2020/2008(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Asim ADEMOV, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital Α

A. notes with regret that, whereas the demographic old-age dependency ratio (people aged 65 or above relative to those aged 15-64) is projected to increase significantly in the EU as a whole in the coming decades; whereas it has risen to 29.6 % on 2016 figures, and is projected to rise further, notably up to 2050 and reaching 51.2 % in 2070 in the absence of effective policies to support European birth rates;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas the worrying demographic trends in EU rural areas exacerbate the socio-economic divide and increase the risk of poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 11 #

Asim ADEMOV, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

A c. whereas the upcoming Green Paper on Ageing and Long-term Vision for Rural Areas will outline the EU strategy to tackle the impact of demographic change on our social- economic fabric;

Amendment 12 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

A d. whereas farmers are at the heart of Europe’s rural areas; whereas around one third of family farm managers were aged 65 or over in 2016;

Amendment 13 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)

A e. whereas generational renewal is one of CAP’s post-2020 specific objectives; whereas knowledge transfer and intergenerational learning are crucial to increasing cooperation and solidarity between generations, thus bridging the generational gap;

Amendment 14 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the current situation of older people on the labour market and more broadly in society shows that vast and decisive investment is needed in areas such as equal opportunities, lifelong learning ~~and health, and more generally~~, employment assistance and health provision, in order to tackle the growing economic and social inequalities within the EU;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas the current situation of older people on the labour market and more broadly in society shows that ~~vast and decis~~effective investment is needed in areas such as equal opportunities, lifelong learning and health, and more generally in order to tackle the growing economic and social inequalities within the EU;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital Β

B. whereas the current situation of older people on the labour market and more broadly in society shows that ~~vast and decisive investment is needed in areas such as equal opportunities,~~greater cooperation with the private sector and more and better services for lifelong learning ~~and~~, health, and ~~more generally in order to tackle the growing economic and social inequalities~~other sectors are needed in order to improve quality of life for all, particularly the most vulnerable, within the EU;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital Б a (new)

Ba. whereas a large proportion of the income of older people in rural areas comes from social instruments and assistance such as pensions; whereas these forms of assistance vary significantly across the EU, which means they also vary in flexibility and, in some cases, also makes it impossible to start or maintain a bare minimum of economic activity;

Amendment 18 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas older people in rural or remote areas, may face higher risks of age-related risks, including poverty, poorer access to quality health care and services, less social support or opportunity for social interaction, and lack of access to public transport services;

Amendment 19 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas there are considerable disparities between the regions of the European Union in terms of demographic change, with a tendency towards urban overpopulation on the one hand and a rural exodus on the other;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the demographic old-age dependency ratio (people aged 65 or above relative to those aged 15-64) is projected to increase significantly in the EU as a whole in the coming decades; whereas it has risen to ~~29.6~~31.4 % oin 201~~6 figures~~91a, and is projected to rise further, notably up to 52 % in 20501b and reaching 51.2 % in 2070; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/ view/tps00198/default/table?lang=en 1b https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/ view/tps00200/default/table?lang=en

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas rural areas and peripheral regions are seriously affected by demographic change, which may be a factor in older people becoming isolated in such locations;

Amendment 21 #

Veronika VRECIONOVÁ, Ruža TOMAŠIĆ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas in 2018 42% of workplace accidents in the EU involved workers over 45 years of age, therefore workplace safety must consider the impact ageing has on a workforce;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas there are significant differences in individual member states, both in the composition of the population and in its demographic development;

Amendment 23 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas our food security depends on a successful generational renewal in agriculture;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas CAP remains the key instrument to support the rural economy and job creation in rural areas;

Amendment 25 #

Asim ADEMOV, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital Б b (new)

Bb. whereas the conditions applicable to CAP support impose requirements which small farms with one or a few older employees find difficult to meet;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas the European Green Deal should tap into the full potential of older generation on the way to green and digital transition;

Amendment 27 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)

B c. whereas COVID pandemic increased the vulnerability, the digital and social exclusion of elderly people in rural areas;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that the current political approach, based on a limited and damaging vision (‘any job at any cost’), should be phased out so that employment and work can be seen in a longer-term perspective of the individual’s working life;deleted

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 3 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas the demographic old-age dependency ratio (people aged 65 or above relative to those aged 15-64) ~~is projected to~~will increase significantly in the EU as a whole in the coming decades; whereas it has risen to 29.6 % on 2016 figures, and is projected to rise further, ~~notably up to 2050 and~~ reaching 51.2 % in 2070;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 31 #

Veronika VRECIONOVÁ, Ruža TOMAŠIĆ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Given the demographic composition differences, solution(s) should be drawn at the level of individual Member States, with the support of the EU.Calls on the Member States to set a framework that would improve the conditions of home care for the elderly, both within the families themselves and through social services.Institutionalised care for the elderly should be the last option. Considers that the current political approach, based on a limited and damaging vision (‘any job at any cost’), should be phased out so that employment and work can be seen in a longer-term perspective of the individual’s working life;

Amendment 32 #

Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that ~~the current political approach, based on a limited and damaging vision (‘any job at any cost’), should be phased out so that~~ employment and work can be seen in a longer-term perspective of the individual’s working life;

Amendment 33 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Asim ADEMOV, Michal WIEZIK, Franc BOGOVIČ, Marlene MORTLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 34 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers ~~that the current~~a political approach~~, based on a limited and damaging vision (‘any job at any cost’), should be phased out so that~~ is essential based on a vision of employment and work ~~can be seen in~~as a longer-term ~~perspective~~component of the individual’s working life;

Amendment 35 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers th~~at the current political approach, based on a limited and da~~e lack of job opportunities to be the magin~~g vision (‘any job at any cost’), should be phased out so that employment and work can be seen in a longer-term perspective of the individual’s working life~~ problem in any society and that a long-term perspective and sustainability proofing are needed in terms of the creation of new jobs;

Amendment 36 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Considers that creating opportunities for intergenerational dialogue is important to enrich the social life of rural older people, counteracting the risk of social isolation, and, at the same time, helping younger generations through the knowledge of the past and traditional practices to contributing for cultural and heritage preservation as well as a more cohesive society;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Reminds the specific nature of family farming, which blends agricultural activity and family life with older farmers remaining active beyond the age of retirement;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that sustained efforts will still be required from the social partners and the European and national institutions to create a truly positive ‘culture’ of active ageing and non-discriminatory recruitment; stresses the need for measures to involve the elderly in the development of local economies, facilitating access to public services in order to improve their quality of life;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that sustained efforts will still be required from the social partners and the European and national institutions to create a tru~~ly positiv~~e ‘culture’ of ~~active ageing and non-discriminatory recruitment~~intergenerational dialogue, particularly in agricultural professions, where the idea of transmission is essential;

Amendment 4 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas the demographic old-age developments have different impacts in the European regions, affecting more severely rural and remote areas, areas which are also experiencing a decline in their population; whereas population decline may have a negative impact in the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the EU;

Amendment 40 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that sustained efforts will still be required from the social partners and the European and national institutions and the society in general, to create a truly positive ‘culture’ of active ageing and non- discriminatory recruitment;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)

(1) Believes that a new approach to mentorship and partnership must be found to stop a brain-drain, as advanced skills become more concentrated in the older element of the workforce;

Amendment 42 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 – point 2 (new)

(2) Considers it important employment legislation promotes working time policies which meet the needs of an ageing workforce, in particular, flexibility of shift working periods;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Recognizes the potential of elderly people, incl. farmers, to become the driving force of a vibrant silver economy in the rural areas based on social innovation, inclusive rural communities and healthier living environment; calls on the Commission to carefully study this potential when building its long-term vision for rural areas and active ageing;

Amendment 44 #

Clara AGUILERA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on public institutions to promote the creation of a special protection system that takes account of the specific nature of unemployment affecting agricultural workers, owing to the very temporary nature of agricultural seasonal work. This could provide greater security for those who choose to work in agriculture;

Amendment 45 #

Clara AGUILERA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that addressing market uncertainty and lack of profitability in farming enterprises are key to reversing this trend; as is addressing the very temporary nature of agricultural seasons, agricultural seasonal workers having to travel great distances in order to be able to work for longer periods e each year;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that addressing market uncertainty and lack of profitability in farming enterprises by improving quality, but also promoting opportunities for the diversification of agricultural income, are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce ~~and~~, the lack of generational renewal and the adaptation to adverse climatic phenomena constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that coordinated action under the different European policies in order to address~~ing~~ market uncertainty and lack of profitability in farming enterprises ~~are~~is key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 48 #

Hilde VAUTMANS, Irène TOLLERET, Ulrike MÜLLER, Jérémy DECERLE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that ~~addressing market uncertainty and lack of profitability in farming enterprises are~~creating new vocations to enable generational renewal, by ensuring the attractiveness and profitability of professions in the agriculture sector, is key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that addressing market uncertainty, access to production factors and in particular access to land and lack of profitability in farming enterprises are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 5 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Recital А a (new)

Aa. whereas an ageing population can act as a source of knowledge about local traditions, food and way of life in rural areas, which in turn can be used to develop local tourism and business;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in the agricultureal sector than in other sectors; believes that addressing market uncertainty and ~~lack of profitability in farming enterprises~~facilitating access to finance for the farming enterprises, particularly for young farmers, are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that addressing European market uncertainty ~~and~~, the lack of profitability in some farming enterprises and the low level of agricultural pensions are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that addressing market uncertainty, ending the system of historic entitlement and tackling and lack of profitability in farming enterprises are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 53 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Asim ADEMOV, Michal WIEZIK, Franc BOGOVIČ, Marlene MORTLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal and intergenerational transfer constitute a more serious issue in agriculture than in other sectors; believes that addressing market uncertainty and lack of profitability in farming enterprises are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that an ageing workforce and the lack of generational renewal constitute a ~~more~~ serious issue in agriculture ~~than in other sectors~~; believes that addressing market uncertainty and lack of profitability in farming enterprises are key to reversing this trend;

Amendment 55 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Deplores the fact that just 11% of European farmers are less than 40 years old and that, over the next 10 years, half the farmers now working will retire; notes that current European policies have failed to halt the ageing of the farming population; calls on the Member States to consider access to land, assistance for getting started, and support for young people's investments; also calls on the EU to question the relevance of a system based on payments per hectare;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Acknowledges that only 11% of all farm holdings in the European Union are run by farmers under the age of 40 years old2a; calls on the Member States to remove all barriers preventing young farmers from entering the agricultural sector, including the difficult access to land; calls furthermore on the Member States to promote new ways of collaboration between generations such as partnerships, share-farming, long-term leasing and other arrangements which could address the lack of land and stimulate young farmers; _________________ 2ahttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Farmers_and_the_a gricultural_labour_force_-_statistics

Amendment 57 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Reiterates some of the obstacles to generational renewal in agriculture, linked to access to land and farm transfer from one generation to the next. Older farmers, faced by the risk of low pensions, income foregone (incl. CAP payments) and social exclusion in rural areas post- retirement, tend to remain active and keep their farms longer; underlines, in this regard, the need for tailored policy instruments to guarantee smooth farm transition and active aging for older farmers in the rural communities;

Amendment 58 #

Jérémy DECERLE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes that in many Member States national pension systems do not provide retired farmers with sufficient income. Regrets that the extension of agricultural activity beyond the legal retirement age, which slows down the renewal of generations, is often the only way to deal with this situation. Stresses that Common Agricultural Policy supports are not intended to replace a pension system;

Amendment 59 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Notes the growing need for highly qualified young professionals in agriculture, especially in the regions, and draws attention to the need to take all measures to encourage young people to study agricultural professions, as well as to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from older people to the younger generation;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas Europe's ageing population is a demographic phenomenon which sees a decrease both in fertility and in mortality rate and a higher life expectancy among European population;

Amendment 60 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers that the forthcoming Commission communication on a 'long- term vision for rural areas' will need to place particular emphasis on programmes for the active involvement of older people rural community life;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Believes that farm partnerships between older and younger generations are key to deepening intergenerational solidarity, knowledge transfer and mutual learning, which is particularly important for the uptake of new technologies and digital skills in farming;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that family workers still represent the vast majority of agricultural labour in Europe, but notes that this type of labour has been steadily declining for years and is expected to decline further in the near future; stresses that the unstoppable rural exodus from certain parts of the Union will lead to rural areas facing economic, social and environmental problems that need more ambitious and coordinated policies;

Amendment 63 #

Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Asim ADEMOV, Michal WIEZIK, Franc BOGOVIČ, Marlene MORTLER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that family workers still represent the vast majority of agricultural labour in Europe, but notes that this type of labour has been steadily declining for years and is expected to decline further in the near future; points out that rural areas are at greater risk of depopulation and calls for support measures to reverse this trend;

Amendment 64 #

Dan-Ştefan MOTREANU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that family workers still represent the vast majority of agricultural labour in Europe, but notes that this type of labour has been steadily declining for years and is expected to decline further in the near future, it is therefore necessary to support the next generation of family farmers as well as new young farmers, as this support is integrated in the CAP;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that family workers still represent the vast majority of agricultural labour in Europe, but notes that this type of labour has been steadily declining for years and is expected to decline further in the near future, it is therefore necessary to support the next generation of family farmers as well as new young farmers, as this support is integrated in the CAP;

Amendment 66 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 67 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the future CAP to pay particular attention to this decline by setting aside a sizeable chunk of its budget for measures which will benefit young farmers;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Reminds that elderly people in remote, mountainous and rural areas are more prompt to digital and social exclusion, which was exacerbated by Covid-19;

Amendment 69 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls upon the Commission and the Member States to carefully target Next Generation EU recovery package to help mitigate the negative impact of Covid-19 on the older generation;

Amendment 7 #

Asim ADEMOV, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas demographic change varies considerably across Member States and their regions, with rural and disadvantaged areas most prompt to shrinking and ageing population;

Amendment 70 #

Asim ADEMOV, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it important to recall that maintaining agricultural employment has direct implications for keeping the socio- economic fabric of our regions and rural economies alive; believes in addition that the challenge faced by all farmers in ~~understand~~integrating the role of, and engaging with, modern technology and innovation in agriculture should not be underestimated; therefore stresses the importance of lifelong vocational training, advisory services and knowledge exchange, both within and outside the framework of the CAP, with the aim of acquiring new competences, particularly in the digital field, throughout people's professional lives.

Amendment 71 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses the importance of supporting the rural areas in their diversity, encouraging investments in projects that support local economies, including better transport accessibility and digital connectivity; Considers it important to recall that maintaining agricultural employment has direct implications for keeping rural economies alive; believes in addition that the challenge faced by all farmers, in understanding the role of, and engaging with, modern technology and innovation in agriculture should not be underestimated; stresses therefore ~~stresses~~ the importance of lifelong vocational training, advisory services and knowledge exchange, both within and outside the framework of the CAP.

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it important to recall that maintaining agricultural employment has direct implications for keeping rural economies alive; underlines the positive role played by CAP in poverty reduction and the creation of jobs and growth in rural areas; believes in addition that the challenge faced by all farmers in understanding the role of, and engaging with, modern technology and innovation in agriculture should not be underestimated; therefore stresses the importance of lifelong vocational training, advisory services and knowledge exchange, both within and outside the framework of the CAP.

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it important to recall that maintaining agricultural employment has direct implications for keeping rural and local economies alive; believes in addition that the challenge faced by all farmers in understanding the role of, and engaging with, modern technology and innovation in agriculture should not be underestimated; therefore stresses the importance of lifelong vocational training, advisory services and knowledge exchange among the Member States, both within and outside the framework of the CAP.

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Considers it important to recall that maintaining agricultural employment has direct implications for keeping rural economies alive; believes in addition that the challenge faced by all farmers in understanding the role of, and engaging with, modern technology and innovation in agriculture should not be underestimated; therefore stresses the importance of lifelong vocational training, advisory services and knowledge exchange, both within and outside the framework of the CAP.; draws attention to the need to invest in accessibility and connectivity in rural areas;

Amendment 75 #

Clara AGUILERA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Considers that access for women should be facilitated through appropriate public services, enabling them to work in agriculture to a greater extent.

Amendment 76 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Notes that an ageing population, in particularly in agricultural and rural areas, is an unavoidable trend that must be taken into account when designing economic and social policies; considers that the issue of an ageing population requires a multidimensional approach, and stresses the importance of promoting a wider complementarity and synergy between policy areas and support instruments; reminds that adequate resources and services are essential to provide older people with an age-friendly environment;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on national, regional and local authorities to consider introducing or supporting programmes for preserving the knowledge of the elderly local population in order to document and record the intangible cultural heritage around local food, recipes, products and other customs, which in turn can be used to develop and sustain local livelihoods, products and tourism;

Amendment 78 #

Asim ADEMOV, Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ, Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ, Michal WIEZIK, Marlene MORTLER, Daniel BUDA, Franc BOGOVIČ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Considers that a land fund managed by the Member States should be set up to facilitate the acquisition/leasing of land for agricultural activities by new, young farmers starting their agricultural activities. These funds could be set up for Member States by buying up land at market price when it is sold or purchased from owners who own more than 500 hectares of agricultural land;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Considers that the EU’s green and digital transition should harness the full potential of ageing rural communities; recalls in this regard the importance of ensuring access to broadband internet and basic services in rural areas, the uptake of e-skills and new approaches to sustainable development, such as the concept of smart villages and sustainable food system transformation;

Amendment 8 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas employed workers, in the 55-64 age group, represented 59,1% of the labour force in the EU in 20191a; whereas, in 2016, around one third of the managers of family farms were aged 65 or over and the majority (57%) were at least 55years old or more; whereas only one in ten farm managers were under the age of 40; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.dot ab=table∈it=1⟨uage=en&pcode=tesem050 &plugin=1

Amendment 80 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers that agricultural pensions should be brought into line with those in other sectors of the economy; calls on the Member States to encourage early cessation of agricultural activity upon reaching the age of retirement, introducing measures to ensure that the holding is actually transferred to an active farmer;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Recognises the prominent role that the cohesion policy and the CAP could play in encouraging and boosting the employability and inclusion of women in rural and remote areas affronted with demographic-related issues and calls on the Member States to better use the relevant funds for that purpose;

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Emphasizes that inequalities in access to land, direct payments and support, both between and within EU countries, are among the issues that need to be addressed in order to halt regional decline, leave older people out of agriculture and encourage young people to start farming;

Amendment 83 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Regrets the Union's failure to encourage the Member States to develop birth-rate policies rather than favour the large-scale employment of immigrant workers;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that improving the connectivity and the accessibility of services in the rural and remote areas is crucial to address the depopulation of these regions and the social and digital exclusion of the older population living there; therefore, calls on the Member States to recognise the significance of rural and remote areas, in their diversity, and develop their potential through stimulating investments in the local economy, fostering entrepreneurship and improving their infrastructure;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls on the Member States to take into account the proportion of elderly (aged over 65) people in rural regions when devising their strategic plans, and to consider introducing measures that cover or target elderly (aged over 65) inhabitants of rural areas, for example through a more flexible approach to the conditions applicable to real and active participation by that age group in the economic life of the region concerned;

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Points out that, in light of the situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to commit to a living and dynamic countryside, eliminating red tape, investing in infrastructure and quality services in rural areas, in order to curb the ageing process in agriculture and promote the role of women as heads of holdings;

Amendment 87 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Highlights the role of the European structural and investment funds, in combination with other EU funds, in addressing the demographic challenges in rural areas, namely through the promotion of economic development and social inclusion;

Amendment 88 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Draws attention to the importance of ensuring the availability of services in the regions, as their decline is encouraging older people to retire earlier and move to cities where these services are easily accessible;

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Considers the possibilities created by lifelong learning, in combination with digitalisation, essential to provide the ageing population in the rural and remote areas with various opportunities, including supplementary income; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to support educational and training programs, that will help the ageing population to develop skills and gain expertise in areas such as eCommerce, online marketing and ICT;

Amendment 9 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas the demographic situation severely impacts the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the EU; whereas it is important for the EU to mainstream demographic issues into all its policies;

Amendment 90 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Notes that an effective mobility system is one of the prerequisites for regional economic development, territorial cohesion and the development of regional potential. It is therefore necessary to provide the necessary funding for the development and maintenance of transport links, which could encourage the older generation to stay in agriculture for longer and attract young people from regional centers to work in the countryside;

Amendment 91 #

Isabel CARVALHAIS, Paolo DE CASTRO, Clara AGUILERA, Carmen AVRAM, Maria NOICHL, Marc TARABELLA, Attila ARA-KOVÁCS, Pina PICIERNO, Juozas OLEKAS, Tonino PICULA, Ivo HRISTOV, Miroslav ČÍŽ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Highlights the role and importance of the CAP in encouraging generation renewal in the agricultural sector; Calls on Member States to favour actions to increase numbers of young farmers in their Strategic Plans and to promote the articulation with other instruments available at national and EU level;

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Highlights that due to the evolution, digitalization and specialization of agriculture, both people within the sector and those first entering in it, require an appropriate level of digital, technical and economic training and calls for the promotion of exchange schemes, discussions, online trainings and e- learning;

Amendment 93 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Highlights the central role played by Community Led Local Development initiatives in keeping and restoring living and thriving local rural economies, and the need to keep a sufficient level of funding for LEADER; Calls on the Member states to make full use of LEADER's capacities;

Amendment 94 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)

5 e. Reminds that the outermost regions are especially predisposed to depopulation and require a special set of measures to mitigate negative demographic changes they often face; calls on the Member States to use proactively the available structural and investment funds in order to address the challenges these regions face;

Amendment 95 #

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Ulrike MÜLLER, Hilde VAUTMANS, Adrián VÁZQUEZ LÁZARA, Irène TOLLERET, Jérémy DECERLE, Martin HLAVÁČEK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)

5 e. Calls on Member States to facilitate buying and leasing of farmland by young farmers; In this view, calls for farmland to be given special protection with a view to allowing the Member States, in coordination with local authorities and farmers' organisations, to regulate the sale, use and lease of agricultural land;

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)

5 f. Underlines the essential impact the constantly evolving digital technologies have on people’s daily life, thus stresses the need for high-speed broadband and vital and up-to-date technological equipment in schools, hospitals and all other relevant public services facilities, including developing effective e- Governance, in order to ensure there are enough opportunities for the people living in rural and remote areas.

