Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) can submit written questions to the President of the European Council, the Council, the Commission or the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Last November, MEP Eduard Kukan submitted a question to the Commission on the implementation of the Employment Equality Directive, underlining that despite the Directive, age discrimination is still rampant in the labour market and has increased since the financial and economic crisis. Observed consequences were among others: gender pay and pension gaps, and long-term unemployment for older workers.

He therefore asked the Commission how it intensd to enforce the implementation of Directive in order to fight against persisting age discrimination in the labour market, and how it plans to encourage the employment of older women.

The Commission just sent its reply. It states it willingness to fight age discrimination, its efforts to monitor the situation in the Member States, but recalls that it is up to the Member States to transpose the Directive. Regarding employability of older workers, it replied that that gender gap aspects are part of the monitoring done in the context of the European Semester. In 2015, several Member States received country specific recommendations on improving family support services, work-life balance, skills upgrading, while others were encouraged to take steps to harmonise the retirement age between men and women.

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