25 Amendments of Radan KANEV related to 2022/0165(NLE)
Amendment 42 #
Recital -1 (new)
(-1) The European Parliament welcomes the Commission’s proposal for updated employment guidelines for the Member States, in particular its strong focus on the post-COVID 19 environment, on ensuring that the green and digital transitions are socially fair and economically sustainable, and on recent policy initiatives in response to the Russian invasion in the Ukraine. In order to create synergies and competitive, resilient and ambitious policies at Member State level, it is welcome if the guidelines link the Union’s headline targets on employment, skills and poverty reduction for 2030, agreed by EU Leaders at the Porto Summit in 2021.
Amendment 43 #
Recital 1
(1) Member States and the Union are to work towards developing a coordinated strategy for employmenthigh levels of employment, job quality and particularly for promoting a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce, as well as labour markets that are future-oriented and responsive to economic changeimproving working conditions, by supporting and complementing the activities of the Member States as well as labour markets that are future-oriented and responsive to economic change, inclusive, competitive and resilient and that offer opportunities for mobility and professional progress, with a view to achieving the objectives of full employment and social progress, balanced growth, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment laid down in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Member States are to regard promoting employment as a matter of common concern and are to coordinate their action in that respect within the Council, taking into account national practices related to the responsibilities of management and labour.
Amendment 55 #
Recital 3
(3) In accordance with the TFEU, the Union has developed and implemented policy coordination instruments for economic and employment policies. As part of those instruments, the Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States (the ‘Guidelines’) set out in the Annex to this Decision, together with the Broad Guidelines for the Economic Policies of the Member States and of the Union set out in Council Recommendation (EU) 2015/11845 , form the Integrated Guidelines. They are to guide policy implementation in the Member States and in the Union, reflecting the interdependence between the Member States. The resulting set of coordinated European and national policies and reforms are to constitute an appropriate overall sustainable economic and employment policy mix, which should achieve positive spill over effects while avoiding any negative economic or social consequences. __________________ 5 Council Recommendation (EU) 2015/1184 of 14 July 2015 on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the European Union (OJ L 192, 18.7.2015, p. 27).
Amendment 59 #
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) In order to ensure further economic and social progress and inclusive, competitive and resilient labour markets in the Union, Member States should promote inclusive education, training and upskilling, as well as lifelong learning, future-oriented quality dual education and improved career opportunities through recognising the skills and competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning.
Amendment 63 #
Recital 4
(4) The Guidelines are consistent with the Stability and Growth Pact and broad economic policy guidelines, existing Union legislation and various Union initiatives, including Council Directive of 20 July 20016 , Council Recommendations of 10 March 20147 , 15 February 20168 , 19 December 20169 , 15 March 201810 , 22 May 201811 , 22 May 201912 , 8 November 201913 , 30 October 202014 , 24 November 202015 , 29 November 202116 Commission Recommendation of 4 March 202117 , Council Recommendation of 14 June 202118 , Council Resolution of 26 February 202119 ,Commission Communication of 9 December 202120 , Decision of the EU Parliament and the Council of 22 December 202121 [, the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on adequate minimum wages in the European Union22 , the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality23 , the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability24 , the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on individual learning accounts25 , the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms26 , the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving working conditions in platform work27 and the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on learning for environmental sustainability28 ]. __________________ 6 Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof (OJ L 212 , 07/08/2001 P. 0012 – 0023) 7 Council Recommendation of 10 March 2014 on a Quality Framework for Traineeships (OJ C 88, 27.3.2014, p. 1). 8 Council Recommendation of 15 February 2016 on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labour market (OJ C 67, 20.2.2016, p. 1). 9 Council Recommendation of 19 December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults (OJ C 484, 24.12.2016, p. 1). 10 Council Recommendation of 15 March 2018 on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships (OJ C 153, 2.5.2018, p. 1). 11 Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (OJ C 189, 4.6.2018, p. 1). 12 Council Recommendation of 22 May 2019 on High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems (OJ C 189, 5.6.2019, p. 4). 13 Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 on access to social protection for workers and the self- employed (OJ C 387, 15.11.2019, p. 1). 