Parliamentary question

Written question to the European Commission

In her speech on the State of the EU, the Commission President announced a European care strategy to ‘support men and women in finding the best care and the best life balance’. The report by the Commission and the Social Protection Committee on long-term care indicates that only one third of individuals aged 65+ with severe needs had access to home care services, and more than 25 % of Europeans, mainly women, are informal carers for children, persons with disabilities or older family members. COVID-19 has aggravated and increased the over-reliance on informal carers. People in need of care have been facing a lack of affordable quality care for years, which puts them at risk of exclusion. Care workers are facing exhausting conditions and a lack of recognition, which exposes them and their charges to situations of physical and mental risk.

1. Will the European care strategy focus on long-term care as an opportunity for inclusion and to allow older people to participate in our communities, rather than just as a challenge or cost?

2. Will the strategy adopt a rights-based approach based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the EU disability strategy?

3. How will the strategy improve recognition of and working conditions for formal carers and support for informal carers?

Answer given by Commissioner Dalli on behalf of the European Commission

The European Care Strategy will focus on both carers and care receivers, from childcare to long-term care. It is expected to include proposals for Council Recommendations on the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care and on access to affordable high-quality long-term care.

In this respect, it will set a policy framework to guide the further development of sustainable long-term care, ensure better and more affordable access to quality services for all and improve the working conditions in the sector. In line with the European Pillar of Social Rights, these services include in particular home-care and community-based services.

The strategy will fully comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and ensure synergies with the EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, the EU Comprehensive Strategy on the Rights of the Child 2021-2024 and the European Child Guarantee, including on issues related to independent living.

The Commission recognises the importance of tackling the challenges faced by formal and informal carers, as identified in the 2021 joint report of the Commission and the Social Protection Committee on Long-Term Care.

These include working conditions and pay levels for the formal long-term care workforce, labour shortages, insufficient re-skilling and upskilling opportunities, and negative impacts of caring responsibilities for informal carers.

Building on relevant existing EU acquis and initiatives, as well as consultations with stakeholders, the strategy will identify avenues for further action at both EU and Member States levels.