, older women account for two-thirds of the European Union's population over 60, and four-fifths of those over 80. Thus our ability to prevent poor health and poverty among older women will determine future health costs.

But ageing is not just about longevity. It is about family formation and fertility. And we need to look closely at the causes and consequences of falling fertility rates, and work to reverse recent trends.

That means making it easier to combine work with family responsibilities. And improving the conditions for family formation, child bearing and child rearing. By making it financially possible for people to raise children, we can establish a sustainable replacement of our populations.

Ultimately, we must re-balance financial and other incentives so as to ensure that women and men in our societies will be able to have families without making massive personal and financial sacrifices.

Achieving gender equality, and making work and family life more compatible, are not simply attractive ideals. They are vital elements in ensuring the future economic and social sustainability of our societies.

Strangely enough, these crucially important gender dimensions of ageing do not normally attract much attention. Which is why I am delighted to see that the Regional Implementation Strategy opens with a call for a gender sensitive policy approach, and that it returns to some of the important issues in Commitments 8 and 9.

In closing, I would like to underline the facts that the European Union is eager to share in the exchange of ideas and experiences within the ECE framework. To contribute and to learn.

I am confident that the Regional Implementation Strategy, and the Political Declaration documents, will prove particularly helpful in guiding UNECE member states, as they face the challenges of ageing. And I look forward to our working closely together on these issues.

Thank you for your attention.

Ref: SP02-240EN
Fuente UE: Comisión Europea
Foro NU:
Fecha: 12/9/2002

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