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)

5 f. Notes the importance of services provided by non-governmental organizations, especially for the elderly. Calls for the strengthening of funding for the activities of non-governmental organizations in the regions.

source: 658.730

2020/10/09 EMPL 579 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2

— having regard to ~~Articles 21 and 25 of the EUCFR~~the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, especially Articles 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35,

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 c (new)

- having regard to the report of the United Nations Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons to the72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Impact of Coronavirus Disease (COVID- 19) on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons 6a _________________ 6a https://undocs.org/A/75/205

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)

F b. whereas COVID-19 also has a major impact on demography; whereas many elderly people have died and, as some studies suggest, the coronavirus has had a considerable impact on EU population trends, such a reduction in life expectancy or family planning;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)

F c. whereas the impact of gender differences in health and health inequalities related to socio-cultural factors should be duly taken into account while elaborating our ageing policies; whereas certain diseases and conditions associated with age have a differentiated impact on women and men, such as depression or cardiovascular diseases; whereas certain diseases and conditions affect more women than men, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, breast cancer, incontinence, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis; whereas the prevalence of such conditions will increase in our ageing societies;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)

F d. whereas older women are more often at risk of poverty as a result of career breaks to provide care, part-time and lower-paid jobs or of permanently withdrawing from the labour market and consequently of accumulating lower pension rights1a; whereas, in particular, women in the oldest age bracket assessed by Eurostat (the over-75s) faced poverty and social exclusion rates of 23.3 % in 2018, above the EU average for all age groups; whereas the corresponding risk for older women of working age (between the ages of 55 and 64 in 2018) is 24.4 %; _________________ 1a‘Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU’, Eurostat, 2019.

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas ~~rural and peripheral areas are heavily affected by demographic change;~~ demographic change concerns all regions but has a bigger impact on regions that are already lagging behind, aggravating existing inequalities; whereas, rural, peripheral and outermost regions are most affected by depopulation; whereas there is no evidence that demographic change has a different impact on urban and rural areas with regard to social exclusion; whereas the rural population in some regions is in fact less likely to be at risk of poverty and social exclusion than the urban population9a; _________________ 9aEuropean Parliamentary Research Service, Demographic outlook of the European Union, March 2020, p. 16.

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas rural and peripheral areas are heavily affected by demographic change; that does not impact all countries and regions in a uniform manner; whereas youth and women are notably among the people leaving those areas1a; _________________ 1aDemographic trends in EU regions, European Parliament Research Service, 2019

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas rural and peripheral areas are heavily affected by demographic change, with relatively high share of older people in the EU living in rural areas;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas rural and peripheral areas are heavily affected by demographic change, which can contribute to the isolation of older people;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas rural and peripheral areas are heavily affected by demographic change and social disparities;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas rural, islands and peripheral areas are heavily affected by demographic change;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

G a. whereas elderly people face a higher risk of poverty than the general population, reaching a rate of 14.2 % in 2017; whereas across the EU as a whole between 2010 and 2017, the proportion of female pensioners at risk of poverty has been around two to three percentage points (pp) higher than the rate for male pensioners1a; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/product s-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20190115- 1#:~:text=In%202017%20the%20proporti on%20of,figure%20of%2013.8%20%25% 20in%202016.&text=In%20most%20of% 20the%2027,between%2010%20%25%20 and%2025%20%25.

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

- having regard to the Council recommendation of 19 December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

G a. whereas the number of older people (80 years and older) will increase by 57.1 %1b between 2010 and 2030, with significant consequences for the social security system; _________________ 1b Eurostat baseline scenario

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)

G b. whereas the COVID-19 lockdown measures and the economic recession have had a disproportionate effect on women because of the unequal sharing of care responsibilities, sectoral specialisation and increased domestic violence;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)

G c. whereas more than one in four women between the ages of 50 and 64, and 17 % of women over the age of 65 are carrying out informal caring responsibilities at least once per week; whereas informal care is associated with higher risks of social isolation, poverty and social exclusion and poor health conditions; whereas this shows the inadequacy of long-term care and assistance services in many Member States;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

~~H. whereas between 2000 and 2015, the population over 60 grew by 68 % in cities and 25 % in rural areas;~~deleted

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

H a. whereas depopulation and population ageing are going to have profound implications for tax revenue, finances, adequate pensions and healthcare services1a; whereas providing access to affordable, high-quality childcare and support services for the elderly and other dependants is essential for ensuring the equal participation of men and women in the labour market, education and training; _________________ 1a Eurostat Regional Yearbook 2019, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/product s-statistical-books/-/KS-HA-19-001

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

H a. whereas EPSON predicts that the population in European agglomerations will increase by 24.1 million by 2050, accounting for almost half of the total EU population, and the rural population will decrease by 7.9 million people;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)

H b. whereas older women are generally more likely than older men to face severe difficulties in accessing basic goods and services, such as health services, long-term care and decent housing, owing to a range of factors such as the gender pay gap and the pension gap, women’s greater longevity or the greater proportion of older women living alone1a; _________________ 1a‘Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU’, Eurostat, 2019.

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

~~I. whereas older people are most at risk of experiencing a lack of access to the internet and modern technologies and, as a consequence, are more vulnerable to exclusion, including digital exclusion;~~deleted

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas older people are most at risk of experiencing a lack of access to the internet and modern technologies and, as a consequence, are more vulnerable to exclusion, including digital exclusion; whereas this exclusion of the elderly has been exacerbated by the lockdown and social measures undertaken by some Member States as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas older people are most at risk of experiencing a lack of access to the internet and modern technologies and, as a consequence, are more vulnerable to exclusion, including digital exclusion, and whereas barrier-free technologies can help overcome these challenges;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on Poverty: a gender perspective,

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas older people are ~~most at risk of experiencing a lack of~~likely to experience difficulties in adapting to the changing digital era, with the lack of the necessary skills or access to the internet and modern technologies and, as a consequence, are more vulnerable to exclusion~~, including digital exclusion~~ and job loss;

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas older people are most at risk of experiencing a lack of access to the internet and knowledge about modern technologies and, as a consequence, are more vulnerable to exclusion, including digital exclusion;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas o~~lder people are most at risk of experiencing a lack of access to the internet and modern technologies and~~nly 35 % of persons aged 55-74 possess basic digital skills, compared to 82%of persons aged 16- 2410a; whereas older people, as a consequence, are more vulnerable to digital exclusion~~, including digital exclusion;~~; _________________ 10a European Commission, The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2020, p. 52.

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

I a. whereas women are traditionally at greater risk of poverty and limited pensions, especially women aged over 65, who are often in receipt of pensions barely above the minimum subsistence level for various reasons, such as the wide gender pay gap, which directly affects pension rights, the fact that they have taken a break from or stopped work altogether to take on family responsibilities, or the fact that they have worked in their husband’s undertaking, mainly in the business and agriculture sectors, without remuneration and without social security affiliation, and whereas in times of economic recession the risk of falling into poverty is even greater for these women, and therefore the ability for women to provide services for themselves is lower; whereas women are more dependent on care; whereas women’s lower income levels lead to lower pensions;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

I a. whereas the Council is set to adopt the Council conclusions Human Rights, Participation and Well-Being of Older Persons in the Era of Digitalisation;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)

I b. whereas a growing number of older people in the European Union are living alone, particularly older women (40.4 % of women compared to 22.4 % of men), forming a particularly vulnerable group with an increased risk of poverty or social exclusion1a, as they face proportionally higher expenses for keeping up their household, and are more at risk of social isolation and loneliness and the associated mental and physical health hazards; _________________ 1a‘Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU’, Eurostat, 2019.

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas between 1998 and 2018, owing to policies involving devaluing labour and income, shutting down public services, disinvestment in transport infrastructure and destructuring of productive activities, the population in some regions of the EU fell by up to 15 %, ~~leading to~~giving rise to their ageing and, in extreme cases, to the rapid depopulation of regions;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas between 1998 and 2018, the population in some regions of the EU fell by up to 15 %, leading to ageing and, in extreme cases, to the rapid depopulation of regions; whereas this phenomenon is causing a shrinking working age population and may result in the risk of complete disappearance of municipalities and villages across EU regions;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas between 1998 and 2018, the population in some regions of the EU fell by up to 15 %~~, leading to ageing and, in extreme cases,~~; whereas rapid demographic change generates great adjustment costs; whereas almost two th~~e rapid de~~irds of regions with rapidly shrinking population ofare regions; with low GDP per capita11a; _________________ 11a European Commission, The impact of demographic change: Commission Staff Working Document, June 2020, p. 42.

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on poverty: a gender perspective,

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

~~J. whereas between 1998 and 2018, the population in some regions of the EU fell by up to 15 %, leading to ageing and, in extreme cases, to the rapid depopulation of reg~~(Does not affect the English versions;.)

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas almost half of older people in the EU (aged 65 and over) reported difficulties with at least one personal activity or domestic activity; whereas almost two-fifths of older people with difficulties in carrying out their personal activities reported a lack of assistance in these activities; whereas more than a third of the elderly population in the EU with difficulties in carrying out domestic activities reported a lack of assistance in these activities1c; _________________ 1c https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Disability_stati stics_- _elderly_needs_for_help_or_assistance

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas time use statistics show an uneven share of care work by gender all around Europe; whereas in spite of significant national differences linked to the extension of welfare and social services and different female activity rates,women bear a disproportionate proportion of the care burden with profound implications for their labour market performance and their fertility choices;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas human rights are universal and inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and belong to all people and to all generations, without discrimination on any ground, including gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, health or socio-economic conditions;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas the elderly are valuable to society and therefore should effectively participate in society to the fullest extent and live their lives with dignity and as independently as possible, including those with disabilities;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas it is vitally important to re-establish sufficient generational replacement rates in order to ensure economic balance and social well-being by fostering a solid family structure which is also able to cater for elderly family members;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

Ja. whereas particular attention should be paid to the very old, in order, where necessary, to help people who have lost their independence and to prevent them from being isolated;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. Whereas the COVID crisis has stressed the importance of supporting and fastening the green, care and digital transition so that no one is left behind;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas the proportion of pensioners aged over 65 at risk of poverty in the EU has been rising gradually since 2013;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)

J b. Whereas older persons are contributing to society and have continued doing so during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as employees, caregivers or volunteers; whereas, for instance, many older medical professionals have returned from retirement to support efforts to contain the pandemic; whereas informal carers, in a majority women, have stepped up their efforts to compensate for reduced education, child and long-term care services during the pandemic;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2016 on Creating labour market conditions favourable for work- life balance,

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)

J b. whereas older women are affected differently than men by a number of diseases and conditions associated with age, such as lung cancer, diabetes, depression or cardiovascular diseases and are affected more strongly by conditions such as breast cancer, osteoporosis, incontinence or dementia; whereas ageing means that the prevalence of such conditions is likely to increase in the future;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)

Jb. whereas birth rates continue to decrease and life expectancy to increase, which is having a detrimental effect by inverting the demographic pyramid;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)

J b. whereas tackling demographic challenges must by no means undermine individual reproductive rights and individual reproductive autonomy;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)

J c. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic once more shed light on the lack of adequate housing, quality care facilities and sufficient care and support services;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)

Jc. whereas promoting an increase in birth rates is necessary in order to rebalance the demographic pyramid;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J d (new)

J d. whereas solidarity between generations has to guide the recovery of the EU in view of a fairer, more inclusive and more resilient society that leaves no one behind;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J e (new)

J e. whereas access to quality public services is a decisive factor to the quality of life;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J f (new)

J f. whereas the economic and social impact of demographic changes underlines the need to strengthen social security and healthcare systems;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Health and care

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas the ethical risks arising from the use of technology in health should always be duly taken into account;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap,

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)

J a. whereas all policies addressing demographic opportunities and challenges must take an inclusive, rights- and evidence based, people-centred approach, and must uphold the principles of equality, particularly gender equality, non-discrimination and safeguard women’s rights, including their sexual and reproductive and economic rights; whereas Union policies and action on ageing and demographic change must be fully in line with the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020 – 2025; whereas demographic challenges are closely linked to gender inequalities but gender mainstreaming has not been sufficiently integrated in policy responses;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)

J b. whereas there are over 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union , of whom the majority are women and girls, and whereas most disabilities are acquired with age; whereas persons with disabilities are at higher risk of poverty; whereas the severe material deprivation rate of women with disabilities is higher in all Member States than that of women without disabilities; whereas ageing policies must ensure the protection and social inclusion of persons with disabilities, as well as their access to the labour market and to services;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)

J c. whereas Europeans are generally living longer, healthier and safer lives; whereas life expectancy at birth has increased for both men and women by about ten years over the last five decades; whereas gender is a significant factor in ageing as life expectancy is on average 5.5 years longer for women than for men; whereas life expectancy at birth in 2018 was 78.2 for men and 83.7 for women1aand whereas in 2070 life expectancy at birth is projected to reach 86.1 years for men and 90.3 years for women; whereas, contrastingly, Eurostat figures show that the gap between the healthy life expectancy of men and women is much narrower: 63.7 years for men and 64.2 years for women, thus aging and the care needs for the aging population is a gender equality issue; whereas gaps between women and men’s life expectancy at birth varies significantly between Member States; whereas older women are more frequently reliant on income provided by their partners due to the traditional division of labour and family roles that affects women’s pension rights, and tend to have less income at their disposal than older men due to care responsibilities and smaller wages. 1a. Eurostat. Ageing Europe. Looking at the lives of older people in the EU (2019).

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the results of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) show that the majority of eolderly people were found to have chronic illnesses or complaints, and only one in nine declared the absence of such problems; whereas almost half of older people reported difficulties with at least one personal care or household activity in 2014; whereas about a quarter of the Union population experienced long-standing limitations due to health problems in 201812a; whereas there are an estimated 100 million persons with disabilities in the EU; _________________ 12aEurostat, Functional and activity limitations statistics, November 2019.

Amendment 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the results of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) show that the majority of elderly people were found to have chronic illnesses or complaints, and only one in nine declared the absence of such problems; whereas approximately 15% of adults aged 60 and over experience a mental disorder.

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the results of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) show that the majority of elderly people were found to have chronic illnesses or complaints, and only one in nine declared the absence of such problems, and whereas many disabilities emerge or become more pronounced at an advanced age;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the results of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) show that the majority of elderly people were found to have chronic illnesses or complaints, and only one in nine declared the absence of such problemsWorld Health Organisation defines healthy ageing as the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well- being in older age;

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

K a. whereas all Member States and the EU are parties to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and are thus legally bound to guarantee individual autonomy, non- discrimination, full and effective participation in society and equal opportunities and accessibility;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

K a. whereas the gender pay gap stands at 16 % and the gender pension gap is 37 % on average;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)

K b. whereas violence against older women is a largely unrecognised and under-researched phenomenon, and the lockdown measures adopted during the pandemic have increased the risk of violence as a result of, among other factors, isolation; whereas, in the context of the ageing of the population structure, it becomes even more unacceptable that such abuses are not being further researched;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 2017 on the need for an EU strategy to end and prevent the gender pension gap,

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)

K b. whereas there is a correlation between perceived health and income; whereas in 2017, less than one third (32.4 %) of older people in the first income quintile (20 % of the population with the lowest incomes) perceived their health as good or very good, compared to 54.7 % of older people belonging to the 20 % of the population with the highest income13a; _________________ 13a Eurostat, Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU, 2019, p. 53.

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)

K c. whereas neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, remain underdiagnosed in most European countries; whereas there is a clear indication that the current number of 9 million confirmed cases of people with dementia is going to double by 205013a; _________________ 13aAlzheimer Europe, Dementia in Europe Yearbook 2019: Estimating the prevalence of dementia in Europe, 2020.

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

~~L. whereas elderly people are not a homogenous community;~~deleted

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas elderly people are not a homogenous community from an age or a social point of view, and therefore views based on stereotypes and preconceptions that hamper their performance must be avoided; whereas that portrayal reveals structuring sociological change processes, through the alteration and even devaluation of symbolic social roles historically associated with the elderly;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas it is necessary to avoid generalisation as elderly people are not a homogenous community and their life conditions, problems or challenges they face widely differ based on the particular age group, gender, territory or socio- economic status;

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas elderly people are not a homogenous community, and actions at EU and Member State level need to be differentiated according to the needs and opportunities of elderly people;

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas ~~elderly people are not a homogenous community;~~in 2018, the estimated number of healthy life years was 64.2 years for women and 63.7 years for men14a; _________________ 14a European Commission, The impact of demographic change: Commission Staff Working Document, June 2020, p. 7.