14 Council Recommendation of 30 October 2020 on A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee and replacing the Council Recommendation of 22 April 2013 on establishing a Youth Guarantee (OJ C 372, 4.11.2020, p. 1). 15 Council Recommendation of 24 November 2020 on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (OJ C 417, 2.12.2020, p. 1). 16 Council Recommendation of 29 November 2021 on blended learning approaches for high-quality and inclusive primary and secondary education (OJ C 66, 26.2.2021, p. 1–21) 17 Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/402 of 4 March 2021 on an effective active support to employment following the COVID-19 crisis (EASE) (OJ L 80, 8.3.2021, p. 1). 18 Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European Child Guarantee (OJ L 223, 22.6.2021, p. 14). 19 Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) (2021/C66/01) (OJ C 66, 26.2.2021, p. 1–21) 20 Commission Communication (EU) 2021/778 of 9 December 2021 on building an economy that works for people: an action plan for the social economy 21 Decision (EU) 2021/2316 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 December 2021 on a European Year of Youth (2022) (OJ L 462, 28.12.2021, p. 1– 9) 22 COM/2020/682 final 23 COM/2021/801 final 24 COM/2021/770 final 25 COM/2021/773 final 26 COM/2021/93 final 27 COM/2021/762 final 28 COM/2022/11 final
Amendment 68 #
Recital 5
(5) The European Semester combines the different instruments in an overarching framework for integrated multilateral coordination and surveillance of economic and employment policies. While pursuing environmental sustainability, productivity, fairness and stability, the European Semester integrates the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including principle 11 on childcare and support to children/families, and of its monitoring tool, the Social Scoreboard, and provides for strong engagement with social partners, civil society and other stakeholders. It supports the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals including SDG 4 on quality education. Inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all should be ensured and anchored in the Union employment and social policies. The Union’s and Member States’ economic and employment policies should go hand in hand with Europe’s fair and just transition to a climate neutral, environmentally sustainable and digital economy, improve competitiveness, ensure adequate working condition, economically competitive, socially inclusive and digital economy, ensuring upward social convergence, improving sustainable competitiveness, supporting SMEs, including microenterprises, ensuring decent working conditions and resilient national welfare systems, fostering innovation, promoteing social justice and equal opportunities, reducing poverty, investing in youth, as well as tackleing inequalities and regional disparities.
Amendment 74 #
Recital 6
(6) Climate change and environment- related challenges, the need to accelerate energy independence and ensure Europe’s open strategic autonomy, globalisation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, an increase in teleworking, the platform economy and demographic change are transforming European economies and societies. Demographic change requires to improve safety and health at work through updates to the relevant directives and to strengthen occupational medical services, including access to regular check-ups for all workers that wish to do so. The EU must follow-up on the European Framework for Action on Mental Health. Uniform EU framework conditions, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, should support the Member States to create equal quality standards and ensure free access to safety and health for all workers. The Union and its Member States are to work together to effectively and proactively address those structural developments and adapt existing systems as needed, recognising the close interdependence of the Member States’ economies and labour markets, and related policies. This requires coordinated, ambitious and effective policy action at both Union and national levels, in accordance with the TFEU and the Union’s provisions on economic governance, while sustainably implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. Such policy action should encompass and the objectives set by its Action Plan. Such policy action should encompass the creation of the infrastructure necessary for linking the people and businesses of Europe and lead to European added value through a boost in sustainable private and public investment, a renewed commitment to appropriately sequenced reforms that enhance economic growth, the creation of quality jobs and foster trade and entrepreneurship by reducing red tape for businesses, especially for family enterprises and SMEs, furthermore that enhance the creation of more jobs as well as quality jobs and secure jobs, prosperity, productivity, adequate working conditions, social and territorial cohesion, upward convergence, resilience and the exercise of fiscal responsibility, with support from existing EU funding programmes, and in particular the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Cohesion Policy Funds (including the European Social Fund Plus and the European Regional Development Fund) as well as the Just Transition Fund. It should combine supply- and demand-side measures, while taking into account their environmental, employment and social impacts. , while making the EU’s fiscal rules simpler, more coherent, more predictable and more easily enforceable without watering down the Stability and Growth Pact.
