31 Amendments of Lina GÁLVEZ related to 2020/2039(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas demographic challenges impose considerable economic and social pressure on Member States’ governments and on local and regional authorities in terms of the provision of public services, particularly social welfare, social services and infrastructure; whereas without adequate policy response these pressures willmight be exacerbated by an overall declining active population and a higher dependency ratio; whereas high-quality public and private services, especially childcare, long-term care and day-care facilities, will play a key role, and, resulting in a vicious circle of challenges; whereas proper infrastructure, high-quality accessible and affordable public and private services, especially childcare, long-term care and day-care facilities, and high-quality jobs, adequate housing, transports and broadband connection will play a key role for people in deciding to stay or to move to a particular region; whereas the role of telecare and, telemedicine, teleworking and digital education will need to be expandfurther explored;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the natural change of the Union population has been negative since 20121a; whereas the median age in the EU-28 has risen from 38.3 years in 2001 to 43.1 years in2018; whereas the working population has been shrinking since 2010 and the projections suggest a continuous decline1b; whereas the working population is likely to decrease by 18 % in the next 50 years1c; _________________ 1aEurostat, Population and population change statistics, July 2020. 1bEuropean Parliamentary Research Service, Demographic outlook of the European Union, March 2020, p. 3. 1cEuropean Commission, Report on the impact of demographic change, June 2020, p. 15.
Amendment 17 #
Ab. whereas the total dependency ratio was 54.6 % in the EU-28 in 2018 and the old-age dependency ratio 30.5 %; whereas the old-age dependency ratio is projected to reach 62 % by 20302a; whereas there are an estimated 100 million persons with disabilities in the EU; whereas about a quarter of the Union population experienced long-standing limitations due to health problems in 2018; whereas almost half of the elderly population reported difficulties with at least one personal care or household activity in 20142b; _________________ 2aEuropean Parliamentary Research Service, Demographic outlook of the European Union. March 2020, pp. 5-6. 2bEurostat, Functional and activity limitations statistics, November 2019.
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas women’s life expectancy at birth is 5.5 years higher than men’s3a; whereas women carry disproportionate burden of formal and informal care for children, older people and people with disabilities; whereas one third of women in the age group between 20 and 64 years does not participate in paid work because of family or care responsibilities, in comparison to only 5% of inactive men3b; whereas the prevalence of women among informal carers does not only negatively affect the participation of women in the labour market but also exposes them to economic dependency, poverty and social exclusion; whereas in rural areas, in addition to the significant family and care responsibilities, many women support family businesses in the agricultural sector and carry out additional work that often remains "invisible"3c; _________________ 3aEuropean Commission, Report on the impact of demographic change, June 2020, p. 7. 3b EIGE, Gender Equality Index 2019. Work-life balance, 2020, p. 79. 3cEuropean Parliamentary Research Service. Demographic outlook of the European Union. March 2020, p. 15.
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas in the last decade, there has been an increase in the percentage of single-adult households; whereas this increase is particularly significant for households of single adults without children4a; whereas in 2019 the share of women living in a single household was as high as 40 % and more than double the share of men living alone4b; _________________ 4aEuropean Commission, The impact of demographic change: Commission Staff Working Document, June 2020, p. 21. 4bEuropean Commission, Report on the impact of demographic change, June 2020, p. 11.
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
Ae. whereas behind the aggregate data on demographic change, there are notable differences between and within Member States; whereas the demographic decline in some regions aggravates existing inequalities and undermines people’s quality of life; whereas the demographic decline has a greater impact on regions that are already lagging behind;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
Af. whereas tackling demographic challenges calls for coordinated action and a comprehensive set of policies, including targeted measures in the areas of employment, social protection, health and occupational safety, education and skills, which take time to formulate and to produce an effect; whereas some negative impacts of demographic change in the most affected regions demand immediate response with support of the Union instruments;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Recital A g (new)
Recital A g (new)
Ag. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lack of policy responses to the impact of demographic changes in the EU, such as the lack of adequate housing, quality care facilities and sufficient care and support services; whereas solidarity between generations is crucial for a successful recovery from the crisis and the creation of fairer, inclusive and more resilient societies, where the human rights of all generations are equally protected, where nobody is left behind in the process of the green and digital transition and where basic services are public and accessible to everyone;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Recital A h (new)
Recital A h (new)
Ah. whereas demographic change should not be perceived as a mere threat but rather as a consequence of commendable increased longevity and as a structural change that must be socially sustainable, that must recognize, value and make use of the people’s potential at every age and that will require the involvement of policymakers at all relevant levels and civil society alike;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Recital A i (new)
Recital A i (new)
Ai. whereas both the free movement of workers as well as internal and external migration will continue to have an impact on the size of the population at Union, national and regional level; whereas migration and brain drain are often triggered by social and economic disparities between countries, both within the Union and between the EU and third countries;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Recital A j (new)
Recital A j (new)
Aj. whereas cohesion policy instruments present the main source of public investment in the EU, accounting for 8.5 % government capital investment in the EU, 41 % at the level of EU-13 and surpassing 50 % in a number of countries5a; _________________ 5aEuropean Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds Data, October 2018.