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas elderly people are not a homogenous community and this diversity should be seen as an added value for our society;

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

L a. whereas the educational gender gap is favourable to women in most European countries, women nonetheless pay a maternity labour penalty while men have paternity labour bonuses on activity rates and wages; whereas showing the difficulties women face in making maternity compatible with the development of a professional career, diminishing the available options both for maternity and the development of a professional career, is important; whereas juggling career and maternity usually ends up with women postponing maternity age, decreasing the potential number of children, or with women remaining childless; whereas all of these factors decrease fertility rates below the replacement rate with the subsequent ageing of the population;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)

L b. whereas older persons are at higher risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 and may face age discrimination; whereas older women are particularly exposed to COVID-19 because they make up the majority of older people needing care and often provide care for older relatives;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality,

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

~~M. whereas the incidence of dependence increases with age;~~deleted

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas ~~the incidence of dependence increases with age;~~ dependence is exacerbated by ageing, but also by other factors, such as socio-economic and environmental context, educational attainment and interpersonal relations; whereas, on reality for the elderly, no structured knowledge exists, at either Member State or EU level, which relates dependency ratios with income, universality of public services, accessibility and mobility, or levels of social, cultural and political participation;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas the incidence of dependence ~~increases with age~~and resulting health and long term care needs increases with age, and whereas the vast majority of care for older dependent people is being provided by informal (usually unpaid) carers, often over the age of 60 themselves;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas the incidence of ~~dependence increases with age~~needs for care and support increases with age; whereas the needs for care and support are diverse and the appropriate means to ensure autonomy and independence differ;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas the incidence of dependence increases with age; whereas this is higher among people aged 80 to 85 compared with the prevalence among younger people;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas the incidence of dependence and the need for care and support increases with age;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas the ~~incidence of dependence~~number of people dependent on the assistance of others increases with age;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

M a. Whereas informal (as well as formal) care systems are under pressure, due to a combination of demographic developments – e.g. lower birth rates, smaller families, increasing mobility, rising number of women entering the labour market and a prolonged working life - and compounded by shortages of formal care workers;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

M a. whereas as a result of COVID-19, many older persons no longer have access to essential care and support, especially women who are over-represented among older persons, are more likely to require long-term care and to be at risk of poverty and social exclusion owing to their limited income1a; _________________ 1a‘Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on older persons’, United Nations, 2020.

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

~~N. whereas there is no uniform definition of dependence in the EU;~~deleted

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 d (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 13 September 2016 on creating labour market conditions favourable for work- life balance,

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas there is no uniform definition of dependence in the EU, and whereas the complex realities in each country tend to perpetuate this situation;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas there is no uniform definition of dependence in the EU; whereas older age does not equal dependence;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas there is no uniform definition of dependence on the assistance of others in the EU;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas there is no uniform definition of ~~dependenc~~person in need for care in the EU;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas older people prefer passive activities, in part due to the state of their health, the lack of habits of regular physical activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, and the inadequacy of activities aimed at older people;deleted

Amendment 185 #

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas many older people ~~prefer passive activities,~~ may not have access to active ageing p~~art~~olicies due to the state of their health, the lack of ~~habits of regular physic~~encouragement or habits to have a regular physical, mental or social activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, ~~and~~financial constraints or the inadequacy of activities aimed at older people;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas osome elderly people prefer passive activities, in part due to the state of their health, the lack of habits of regular physical activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, and the inadequacy of activities aimed at older peopledo not have access to regular physical activities, for the healthy enjoyment of their free time, without access to cultural or sports activities; whereas, at the same time, those in a state of dependence do not have access to physical rehabilitation or other answers to their specific needs;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas many older people ~~prefer passive activit~~may not benefit from the active ageing measures and policies, in part due to the state of their health, the lack of ~~habits of regular physical~~regular activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, and ~~the inadequ~~lacyk of activities a~~imed at~~dapted to the individual psychophysical condition of older people;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas many older people ~~prefer passive activities,~~ may not have access to active ageing p~~art~~olicies due to the state of their health, the lack of ~~habits of regular physic~~encouragement to have a regular physical, mental or social activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, and the inadequacy of activities aimed at older people;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 d (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality,

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas older people ~~prefer passive activities, in part due to~~may not have access to active ageing programmes, in part due to their location of living, the state of their health, the lack of ~~habits of~~ regular physical activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, and the inadequacy of activities aimed at older people;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas a significant number of older people prefers passive activities, in part due to the state of their health, the lack of habits of regular physical activity and recreation, difficulty in accessing sports and physical rehabilitation centres, and the inadequacy of activities aimed at older people;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)

O a. whereas older persons with disabilities suffer violations of their rights or encounter significant barriers to their exercise arising from the intersection between ableism and ageism; whereas such violations and barriers are related to stigma and stereotypes, discriminatory laws and practices, denial of autonomy and legal capacity, institutionalization, lack of community support, violence and abuses;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)

O a. whereas creating conditions for healthy ageing and self-reliance for women and men through a comprehensive approach to old age as a life stage, as well as adapting housing and local environments in a way that allows older people to live in their own home and its surroundings for as long as possible, will bring systemic and individual benefits;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas the ~~idea of ageing in place is of key importance for spatial planning and the deinstitutionalisation of~~possibilities of maintaining autonomy and independence are dependant on the set of conditions including the age-friendly environments, accessible services or affordability and availability of quality home or community-based care;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas the ~~idea of ageing in place is of key importance for spatial planning and the deinstitutionalisation of~~possibilities of maintaining autonomy and independence are framed by spatial planning for age- friendly environments, and the accessibility, affordability and availability of quality home or community-based care;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas ~~the idea of ageing in place is of key importance for spatial planning~~care and support should aim at maintaining the autonomy and independence of older persons; whereas the creation of friendly environments and the dagein~~stitutionalisation of care~~g in place concepts should be further explored in this regard;

Amendment 197 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas the idea of ageing in place is of key importance for spatial planning and the deinstitutionalisation of care, leading to increased pressure on informal carers;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas ~~the idea of ageing in place is of key importance for spatial planning and the deinstitutionalisation of car~~ageing calls for suitable responses to the specific needs of this social group in the area of health and with regard to the support services and equipment network for elderly people;

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P

P. whereas the idea of ageing in place, close to one's family, is of key importance for spatial planning and the deinstitutionalisation of care;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2

— having regard to Articles 21 and 25 of the E~~UCFR,~~uropean Charter of Fundamental Rights

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 e (new)

- having regard to its legislative resolution of 28 March 2019 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing ‘Erasmus’: the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013,

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)

P a. Whereas Eurofound research shows the need to provide some level of access to home or community care to people with small long-term care needs, not only to support informal carers and to improve quality of life for care receivers, but also to prevent larger needs emerging more quickly and to quickly spot and respond to emerging needs;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)

P a. whereas non-standard forms of work have been spreading and, while providing flexibility to carry out care responsibilities, they do not always respond to working people’s needs, and whereas the impossibility of organising a care agenda makes it more difficult for women to combine maternity and work;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q

Q. wWhereas ~~the elderly are more likely to be at risk of illness and to suffer more severely from diseases, including~~investment in the care economy is of paramount importance to ensure decent life for all and protect all people living in the EU; whereas older persons have been and still are heavily hit by complications and fatalities linked to different diseases including COVID-19; whereas it is urgent to address the situation regarding access to diagnosis, medical treatment and personal protective equipment to beneficiaries and staff in long-term care facilities; whereas many older persons have been hindered in accessing medical treatment unrelated to COVID- 19 and care services in general have been reduced or halted altogether during the pandemic;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q

Q. whereas ~~the eld~~older persons are particularly severely a~~re more likely to be at risk of illness and to suffer more severely from diseases, including~~ffected by the COVID-19 pandemics; whereas it is urgent to address the situation regarding access to diagnosis, medical treatment and personal protective equipment to beneficiaries and staff in long-term care facilities; whereas many older persons have been hindered in accessing medical treatment unrelated to COVID- 19; and care services in general have been reduced or suspended during the pandemic;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q

Q. whereas the ~~elderly are more likely to be at risk of illness and to suffer more severely from~~accumulation of health risks, injuries and chronic illnesses across a lifespan increases the risk of disability; whereas people in older age groups are more susceptible to diseases, including COVID- 19;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q

Q. whereas the elderly are more ~~likely to be at risk of illness~~physically and mentally susceptible to diseases, and to suffer ~~more severely from diseases, including~~their consequences more severely, as COVID- 19 is demonstrating;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)

Q a. whereas older people need to consult general practitioners and medical specialists more frequently but report greater difficulties in accessing medical services than the average population; whereas the price of medical services and waiting lists are key reasons for unmet medical needs, especially among women aged 75+15a; _________________ 15a Eurostat, Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU, 2019, p. 70.

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)

Q a. whereas participation in various social activities, such as volunteering, sport or hobby, as well as regular contact with family or friends tend to have positive impact on the overall health of older people and prevents their isolation;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Q a (new)

Q a. whereas the COVID-19 highlights the need for more robust health systems and higher capacities of intensive care as older people are more vulnerable;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R

R. whereas ~~during the coronaviru~~the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the existence of universal and high-quality public services pand~~emic, many citizens experienced ag~~ accessible care services are the most effective response to populations' assistance needs, including those of the elderly, who, in a number of circumstances, experienced and continue to experience discrimination in accessing medical and care services on age grounds;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 e (new)

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R

R. whereas during the coronavirus pandemic, many c~~itizens experienced age discrimination in accessing medical and care services~~ases of hospital triage deciding on the availability of hospital care was based on the age as one of the main criteria; whereas such exclusion of patients solely on the ground of age constitutes discrimination;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R

R. whereas during the coronavirus pandemic, many citizens experienced age discrimination in accessing medical and care services; whereas protocols excluding patients from treatment solely on the basis of age constitute discrimination;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R

R. whereas ~~during the coronaviru~~the highest shares of COVID-19 infections pand~~emic, many citizens experienced age discrimination in accessing medical and care~~ deaths in the EU are related to nursing and care homes, residential services for older people, persons with disabilities and other social services;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R

R. whereas during the coronavirus pandemic, many citizens experienced age discrimination in accessing medical and care services; whereas many of them have died due to the lack of such care;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)

R a. whereas the ageing population of the EU brings new challenges for gender equality, as women continue to be the main providers of care (both paid and unpaid)1a; whereas the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated this situation; _________________ 1a . ‘Ageing societies, migration and climate change bring new challenges for gender equality’, the European Institute for Gender Equality, 2019.

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)

R a. Whereas dementia is the leading cause of dependency and disability among older persons in the European Union which currently affects around 10 million people, and its prevalence is expected to double by 2030.

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)

R a. whereas older people are less resistant to extreme weather events such as repeated heat waves;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)

R a. whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic the access to health and care services has been severely limited;

Amendment 218 #

R b. whereas access to sexual and reproductive health services and commodities is essential for physical, mental and social well-being;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3

~~Age discrimination~~For the right to age with dignity

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11

— having regard to Council Directive 2000/78/EC laying down a general framework for combating discrimination for equal treatment in the field of employment and occupation, establishing the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation as regards employment and occupation,

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)

Ra. whereas guaranteeing a dignified life means securing the right to timely retirement for workers, enabling them to enjoy a healthy and independent retirement; the right to retirement must be linked to working time and not be dependent on variations in average life expectancy or any other reason used to put pressure on workers; enjoyment of retirement time should be based on income that makes decent living conditions possible, including health protection, cultural enrichment and the acquisition of new skills, enabling pensioners to be fully included in the social environment where they live;

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital R b (new)

Rb. whereas living with dignity, particularly for the elderly, cannot be disconnected from the right to accessible housing, in sanitary and comfortable conditions, enabling them to grow old with social and family protections; whereas, in a number of situations involving pressure from property speculation, the elderly have been the first to be evicted, which has increased their social isolation and functional dependency;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas older people, especially women, are at greater risk of ~~poverty due, among other factors, to the difference in economic development between Member States, the wage and pension gap;~~ financial difficulties; whereas persisting problem of gender pay gap which is currently at 16% as well as inadequate pensions schemes which do not appropriately take into account the periods of maternity or parental leave, result in gender pension gap which together with the high percentage of women working in low paid sectors which prevents them to save for the older age make women particularly vulnerable to the old age poverty;

Amendment 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas ~~older people, especially~~ women, are at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion due, among other factors, t~~o the difference in economic development between Member States, the wage and pension gap~~he gender employment, wage and pension gap, lack of pay transparency and explicit or implicit gender biases of taxation policies, exacerbated by the fact that women and single parents experience more career interruptions due to family and care responsibilities and are more likely to be involved in part time or precarious work;

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas older people, especially women, are at greater risk of poverty ~~due, among other factors, to the difference in economic development between Member States, the wage and pension gap~~and social exclusion, owing to the low value of their pensions, the wage and pension gap, and inequality in access to important public services, such as health, social security, mobility and public transport;

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas older ~~people, especially~~ women, are at greater risk of poverty due, among other factors, to the difference in economic development between Member States, the wage and pension gap, gender segregation in the job market, the gender care gap, and the gender gaps regarding working time;

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas older people, especially women, are at greater risk of poverty due to, among other factors, ~~to the difference in economic development between Member States, the wage and pension gap;~~wage and pension gap triggered by lower employment rates, more career breaks and more part-time1a and temporary work1b done by women; _________________ 1aIn 2018, in the EU-27, 30.5% of women and 9.2 % of men worker part-time (Eurostat, LFS) 1bThe share of temporary contracts for people aged 15 – 64 has been stable in recent years. In 2018, it amounted to 12.1% of total employment. The share among women is slightly higher (13.1%) than for men (11.2%) (Eurostat)

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S

S. whereas older people, especially women, are at greater risk of poverty due, among other factors, to the ~~difference in~~wage and pension gap linked to the different level of economic development ~~between~~in each of the Member States, of the ~~wage and pension gap~~European Union;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S a (new)

S a. whereas gender equality policies need to address all women and men in their diversity in order to achieve substantive equality and should not be narrowed down only to involve policies for mothers and work-life-balance measures with the aim of addressing demographic challenges, but failing to bear in mind the achievements in women’s rights and gender equality;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S a (new)

S a. whereas according to Eurostat women receive lower pensions than men in all EU Member States; whereas women in the EU aged over 65 receive a pension that is on average 30% lower than that of men;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission Proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation COM(2008) 426 and the European Parliament resolution 2008/0140(CNS) on the proposed directive;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital S a (new)

Sa. whereas older people may sometimes find themselves isolated, and whereas their social inclusion, particularly in the case of people who have lost their independence, should be ensured;

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T

~~T. whereas combating age discrimination on the labour market is essential for active ageing;~~deleted

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T

T. whereas combating age discrimination ~~on the labour market is essential for active ageing~~, ageist stereotypes and ageist hate speech in society is essential to fully realise fundamental rights of all persons as they age, as guaranteed by the EU Charter; whereas strengthening equal treatment in the labour market, but also in the access to goods and services, is essential in this regard;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T

T. whereas combating successfully age discrimination on the labour market is essential for ~~active ageing~~ensuring full protection of the right to equality and non- discrimination for older people;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T

T. whereas ~~combating age~~data shows that discrimination on the ~~labour market is essential for active ageing;~~ground of age is most pronounced in the field of employment, both at the national and the Union level16a; _________________ 16aEquinet, Fighting Discrimination on the Ground of Age, 2018, p. 29.

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T

T. whereas combating age discrimination on the labour market is essential for active ageing and for making use of acquired experience;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T

T. whereas combating age discrimination on the labour market is essential for active ageing and more solidarity between generations;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T a (new)

T a. whereas according to the World Health Organization (WHO) active ageing is the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age, allowing people to realise their potential for wellbeing throughout their lives and to participate in society according to their need, desires and capabilities, while providing them with adequate protection, security and care when they need assistance;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital T a (new)

T a. whereas aged people with disabilities, are at an even higher risk of poverty and discrimination 3a; _________________ 3aEC Report on the Demographic Change (2020) available online at: https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:5202 0DC0241&from=EN, P. 22.

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital U

~~U. whereas ageism is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the European Union and is ref~~delected ~~in institutional systems, individual approaches and intergenerational relations;~~

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission communication ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM/2020/152 final)1a, _________________ 1ahttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020 DC0152

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital U

U. whereas ageism ~~is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the European Union and is reflected~~ signifies prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination against older people based on their age; whereas ageism is present at different levels and indifferent forms, including institutional systems, individual a~~pproaches a~~nd intergenerational relations as well as individual self-perception; whereas age discrimination can affect people at all ages and in all social spheres; whereas age discrimination often intersects with discrimination on other grounds, such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, health or socio-economic conditions;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital U

U. whereas ageism is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the European Union and is reflected in institutional systems, individual approaches and intergenerational relations; whereas it is shown that ageism reduces health and life expectancy, hinders full participation in economic, social, cultural and civil life and is correlated to paternalistic approaches towards older persons that deny their rights to autonomy and independence;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital U a (new)

U a. whereas ageism has the effect of restricting older people’s access to services or active participation in the labour market and services in the workplace, leading to marginalisation and a sense of exclusion from society;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital U b (new)

U b. whereas a Eurobarometer survey of 2019 shows that 40 % of Europeans feel discriminated against on grounds of age; whereas age is perceived by citizens as the most frequent factor causing difficulties in getting a job;

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital V

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital V

V. whereas the most common forms of discrimination pointed out by older people in the Member States have been difficulty in accessing the labour market due to discriminatory job advertisements and recruitment procedures, dismissal and forced retirement, and access to insurance and banking services; Whereas, according to the European Working Conditions Survey, age discrimination was the most common form of discrimination at the workplace, reported by most workers in the EU and UK and more frequently reported by both younger and older workers.

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital V

V. whereas the most common ~~forms of~~ discrimination pointed out by older people in the ~~Member States have been difficulty in access~~2012 Eurobarometer survey was ing the ~~labour market due to discriminatory job advertise~~area of employments and ~~recruitment procedures, dismissal and forced retirement, and access to insurance and banking services;~~with regard to financial products and services, health care, access to education and training as well as leisure17a; _________________ 17a Eurobarometer, Active Ageing, January 2012, p. 31.

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital V a (new)

V a. Whereas the international human rights framework currently poorly protects against discrimination on the ground of age; whereas the EU and several member States actively participate in the reflection on binding legal instruments on international level to protect the rights of older persons; whereas this international reflection should be actively supported and encouraged;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W

~~W. whereas older people are falling victim to a growing number of crimes and other worrying activities against older people, such as fraud and unfair business practices;~~deleted

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W

W. whereas older people are falling victim to a ~~growing~~ number of crimes, such as violence, abuse and neglect, and other worrying activities against older people, such as fraud and unfair business practices, deprivation of legal capacity or the means to manage their own affairs; while the phenomenon of elder abuse, albeit widespread, is not sufficiently covered by research on its incidence and ways to prevent it;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

- having regard to the Council recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W

W. whereas older people are falling victim to a ~~growing~~ number of crimes, such as violence, abuse and neglect, and other worrying activities against older people, such as fraud and unfair business practices, deprivation; while the widespread phenomenon of elder abuse is not sufficiently covered by research on its incidence, drivers and strategies and good practices to prevent it;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W

W. whereas older people are falling victim to a growing number of crimes and other worrying activities against ~~older people~~them, such as fraud ~~and~~, unfair business practices, violent assaults and a range of acts intended to harm them;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W

W. whereas ~~older people are falling victim to a growing number of crimes and other worrying activities against~~there is a lack of data regarding physical and mental violence, neglect and abuse of older people, ~~such as~~including fraud and unfair business practices;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W a (new)

W a. Whereas older persons are absent from many statistics and data gathering exercises, as it is common not to collect statistics for persons over 65; whereas this is no longer adequate in light of the growing share of the population reaching higher ages;

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W a (new)

W a. whereas Directive 2000/78/EC establishes a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation but does not address discrimination in other spheres of social life as well as multiple discrimination;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W a (new)

W a. whereas the EU is funding pilot initiatives, such as EuROPEAN, MILCEA and WeDO, in the field of combating crime against older people;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

~~Older people in the labour market~~Employment and active ageing

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital W a (new)

W a. whereas industry and economy are often reluctant to offer adequate training to older workers;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital X

~~X. whereas according to a 2012 Eurobarometer survey, 60 % of Europeans were against raising the retirement age;~~deleted

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital X

X. whereas 56% of people in the EU are worried that their income in old age will not be sufficient18a; whereas the likelihood of finding a new job decreases with age, pointing to structural barriers, including age discrimination18b; whereas according to a 2012 Eurobarometer survey, 60 % of Europeans were against raising the statutory retirement age; whereas depending on their financial needs, almost half of workers aged 50+ would prefer working fewer hours while a significant proportion of retired persons would prefer to work at least a few hours per week18c; whereas data shows higher level of life satisfaction among people that are retired but continue to work than those that are retired in general18d; whereas sense of purpose in life generally declines after the age of 50 but remains much stronger for individuals that continue to work after retirement or are involved in childcare or long-term care18e; _________________ 18a Eurofound, European Quality of Life Survey 2016, p. 79. 18b Eurofound, European Quality of Life Survey 2016, p. 77. 18c Eurofound, Retirement, April 2020, https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/topic/re tirement. 18d Eurofound, European Quality of Life Survey 2016, p. 15. 18e Eurofound, European Quality of Life Survey 2016, p. 26.

