European Strategy for Older persons

Key points

The EESC:

• calls for a paradigm shift towards older people, moving away from a care-based approach to focus on empowering them, and eradicating ageist views;
• calls on the EU to adopt a new European Strategy for Older Persons before the end of the current term of office, with the objectives of protecting all their rights and ensuring their full participation in society and the economy. The strategy should cover the areas of equality and non-discrimination, the gender dimension, rights and access thereto, participation in society, employment, education and training, decent income and social inclusion. It should also lead to the development of national plans by Member States, including specific targets and indicators. The strategy should be put into practice by Guarantee for Older People– to serve as a tool to put the new strategy into practice;
• encourages the European Commission and the Member States to urgently draft, develop, sign, implement and monitor a European Declaration on Older People to reflect the commitment to developing a European Strategy for Older Persons;

• requests that the European Commission organises a European Year of Older People, sets up a European Agency for Older People, Ageing and the Demographic Challenge and calls for the adoption of a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.