Amendment 85 #
Recital 8 a (new)
(8a) Family-friendly policies and social investments in children, protecting them from poverty and helping all children to access their rights, such as the availability of good quality childcare and early childhood education and training, are essential to ensure children’s future as adults, sustainable development through avoiding long-term costs for society and inclusive cohesive societies, and result in people being more creative and feeling more comfortable; investments of EU funds and soft instruments should be used more extensively and strategically for guaranteeing the social rights of children (in particular those in vulnerable situations) and combating child poverty and social exclusion as well as harmful negative trends with regard to demographic change; for the European Child Guarantee to be of real added value and reach the ultimate objective of getting at least 5 million children out of poverty by 2030, it should encourage Member States to make combating child poverty a priority and support them in implementing the European Child Guarantee via selective, high-profile, clear-cut, concrete and relatively operational objectives as well as concrete policy levers and policy outcomes - for which the political authorities can be held accountable;
Amendment 95 #
Recital 11
(11) Discrimination in all its forms should be tackled, gender equality ensured and employment of young people promoted and supported. Access and opportunities for all should be ensured and poverty and social exclusion, including that of children and Roma people, should be reduced, in particular by ensuring an effective functioning of labour markets and adequate and inclusive social protection systems32 , and by removing barriers to inclusive and future-oriented education, training and labour-market participation, including through investments in early childhood education and care, and in digital and green skills. TMember States should focus their efforts on the submission and effective implementation of the European Child Guarantee and their National Action Plans that are to ensure free access for all children to the five key social rights (healthcare, education, childcare, decent housing and adequate nutrition), including children fleeing Ukraine, on an equal footing with their peers in the host Member State. The European Parliament has on repeated occasions requested and increased funding of the European Child Guarantee with a dedicated budget of at least EUR 20 billion32a.The European Child Guarantee should be mainstreamed across all policy sectors and funding for children’s rights should be prioritised while making full use of existing Union policies and funds. Member States should further boost investment in sustainable, quality jobs and adopt a comprehensive approach for supporting parents of children in need; the European Child Guarantee should also be used to relink European citizens to Europe, by introducing, under the leadership of and in close cooperation with national coordinators, European support measures for families with children, who constitute the cohesion basis of our societies and (re)invest into the economy, thereby benefiting European citizens altogether; timely and equal access to affordable long- term care and healthcare services, including prevention and healthcare promotion, are particularly relevant, also in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 and in a context of ageing societies. The potential of persons with disabilities to contribute to economic growth and social development should be further realised. As new economic and business models take hold in workplaces throughout the Union, employment relationships are also changing. Member States should ensure that employment relationships stemming from new forms of work maintain and strengthen Europe’s social model. __________________ 32 Council Recommendation of 8 November 2019 on access to social protection for workers and the self- employed, 2019/C 387/01
Amendment 111 #
Annex – Guideline 5 – paragraph 1
Member States should actively promote a sustainablfull quality employment based on a sustainable and competitive social market economy and facilitate and support investment in the creation of more jobs and quality jobs, also taking advantage of the potential linked to the digital and green transitions, in light of the 2030 EU headline target on employment. To that end, they should reduce the barriers that businesses face in hiring people as well as implement measures with regard to retention of staff, foster responsible entrepreneurship and genuine self- employment and, in particular, support the creation and growth of small and medium- sized enterprises, including through access to finance. Member States should actively promote the development and tap the full potential of the social economy, foster social innovation and social enterprises, and encourage those business models creating quality job opportunities and generating social benefits at local level, in particular in the circular economy and in areas most affected by the transition to a green economy due to their sectoral specialisation,.