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)

- having regard to the 2016 WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health and the 2020 WHO decision on the Decade of Healthy Ageing,

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital X

X. whereas ~~according to a 2012 X. Eurobarometer survey, 60 % of Europeans were against raising the retirement age;~~ employment rates of older persons have been increasing significantly in recent years; whereas still one of two persons between 55 and 64 are not in employment, with a large gender gap; whereas working longer is associated with workplace policies supporting employability and workers staying longer on the job; whereas however the hiring rates of older persons who are not in employment are extremely low and older persons are at high risk of becoming long- term unemployed; whereas poverty and social exclusion rates of persons between 55and 64 are higher than EU average;

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital X a (new)

X a. Whereas combating unemployment among elderly people in the EU remains very important, for example through fostering job sharing between young and older employees, support for initiatives of senior voluntary experts themselves and of high quality public and private services also improves their quality of life and helps to counter the negative effects of demographic change;

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital X a (new)

X a. whereas, according to a 2012 Eurobarometer survey, 61 % of Europeans were of the opinion that everyone should be able to continue working beyond the statutory retirement age, and 53 % were against compulsory retirement;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Y

Y. whereas creating the conditions for ~~women and men to work longer may encourage many older people to stay in the labour market~~all to work longer with a good physical environment, lower quantitative demands and working time autonomy identified in the European Working Conditions Survey as the most important factors, may encourage many older people to stay in the labour market; Whereas specific attention needs to be paid to the needs of workers in physically and psychologically very demanding jobs, particularly where the overall number of years worked is above the average; whereas this can be promoted by health promotion and prevention in the workplace, policies supporting there conciliation between employment and private lives, the access to and take-up of education and training opportunities inside and outside of workplaces, support for intergenerational exchanges in workplaces and possibilities to retire progressively;

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Y

Y. whereas creating the conditions for women and men who wish to work longer may en~~courag~~able many older people to stay in the labour market; whereas this can be achieved by health promotion and prevention in the workplace and access to quality healthcare, policies supporting the work-life balance or the access to lifelong learning;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Y

Y. whereas creating, encouraging and building the conditions for women and men to ~~work longer~~enjoy a high-quality, active retirement period may encourage many ~~older~~ people ~~to stay in the labour market~~not to have to remain indefinitely in the labour market for economic and socialisation reasons;

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Y

Y. whereas ~~creating the conditions for women and men to work longer~~appropriate working and employment conditions, including improved occupational health and safety and a better work-life balance may encourage many older people to stay in the labour market;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Y

Y. whereas creating the conditions for women and men to work longer may encourage many older people to stay in the labour market, which will bring both systemic and individual benefits;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z

Z. whereas ensuring the health and safety of workers throughout their careers is a prerequisite for a sustainable working life and active and healthy ageing after retirement; whereas health and performance of older workers is not determined by their age but an interplay of factors, such as individual lifestyle and exposure to hazards in the workplace19a; whereas quality jobs as well as safe and healthy workplaces are not only important for the wellbeing of workers but also for the competitiveness of companies and the sustainability of welfare systems; _________________ 19aEuropean Agency for Safety and Health at Work, The ageing workforce: Implications for occupational safety and health, A research review, 2016.

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z

Z. whereas ensuring the health and safety of workers throughout their careers is a prerequisite for a sustainable working life and active and healthy ageing after retirement; whereas this entails not only reducing the incidence of occupational risks, but also promoting and supporting workers’ healthy habits and addressing risks such as psycho-social risks, musculo-skeletal disorders;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 b (new)

- having regard to the United Nations Principles for Older Persons2a and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing2b, _________________ 2a https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_do c.asp?symbol=A/RES/46/91 2b https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_do c.asp?symbol=A/CONF.197/9

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z

Z. whereas ensuring ~~the~~stability in employment, proper and higher wages and health and safety ofor workers throughout their careers is a prerequisite for a sustainable working life and active and healthy ageing after retirement;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z

Z. whereas ensuring the health ~~and safety~~, safety and work-life balance of workers throughout their careers is a prerequisite for a sustainable working life and active and healthy ageing after retirement;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z

~~Z. whereas ensuring the health and safety of workers throughout their careers is a prerequisite for a sustainable worki~~(Does not affect the Eng li~~fe and active and healthy ageing after retirement;~~sh version.)

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z a (new)

Z a. Whereas the impact of demographic changes in the labour market has underlined the importance of further improving business management and working methods, as well as the significant role of digital solutions such as teleworking, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they offer numerous opportunities to enhance the working conditions of employees, including for employees close to the age of retirement, and provide a more inclusive work environment, especially for work-life balance purposes and people with disabilities ;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z a (new)

Z a. whereas promoting a life-cycle perspective and raising awareness of the importance of age-friendly working environments among employers is essential for active ageing; whereas the fight against unemployment among young people and older workers remains a key challenge in many regions; whereas the Union and the Member States are still to find an adequate response to long-term unemployment and in-work poverty;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z a (new)

Z a. whereas there is a need to adapt the skills of older workers, who are particularly endangered by economic restructuring, and to pursue policies to support the labour market mobility of older people, especially in terms of re- employment;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z b (new)

Z b. whereas the realisation of lifelong learning will help active ageing by developing and updating the skills needed to work and participate fully in society; whereas the volunteering and mentoring roles that older people can play, which promote the contribution that older people can make, strengthen intergenerational solidarity;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z b (new)

Z b. whereas European Parliament resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing ‘Erasmus’: the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013, among other things, promotes intergenerational exchange between younger and older people;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital Z c (new)

Z c. whereas regions with high unemployment rates are characterised by higher ageing rates and a shrinking population;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5

~~EU funds and public space~~Tackling demographic challenges with the support of Union funds

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 20 a (new)

- having regard to the World Health Organisation’s Decade on Healthy Ageing adopted by the 73rd World Health Assembly 10a _________________ 10ahttps://www.who.int/docs/default- source/decade-of-healthy-ageing/final- decade-proposal/decade-proposal-final- apr2020-en.pdf?sfvrsn=b4b75ebc_5

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital AA

AA. whereas ~~active ageing strategies can be supported through~~the demographic dimension and active ageing strategies should be reflected in all policy fields, including in the European Semester process; whereas Member States should make use of all available EU instruments, especially the European Structural Funds ~~and the Cohesion Fund~~, the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund to tackle demographic challenges;

Amendment 281 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital AA

AA. whereas programmes, projects and actions that promote active ageing ~~strategies~~ can be supported through the European Structural ~~Funds and~~and Investment Funds, including the Cohesion Fund and the ESF+;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital BB

BB. whereas initiatives such as the Access City Award encourage the adaptation of public spaces to the needs of ~~older people and persons with disabilities~~persons with reduced mobility, and have a positive effect on the independence of older people with restrictions in this area; whereas EU funds are essential for the provision of spaces, infrastructure and facilities, including public transport that is accessible and works for everyone;

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital BB

BB. whereas initiatives such as the Access City Award encourage the adaptation of public spaces to the needs of older people and persons with disabilities; whereas the adaptation of public spaces will not only contribute to the fight against social exclusion, but will also contribute to economic growth;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital BB

BB. whereas initiatives such as the Access City Award encourage the adaptation of public spaces to the needs of older people and persons with disabilities and contribute to their quality of life, social inclusion, as well as an equal enjoyment of fundamental rights;

Amendment 285 #

BB. whereas initiatives such as the Access City Award encourage the adaptation of public spaces to the needs of older people and pe~~rsons~~ople with ~~disa~~reduced mobilit~~ies~~y;

Amendment 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital BB a (new)

BB a. Whereas mobility is key to foster independent living and autonomy; ensuring achieving a fully accessible transport chain from door to door is critical and can be supported through the Connecting Europe Facility funding programme;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital CC

CC. whereas the right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right which is integral to core human rights values such as dignity, equality, inclusion, wellbeing, security of the person and public participation; whereas equal access to safe, decent and affordable housing must be ensured for all; whereas in many Member States, housing for older people is inadequate for their needs and capabilities due to high cost of living, living alone and barriers to accessibility; whereas many older persons are prevented from renovating their homes if they are not homeowners or have no access to credits and mortgages because of their age;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital CC

CC. whereas in many Member States, housing for older people is inadequate for their needs and capabilities due to high cost of living, living alone and barriers to accessibility; whereas dwellings should be safe, comfortable and easy to maintain, all of which are particularly important for older people;

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital CC

CC. whereas in many Member States, housing for older people is inadequate for their needs and capabilities due to high cost of living, living alone ~~and barriers to~~ or in big institutions incompatible with the goal of deinstitutionalisation, insufficient quality of housing including its inaccessibility;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital CC

CC. whereas in many Member States, housing for ~~older~~young people ~~is inadequate for their needs and capabilities due to high cost of living, living alone and barriers~~, single persons, older people, as well as people with disabilities, chronic diseases and functional limitations is often inadequate due to accessibility problems;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6

~~Combating discrimination against older people~~Fighting for older people to be valued

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6

Combating discrimination ~~against older people~~

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Stresses that valuing the elderly and tackling discrimination against them is only possible through politics of social, cultural and economic inclusion, which focus on providing fair pensions that provide a good quality of life; stresses, therefore, the importance of public social security systems that are distributive and based on contributive solidarity between generations, which provide everyone, regardless of their own contributions (which is particularly relevant, for example, for women who have spent their careers working as carers), with a decent quality of life, free from poverty and social exclusion;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, and more particularly against people with disabilities or people belonging to ethnic, racial, linguistic, sexual or other minority, especially in the area of employment, and to shape a positive perception of old age in society; invites the European Commission to take advantage of the implementation report of Directive 2000/78/EC after 20 years to envisage strengthening the framework regarding age discrimination in employment and occupation; calls upon the Commission and Member States to swiftly address the remaining obstacles to agree on the horizontal equal treatment directive;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimina~~Urges the Member States to support studies that make it possible to understand the heterogeneity of this social group and cover age and social diversity, legal retirement age, the pension gap between men and women, the prevalence of diseases and dependence factors, the number and condition ~~aga~~of inst oitutionalised elderly people, ~~especially in the area of employment,~~ and the capacity and objectives of the network of existing support services and equipment; understands t~~o sha~~hat carrying out these studies not only helps to tackle stereotypes about ageing but also makes it possi~~tive perception of old age in society~~ble to assess needs with regard to social responses, giving value to instruments for inclusion, and investment in universal public services;

Amendment 296 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, to stimulate age- friendly environments in Europe, especially in the area of employment, ~~and~~ to shape a positive perception of old age in society, support the exchange of good practices at all governance levels and strengthen its support for the silver economy in Europe;

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ~~combat discrimination against older people, especially in the area of employment~~step up their efforts in combatting age discrimination and multiple discrimination, especially in the area of employment and with regard to financial products and services, health care,education and training as well as leisure, and to shape a positive perception of old age in society;

Amendment 298 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, especially in the area of employment, and to shape a positive perception of old age in society, always bearing in mind the need to treat the elderly in a positive way;

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, especially in the area of employment, and, through appropriate programmes and by setting up intergenerational centres, to shape a positive perception of old age in society;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

— having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ~~which raises issues of personal autonomy, non-discrimination, full and effective participation in society and equal opportunities and accessibility,~~

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

- having regard to the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, especially in the area of employment, access to services and housing promoting their autonomy and to shape a positive perception of old age in society;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, especially in the area of employment, and to shape a positive perception of old age in society and counter the image of older people as a burden;

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against older people, particularly women and especially in the area of employment, and to shape a positive perception of old age in society;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Calls on the ~~Commission and the~~ Member States to combat discrimination against older people, especially in the area of employment, and to shape a positive perception of old age in society;

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a directive on work-life balance for workers and carers, and emphasises, in this context, the importance of individual rights to leave and flexible working arrangements for helping working individuals to manage their private and professional lives; believes that for the purposes of future development, the aim should be to progressively extend care leave1a, and calls the extension of rights to include those who need to take leave to care for dependents other than children; _________________ 1aAs called for in its legislative resolution of 20 October 2010 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 92/85/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, OJ 70 E, 8.3.2012, p. 162, https://eur- lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.CE.201 2.070.01.0162.01.ENG&toc=OJ:C:2012:0 70E:TOC

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Underlines the importance of adequate, reliable and comparable data as a basis of policies and measures for tackling demographic challenges; calls on the Commission to revise the EU statistical framework by increasing the upper age limit for the collection of data, ensuring the inclusion of persons living in institutions and providing disaggregated data by gender and age, with full respect of privacy and fundamental rights standards;

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Is highly concerned that for a large number of older people in the EU access to social protection remains inadequate; strongly regrets that minimum pension levels and insufficient or no access to care force a huge number of older people to live in poverty and social exclusion; believes that minimum pension levels must be set above the relative poverty threshold in all Member States;

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Regrets the existing gender pension gap and asks the Commission and the Member States to put forward concrete measures to tackle it, including by combating the gender pay gap and increasing women’s employment rate through work-life balance measures and combating precarious and informal work, and ensuring a minimum income for all;

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Stresses that an extension of the legal retirement age does not represent an adequate tool for addressing and resolving the current economic and social crisis, as it could result in further deteriorating of fundamental rights of older workers;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 b (new)

- having regard to the Commission report of 17 June 2020 entitled ‘The impact of demographic change’ (COM(2020)0241),

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Calls on the Commission to assess the application of Directive 2004/113/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services, to take into account instances of discrimination;

Amendment 311 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Recalls that higher birth rates require better job opportunities, stable employment and housing, decent working and living conditions, flexible work arrangements, generous family support and paid parental leave for both parents, quality childcare from the early years onwards, and an equal distribution of unpaid care and domestic responsibilities between men and women; stresses that in the light of demographic changes and the projected increases in life expectancy, it is key to ensure women’s increased full participation in the labour market without career breaks, interruptions, or moves to part-time and temporary work, as this will have knock on impacts in lowering women’s risk of poverty in old age; urges, therefore, the Member States to swiftly and fully transpose and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive and invites them to go beyond the minimum standards laid down in the Directive;

Amendment 312 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Regrets the existing gender pension gap and asks the Commission and the Member States to put forward concrete measures to tackle it, including by combating the gender pay gap and increasing women’s employment rates through work-life balance measures, combating precarious and informal work, and ensuring a minimum income for all;

Amendment 313 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Notes that the working-age population is projected to decrease and this could lead to an increased pressure on public budgets; stresses that, in order to prevent this situation, boosting women’s employment rates is of critical importance; regrets the low employment rates of women born outside the EU and requests concrete actions to bring more women from different backgrounds into employment;

Amendment 314 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Stresses that investment in care services is essential as it will not only increase women’s employment rates, providing working opportunities in the formal economy for informal carers and promoting work-life balance for women, but will also improve the living conditions of older people through investment in long-term care facilities, measures to improve mental health and combat isolation, and measures to prevent and combat violence against older women, as well as investing in people’s health and education, to ensure that they stay active and in good health as they grow older; calls on the Commission to put forward a Care Deal for Europe and a European Carers’ Programme, aimed at making the transition towards a care economy that entails relevant investment and legislation at EU level, and taking a comprehensive approach towards all care needs and services, setting minimum standards and quality guidelines for care throughout the life course, including for children, elderly persons and persons with long-term needs, with a view to identifying and recognising the various types of informal care-giving in Europe, and guaranteeing financial support for carers, appropriate periods of leave and affordable services among other things; calls on the Commission and the Council to compile gender-disaggregated data per type of care provided and introduce targets for care for older people and people with dependents similar to the Barcelona Targets for childcare;

Amendment 315 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Stresses that the green and digital transitions must be fair transitions and leave no one behind; asks, in particular, for investment in skills and education to bridge the digital gender gap;

Amendment 316 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 h (new)

1 h. Expresses its concern about migration flows of European young people to third countries and from rural to urban areas; stresses that in order to address these migration patterns and prevent the accompanying decrease in the working age population, it is essential to provide opportunities to young people at home; notes that any potential increase in birth rates will simply lead to further migration if this situation is not addressed properly;

Amendment 317 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 i (new)

1 i. Stresses that in order to provide more opportunities for women in rural areas, it is essential to maintain the existing sub-programme dedicated to that end in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF); asks in particular for support to be provided to women farmers through measures to promote access to land, installation support and social security coverage;

Amendment 318 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 j (new)

1 j. Requests an increase in investment in services in rural areas which would attract younger women and increase the well-being of older people living in these areas, in particular older women;

Amendment 319 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 k (new)

1 k. Points out that the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted existing inequalities and shortcomings with regard to gender equality and women’s human rights, also in relation to older women; underlines that older women often make up the majority of residents in the long-term care facilities that became virus hotspots in many countries owing to a lack of sufficient resources to guarantee their safety and protection; calls on the Member States to examine the provision of care to older persons in different settings, and to ensure older women’s well-being, including access to care and healthcare services and economic independence;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 c (new)

- having regard to the Commission report of 25 May 2018 entitled ‘The 2018 Ageing Report: Economic and Budgetary Projections for the EU Member States (2016-2070)’,

Amendment 320 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 l (new)

1 l. Stresses that the increase in life expectancy at birth adds pressure to long- term care services that were designed in a different demographic context and that currently have to respond to the health and care needs of an older society; requests, therefore, an increase in the resources dedicated to this in order to meet the increased demand arising from these needs;

Amendment 321 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 m (new)

1 m. Asks the Commission to include Parliament’s proposals in the upcoming Green Paper on Ageing and the Long- term vision for Rural Areas;

Amendment 322 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a Year of Dignified Ageing~~Stresses that the green, care and digital transitions must be fair transitions and leave no one behind; Calls on the Commission and the Council to swiftly implement the Council conclusions on Human Rights, Participation and Well- Being of Older Persons in the Era of Digitalisation, including the creation of a ‘platform for participation and volunteering after working life’, the promotion of intergenerational exchanges, including a chapter on the rights of older persons in the upcoming Green Paper on Ageing and a chapter on autonomy and independence of older persons in the upcoming Action Plan on the Implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in order to strengthen the links between the generations and to counteract loneliness in old age; stresses the importance of this initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit older people particularly hard~~est~~;

Amendment 323 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a Year of ~~Dignified Ageing~~Intergenerational Solidarity and Social Cohesion, complementing and building on the aims and spirit of the European Day of Solidarity between Generations and the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, in order to strengthen the links between ~~the~~ generations and to counteract loneliness ~~in old age~~and social exclusion; stresses the importance of this initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ~~hit~~particularly hit vulnerable groups, among them older people ~~hardest;~~ ;

Amendment 324 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a Year of Dignified Ageing, in order to raise awareness about the problems older people face and strategies to mitigate them as well as in order to strengthen the links between the generations and to counteract loneliness in old age; stresses the importance of this initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit older people hardest;

Amendment 325 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a Year of ~~Dignified Ageing, in order to strengthen th~~Ageing with Rights, in order to deepen knowledge links between the generations and to counteract loneliness in old age; stresses the importance of this initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit older people hard each Member State of the situation faced by this social group, improve society's understanding of longevity, which should do much to eliminate stereotypes and prejudices, to close divides and to foster solidarity between generations, building a society for all agest;

