Europaudvalget 2020-21
KOM (2021) 0050 Bilag 2
Offentligt
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Green paper on ageing
SG.E.3
BERL 06/270
European Commission
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Holmens Kanal 22
1060 København K
Phone 33 92 93 00
[email protected]
www.sm.dk
Sagsnr.
2021 - 1787
Doknr.
410094
Dato
15-04-2021
The Danish Government´s view on the Commission’s
Green Paper on Ageing
The Danish Government welcomes the green paper from the European
Commission, aiming to launch a broad policy debate on the challenges and
opportunities associated with ageing. It is important to address the overall
consequences of ageing, and the focus should be both on the personal
implications and the more general societal implications associated with ageing.
The debate presented in the green paper is very important in order to guide
policy response at relevant level to ageing, not least with the COVID-19-
pandemic that has had and continue to have severe consequences for many
older persons around the world.
The Danish Government welcomes the life-course approach encompassing
many different themes. A broad scope on ageing and older persons is very
important as this area often transcends different sectors. It is significant to note
that older persons are not a homogeneous group, but rather a very complex
group with different needs and resources.
The Danish Government highlights its position on the following themes; lifelong
learning connection to the labour market, healthy and active ageing and quality
of life, gender equality, and long term care.
Lifelong learning and connection to the labour market
With regard to lifelong learning, and connection to the labour market, the
Danish Government agrees that a versatile strengthening of
employees’
and
peoples competencies through lifelong learning strategies can help to curb
inequality in the society and at the same time strengthen the competitiveness.
There is a large potential for developing the skills of older people. In chapter 3
on page 7, the green paper mentions:
Many older workers face difficulties
when it comes to recruitment, access to training opportunities, job transitions
and age-adapted tasks. Facilitating the labour market participation of older
persons could be better encouraged, including for example with fiscal
incentives for employers to recruit older workers.
The Danish government agrees that this is an important topic, and would in this
context like to highlight as an example, that the Danish Agency for Public
Finance and Management, which is responsible for the recruitment system of
the Danish State workplaces, has recently changed the set-up of the templates
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in the system. This means that it is now standard that the fields with age and
gender are not displayed. The individual institutions can still decide to select
the fields and make them mandatory or voluntary if they assess that the
information is important.
In chapter 4.3 on page 14, the green paper mentions:
Limiting early retirement
to objectively warranted cases, establishing a general right to work beyond
pensionable age and flexible retirement schemes, can help to make pension
systems both adequate and sustainable.
The Danish Government would like to state that employees in the public (state)
sector in Denmark, employees are entitled to continue working after the
retirement age. The former mandatory retirement age of 70 years for civil
servants was abolished in 2008, except for judges, priests and bishops.
Healthy ageing and quality of life
The Danish Government also welcomes the discussion on healthy ageing and
quality of life that the green paper presents. A healthy lifestyle is an important
aspect of remaining active throughout our lives. Healthy ageing has many
aspects, which can be both physical and mental, and relate to consumption
and nutrition patterns, physical activity, social activity and relations. Another
important aspect of healthy ageing is to ensure that a high quality of life and
self-determination is ensured throughout a whole life.
For the Danish Government, it is important to support a high quality of life and
self- determination, especially for the most vulnerable senior citizens. It is
important that senior citizens who move to nursing homes continue to
experience that they have influence of their own lives and that they receive
appropriate care to ensure quality of life
Gender equality
All people should have the same opportunities to unleash their full potential in
relation to education, the labour market, and society in general. This applies
regardless of gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, or
sexual orientation. Denmark, therefore, supports a focus on gender equality
when working with new strategies related to ageing, especially in relation to
themes such as lifelong learning and connections to the labour market.
Long-term care
All people should be offered the possibility to be included in general society,
including in education and the labor market. This is particularly relevant for
persons with disabilities, and other persons who receive long-term care. The
need for long-term care can change through the course of a lifetime, and it is
important that this group is included in the general society. The green paper
makes an important note when mentioning that the group of people who will be
in need of long-term care will likely increase in the future, and that sustainable
solutions must be found to meet the needs.
Future steps related to ageing
The Danish Government would like to emphasize that possible future
initiatives related to ageing at EU-level should take the form of exchange of
experiences and best practices, and that possible initiatives should be
assessed on the basis of whether they create added value to already existing
work with ageing in the member states
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Even though the Danish Government finds the variety of themes highlighted in
the paper positive, some of the themes could be unfolded further. For example,
many older persons experience loneliness and social isolation, especially due
to the restrictions associated with the COVID-19-pandemic. The Danish
Government notes that the chapter concerning loneliness could be elaborated.
Furthermore, it is important throughout the report to recognize and highlight the
positive contributions of older persons, which also should be reflected in new
initiatives.
Another theme that could be elaborated in the future initiatives and policies is
the role of civil society and public information in regard to life-long learning, as
this is considered an important factor in Denmark.
The Danish Government would also like to note that when creating initiatives or
policies related to poverty, regional and national conditions should be taken
into account.
Finally, The Danish Government would like to highlight that when possible EU-
initiatives related to the challenges of ageing must consider and respect the
division of competences between the Commission and the member states, as
well as the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality. National labour market
and welfare models of the EU countries as well as the role of the social
partners must also be respected at all times.
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