Amendment 115 #
Annex – Guideline 5 – paragraph 2
Following the COVID-19 crisis, well- designed short-time work schemes and similar arrangements should also facilitate and support restructuring processes, on top of preserving employment when appropriate, helping the modernisation of the economy, including via associated skills development. Well-designed hiring and transition incentives and upskilling and reskilling measures should be considered in order to support job creation and transitions, and address labour and skill shortages and close the gap between education and the labour market, also in light of the digital and green transformations as well as of the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Member States should be encouraged to invest in human capital and knowledge inclusive education and be supported in coordinating best practices at EU level. EU education programs should be strengthened, new digital platforms for cross-border education and job opportunities should be developed and further rapid progress in harmonizing and mutual recognition of diplomas be made, facilitating fair labour mobility and being active in different Member States. The Erasmus programme must be made more accessible to all social groups.
Amendment 131 #
Annex – Guideline 6 – paragraph 1
In the context of the digital and green transitions, demographic change and the Ukrainian war, Member States should promote sustainability, productivity, employability and human capital, fostering acquisition of skills and competences throughout people’s lives and responding to current and future labour-market needs, in light of the 2030 EU headline target on skills. Member States should also adapt and invest in their public and private education and training systems to provide high quality and inclusive education, including vocational education and training, access to digital learning, and language training (e.g. in the case of refugees including from Ukraine). Member States should work together with the social partners, education and training providers, enterprises and other stakeholders to address structural weaknesses in education and training systems and improve their quality and labour-market relevance, also with a view to enabling the green and digital transitions, addressing existing skills mismatches and preventing the emergence of new shortages, in particular for activities related to REPowerEU, such as renewable energy deployment or buildings’ renovation. Particular attentionMember States should address the needs of areas and sectors with structural skills shortages, inter alia with a view to simultaneously enabling the green, technological and digital transitions. Member States should support investment in skills development of their workforce and the ESF must be used to help young people increase their qualifications, and promote future- oriented quality dual education systems in Member States. A significant part of the funds provided by the Recovery Plan in the framework of the Next Generation EU instrument should be spent on upskilling and lifelong learning. Member States should be encouraged in adapting and modernising their education and training systems through future oriented digitalisation, and by developing a framework encouraging companies to hire young graduates. Furthermore, Member States should support investment in decent working conditions to attract qualified workers. Particular attention should be paid to care workers to ensure they have access to recognised quality professional training and qualifications and career development, as well as to their employers facing challenges in the recruitment and retention of qualified staff. Particular attention also should be paid to challenges faced by the teaching profession, including by investing in teachers’ and trainers’ digital competences. Education and training systems should equip all learners with key competences, including basic and digital skills as well as transversal competences, to lay the foundations for adaptability and resilience throughout life. Member States should seek to strengthen the provision of individual training entitlements and ensure their transferability during professional transitions, including, where appropriate, through individual learning accounts, as well as a reliable system of training quality assessment. Member States should deliver on the potential of micro-credentials to support lifelong learning and employability. They should enable everyone to anticipate and better adapt to labour-market needs, in particular through continuous upskilling and reskilling and the provision of integrated guidance and counselling, with a view to supporting fair and just transitions for all, strengthening social outcomes, addressing labour-market shortages and skills mismatches, improving the overall resilience of the economy to shocks and making potential adjustments easier.