Amendment 326 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a Year of Dignified Ageing, in order to strengthen the links between the generations ~~and~~, to counteract loneliness in old age and address sexual health issues; stresses the importance of this initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit older people hardest;

Amendment 327 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the Commission and the Council to establish a Year of Dignified Ageing, in order to strengthen the links between the generations and to counteract loneliness in old age; stresses the importance of this initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit older people and their carers hardest;

Amendment 328 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Calls on the ~~Commission and the Council to establish a Year of D~~Member States to work to ensure dignified Aageing, ~~in order to~~ strengthen the links between the generations and to counteract loneliness in old age; stresses the importance of ~~this~~such an initiative not only in the context of demographic change, but also of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit older people hardest;

Amendment 329 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Envisages adopting a life course approach, in which the interconnections between ageing and gender are taken into account as the way forward in ageing policies; further envisages adopting an age and gender approach in which age and gender mainstreaming become an indispensable method and instrument in policy-making in all relevant fields (economic, social, employment, public health, food safety, consumer rights, the digital agenda, rural and urban development, and so on) as the way forward in creating greater social inclusion and social cohesion; points out that age and quality of care is a gender equality issue;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 d (new)

- having regard to the Commission communication of 26 April 2017 entitled ‘An initiative to support work-life balance for working parents and carers’ (COM(2017)0252),

Amendment 330 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work with the gender equality indicators in all policy areas and at all levels of governance, building on the work of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) and encourages the launching of gender impact assessments of Member States’ policies, especially when proposing labour and pensions reforms; stresses that Eurostat data provision should incorporate a gender mainstreaming policy orientation;

Amendment 331 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Recalls the gender pension gap resulting from the gender pay gap stands at 37 % and stems from accumulated inequalities throughout the course of women’s working lives and from the periods of absence from the labour market that are imposed on women as a result of multiple forms of inequality and discrimination; stresses the need to urgently address this gap in the light of demographic change given that its impacts will be acutely felt by older women for a long time to come;

Amendment 332 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 d (new)

2 d. Points out that in order to address the lower participation rates of women in the labour market, states have to fully implement and go beyond the Barcelona care targets, ensuring the coverage of care needs through investment in universal, person-centred, high-quality and accessible care services;

Amendment 333 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission ~~to prepare an action strategy for the elderly, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people;~~ and Member State to take an active part in the international efforts to promote and protect the rights of older persons and active and healthy ageing, including the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing and the UNECE efforts to meet the commitments of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and its Regional Implementation Plan for Europe as set out in the 2017 Lisbon Ministerial Declaration; calls on the Commission and Member States to pay full attention to older persons in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, although many goals are not explicitly directed towards older persons;

Amendment 334 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to prepare a European action ~~strategy for the elderly~~plan on ageing, a possible outcome for the Green Paper on Ageing, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people, the principles of gender equality, non-discrimination and solidarity between generations;

Amendment 335 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to prepare a European action ~~strategy for the elderly, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people~~plan for demographic change and solidarity between generations and the framework for coordination of policies tackling demographic challenges, while taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation in specific age groups and with special attention to the issue of multiple discrimination;

Amendment 336 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to prepare an action strategy for the elderly, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people; such strategy should be socially inclusive and aiming to enable dignified, active and healthy ageing and it should be developed with the involvement of older people themselves;

Amendment 337 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to prepare an action strategy for the elderly, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people and in line with the Decade of Healthy Ageing of the World Health Organization;

Amendment 338 #

3. Calls on the Commission to prepare an action strategy for the elderly, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people as well as differences in the Member States;

Amendment 339 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the Commission to prepare an action strategy for the elderly, ~~taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people~~reflecting the assessment of studies carried out at Member State level;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 e (new)

- having regard to its resolution of 26 May 2016 on poverty: a gender perspective1a, _________________ 1a OJ C 76, 28.2.2018, p. 93.

Amendment 340 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the ~~Commission~~Member States to prepare an action strategy for the elderly, taking into account the diversity and complexity of the situation of older people;

Amendment 341 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Reiterates its call on the Member States to adopt without further delay the Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, COM/2008/0426final, 2 July 2008, which is essential for combatting discrimination on all grounds, in all spheres of social life and for fighting multiple discrimination;

Amendment 342 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic has proven the need for a EU model which promotes and safeguards the dignity and fundamental rights of the elderly; calls on the Commission to elaborate and adopt a European Charter for the rights of the elderly on the basis of Article 25 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 343 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls for the anti-discrimination directive to be adopted as soon as possible and highlights the need to recognise the multiple discrimination that older women often face in societies where they are subject to discrimination on the basis of their age, gender, state of health and disability;

Amendment 344 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to create a policy framework which facilitates to work after 60+ for those who want to, especially for women this would increase the life time income.

Amendment 345 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote and support inclusive labour market and societies allowing for equal participation and draw on the skills and talents of all;

Amendment 346 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to revise the age groups statistics to collect more data about the living conditions of older persons in society;

Amendment 347 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Stresses the importance of asking Eurostat and EIGE to gather comprehensive, gender-specific data relating to the allocation of time to care as Harmonised European Time Use Surveys (HETUS) on, for example, nursing and domestic work and leisure, with the aim of making a regular assessment;

Amendment 348 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Stresses the need to better investigate and prevent violence against older people;

Amendment 349 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Recalls that the gendered nature of care has been further highlighted by the pandemic, with the vast majority of caring responsibilities for the elderly, persons with disabilities and children falling on women; calls on the Member States to invest in affordable, quality childcare and long-term care services, in particular home-care and community-based services to facilitate women’s participation in the labour market and to support women as they age;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 f (new)

- having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 23, 25, 34, 35 and 36 thereof,

Amendment 350 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ratify and implement the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence;

Amendment 351 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Highlights that older women are more affected by the high costs of long- term care as women’s life expectancy is higher, while their health outcomes at the end of life are lower, increasing their need for long-term care and assistance; recalls also that women make up the vast majority of informal carers, leaving in particular older women of working age with fewer opportunities to access the labour market and to build up their own pension entitlements;

Amendment 352 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7

~~Health security and care for the elderly~~Right to health, care, security and quality of life

Amendment 353 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7

Health ~~security and care for the elderly~~and long-term care for older people

Amendment 354 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7

Health ~~security and care for the elderly~~and care

Amendment 355 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to combat the isolation, neglect and defencelessness experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic by elderly people, including those at the end of their days, by promoting awareness-raising campaigns and active support for them;

Amendment 356 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take new initiatives for better disease prevention policies and more effective health care interventions to stimulate the process of healthy ageing;

Amendment 357 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up and adopt a uniform definition of dependence, which will make it possible to individualise support and maintain the existence of a dependent person in socially acceptable conditions; stresses that, in order to create efficient care systems for dependent persons, especially older people, it is necessary to adopt a single definition and a single system for assessing the degree of dependence;

Amendment 358 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up and adopt a uni~~Stresses the need to provide personalised quality support form de~~finition of dependence, which will make it possible to individualise support and maintain the existence of a dependent person in socially acceptable conditions~~pendent persons in order to guarantee the full enjoyment of their rights, including the right to an adequate standard of living, and bearing in mind, among others, the specific needs of persons with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, from diagnosis to treatment and long-term care;

Amendment 359 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up and adopt a ~~uniform~~shared definition of ~~dependence~~long-term care and support, which will make it possible to individualise support and ~~maintain the existence of a~~ ensure the rights to autonomy and independentce of person ~~in socially acceptable condition~~s as they develop health conditions, care and support needs or disabilities;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 g (new)

- having regard to its resolutions of 7 September 2010 on the role of women in an ageing society1a and of 15 November 2018 on care services in the EU for improved gender equality1b, _________________ 1a OJ C 308 E, 20.10.2011, p. 49. 1b Texts adopted, P8_TA(2018)0464.

Amendment 360 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 361 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up and adopt a uniform definition of dependence on the assistance of others, which will make it possible to individualise support and maintain the existence of a dependent person in socially acceptable conditions;

Amendment 362 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up and adopt a uniform definition of dependence, which ~~will make it possible to individualise support and maintain the existence of a dependent person in socially acceptable conditions~~take account of all the factors that feed into it and which will make it possible to individualise support and advance social inclusion for everyone;

Amendment 363 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

Amendment 364 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls for a more rights-based approach to ageing so that older people can act as empowered subjects instead of objects; calls, furthermore, for a rights- based approach to be taken in order to enable older people to play an active role when decisions are made on the choice and the design of the care and social services and treatments provided for them whenever options exist; calls further for a demand-based approach to be implemented with regard to the provision of any type of care services in order to enable older people to live independently for as long as they wish;

Amendment 365 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to target their actions into increasing the healthy life years of older people, underlines in this respect the importance of health promotion and education, disease prevention and regular examination;

Amendment 366 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt a set of indicators of access and sustainability of elderly care systems, as well as a common quality framework for elderly care services;

Amendment 367 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Member States to improve the accessibility of health and care services for older people and their families, for example by developing home- based services;

Amendment 368 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Calls on the Commission on the ambitious implementation of the principle 18 of the European Pillar of Social Rights;

Amendment 369 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Points out the importance of flexible forms of work in allowing women and men to reconcile work and family life, and the need for awareness-raising campaigns on the equal division of domestic work and care and nursing, better investment in care infrastructure and equal, non-transferrable and remunerated maternity and paternity leave in order to makes advances in a better sharing of paid and unpaid work by gender;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 25

~~— having regard to the position in the form of amendments of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,~~deleted

Amendment 370 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Stresses the need to combat gender segmentation in the labour market, particularly for future-oriented, highly paid careers such as the science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM), ICT and digital sectors; stresses the importance of education in these areas throughout the life course, including for older women, in order to increase their continued participation in the labour market;

Amendment 371 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4 d. Points out that women aged 65 and over have fewer years of healthy life ahead of them than men do, and that women face more difficulties in accessing health services; calls on the Member States to invest in robust and resilient public health systems, ensuring universal health coverage, particularly basic health care and medical and preventive treatments and care, taking into account the diseases specifically affecting women in order to ensure older women’s equal access to health care;

Amendment 372 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Calls on the Member States to ensure~~Urges Member States to respect the right to health enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union art. 35 by maintaining universal and equal access to ~~medical~~health and care services, ~~healthcare and care faci~~including residential or community-based long-term care and palliatiesve care, without discrimination on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, linguistic or social group or sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity or sex characteristics, or any other grounds ~~of age~~;

Amendment 373 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to ~~ensure equ~~promote public health services that provide equal and universal access to medical and care services, ~~healthcare and care facilities~~including at household level, without discrimination on grounds of age, social standing or income level;

Amendment 374 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to ensure equal access to medical and care services, healthcare and care facilities without discrimination on grounds of age and disability across all geographical areas;

Amendment 375 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Member States to ensure equal and universal access to ~~medical~~health and care services~~, healthcare and care facilities~~ without discrimination on any ground~~s of age~~;

Amendment 376 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses that investment in care services is essential as it will not only increase women’s employment rates, providing job opportunities in the formal economy for previously informal carers and promoting work-life balance for women, but will also improve the living conditions of older people through investment in long-term care facilities, measures to improve mental health and combat isolation, and measures to prevent and combat violence against older women, as well as investing in people’s health and education, to ensure that they stay active and in good health as they grow older;

Amendment 377 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls upon the Commission and Member States to actively engage in the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing by drawing up healthy ageing plans in the EU that contain access to health and care services, but also the development of health promotion and prevention; calls upon the European Commission to set up an ambitious research agenda on physical and mental health as part of the Horizon Europe programme; encourages Member States to use the funds provided by the MFF and NextGenerationEU in this regard

Amendment 378 #

5 a. Underlines the paramount importance of fully protecting the right to care and support for older people, enabling their access to affordable, quality and holistic care and support services, adapted to individual needs as well as promoting wellbeing, autonomy, independence and community inclusion, without any form of discrimination; emphasises the key role of adequately funded social protection schemes to make care affordable and truly accessible;

Amendment 379 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Asks for more resources and research, as well as the further development of existing monitoring mechanisms to address age discrimination, as it is seldom recognised and tackled; recognises that greater awareness of age discrimination is needed in the Member States and points out that it would welcome input from the Fundamental Rights Agency and the new EIGE;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)

- having regard to the Equality Act 2010, which makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on gender reassignment, sexual orientation and sex,

Amendment 380 #

5 a. Calls on the Commission to enhance the interoperability of health care systems in the EU, building a EU health task force; furthermore, calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure the application of patient rights in cross-border healthcare as well as availability for and access to safe and affordable medicines;

Amendment 381 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to safeguard and advance sexual and reproductive rights and to guarantee universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and commodities;

Amendment 382 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Calls on the Commission to put forward a Care Deal for Europe and a European Carers’ Programme, aimed at making the transition towards a care economy that entails relevant investment and legislation at Union level, and taking a comprehensive approach towards all care needs and services, setting minimum standards and quality guidelines for care throughout the life course, including for children, elderly persons and persons with long-term needs, with a view to identifying and recognising the various types of informal care-giving, and guaranteeing financial support for carers appropriate periods of leave and affordable services among other things;

Amendment 383 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Calls for the adoption of the necessary measures to promote higher employment rates among women, such as affordable care and childcare, adequate periods of parental leave, and flexibility in working hours and places of work also for men; points out that, according to OECD projections, total convergence in participation rates would result in a 12.4 % increase in per capita GDP by 2030;

Amendment 384 #

5 b. Calls upon the European Commission and Member States to pursue a Health in All Policies approach, assessing the health impact of policy choices in all relevant areas;

Amendment 385 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Recalls that women are more at risk of poverty in old age than men and are almost twice as likely to live alone in old age; believes that the Member States should implement specific measures to combat this risk and ensure that adequate provision is made for older women, including measures such as credits for care periods, adequate minimum pensions, survivor’s benefits and family leave entitlements for men in order to prevent the feminisation of poverty;

Amendment 386 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Calls on the Commission to compile gender-disaggregated data per type of care provided and introduce targets for care for older people and people with dependents similar to the Barcelona Targets for childcare;

Amendment 387 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Recalls that higher birth rates require more job opportunities, stable employment and housing, decent working and living conditions, flexible work arrangements, generous family support and paid parental leave for both parents, quality childcare from the early years onwards, and an equal distribution of unpaid care and domestic responsibilities between men and women; stresses that in the light of demographic changes and the projected increases in life expectancy, it is key to ensure women’s full participation in the labour market without career breaks, interruptions, or moves to part- time and temporary work, as this will lower women’s risk of poverty in old age; urges, therefore, the Member States to swiftly and fully transpose and implement the Work-Life Balance Directive and invites them to go beyond the minimum standards laid down in the directive;

Amendment 388 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Calls for more research into the specific health conditions associated with older women, including awareness- raising campaigns for identifying the differences in disease symptoms related to sex; underlines that the ageing of the EU’s population structure increases the urgency of pursuing a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach; calls for the EU and the Member States to fully engage with the World Health Organization’s Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030 and underlines that reducing the diseases associated with age in general has a beneficial impact on women in particular because of women’s longer exposure to bad health conditions and their traditional role in providing informal care and assistance;

Amendment 389 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the sense of security of older people by, among other things, developing ~~digital~~and investing on digital and assistive technologies, mhealth, telecare and telemedicine, homenursing, and setting up day-care centres close to schools and kindergartens, which will foster intergenerational ties; The use of these technologies should be in full compliance with the existing data protection framework while ethical issues pertaining to the use of technology in health should always be duly taken into account.

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 26 a (new)

- having regard to the Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU,

Amendment 390 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the sense of security of older people by, among other things, developing digital technologies, telecare and telemedicine, and setting up day-care centres close to schools and kindergartens, ~~which will foster intergenerational ti~~and to give financial support to involving grandparents in looking after their grandchildren, which will foster intergenerational ties and prompt the Member States to exchange best practices;

Amendment 391 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the sense of security of older people ~~by, amo~~, above all by combating othe~~r things, developing digital technologies, telecare and telemedicine, and setting up day-care centres close to s~~ violence to which they are subjected, as well as by using digital techonologies and ~~kindergartens, which will foster intergenerational ties~~remote assistance;

Amendment 392 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the sense of security of older and disabled people by, among other things, developing user friendly and accessible digital technologies, telecare and telemedicine, and setting up day-care centres close to schools and kindergartens, which will foster intergenerational ties;

Amendment 393 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the ~~Member States to strengthen the sense of security of older people by, among other things, developing~~Commission and the Member States to further explore the possibilities for the use of digital technologies, such as telecare and telemedicine, ~~and setting up day-care centres close to schools and kindergartens, which will foster intergenerational tie~~especially in regions affected by a demographic decline and remote regions;

Amendment 394 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Calls on the Member States to ~~strengthen the sense of security of older people~~take advantage of digitalisation by, among other things, developing digital technologies~~, telecare and telemedicine, and setting up day-care centres close to schools~~ in the domains of care, medicine in support for autonomy and kinde~~rgartens, which~~pendence, all whil~~l foster intergenerational ti~~e maintaining offline avenues to access these services;

Amendment 395 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Calls for a framework directive on long-term care that would lay down fundamental principles and provide evidence-based criteria for accessible quality long-term care and support services across the EU, stressing physical health, psychological, and social aspects of long-term care, and that would also facilitate the implementation of alternative approaches, such as promoting the transition to person-centred and community-based services; stresses that the quality of service must always be the focus when it comes to the provision of long-term care;

Amendment 396 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Believes that every person should have the right to choose quality care services that are suitable for them and their family; believes that the approach to the development of care services should take into account all categories of users and their differences and the wide range of preferences for the types of care services they require; notes that care services should be developed so as to enhance the continuity of care, preventive healthcare, rehabilitation and independent living;

Amendment 397 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Calls for a regulatory framework that guarantees quality care services and enhances the use of telecare and telemedicine, by providing care professionals with legal safeguards and laying down the necessary requirements for training, with the purpose of securing care and primary care to all EU citizens, whatever their age, across all geographical areas;

Amendment 398 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Encourages Member States to set up community care centres, volunteering and life-long learning opportunities targeted to older persons close to schools and kindergartens, and encourage the fostering of intergenerational ties by encouraging exchanges between these services;

Amendment 399 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Calls on the Member States to promote lifelong healthcare and prevention in order to maintain the maximum functional capacity of citizens, which will also promote healthy ageing;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

— having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ~~which raises issues of person~~ratified by the EU and all EU member States, which is based on the principles of individual autonomy, non-discrimination, full and effective participation in society and equal opportunities and accessibility,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas biological and psychological ageing, as an expression of chronological ageing, is nor uniform with regard to age and varies from one person to the next (depending on their experiences, lifestyle, gender and the society to which they belong); whereas each individual shows signs of ageing in a unique manner;

Amendment 400 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the Member States to set up day-care centres close to schools and kindergartens, which will foster intergenerational ties;

Amendment 401 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Points out that part-time work, which is performed for the most part by women, cannot be a female silo, even when it makes it easier to reconcile family and working life, as it also involves fewer career opportunities, lower pay and pensions, the underutilisation of human capital and, consequently, lower economic growth and prosperity;

Amendment 402 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Calls for more research and research funding dedicated to the specific health conditions associated with older women and their needs, including awareness-raising campaigns to provide information on gender-related differences in diseases and symptoms;

Amendment 403 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. Underlines the need to improve the working conditions of care workers and urges the Member States also to recognise the role of informal carers by ensuring their access to social security and their right to pension entitlements; calls for a proposal for a Council recommendation on social protection and services for informal carers;

Amendment 404 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages Member States to de~~- institutionalise care for the elderly, as this is more conducive to~~velop a public network of support services and equipment for the elderly, which meets their specific needs, comprising home help, day and recreation centres, and homes, ensuring that elderly people are provided with care that promotes their social inclusion ~~and~~, autonomy ~~for the elderly~~and quality of life; this network should also take into account the technical needs and rights of carers and assistants of dependent older people;