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Recital A k (new)
Recital A k (new)
Ak. whereas discrimination on grounds of gender, religious belief, age, disability or sexual orientation is prohibited and presents a breach of fundamental Union values;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Recital A l (new)
Recital A l (new)
Al. whereas measures and policies tacking demographic changes must by no means undermine individual reproductive rights;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Recital A m (new)
Recital A m (new)
Am. whereas investments in rights- based, people-centred and evidence-based policies, including in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, health care and care services and infrastructures, are important elements to tackle demographic challenges;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas it is important for the EU to mainstreaUnion to identify demographic challenges in all policy fields and to develop strategies to tackle them (demographic issues into all its policies, including by incorporating them in its budget linesmainstreaming), including in the European Semester process; whereas the European Parliament in its 2011 “Resolution on demographic change and its consequences for the cohesion policy” and its 2017 “Resolution on deployment of cohesion policy instruments by regions to address demographic change”, called on the use of all available EU instruments, including cohesion policy funding, to tackle challenges posed by demographic change;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the fight against unemployment among young people and older workers remains one of the greatest challenges facing the EU’s regionsa key challenge for many regions in the Union, in particular as regards long-term unemployment and in-work poverty; whereas young people already had to carry a disproportionate share of burden in the 2008 economic and financial crisis; whereas the Union needs sustainable solutions and solidarity between generations to overcome the COVID-19crisis as well as crises in the future;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Member States to usemainstream demographic challenges and to carefully plan the use of Cohesion Fund resources, in particular the ERDF, ESF and the future ESF+, to increase the accessibility of public spaces to people with special needtackle demographic change in a rights-based and socially just manner with a focus on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including persons with disabilities, single parents, children and the elderly;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the Commission proposal for the REACT-EU instrument that is designed to increase the amount of funding in the 2014-2020 period for the ERDF, ESF and FEAD; is nevertheless deeply concerned that this temporary funding is insufficient to tackle social dimension of the COVID-19 crisis, including the most pressing demographic challenges; calls on the Commission to ensure sufficient flexibility and reduce unnecessary administrative burden in the use of these funds while closely monitoring and reporting on their efficiency and social impact;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls for a considerable budgetary increase of the ESF+ in the 2021-2027 MFF proposal;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Stresses the need to tackle the negative impacts of demographic change in a rights-based and socially just manner, in line with principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights and with special attention to structural reforms for more inclusive labour market, the creation of quality jobs and job opportunities in less developed areas or regions at risk of depopulation and outermost territories; highlights in this regard the importance of continuous reskilling and upskilling of workers, age- friendly working environments, as well as occupational health and safety to ensure that people can work until they reach the statutory retirement age; stresses the need to promote collective bargaining and increase the collective bargaining coverage to ensure decent working conditions for all;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Underlines the need to tackle the age-dependency ratio by reducing long- term unemployment and in-work poverty, as well as unemployment among the youth and the elderly; recalls that universal access to affordable childcare and other care and support services is a precondition for many people, in particular women and single parents, to become or remain economically active and to ensure healthy life-work balance;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)
Paragraph 1 e (new)
1e. Calls on the Commission to apply gender mainstreaming in all measures and policies related to demographic change, including the upcoming Green Paper on Ageing and Long-term Vision for Rural Areas; reiterates the necessity of closing the gender employment, pay and pension gap; encourages the Member States to use the cohesion funds to improve the level of employment and inclusion of women, especially in less developed and rural areas and with focus on the needs of women returning to the labour market at older age;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Stresses that investments in rights- based, people-centred and evidence-based policies, including in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, health care and care services and infrastructures, are important elements to tackle demographic challenges;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)
Paragraph 1 g (new)
1g. Calls on the Commission to promote economic and social cohesion and an integral approach to tackling demographic change, so that reversing negative impacts of demographic change in one Member State or region is not to the detriment of other Member States or regions; points to significant differences in absolute values of minimum income and pensions across different regions and types of communities that guarantee dignified life; highlights the importance of fostering social inclusion by partnership with social partners, civil society, regional and local authorities and with local populations in the design and implementation of policies and concrete measures;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 h (new)
Paragraph 1 h (new)
1h. Underlines the need for support and counselling services that provide people with a life-cycle perspective and counter structural ageism, especially in employment6a; calls to support the national public employment services and the European Network of Public Employment Services, especially in their efforts to support long-term inactive and older jobseekers; _________________ 6a OECD, Demographic Change and Local Development: Shrinkage, Regeneration and Social Dynamics, 2012, p. 14.
Amendment 82 #
1i. Calls on the Member States to acknowledge the value of informal care and to improve the social protection and support for informal carers;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 j (new)
Paragraph 1 j (new)
1j. 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 and that would also facilitate the implementation of alternative approaches, promoting the transition to person-centred and community based services;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 k (new)
Paragraph 1 k (new)
1k. Calls on the Commission to strengthen its support to national and local authorities’ migration and inclusion policies, especially through policy coordination, knowledge exchange and financial support; calls on the Commission and the Member States to improve migrants’ access to education and the labour market, especially for female migrants;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls foron the greater involvementMember States to make use of ERDF resources into improvinge the transport and telecommunications infrastructure and support independent living and mobility, especially in areas that have high ageing rates, a high proportion of rural areas,re less developed and are facing depopulation;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for a greater mobilisation of ESF resources, combined with national and local investment, to effectively counter the digital gapdivide and digital exclusion, especially among older people; stresses the importance of broadening the digital skills programmes to the population beyond the retirement age; calls for mainstreaming demographic challenges into the Just Transition Fund to address, above all, social exclusion, digital divide and energy poverty;
Amendment 132 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. 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/2008/0426 final, 2 July 2008.