Amendment 140 #
Annex I – Guideline 6 – paragraph 2
Member States should foster equal opportunities for all by addressing inequalities in education and training systems. In particular, children should be provided equal access to good quality early childhood education and care, in line with the European Child Guarantee. Member States should raise overall qualification levels, reduce the number of early leavers from education and training, support access to education of children from remoted areas, increase the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET), access to and completion of tertiary education, facilitate the transition from education to employment for young people through remunerated quality traineeships and apprenticeships, as well as increase adult participation in continuing learning, particularly among learners from disadvantaged backgrounds and the least qualified. Taking into account the new requirements of digital, green and ageing societies, Member States should strengthen work-based learning in their VET systems, including through remunerated quality and effective apprenticeships, and increase the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates both in VET and in tertiary education, especially women. Furthermore, Member States should enhance the labour- market relevance of tertiary education and, where appropriate, research; improve skills monitoring and forecasting; make skills more visible and qualifications comparable, including those acquired abroad; and increase opportunities for recognising and validating skills and competences acquired outside formal education and training. They should upgrade and increase the supply and uptake of flexible continuous VET. Member States should invest in jobs creation and labour markets and also support low- skilled adults by helping them to gain access to the labour market to maintain or develop their long- term employability by boosting access to and uptake of quality learning opportunities, through the implementation of Upskilling Pathways Recommendation including a skills assessment, an offer of education and training matching labour- market opportunities, and the validation and recognition of the skills acquired.
Amendment 149 #
Annex – Guideline 6 – paragraph 3
Member States should provide unemployed and inactive people with effective, timely, coordinated and tailor-made assistance based on support for job search, training, requalification and access to other enabling services, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups and people particularly affected by the green and digital transitions. Comprehensive strategies that include in-depth individual assessments of unemployed people should be pursued as soon as possible, at the latest after 182 months of unemployment, with a view to significantly reducing and preventing long- term and structural unemployment. Youth unemployment and the issue of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) should continue to be addressed through prevention of early school leaving, including apprenticeships, and structural improvement of the school- to-work transition, including through the full implementation of the reinforced Youth Guarantee, which should also importantly support quality youth employment opportunities in the post- pandemic recovery. In addition, and in the light of the European Year of the Youth 2022, Member States should boost efforts notably at highlighting how the green and digital transitions offer a renewed perspective for the future and opportunities to counter the negative impact of the pandemic on young people.
Amendment 154 #
Annex – Guideline 6 – paragraph 4
Member States should aim to remove barriers and disincentives to, and provide incentives for, accessing and participationg in the labour market, in particular for low- income earners, second earners and those furthest away from the labour market including people with a migrant background and marginalised Roma. In view of high labour shortages in certain occupations and sectors, Member States should contribute to fostering labour supply, notably through promoting adequate wages and decent working conditions, as well as effective active labour market policies. Member States should also support an adapted work environment for persons with disabilities, including through targeted financial support and services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society.
Amendment 160 #
Annex – Guideline 6 – paragraph 5
The demonstrated gender employment and pay gaps should be tackled. Member States should ensure gender equality and increased labour market participation of women, including through ensuring equal opportunities and career progression and eliminating barriers to access to leadership at all levels of decision making. Equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value, and pay transparency should be ensured. The reconciliation of work, family and private life for both women and men should be promoted, in particular through access to affordable, quality long-term care and early childhood education and care services. Member States should ensure that parents and other people with caring responsibilities have access to suitable family-related leave and flexible working arrangements in order to balance work, family and private life, and promote a balanced use of those entitlements between women and men.
Amendment 174 #
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 2
Policies should aim to improve and support labour-market participation, matching and transitions, including in disadvantaged regions. Member States should effectively activate and enable those who can participate in the labour market, especially vulnerable groups such as lower-skilled people, people with a migrant background, including persons under a temporary protection status, and marginalised Roma. Member States should strengthen the scope and effectiveness of active labour-market policies by increasing their targeting, outreach and coverage and by better linking them with social services, training and adequate income support for the unemployed, whilst they are seeking workemployment with quality working conditions and based on their rights and responsibilities. Member States should enhance the capacity of public employment services to provide timely and tailor-made assistance to jobseekers, respond to current and future labour-market needs, and implement performance-based management, supported also via digitalisation.
Amendment 176 #
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 3
Member States should provide the unemployed with adequate unemployment benefits of reasonable and adequate duration, in line with their contributions and national eligibility rules. Unemployment benefits should not disincentivise a prompt return to employment and should be accompanied by active labour market policies.