Amendment 405 #

7. Encourages Member States to de- institutionalise care for the elderly, as this is more conducive to social inclusion and autonomy for the elderly; encourages the Member States to support flexible, adequate and tailored-made care models, and stresses that active, healthy ageing and the employability of the ageing population are essential in ensuring the sustainability of social security and care systems;

Amendment 406 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages Member States to de~~- institutionali~~velop community-based care ~~for the elderly, as this is~~ , to promorte ~~conducive to~~ social inclusion, independence and autonomy for ~~the elderly~~older persons; encourages member States in particular to develop community-based solutions for older persons with dementia;

Amendment 407 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages Member States to ~~de- institutionalise care for the elderly, as this is more conducive to~~move towards deinstitutionalisation of elderly care, through the development of home and community-based care, as to promote social inclusion, independence and autonomy for ~~the elderly~~older persons; encourages the Member States in particular to develop community-based solutions for older persons with dementia;

Amendment 408 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages Member States to de- institutionalise care for the elderly, as this is more conducive to social inclusion and autonomy for the elderly, bearing in mind the need to support and enable informal carers to care as a condition for this de- institutionalisation happen;

Amendment 409 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages Member States to ~~de-~~explore possibilities for sustained transition from institutional~~ise~~ care for ~~the~~ elderly~~, as this is~~ to family-based and community- based alternatives, as they are more conducive to social inclusion and autonomy for the elderly;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A whereas the EU population is continuing to grow as a result of net migration, while its natural population change has been negative since 2012, with more deaths recorded than births (4.7 million deaths and 4.2 million births in 2019);

Amendment 410 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Encourages Member States to de- institutionalise care for the elderly, as this is more conducive to social inclusion and autonomy for the elderly, and to facilitate civil society and social economy initiatives going in this sense;

Amendment 411 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Encourages~~Calls on Member States to ~~de- institutionalise care for the elderly, as this is more conducive to social inclusion and autonomy for the elderly~~support the development of age-friendly environments that are more conducive to mobility, independent living, autonomy and social inclusion;

Amendment 412 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Believes that accessibility derives from a combination of cost and flexibility and that there should therefore be a range of care service provisions, both public and private, and for care at home and in home-like settings; considers, furthermore, that family members should either be able to voluntarily provide care or be subsidised to procure care services;

Amendment 413 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Stresses the importance of ensuring that care for the elderly remains a national competence;

Amendment 414 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member States to ratify Convention 189 of the International Labour Organization in order to strengthen the rights of European domestic and care workers;

Amendment 415 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. Recalls that violence against older women is also a human rights abuse and that older women are victims of both ageism and sexism, that they can be trapped in abusive marital relationships or adversely affected by a disability, and by dehumanising stereotypes and social norms; stresses that the category of older women should not be overlooked in fighting violence against women, including in the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention and of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcomes of its review conferences;

Amendment 416 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7 d. Calls on the Commission to present a European strategy on social protection to address the feminisation of poverty, with a special focus on older women, particularly older women living alone, and to address the protection of older women at risk of social exclusion, poverty and homelessness in the forthcoming actionplan on integration and inclusion; further calls on the Commission to pay greater attention to that risk in the European Semester;

Amendment 417 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 418 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to provide professional support ~~for carers and assistants of dependent older people and to introduce various forms of periodic relief for family members caring for dependent older people~~such as training and peer counselling for informal carers of older people in need for care and assistance and to introduce various forms of periodic relief for family members caring for older people in need of care and support, such as respite care and day care services; calls upon member States to implement the Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers so as to provide income security to informal carers who need to reduce their employment for their responsibilities; emphasises that providing informal care should be a voluntary choice and that formal care services should be developed to relieve the burden of informal carers;

Amendment 419 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to provide professional support for carers and assistants of dependent older people ~~and to introduce various forms of periodic relief for family members caring for dependent older people~~including the informal carers; calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt an EU-wide definition of informal carer which would enable the Member States to adopt targeted strategies to help the informal carers, recognize their contribution to the elderly care and to put forward proposals for adequate relief services;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A whereas the active participation of elderly people in the society should not be underestimated; whereas more than 20% of the 65-74 years and around 15% of the 75+years old people are participating in formal and/or informal voluntary activities1a; _________________ 1a Eurostat(2020), Ageing Europe - statistics on social life and opinions

Amendment 420 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to provide professional support for carers and assistants of dependent older people and to introduce various forms of periodic relief for family members caring for dependent older people as well as to introduce part time professional activities of low risk for older people when still healthy and able to undertake responsibilities;

Amendment 421 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to provide professional support for carers and assistants of dependent older people and to introduce various forms of periodic relief for family members caring for dependent older people, which will contribute to raising the quality of home-based care;

Amendment 422 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to provide professional support and respite service for carers and assistants of dependent older people and to introduce various forms of periodic relief and support services for family members caring for dependent older people;

Amendment 423 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 424 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States to ~~provide professional support for~~better acknowledge the value of informal carers and ~~assistants of dependent older people and to introduce various forms of periodic relief for family members caring for dependent older people~~to improve the social protection and various forms of support for informal carers;

Amendment 425 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Stresses that the provision of quality care in the EU varies greatly both within and between the Member States, between private and public settings, urban and rural areas, and different age groups; points out, furthermore, that the data on provision of care in the EU are rather fragmented, that a holistic approach to address all the demographic challenges the EU is facing with the resultant pressure on public expenditure, does not exist;

Amendment 426 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Encourages the Member States to develop volunteering and assistance for older people, as this has a special role to play in crisis situations, as demonstrated by the coronavirus pandemic;

Amendment 427 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Calls on the Member States to combat the precarious work and undeclared employment of women, causing increased poverty among women, especially in later life, and has a negative impact both on women’s social security and the EU’s GDP levels, and to ensure that workers enjoy appropriate social protection;

Amendment 428 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8 c. Recalls principle 15 of the European Pillar of Social Rights and calls on the Commission to adopt a framework directive on adequate minimum income with a special focus on women of pensionable age, taking into account not only the relative risk of falling below the poverty line, but also age-specific reference budgets based on a basket of goods and services;

Amendment 429 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

~~9. Calls on the Member States to create flexible working conditions and ensure access to rehabilitation services as an incentive for older workers to remain in the labour market;~~deleted

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas Europe's ageing population is a demographic phenomenon which sees a decrease both in fertility and in mortality rates and a higher life expectancy among European population;

Amendment 430 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

~~9. Calls on the Member States to create flexible working conditions and ensure access to rehabilitation services as an incentive for older workers to remain in the labour market;~~deleted

Amendment 431 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Member States to ~~create flexible working conditions and ensure access to rehabilitation services as an incentive for older workers to remain in the labour ma~~step up their efforts to guarantee decent wages and working conditions, safe working environments and equal access to rehabilitation with a view to fully safeguarding the economic rights, health and well-being of all older worketrs;

Amendment 432 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Member States to create flexible working conditions and ensure access to rehabilitation services as an incentive for older workers to remain in the labour market, also allowing for workers to combine employment and caring duties;

Amendment 433 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 434 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Member States to create flexible working conditions and ensure access to rehabilitation services as an incentive for older workers to remain in the labour market if they wish to do so;

Amendment 435 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Member States to create flexible working conditions and ensure access to rehabilitation services ~~as an incentive for~~which should allow older workers to remain in good conditions in the labour market;

Amendment 436 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls upon ~~the M~~member States to ~~create flexible working condi~~develop rehabilitations and ~~ensure access to rehabilit~~reintegration services a~~s a~~nd incentives for ~~older workers to remain in the labour market~~persons coming back to the labour market after health-related career breaks;

Amendment 437 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Believes that those planning, programming and providing care services have a responsibility to take cognisance of users’ needs and that care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities must be planned and developed with the participation of the users;

Amendment 438 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9 b. Stresses that the feminisation of poverty is the result of several factors, including gender inequalities in career progression, the fact that women are often employed on non-standard contracts, the absence of social security status for partners assisting self-employed workers, and poverty in households headed by single mothers;

Amendment 439 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9 c. Calls on the Commission to further strengthen old-age income for women by supporting Member States in reforming their pensions from a gender perspective to ensure adequate and sustainable pensions for all, paying special attention to the factors leading to the pension gap and to the measures to reduce it, such as the introduction of care credits (pension credits for care-related career breaks), the development of specific provisions on care leaves, or the protection of pension rights and other social rights of informal carers;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)

-A a whereas the demographic situation severely impacts the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the EU; whereas it is important for the EU to mainstream demographic issues into all its policies;

Amendment 440 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to prepare medical, care and assistant staff for the needs of older people; calls on the Member States to provide as many medical professions as possible with training in the field of geriatrics; stresses the clear need to increase the ratio between professionals and users, making it possible to provide effective responses to the needs of the elderly and providing workers in the sector with a decent work-life balance;

Amendment 441 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to ~~prepare~~adequately train medical, care and assistant staff for the needs of older people; calls on the Member States to provide as many medical professions as possible with training in the field of geriatrics and to ensure access to geriatric medicine in all territories; calls on Member States to ensure adequate working conditions in medical and care occupations as a means to guarantee the quality of care provided;

Amendment 442 #

10. Calls on the Member States to p~~repare medical, care and assistant staff for the needs of o~~ut forward policies in order to ensure sufficient number of professionals in the field of elderly care including doctors, nurses, professional carers or assistants to elderly pe~~ople~~rsons; calls on the Member States to pro~~vide as many medical professions as possible with training in the field of geriatric~~mote the preparation and qualification courses for the informal carers which are the most often family members of the dependant persons;

Amendment 443 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. CStresses that the Covid-19 outbreak has served as evidence of how essential it is for Member States to have robust, inclusive and crisis-proof health systems; calls on the Member States to prepare medical, care and assistant staff for the needs of older people; calls on the Member States to provide as many medical professions as possible with training in the field of geriatrics;

Amendment 444 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to ~~prepare medical, care and assistant staff for~~improve the working and employment conditions of medical, care and assistant staff as well as informal carers and to invest in their education and training to better meet the needs of older people; calls on the Member States to provide as many medical professions as possible with training in the field of geriatrics;

Amendment 445 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Member States to prepare medical, care and assistant staff for the needs of older people; calls for the creation of incentives to take up the profession of carer for the elderly; calls on the Member States to provide as many medical professions as possible with training in the field of geriatrics;

Amendment 446 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Further calls on the Commission to develop harmonised definitions and indicators at EU level to assess the accessibility, quality and efficiency of care services for persons with disabilities and the elderly; calls on the Commission to monitor their implementation and promote corrective action where and when it may be needed;

Amendment 447 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the Member States to guarantee a decent standard of living for older people, and in that regard calls on them to share their best practices, in particular as regards the setting of minimum pensions;

Amendment 448 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Calls on the Member States to encourage inter-generational exchange by, among others, promoting volunteer- work by younger people towards the elderly;

Amendment 449 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Calls on the Member States to give greater protection to elderly people, who are particularly vulnerable to viral infections, including COVID-19;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the population of the EU is decreasing; whereas in 1960, EU residents made up 13.5 % of the global population, while today they account for 6.9 %, which is related, among other factors, to the fall in the birth rate in Europe, in comparison with other geographic situations, which leads to demographic ageing that affects the percentage composition of each age group – young (up to 15 years old), active (from 15 to 64 years old) and elderly (65 or older), contributing to the inversion of the demographic pyramid;

Amendment 450 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Calls on the Commission for the EU Strategy on carers;

Amendment 451 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)

Social protection and social inclusion

Amendment 452 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Welcomes the plans to adopt an Action Plan on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights; underlines that the Pillar contains the principles of social protection, old-age income to live in dignity and minimum income; welcomes the work of the Social Protection Committee on the next Pension Adequacy Report; calls for the Action Plan to include targets on the reduction of poverty and social exclusion, including among older persons;

Amendment 453 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote and finance intergenerational centres as they can be crucial for fighting age discrimination and for social inclusion of older person;

Amendment 454 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to act appropriately to reduce the gender pension gap;

Amendment 455 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Calls on the Commission and member States to develop recommendations on reducing the risk of poverty and social exclusion in older age, focussing especially on the gender pension gap, older persons with disabilities, older migrants, older Roma, older persons belonging to ethnic, racial, linguistic or sexual minorities and other groups that are disproportionately affected by poverty and social exclusion; encourages the Social Protection Committee to dedicate more analysis to these groups facing high rates of poverty and social exclusion

Amendment 456 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10 c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase the low labour market participation rate of women aged between 50 and 64 to reduce other gender gaps in employment; calls in particular on the European Network of Public Employment Services to assess the best ways to support older female jobseekers to get back into the labour market and to conduct further research into how to create and adapt workplaces for older women and men;

Amendment 457 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10 c. Alerts about the risk of social isolation and loneliness that has intensified due to theCOVID-19-related physical distancing measures; calls on the Commission and Member States to reflect on and address this risk by research, exchange of practices and the use of EU Structural and Investment Funds to combat this phenomenon;

Amendment 458 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8

Active ageing in the labour market and beyond

Amendment 459 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8

~~Active ageing~~Participation and Inclusion in Societies

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas ~~the population of the EU is decreasing; whereas in 1960, EU residents made up 13.5 % of the global population, while today they account for 6.9 %;~~demographic transition from high mortality and high fertility to low mortality and low fertility is a universal phenomenon that has direct effects on the size and age distribution of the population; whereas in 1960, EU residents made up 13.5 % of the global population, while today they account for 6.9 %; whereas the decreasing share of the EU population in the world reflects an earlier start of the demographic transition3a; _________________ 3a United Nations, Changing Population Age Structures and Sustainable Development, 2017.

Amendment 460 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8

AEmployment and active ageing

Amendment 461 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that elderly people no longer endure targeting measures such as the triage to which they have been subjected during the Coronavirus pandemic, in violation of fundamental rights and principles such as equality in dignity and in the right to life;

Amendment 462 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote best practices regarding efficient knowledge transfers from senior workers to less experienced workers or successors;

Amendment 463 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Urges the Member States and the Commission to promote programmes, projects and actions that further social, cultural and political participation by elderly people; stresses, in this regard, the role of the grassroots movement, with scope for voluntary participation that ranges from political activism to promoting tangible and intangible heritage, and the development of play, recreational and artistic activities, as an element of social engagement, qualification and intergenerational exchange and for tackling isolation;

Amendment 464 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on Member States ~~to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, includ~~and the Commission to develop formal, non- formal and informal educational programmes, projects and actions for older people, providing lifelong learning opportunities that promote individuals' holistic cultural development; stresses, in this context, the importance of improving older people's digital skills, not just to pave the way for online education opportunities, but mainly for the effect that increasing con~~line education~~nection would have in other spheres of life, such as access to health services and family life;

Amendment 465 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls for accessible and affordable digital skills programs catered for the needs of the elderly; calls on Member States to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, including online education as well as to support their up-skilling and re-skilling in order to match the labour market's needs, counter the digital gap and ensure that they effectively adapt and benefit from innovative management working methods and digital solutions such as telework;

Amendment 466 #

11. ~~Calls on Member States to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, including online education~~Stresses that the creation and implementation of age-appropriate lifelong learning opportunities is vital and indispensable element in order to enhance social and economic sustainability and personal welfare; calls on Member States to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, including online education; furthermore, calls on the Commission and the Member States to support upskilling and reskilling initiatives, in particular for vulnerable groups;

Amendment 467 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on Member States to invest in skills and education and develop educational and integration opportunities for older people~~, including online educatio~~ whether they are still part of the labour market or already retired, including online education or the development of training entitlements for workers; calls on the European Commission to include specific actions targeting older persons in the update of the Digital Education Action Plan;

Amendment 468 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on the Member States to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, including online education and lifelong learning project as well as intergenerational housing initiatives;

Amendment 469 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on Member States to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, including online education; emphasizes the need for strengthening the digital skills of elderly people which can help them to use these opportunities to the fullest;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the population of the EU is decreasing; whereas in 1960, EU residents made up 13.5 % of the global population, while ~~today~~in 2018 they accounted for 6.9 %; and are expected to account about 4% by 20701a; _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/prioritie s-2019-2024/new-push-european- democracy/impact-demographic-change- europe_en

Amendment 470 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on Member States to develop educational and integration opportunities for older people, ~~including online education;~~ both as users and providers including online education and lifelong learning projects;

Amendment 471 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Calls on Member States to develop educational, training and integration opportunities for older people, including online education;

Amendment 472 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Calls on Member States to develop employability and career management strategies to prepare for an ageing workforce and more volatile labour markets in light of frequent and profound transformations in labour markets; underlines that such strategies should contain the promotion of education, training and life-long learning for persons of all ages, healthy workplaces that provide reasonable accommodation to employees with health needs or disabilities, means to reconcile professional and private lives and the promotion of intergenerational exchanges in the workplace;

Amendment 473 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Stresses in this regard the paramount importance of supporting a more extensive use of work-at-home schemes by companies across the EU; calls on the European Commission to propose legislative framework laying down clear common minimum standards and conditions for telework in the EU, in order to protect the health and safety of workers, and at the same time increase older people's continuous participation in the labour market;

Amendment 474 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Calls on the Member States to use the ESF+ and ERDF funds to support the creation of quality jobs, promote a better work-life balance and provide job opportunities in regions at risk of depopulation, with special attention to a better labour market participation of women; stresses the importance of counselling services, lifelong learning and programmes for reskilling and upskilling of workers at all ages;

Amendment 475 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Calls on the Member States to develop national plans for improving care services by paying heed not only to users’ needs, but also to the work-life balance of the large numbers of carers; calls on the Member States to monitor their implementation and adopt corrective actions where and when they may be needed;

Amendment 476 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11 b. Calls on the European Network of Diversity Charters to put more focus on the promotion of age and (dis)ability diversity in workplaces; calls on the European Commission to emphasise psycho-social and physical, age-related risks for both women and men in the new Framework Strategy for Health and Safety in the Workplace;

Amendment 477 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11 b. Stresses the fact that women make up one third of the self-employed of all business starters in the EU; stresses the importance of support programmes for women entrepreneurs and for women in science and academia, and urges the EU to support such programmes in a more tangible manner;

Amendment 478 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11 b. Underlines that occupational health and safety is crucial for workers to stay in employment until the statutory retirement; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote and support age-friendly working environments;

Amendment 479 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11 c. Calls on the Member States to guarantee a dignified income for women who have already retired through measures such as pension indexation or minimum pensions as an indispensable non-contributory income safety net to prevent poverty among older women with either no or inadequate pension rights;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the EU's share of global population ~~of the EU~~ is decreasing; whereas in 1960, EU residents made up 13.5 % of the global population, while today they account for 6.9 %;

Amendment 480 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11 c. calls on Member States and the European Network of Public Employment Services to develop exchanges of practices about integrating older jobseekers into the labour market;

Amendment 481 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11 c. Welcomes Commission’s commitment to decent wage for all workers, either through statutory minimum wages or collective bargaining;

Amendment 482 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)

11 d. Underlines that tackling demographic change should follow a rights-based approach, promoting and creating equal opportunities, dialogue and solidarity instead of competition between people of different generations;

Amendment 483 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)

11 e. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the proper implementation of the Directive on Work- life Balance and to support regional and local initiatives and projects aimed at striking a better balance between work and private life for men and women;

Amendment 484 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Encourages Member States to develop volunteering and mentoring among older people, which will counteract social exclusion, encourage the upgrading of the skills of young workers and preserve traditional crafts as part of European heritage;deleted

Amendment 485 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to launch a programme for 'digital volunteers' to enable young qualified people and experienced senior citizens to share their digital skills with traditional businesses; Encourages Member States to develop volunteering and mentoring among older people, which will counteract social exclusion, encourage the upgrading of the skills of young workers and preserve traditional crafts as part of European heritage;

