During the plenary session (5-8 July 2021) of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs debate on the old continent growing older - possibilities and challenges related to ageing policy post 2020: opening statements by Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur and by Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, and by Christine ANDERSON (ID, DE) FEMM. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

social Europe (T)

European statistics on demography (T)

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

ŠUICA, Dubravka (EPP, HR, EC)

SZYDŁO, Beata (ECR, PL)

ANDERSON, Christine (ID, DE)

social life (T)

demography of the EU (T)

Old continent growing older - possibilities and challenges related to ageing policy post 2020: opening statements by Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, Dubravka ŠUICA, Vicepresident of the European Commission and by Christine ANDERSON (ID, DE)

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to start by thanking you. I'd like to thank all of the shadow rapporteurs. Thank you for all of your comments, for all of your amendments. And there were quite a lot there, in fact, 600.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, And I think what that shows is that the topic we're discussing here today, the old continent growing older, demography, demographics, all of these issues are very important to us. And we're all aware of the importance of these subjects.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, At the same time, we have to ask ourselves whether the 600 amendments, which would significantly change the report, do so in a way which means that it barely resembles the initial version. But I believe that this is a crucial topic and one that we have to ensure we continue to work on. I'd like to thank you all for your very professional commitment, your work, your cooperation.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, And in particular, I'd like to thank my personal colleagues, my assistants, my experts and my advisors, because this is the result of your very, very hard work. And you were aware of the importance of the topic when doing this work, you were aware of how important that is to Europe, the old continent is growing older.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, And that is one of the main challenges that we're facing today. Increased life expectancy, combined with fairly low fertility rates, mean that we are experiencing significant demographic shift. We're also seeing deep population in certain areas. For example, rural areas and in Europe are losing their populations. This report touches on many different aspects of ageing.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, The key people in this report are aged members of society, and I think we have to do what we can to support this ageing people and also to ensure that we help elderly people as best we can. The Covid 19 pandemic has showed us how important it is to ensure that the European Union takes account in its activities of strategies for older people.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, We have to recall the role of older people in our societies and also to ensure that they can receive care company and at the same time we can benefit from their knowledge and experience. We also have to remember how important generational links are, we should promote volunteering in this arena to care for elderly people are particularly effective, long term care are important.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, And we also have to take all of these initiatives that are focussed on the silver economy and of ensuring active ageing. Older people themselves should be able to make decisions such as whether they want to continue to work or whether they want to do something else.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, For example, look after grandchildren or volunteer in a social project. We have to act to ensure that we can improve living conditions for older people. For example, when they use public transport or in public buildings, they have to be adapted to the specific needs of this of older people.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, The European Union has to make sure that it uses the ESF plus or the Rural Development Fund. And that these funds are used to adapt our infrastructure to better suit the needs of older people, we need efficient public transport, public buildings and houses and apartments that are better suited to these specific needs.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, The report also refers to support for traditional activities, which are the basis or were the basis for our culture in the past of our traditions. Today, it's the older people who hold this knowledge and these jobs.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, We have to ensure that these don't disappear and become part of the past. We have to ensure that we pass on these skills to the next generation. We also have to ensure that we fight loneliness. These people shouldn't feel like they're alone. I can't imagine that in Europe we wouldn't have the level of respect we should for older people.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, So in this report, what we're trying to do is to promote intergenerational solidarity to ensure better ageing, active ageing. Reference is also made to 2001, which was when the European Union first started to tackle this subject, the challenge of an ageing population.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, A lot of problems that we saw developing then are still current today. And of course, all of these problems have been exacerbated by the pandemic, which makes this initiative all the more important. We have to continue to fight all forms of discrimination, violence or exclusion of older people.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, These are significant problems that must be tackled. We have to ensure that we can protect vulnerable people from acts of discrimination or violence. The pandemic has shown us how important it is to ensure that older people are included in the digital world.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Beata SZYDŁO (ECR, PL), rapporteur, A lot of people say this report isn't progressive enough. We've put a lot of time and energy into this report and we thought about it long and hard. There were 600 amendments that we've tried to incorporate into it. And so I think we should support the report and ensure that we try to care for older people regardless of our political divisions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, Thank you. Thank your president there we are, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for today's opportunity to address key demographic trends that is impacting our entire continent, namely ageing, a trend that will significantly impact the European Union in the coming years and decades.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, It is vital that we prepare ourselves now. Many thanks to the rapporteur for the comprehensive report. The issues you address all echo the work of the European Commission, including Health and Long-Term Care Measures, to encourage active and healthy ageing and social inclusion.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, Many of the competences linked to ageing are in the hands of the member states. Nevertheless, the Commission has an important role in supporting the relevant measures at national, regional and local levels.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, The von der Leyen Commission is the first one to dedicate one portfolio to demography. Our work is based on the report on the impact of demographic change of June 2020. It is a valuable tool to help us to understand demographic change. We see how life expectancy at birth has increased by about 10 years for both men and women.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, One of the most prominent features of ageing is that the shared number of older people will increase. Today, 20 percent of the population is about 65. By 2017, it will be 30 percent. Meanwhile, the share of people above 80 is expected to more than double, reaching 13 percent in the same period.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, The demography report lay the ground for the green paper on ageing. I want to emphasise the important message that ageing brings both challenges and opportunities. Ageing is not just a matter for older people. Everyone is impacted directly by the prospect of living a longer life, including the young.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, We must balance our policy making for everyone across the entire life cycle, making sure we leave no one behind. Adopted in January, the Green Paper launched in the European Union Wide Discussion on Ageing. It takes a lifecycle approach and reflects the universal impact that Ageing on all generations and stages in life.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, It highlights the importance of striking the right balance between sustainable solutions for our welfare systems and strengthening solidarity between the generations. In fact, the full title of the paper is Green Paper on Ageing Solidarity and Responsibility Between Generations. This highlights the importance we attach to intergenerational fairness.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, The paper's public consultation closed in April. We gathered a total of four 473 replies from twenty six member states, as well as some four from non European countries. We are now analysing the input and considering possible policy responses.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, In this context, the Commission has recently published three reports related to ageing. Namely 2021 Pension Adequacy Report, 2021 Long Term Care Report and 2021 Ageing Report.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dubravka ŠUICA, Vice-President of the European Commission, The reports address some of the main challenges of a continent growing older and identify areas that are key to ensuring intergenerational responsibility and solidarity. I look forward to hearing your your views today as we strengthen efforts to address the challenges of ageing and grasp its opportunities.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christine ANDERSON (ID, DE)