Amendment 178 #
Annex – Guideline 7 – paragraph 4
Amendment 201 #
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 2
Member States should modernise social protection systems to provide adequate, effective, efficient and sustainable social protection for all, throughout all stages of life, fostering social inclusion and upward social mobility,convergence and mobility, supporting and incentivising labour market participation and access to quality employment, supporting social investment, fighting poverty and addressing inequalities, including through the national design of their tax and benefit systems and by assessing the distributional impact of policies. Complementing universal approaches with selective ones will improve the effectiveness of social protection systems. The modernisation of social protection systems should also aim to improve their resilience to multi-faceted challenges.
Amendment 206 #
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 3
Member States should develop and integrate the three strands of active inclusion: adequate income support, inclusive labour markets and access to quality enabling services, to meet individual needs. Social protection systems should ensure adequate minimum income benefits for everyone lacking sufficient resources and promote social inclusion by encouraging and supporting people to actively participate in the labour market and society, including through targeted provision of social services.
Amendment 208 #
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 4
The availability of affordable, accessible and good quality services such as early childhood education and care, out-of- school care, education, training, housing, and health and long-term care is a necessary condition for ensuring equal opportunities. PIn line with the 2030 EU headline target on poverty reduction, particular attention should be given to fighting poverty and social exclusion, including in-work poverty, in line with the 2030 EU headline target on poverty reduction. Especially. Especially protection from child poverty should be addressed by comprehensive and integrated measures, in particular through the full implementation of the European Child Guarantee and an increase of the dedicated budget to at least EUR 20 billion, as repeatedly requested by the European Parliament1a. Also, all Member States should spend more than the minimum of 5% of their allocated funds under the European Social Fund Plus on fighting child poverty and promote childrens’ wellbeing by ensuring their free, equal and effective access to high quality healthcare, (early) education and care, school-based activities and at least one healthy meal each school day, childcare, decent housing and healthy nutrition.
Amendment 216 #
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 5
Member States should ensure that everyone, including children, has access to essential services of good quality. For those in need or in a vulnerable situation, Member States should guarantee access to adequate social housing or housing assistance. They should ensure a clean and fair energy transition and address energy poverty as an increasingly important form of poverty due to rising energy prices, partly linked to the war in Ukraine, including, where appropriate, via targeted temporary income support measures. Inclusive housing renovation policies should also be implemented. The specific needs of persons with disabilities, including accessibility, should be taken into account in relation to those services. Homelessness should be tackled specifically. Member States should ensure timelyeffective and equal access to affordable preventive and curative health care and long-term care of good quality, while safeguarding sustainability in the long term.
Amendment 221 #
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 6
In line with the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive43 , Member States should offer an adequate level of protection to refugees from Ukraine, including rthird-country nationals legally residing in Ukraine and who are unable to return in safe and durable conditions to their country or region of origin. Residency rights, access and integration to the labour market, access to education, training and housing, as well as access to social security systems, medical care social welfare or other assistance, and means of subsistence should be provided in this regard. Children should be ensured access to childhood education and care and essential services in line with the European Child Guarantee. For unaccompanied children and teenagers, Member States should implement the right to legal guardianship. __________________ 43 Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof.
Amendment 227 #
Annex – Guideline 8 – paragraph 7
In a context of increasing longevity and demographic change, Member States should secure the adequacy and sustainability of pension systems for workers and the self-employed, providing equal opportunities for women and men to acquire and accrue pension rights, including through supplementary schemes to ensure an adequate income in old age. Pension reforms should be supported by policies that aim to reduce the gender pension gap and measures that extend working lives, such as by raising the effective retirement age, notably by facilitating labour market participation of older personand employability of older persons through specific digital skills trainings and awareness-raising aimed at changing the perceptions of companies, and should be framed within active ageing strategies. Member States should establish a constructive dialogue with social partners and other relevant stakeholders, and allow for an appropriate phasing in of the reforms.