Amendment 486 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Encourages Member States to develop volunteering and mentoring among older people, which will counteract~~Stresses the importance of creating paid employment opportunities for persons that have already reached the statutory retirement age and wish to remain or become active, not only in view of additional income but also as a means to tackle social exclusion,; encourage ~~the upgrading of the skills of young workers and preserve traditional crafts as part of European heritage~~s also incentives for volunteering and mentoring to transfer knowledge between generations; underlines that such measures and activities must not be at the expense of young jobseekers or the long- term unemployed;

Amendment 487 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Encourages Member States to develop volunteering and mentoring among older people~~, which will~~ to counteract social exclusion, and allow them to contribute their skills and experience; encourages the upgrading of the skills of younger and older workers and preserve traditional crafts as part of European heritage;

Amendment 488 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Considers the possibilities created by lifelong learning, in combination with digitalisation, essential to provide the ageing population in the rural and remote areas with various opportunities, including supplementary income; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to support educational and training programs, that will help the ageing population to develop skills and gain expertise in areas such as eCommerce, online marketing and ICT;

Amendment 489 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take account of demographic developments and changes in the size and composition of households when designing their fiscal policies, social security arrangements and public services;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas Europe’s population is continuing to age, which is likely to lead to increased and varied care needs; whereas according to Eurostat projections, in 2100 the biggest age group will be the over-85s, women making up the majority within that group; whereas gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting should be applied to fully grasp the extent of the gender gaps in ageing in terms of service usage, the need for services and the division of resource sharing1a; _________________ 1ahttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Population_structure _and_ageing

Amendment 490 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12 b. Warns about the risk of widening the gender pension gap due to the ongoing shift from statutory state pensions towards second and third pillar schemes, which places more responsibility on the individual, and calls, therefore, on the Commission and the competent Union bodies such as the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, as well as the Member States, to assess the coverage and benefit ratios of women by occupational pension schemes;

Amendment 491 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 492 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the social inclusion of older people by using the ~~Internet and other ICT~~AI and digital solutions for cultural, entertainment, educational, communication, telecare and telemedicine purposes; stresses the need for the dignified and human-centric approach and emphasizes that these solutions cannot, despite many advantages, fully substitute the personal contacts and thus balanced approach to promote the both should be adopted;

Amendment 493 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the social inclusion of older people by using the Internet and other ICT for cultural, entertainment, education, communication, telecare and telemedicine purposes; all while maintaining offline avenues to access these services; calls in particular for strategies to develop access to skills, connectivity and devices in long-term care settings;

Amendment 494 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ~~promote the~~further explore the possibilities of promoting social inclusion of older people by using the Internet and other ICTs for cultural, e~~ntertainment~~ducational, meduica~~tion,~~l and communication, ~~telecare and telemedicine purposes;~~ purposes, whilst acknowledging the importance of direct personal contact;

Amendment 495 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the social inclusion and integration into the labour market of older people by using the Internet and other ICT for cultural, entertainment, education, communication, employment, telecare and telemedicine purposes;

Amendment 496 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote the social inclusion of older people, particularly those who are housebound, by using the Internet and other ICT for cultural, entertainment, education, communication, telecare and telemedicine purposes;

Amendment 497 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to bridge the digital divide and to promote the social inclusion of older people by using the Internet and other ICT for cultural, entertainment, education, communication, telecare and telemedicine purposes;

Amendment 498 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Notes that improving the connectivity and the accessibility of services in the rural and remote areas is crucial to address the depopulation of these regions and the social and digital exclusion of the older population living there; therefore, calls on the Member States to recognise the significance of rural and remote areas, in their diversity, and develop their potential through stimulating investments in the local economy, fostering entrepreneurship and improving their infrastructure;

Amendment 499 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Calls on the Commission to include care for the elderly and for persons with disabilities in its monitoring and review of data in the European Semester andin the annual report on gender equality; calls on the Member States to consider including assessments of care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities in their country reports; encourages the Member States to adopt and use corrective measures should progress prove to be slow;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3

— having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which ~~raises issu~~is based on the principles of personal autonomy, non- discrimination, full and effective participation in society ~~and~~, equal opportunities and accessibility,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas a European Commission study (2015) about Silver Economy forecasts the contribution of the European Silver Economy to GDP to reach €6.4 trillion and 88 million jobs by 2025; whereas this would be equivalent to 32% of EU GDP and 38% of the Union’s employment1b; _________________ 1b http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/docum ent.cfm?doc_id=50754

Amendment 500 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13 b. Calls on the Commission to support the Member States in fighting poverty, which particularly affects single mothers and has been further increased by the crisis, leading to greater social exclusion;

Amendment 501 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)

13 c. Calls on the Commission to establish a gender pension gap indicator to assess the accumulated inequalities experienced by women throughout their lives;

Amendment 502 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

~~14. Calls on the Member States to ensure that all households have access to broadband internet, which is helpful in combating digital exclusion;~~deleted

Amendment 503 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. CUnderlines the essential impact the constantly evolving digital technologies have on people’s daily life, thus stresses the need for high-speed broadband and vital and up-to-date technological equipment in schools, hospitals and all other relevant public services facilities, including developing effective e- Governance; calls on the Member States to ensure that all households have access to high-speed broadband internet, which is ~~helpfu~~essential in combating digital exclusion; and offers various opportunities for the people living in rural and remote areas;

Amendment 504 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Member States to ensure that all households have access to broadband internet, which is helpful in combating digital exclusion; calls, in this regard, on the Member States to combat any digital divide which excludes and isolates older people who do not use the internet;

Amendment 505 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Member States to ensure that all households have access to broadband internet, which is helpful in combating digital exclusion, particularly among older people;

Amendment 506 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls on the Member States to ensure that all households have access to broadband internet, digital equipment and skills, which is helpful in combating digital exclusion;

Amendment 507 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Calls on the Member States to take into account the specific situation of older workers in the labour market through measures such as individualised training and optimised working hours;

Amendment 508 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Calls on the Member States to increase investment in care services and improve the quality of care, and to increase investment in special measures that enable carers to maintain an active professional life;

Amendment 509 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14 b. Calls on the Commission to support Member States in the increasing use of the Structural Funds for investment in public childcare and care for elderly and dependent people;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas all Member States encounter the problem of ageing population; whereas the working-age population (people aged between 15 and 64) is expected to decrease significantly from 333 million in 2016 to 292 million in 2070;

Amendment 510 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14 b. Calls on the Member States to support the functioning and development of older people’s organisations and other forms of social participation;

Amendment 511 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14 c. Calls on the Commission and the Social Protection Committee to delve deeper into non-standard labour market trajectories in the next Pension Adequacy Report, fully analysing the gender gap in pensions in all its dimensions and in all the three pillars of pension systems; calls further on the Commission to assess the adequacy of minimum pensions, which are particularly relevant to avoiding old- age poverty;

Amendment 512 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the Commission to take into account the potential of the silver economy in EU strategies and to promote it more vigorously in the Member States; emphasises that the Silver Economy should be understood as an economy implementing the principles of accessibility for persons with disabilities, affordability and adequacy of goods and services to the needs of older persons; underlines that participation of older persons in the development and testing of goods and services in the Silver Economy is crucial for their success and uptake;

Amendment 513 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. CUnderlines that the emerging "Silver economy" could turn into one of the main economic drivers, particularly in the rural areas, and can provide opportunities for the health and long-term care sectors, offering high-quality care in more efficient way; calls on the Commission to take into account the potential of the s"Silver economy" in EU strategies and to promote it more vigorously in the Member States;

Amendment 514 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the Commission to take into account the potential of the silver economy in EU strategies and to promote it more vigorously in the Member States so that economic operators can seize the potential of new opportunities and thus meet the new needs of our society;

Amendment 515 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take into account the potential of the silver economy ~~in EU~~, advocating for strategies ~~and to~~that promote ~~it more vigorously in the Member State~~tourism and cultural exchanges geared towards pensioners and their needs;

Amendment 516 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the Commission to take into account the potential of the silver economy in EU strategies and to promote it more vigorously in the Member States, among both commercial and non- commercial entities;

Amendment 517 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the Commission to take into account the potential of the silver economy ~~in EU strategies and to promote it more vigorously in the Member States~~;

Amendment 518 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Is deeply concerned by the extent to which the most vulnerable groups of women are subject to multiple discrimination, including migrant women, women with disabilities, homosexual women, women who belong to minorities, women with few qualifications and elderly women, as they suffer discrimination on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity and sexual or religious orientation, to name but a few examples, and calls for positive discrimination measures;

Amendment 519 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Reminds that the outermost regions are especially predisposed to depopulation and require a special set of measures to mitigate negative demographic changes they often face; calls on the Member States to use proactively the available structural and investment funds in order to address the challenges these regions encounter;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas gender equality is a basic value of the EU recognised in the Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and whereas the EU is committed to integrating it into all of its activities;

Amendment 520 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to mainstream the principle of active ageing and the solidarity between generations in all relevant policies;

Amendment 521 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to involve organisations representing and safeguarding the interests of the elderly in making decisions which affect them;

Amendment 522 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15 b. Stresses that teleworking can offer numerous opportunities to remote areas, as one of the best tools to utilise digital technologies in order to maintain the population of the rural and remote areas and at the same time benefit the local communities and economy; calls on the European Commission to put forward a European Teleworking Agenda with a view to developing a legislative framework laying down clear minimum standards and conditions for remote work across the EU;

Amendment 523 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15 b. Highlights that the care crisis caused by COVID-19 has shown the need to apply gender mainstreaming to all policies; calls on the Commission to apply gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting and gender impact assessments in all areas and for each legislative proposal at all levels of governance, and thus ensure that specific gender equality targets are set, including for all the political and budgetary instruments to fight COVID- 19;

Amendment 524 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)

15 c. Highlights that there is a digital divide between the generations and calls on the Commission and the Member states to address the barriers faced by older people in becoming part of the digital society, in particular those faced by older women who have less access to digital equipment and connectivity owing to lower incomes and employment in sectors that are less digitalised;

Amendment 525 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 9

~~Safe space and research~~Housing and public infrastructure

Amendment 526 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 9

S~~afe space~~pecial policies and research

Amendment 527 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to mainstream the rights of older persons with disabilities into all disability and ageing-related policies and programmes ensuring full compliance with the UNCRPD;

Amendment 528 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to adapt buildings and housing to the needs of older people, persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of dangers has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier; stresses that the heat, light, noise and smell levels in a dwelling should be comfortable for its inhabitants, and that buildings should include accessibility features such as lifts, ramps, wide corridors and doorways, non-slip flooring, and appropriate stairs with handrails; underscores that the fixtures in a dwelling should not pose a direct safety risk if used incorrectly;

Amendment 529 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to ~~adapt buildings and housing to the needs of older people, persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of da~~use Union funds, combined with national and local investment, to provide adequate, safe and accessible housing for young people, single persons, especially older women, older people, as well as people with disabilities, chronic diseases and functional limitations ; calls on the Commission and the Member States to address demographic challengers ~~has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;~~ also in the context of the Just Transition Fund in the view of tackling, amongst others, social exclusion, the digital divide and energy poverty;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

A c. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected older people, tested our health, care and welfare systems, and highlighted the need for adequate investment therein; whereas the Pillar of Social Rights stresses, inter alia, the importance of gender equality, work- life balance, childcare, old age income and pensions, healthcare and long-term care through its principles 2, 9, 11, 15, 16 and 18 respectively; whereas these rights will be crucial to addressing the demographic possibilities and challenges in relation to older people;

Amendment 530 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to ~~adapt buildings and housing to the needs of older people, persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception; stresses~~comply with existing legislation on buildings and public spaces with a view to bringing them into line with the needs of persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception, where they include older people; urges the Commission and the Member States to take a hand in improving accessibility in housing stock, given that safe housing is housing where the possibility of ~~danger~~obstacles has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;

Amendment 531 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to adapt buildings ~~and housing~~, housing and the environment to the needs of older people, persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception; recalls that without accessible environment the accessible housing cannot be fully used; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of dangers has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;

Amendment 532 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to adapt public spaces, transport infrastructure, buildings and housing to the needs of older people, persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of dangers has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;

Amendment 533 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to adapt buildings and housing to the needs of older people, and persons with disabilities~~, and people with reduced mobility and perception~~; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of dangers has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;

Amendment 534 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to adapt buildings ~~and~~, housing and transport to the needs of older people, persons with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility and perception; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of dangers has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;

Amendment 535 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls on the Member States to adapt buildings and housing to the needs of older people, ~~persons with disabilities,~~ and people with reduced mobility and perception; stresses that safe housing is housing where the possibility of dangers has been reduced and where the response in the case of danger is made easier;

Amendment 536 #

16 a. Asks that the Member States develop mechanisms to ensure that the accumulation of pension rights is sufficient even during the periods when the income level of a carer is temporarily lower as a result of carrying out caring duties, a situation which mainly affects women; asks the Commission to launch a study on the differing impacts that pension systems in the Member States have on women and men;

Amendment 537 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Underlines the indispensable role regional and local authorities have in addressing the ever deepening demographic issues in rural and remote areas in meaningful and sustainable way;

Amendment 538 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to promote best practices for an efficient ageing policy

Amendment 539 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to bring about a care transition towards a new social organisation of care that does not rely disproportionately on women; underlines the need to include a care transition together with the twin ecological and digital transitions as a political priority of the EU;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

A d. whereas according to Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in all its activities, the Union must aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women, thereby establishing the principle of gender mainstreaming;

Amendment 540 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)

16 c. Calls for an EU-wide study into the prevalence, drivers and policies to fight violence against older women; stresses that the risks of violence faced by older women within the overall agenda to fight violence against women should not be overlooked, including in the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention and in the Beijing Platform for Action;

Amendment 541 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Member States to promote programmes and actions to encourage families to live close to each other, to strengthen intergenerational bonds, and to enable elderly people who, for health or financial reasons, have to leave their homes to find housing that meets their needs without having to leave the community in which they have lived for years; also calls on the Member States to help ageing members of the population and their families to access means to flexibly transform their environment and to access e-health services and artificial intelligence, since these contribute considerably to managing the challenges of ageing and the loss of autonomy;

Amendment 542 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Member States to promote programmes and actions to encourage families to live close to each other, to strengthen intergenerational bonds, and to enable elderly people who, for health or financial reasons, have to leave their homes to find housing that meets their needs without having to leave the community in which they have lived for yearCommission and the Member States to promote intergenerational housing, accessibility and the creation of age-friendly environments;

Amendment 543 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Member States to promote programmes, a~~nd a~~ctions and silver economy technologies like home automation, human centered ICT and AI, to encourage families to live close to each other and at home, to strengthen intergenerational bonds, and to enable elderly people who, for health or financial reasons, have to leave their homes to find housing that meets their needs without having to leave the community in which they have lived for years;

Amendment 544 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Member States to promote ~~programmes and actions to encourage families to live close to each other,~~initiatives to strengthen intergenerational bonds, and to enable elderly people who, for health or financial reasons, have to leave their homes to find ~~housing that meets their needs without having to leave the community in which they have lived for years~~affordable housing;

Amendment 545 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Member States to promote programmes and actions to encourage families to live close to each other, torespecting the choice of each family member, to develop other forms of intergenerational housing, strengthen intergenerational ~~bond~~exchanges, and to enable eolderly people who, for health or financial reasons, have to leave their homes to find housing that meets their needs without having to leave the community in which they have lived for years;

Amendment 546 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Calls on the Member States to promote programmes and actions to encourage families to live close to each other, and to strengthen intergenerational bonds, and to enable elderly people who, for health or financial reasons, have to leave their homes to find housing that meets their needs without having to leave the community in which they have lived for years; calls for measures to be promoted that provide the right to housing and protect populations against property speculation activities, which oblige residents, particularly elderly people, to leave their homes, communities and local social community;

Amendment 547 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Calls on the Member States to take the gender dimension into account when reforming pension systems and adapting the retirement age, considering the differences between women and men in work patterns and the higher risk of discrimination against older women in the labour market;

Amendment 548 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17 b. Calls on the Commission also to include gender equality goals as a response to the demographic challenges faced by the EU;

Amendment 549 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)

17 c. Calls on the Member States to prevent and redress violence against older women aspart of their national responses to COVID-19, including helplines and support services, and paying particular attention to residential care settings;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)

A e. whereas Europeans are generally living longer, healthier and safer lives; whereas life expectancy at birth has increased for both men and women by about 10 years over the last five decades; whereas gender is a significant factor in ageing, as life expectancy is on average 5.5 years longer for women than for men, with statistics for the EU in 2018 showing that life expectancy at birth in 2018 was 78.2 for men and 83.7 for women1a, and whereas in 2070, life expectancy at birth is projected to reach 86.1 years for men and 90.3 years for women; whereas, by contrast, Eurostat figures show that the gap between the healthy life expectancy of men and women is much narrower, at 63.7 years for men and 64.2 years for women, revealing that ageing and the care needs of the ageing population is a gender equality issue; whereas gaps between women’s and men’s life expectancy at birth varies significantly between Member States; whereas older women are more frequently reliant on income provided by their partners as a result of the traditional division of labour and family roles that affects women’s pension rights, and whereas they tend to have less income at their disposal than older men owing to care responsibilities and smaller wages; _________________ 1a‘Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU’, Eurostat, 2019.

Amendment 550 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Emphasises that sheltered housing and supported housing are tools of housing and social policy which are characterised by high effectiveness of support for, among other things, the deinstitutionalisation of care; calls on the Member States to take action to expand the availability of sheltered and supported housing;deleted

Amendment 551 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Emphasises thate need of guaranteeing affordability to sheltered housing and supported housing ~~are tools of housing and social policy which are characterised by~~, tackling successfully all problems preventing older people from having equal opportunities with a view to ensuring higher effectiveness of support ~~for~~of housing and social policy and, among other things, the deinstitutionalisation of care; calls on the Member States to take action to improve the affordability and expand the availability of sheltered and supported housing;

Amendment 552 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Emphasises~~Points out that sheltered ~~housing~~ and supported housing ~~are tools of housing and social policy which are characterised by high effectiveness of support for, among other things,~~can be conducive to the deinstitutionalisation of care; calls on the Member States to ~~take action to expand the availability of~~explore the possibilities to promote sheltered and supported housing based on quality criteria;

Amendment 553 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Emphasises that sheltered housing and supported housing are tools of housing and social po~~calls on the Member States to take action to expand the availabilicty ~~which are~~of community-based char~~acterised by~~e, including by adopting highly effective~~ness of support for, among other things, the deinstitutionalisation of care; calls on the Member States to take action to expand the availability of sheltered and supported housing~~ alternatives to institutionalisation such as supported housing, intergenerational housing and housing adaptations;

Amendment 554 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Encourages the Member States to carry out information and education campaigns and actions dedicated to older people in the field of road safety, showing the impact of physiological changes and psychomotor skills on the ability to move around on the road, thus improving safety for all road users;

Amendment 555 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Calls for the establishment at Member State level of assistance packages involving programmes of measures to enhance employability, mitigate the impact of unemployment and raise employment levels among the over-50s with a special focus on women;

Amendment 556 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18 b. Underlines that many indicators collected by the EU’s statistical systems do not differentiate sufficiently between older age groups, such as the age brackets from 75 to 84 and 85+, which hampers efforts to raise awareness about the living conditions of women and men in the most advanced age groups in general, and the differences between women and men in the very advanced age groups in particular; calls on the Commission and the Member States to revise the statistical age groups to keep track of the ageing of the population and the increasing share of persons reaching very advanced ages;

Amendment 557 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18 b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to step up their support for the development of research into healthy ageing and old-age-related diseases;

Amendment 558 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 559 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Encourages the Member States to increase spending from ESF+, ERDF and FST for the training and retraining of older workers, ~~adapting companies to employ older people and adapting public infrastructure and space to the needs of older people~~to encourage companies to include older workers in all forms of training, adapting companies to employ older people with a specific focus on those with a chronic disease and adapting public infrastructure and space to the needs of older people; requests to increase investing in public services in rural areas which would attract the younger generation and increase the wellbeing of older people living in these areas; calls for greater use of EAFRD funds to counteract the isolation of older people in rural areas;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)

A f. whereas all policies addressing demographic opportunities and challenges must take an inclusive, rights- and evidence-based, people-centred approach, and must uphold the principles of equality, particularly gender equality and non-discrimination, and safeguard women’s rights, including their sexual and reproductive and economic rights; whereas EU action on ageing policy and demographic change must be fully in line with the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025; whereas the EU’s demographic challenges are closely linked to gender inequalities, but gender mainstreaming has not been sufficiently integrated into policy responses;

Amendment 560 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Encourages the Member States to increase spending from ESF+, ERDF and FST for the training and retraining of older workers, adapting companies to employ older people and adapting public infrastructure and space to the needs of older people; calls for greater use of EAFRD funds to counteract the isolation of older people in rural areasCommission and the Member States to significantly increase public investment, including through the use of European Structural and Investment Funds, to increase inclusion for older people, through training and by promoting culture and leisure and expanding and adapting public infrastructure, such as public transport, and the accessibility of social spaces; the isolation of older people in rural areas is a prime example of the importance of this public investment, sustaining social and territorial cohesion with a view to supporting this inclusion and participation;

Amendment 561 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 562 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Encourages the Member States to ~~increase spending from ESF+, ERDF and FST for~~promote the training and retraining of older workers, the adapt~~ing~~ation of companies to employ older people and the adapt~~ing~~ation of public infrastructure and space to the needs of older people; ~~calls for greater use of EAFRD funds to counteract the isolation of older people in rural areas;~~

Amendment 563 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 564 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Encourages the Member States to increase spending from ESF+, ERDF and FST for the training and retraining of older workers, the promotion of equal access to public services, with particular emphasis being placed on adapting companies to employ older people and adapting public infrastructure and space to the needs of older people; calls for greater use of EAFRD funds to counteract the isolation of older people in rural areas;

Amendment 565 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Asks the Commission and the Member States to create effective programmes for combating violence against women that incorporate the age dimension in order to prevent the physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse that can be inflicted on the elderly, most of whom are women; proposes that statistical surveys be carried out on the increase in violence against elderly people with the aim of shedding light on this serious problem – which elderly people are normally incapable of reporting, since they may accept the ill- treatment they suffer as part and parcel of being old and dependent – and with a view to combating elder abuse more effectively and with greater commitment on the part of society as a whole;

Amendment 566 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. For a society of the future: 1.Stresses that human life is a supreme value that takes precedence over all ideological or partisan circumstances or interests. 2.Emphasises that the key concept to be upheld in a democratic society based on the rule of law should be that of the individual as a human being and the defence of individuals' lives and dignity. 3. Underlines the value of the family as a natural institution which generates life and ensures optimal development and care for individuals at all stages of their lives and in each of their personal spheres: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Amendment 567 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Calls on the Commission, with a view to improve and strengthen the representation of the elderly in the EU law-making proces and mirroring the existing EU Youth Parliament, to consider EU REC programme (Rights, Equality and Citizenship) funding for a ‘European Elderly Parliament’ of experienced senior volunteers advising EU lawmakers on the impact of EU draft- laws and regulations on the elderly as well as contributing to more knowledge on and support for the EU among seniors;

Amendment 568 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Recognises the prominent role that the cohesion policy and the CAP could play in encouraging and boosting the employability and inclusion of women in rural and remote areas affronted with demographic-related issues and calls on the Member States to better use the relevant funds for that purpose;

Amendment 569 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Calls on the European Commission and Member States to support and develop the concept of age- friendly environments by supporting exchange of practices between municipalities, regions, academics, industry and civil society.

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)

A g. whereas in 2018, women in the European Union aged over 65 received a pension that was on average 30 % lower than that of men; whereas the pension gap tends to exacerbate women’s economic vulnerability and leaves them exposed to social exclusion, permanent poverty and economic dependence, in particular on their spouses or other family members1a, in part owing to unpaid care work and the unequal sharing of care responsibilities; _________________ 1a Eurostat.

Amendment 570 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Recommends Member States to involve universities and civil society (namely family associations and seniors’ associations) as permanent actors of dialogue in building family and elderly- friendly policies;

Amendment 571 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that all households and public institutions have access to broadband internet and to advance the acquisition of digital skills, especially for vulnerable groups;

Amendment 572 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. calls on the Member States to use REACT-EU funds to tackle demographic change1b; _________________ 1b https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/de mography_report_2020_n.pdf, page 20

Amendment 573 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19 b. Highlights that new technologies and innovative methods could prove to be useful to reduce the costs for services of general interests, while retaining the standard of living and the quality of the services in the remote and sparsely populated areas; Encourages the Member States and the relevant regional and local authorities to invest in unconventional and innovative measures aimed to provide essential services for the population and create a suitable environment to attract people to return and revert depopulation;

Amendment 574 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)

19 b. Calls for the EU and Member States to include older LGBTI+ persons in strategies and action plans to achieve gender equality, including by exploring the intersection of disadvantages linked to age and sexual orientation; underlines, for example, that long-term care and assistance structures may not be adapted to respecting the rights to privacy and private life of LGBTI+ persons, and that programmes to prevent and mitigate HIV/AIDS may not be accessible to older persons;

Amendment 575 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19 c. Points out that a high quality of care should be guaranteed in order to improve quality of life in old age and emphasises that people living in public and private institutions for elderly care should have the right to participate in the decision-making of these institutions through board and administration structures; considers that Member States should ensure that persons employed as carers of older people in the public and private sectors receive continuous training and regular evaluation of their performance and that a greater economic value be given to their work, including pay, insurance, and working conditions;

Amendment 576 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)

19 c. Calls on the Member States to enhance their exchange of best practices related to the creation of suitable demographic policies and initiatives aimed to harness the possibilities and address the challenges posed by the aging of the population in Europe;

Amendment 577 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)

19 d. Asks that a gender perspective be taken into account when making medical diagnoses, to ensure that they are accurate and that people receive appropriate treatment and care; points out that women’s diseases and underlying conditions continue to be underdiagnosed and undertreated; asks that tools for diagnosis, health services and care not be restricted solely because of a patient’s age and gender, so that screening for breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer, as well as cardiovascular screening, for example, should be available to elderly women; asks, in addition, that greater attention be given to the prevention and treatment of diseases to which older women are especially prone, such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and that for medicines in the process of being developed, trials to study their effects on the body should be carried out not only on men, but also on women;

Amendment 578 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 e (new)

19 e. Points out that both technology and technical improvements can be important in adapting society to the needs of an ageing population; calls for innovations developed in close cooperation with older people to become more widely used; believes that systems should be user-centric and designed in such a way that they are accessible for all people to use regardless of their age, gender, abilities or characteristics; stresses that artificial intelligence (AI) systems should not adopt a one-size-fits- all approach and should incorporate Universal Design principles addressing the widest possible range of users and following the relevant accessibility standards;

Amendment 579 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 f (new)

19 f. Asks the Commission to update and strengthen the monitoring mechanisms related to the implementation of fundamental rights issues by the end of 2022; calls, furthermore, for greater awareness of these, often underused, mechanisms, as older people in general, and older women in particular, are especially ill-informed about their rights;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A h (new)

A h. whereas in 2018, in the EU-27, 15.5 % of people aged 65 or above were at risk of poverty1a; whereas women are more likely to be affected by old-age poverty because they tend to have lower employment rates, more career breaks, lower wages and they work more in part- time, temporary and informal work; _________________ 1a COM(2020)0241.

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A i (new)

A i. whereas the employment gap between women and men stood at 12 % in 2019; whereas the gender employment gap is even more pronounced when taking into account the significant difference in the uptake of part-time work between men and women;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)

- having regard to the Council conclusions of 06/10/2020 on Human Rights, Participation and Well-Being of Older Persons in the Era of Digitalisation3a _________________ 3a https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/docu ment/ST-11087-2020-INIT/en/pdf

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas ~~the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by an average of 10 years over the last 50 years;~~ , as a consequence of development and accessibility to scientific-technological means, along with myriad social and labour conquests that considerably improved populations' quality of life, the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by an average of 10 years over the last 50 years; whereas the increase in average life expectancy must be viewed, under all circumstances, as a factor of civilisation advancement and never as a constraint;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by an average of 10 years over the last 50 years; whereas Healthy Life Expectancy has remained stable over the last 10 years at about 64years for women and men; whereas, while increasing life expectancy is a significant civilisatory achievement, the disconnection between life expectancy and health is a worrying development that should urgently be addressed;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by an average of 10 years over the last 50 years; whereas male life expectancy is expected to rise from 78.3 years in 2016 to 86.1 years in 2070, and female life expectancy is expected to increase from 83.7 years in 2016 to 90.3 in 2070;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the average life expectancy of men and women has increased by an average of 10 years over the last 50 years, but whereas men still live on average between three and 10 years less than women, depending on the Member State;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas longevity presents a remarkable collective achievement, pointing to the significant progress in economic and social development and health; whereas longer life in better health is valuable both for individuals and for societies, creating new opportunities for participation and inclusion of older persons in economic and social life; whereas social engagement at older age in turn contributes to individual health and well-being; whereas there is a correlation between longevity and social status;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas closing the gender employment gap is conditional on the fulfilment of basic social rights and the provision of basic social services;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas in most developed countries, the age of 65+ is used as an indicator to define an older person; whereas the 65+ age group is very heterogeneous, with significant differences as regards health, status, as well as living and social condition;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas the economic and political situation in Europe can only be improved and the consequences of demographic change averted if the talents and potential of all women and men are used and care responsibilities shared;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

B c. whereas focusing on the age of 65 years as the upper age limit for data collection often does not correspond to the reality of older people’s economic and social activities, resulting in incomplete and inaccurate data;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

B c. whereas women aged between 55 and 64 have a lower employment rate than men (52.4 % for women compared to 65.4 % for men), and are the most likely providers of informal care services in the home1a; _________________ 1a‘Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU’, Eurostat, 2019.

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6

— having regard to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the fertility rate in the EU is falling and had reached 1.55 in 2018; whereas the reasons for this fall are complex, but cannot be separated from the precariousness that affects workers, the devaluation of salaries or property speculation, which mainly affect younger workers and their material capacity and work-life balance, which provides maximum security for their children and makes their life projects possible to achieve;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the fertility rate in the EU is falling and had reached 1.55 in 2018; whereas research points to the possibility that fertility rates are positively influenced by policies encouraging better job opportunities, decent working and living conditions, flexible work arrangements, generous family support as well as parental pay leave for both parents, quality childcare from early years on, more equal burden-sharing of care responsibilities between men and women;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the fertility rate in the EU is falling and had reached 1.55 in 2018; whereas the natural change of the EU population has been negative since 2012, with more deaths than births recorded in the EU, respectively 4.7 million to 4.2 million in 20192a _________________ 2a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2 995521/11081093/3-10072020-AP- EN.pdf/d2f799bf-4412-05cc-a357- 7b49b93615f1

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the fe~~rtil~~cundity rate in the EU is falling and had reached 1.55 in 2018; whereas this has created a very serious demographic situation which threatens its biological survival in the long term and its economic and social sustainability in the short and medium term;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas the fertility rate in the EU is falling and had reached 1.55 in 2018; whereas this is linked to a variety of factors, including improved health and increased levels of education4a; _________________ 4a United Nations, Changing Population Age Structures and Sustainable Development, 2017, p. 11.

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas the ageing of society is too often seen in negative terms, i.e. in terms of the challenges related to the age structure of the labour force and the sustainability of social protection and healthcare, although older people also represent an economic resource and a trove of experience, and offer key community and family support as carers for dependents and as labour consultants, given their wide professional experience, as well as helping to maintain rural communities;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

C b. whereas, on the one hand, the proportion of people aged 80 or over in the EU-28 population is expected to more than double by 2050 and, on the other hand, the share of the working age population in the EU (aged 15 to 64) decreased for the first time in 2010 and is expected to decline every year to 20601a; _________________ 1aBriefing – ‘Demography on the European agenda: Strategies for tackling demographic decline’, European Parliament, Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services, Members’ Research Service, 2 June 2020, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/BRIE/2020/651939/EPRS_BRI(20 20)651939_EN.pdf

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

C c. whereas the gender gap in life expectancy at birth already exists and is expected to widen further in the future; whereas the widening of this gap is likely to exacerbate existing gender inequalities and their impacts such as the gender pension gap and old-age poverty; whereas poverty among those aged 75 years and over is consistently concentrated among women, mainly as a result of the impact of gendered unpaid care duties, lifelong differences in pay and working time with the lower pensions that result, different retirement ages for men and women in some Member States, and the fact that more older women live alone;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)

C d. whereas the rates of part-time employment are higher for women (31.3 %) than for men (8.7 %) and also affect older women (49.8 % of older men compared to 64.1 % of older women); whereas the number of usual working hours in the EU-28 averaged 30.3 hours per week for men aged between 65 and 74 and 24.1 hours per week for women of the same age, and whereas men are expected to be part of the labour force for 38.6 years, while the corresponding figure for women is 33.7 years1a; _________________ 1a‘Ageing Europe: Looking at the lives of older people in the EU’, Eurostat, 2019.

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

~~D. whereas the total number of people of working age (15-64) will fall by 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 as the baby boomer generation retires;~~deleted

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)

- having regard to the outcome of the Second World Assembly on Ageing of 8-12 April 2002, the ‘Political Declaration and Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing’4a _________________ 4a https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents /ageing/MIPAA/political-declaration- en.pdf

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the total number of people of working age (15-64) will fall by 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 as the baby boomer generation retires; whereas it is essential that this situation is not seen as inevitable, as its reversal is necessary to promote public policies based on: raising families' incomes, the provision of maternity, paternity and parental leave that safeguards the rights of children and parents, and the provision of accessible or free childcare facilities for children up to 3 years old;

Amendment 81 #

D. whereas the total number of ~~people of~~ working age people (15-64) will fall by 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 as the baby boomer generation retires; whereas in 2019,the employment rate for workers aged 55-64 stood at 60 % in the EU-285a, compared to 73.9 % for those aged 20- 645b; _________________ 5a https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/ view/tesem050/default/table?lang=en 5b https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/ view/t2020_10/default/table?lang=en

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the total number of people of working age (15-64) will fall by 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 as the baby boomer generation retires, resulting in a greater burden on Europe's healthcare and pension systems;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the total number of people of working age (15-64) will fall by 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 as the baby boomer generation retires and the total age-dependency ratio is expected to reach 63.5% by 2030;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the total number of people of working age (15-64) will fall by 20.8 million between 2005 and 2030 as ~~the baby boomer~~post- World War II generation retires;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas there are over 80 million persons with disabilities in the EU, of whom the majority are women and girls, and whereas most disabilities are acquired with age; whereas persons with disabilities are at higher risk of poverty; whereas in all Member States the severe material deprivation rate of women with disabilities is higher than that of women without disabilities; whereas ageing policies must ensure the protection and social inclusion of persons with disabilities, as well as their access to the labour market and to services;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. Whereas an older Europe with smaller workforce may trigger pressure on public budgets; whereas the total cost of ageing1a was calculated to be 26.7% of GDP by 20702a; _________________ 1a In the 2018 Ageing Report, the total cost of ageing is defined as public spending on pensions, health-care, long- term care, education and unemployment benefits. 2a https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/eco nomy-finance/2018-ageing-report- economic-and-budgetary-projections-eu- member-states-2016-2070_en

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

D b. whereas fertility rates are low and have fallen from an EU-28 average of around 2.5 children per woman in 1960, to a little under 1.6 in 2020, which is far below the 2.1 births per woman considered necessary to maintain a stable population in the long term1a; _________________ 1aBriefing – ‘Demography on the European agenda: Strategies for tackling demographic decline’, European Parliament, Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services, Members’ Research Service, 2 June 2020.

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas in 2018, 19 % of EU citizens were 65 years old or older, and every Member State should be aware of this group's situation from an age and social point of view, so that they can develop policies that meet this group's specific needs;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the median age in the EU-28 has risen from 38.3 years in 2001 to 43.1 years in20186a; whereas in 2018, 19 % of EU citizens were 65 years old or older; _________________ 6aEuropean Parliamentary Research Service, Demographic outlook of the European Union, March 2020, p. 3.

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)

- having regard to the Ministerial Declaration of 22ndSeptember 2017 at the 4th UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing in Lisbon ‘A Sustainable Society for all Ages: Realising the potential of living longer’ 5a _________________ 5a https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/pa u/age/Ministerial_Conference_Lisbon/De claration/2017_Lisbon_Ministerial_Decla ration.pdf

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas the long-standing issue of the quality of care services has been dramatically exposed by COVID-19, with inhumane treatment caused by poor quality of care and inadequate resources, shedding a new light on the wider issue of the quality of care provided for persons in care homes for the elderly; whereas an examination at EU level is needed to determine the conditions, quality, protective measures and adequacy of resources in different elderly care services, and whether and how many elderly people, especially women, were unnecessarily exposed to the virus or left without proper care;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)

E b. whereas depopulation is taking place in some EU regions and there is an increasing concentration of the population in certain urban areas making development and cohesion difficult within the EU project;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)

E c. whereas the ramifications of the gender pay gap include a 37 % gender gap in pension income and an unequal level of economic independence between women and men, as women are more affected by non-standard forms of work, employment relationships which do not provide occupational pensions and by lower income levels; whereas women’s care responsibilities and historically different retirement ages also contribute substantially to the gender pension gap, as they continue to be negatively affected by long periods of leave to provide care and/or drop out of the labour market altogether and have trouble re-entering it;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas ~~old~~the process of ageing is ~~characteris~~accompanied by pthe~~nomena such as~~ significant life changes like the loss of one’´s partner, ~~the growing proportion of females, and loneliness~~relatives or friends, health degradation, changes in the life habits and work patterns as well as changes to the financial stability; whereas since 2010, the number of single-person households has increased by 19%; whereas 40% of women in the EU aged 65+ live alone;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas ~~old age is characterised by phenomena such as the loss of one’s partner, the growing proportion of females, and loneliness; whereas since 2010,~~the demographic change contributes to an increasing share of women in the 65+age group; whereas the number of single-person households has increased by 19% % since 2010; whereas in 2019, 40 % of women in the EU aged 65+ +lived alone;, which is more than double the share of men living alone7a; _________________ 7aEuropean Commission, The impact of demographic change: Commission Staff Working Document, June 2020, p. 21.

Amendment 95 #

F. whereas ~~old age is characterised by phenomena such as the loss of one’s partner, the growing proportion of females, and loneliness; whereas~~the so-called senior population is particularly exposed to the phenomena of social exclusion and isolation, which particularly affects women, taking into account that, since 2010, the number of single-person households has increased by 19%~~; whereas~~ and that 40% of women in the EU aged 65+ live alone;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)

F a. whereas more than 50 % of carers under the age of 65 combine care with employment; whereas, as is often pointed out by the Commission, care responsibilities are one of the main reasons for women’s lower levels of labour market participation, either because they reduce their working hours or leave paid work altogether, amounting to a loss for Europe of EUR 370 billion per year; whereas estimates show 80 % of all care across the EU is provided by informal carers who are mostly women (75 %), indicating the existence of a gender care gap strongly influencing the gender pension gap; whereas care provided by informal carers without any formal employment contract is particularly problematic, as it leaves them outside of the labour market and any possibility of regularisation; whereas this type of situation leads to a double negative effect, whereby, on the one hand, these informal carers (mostly women) are low paid as a rule, lack social protection, do not pay social security contributions and as a result either do not receive any pensions at the end of their working lives, or only receive the minimum pension, and, on the other hand, this type of situation has a negative impact on the state and its relevant institutions, which are deprived of social security contributions and taxes paid by employers and employees;

Amendment 97 #