Brussels, 11 December 2014

Decision on the European Parliament’s Intergroups

Today, the European Parliament has given its final approval on the establishment of Intergroups. AGE Platform Europe warmly welcomes the re-establishment of the long-standing Intergroup that will deal with ageing and intergenerational solidarity and looks forward to working with MEPs to help Europe address its demographic challenge in a positive way.

“The re-establishment of this long-standing Intergroup is a big success for older citizens’ and their organisations. We have been working hard with our member organisations across the EU to raise awareness among new Members of the European Parliament and Commissioners on the need to address Europe’s demographic challenge in a way that is fair and sustainable for all generations,” said Anne-Sophie Parent, AGE Secretary General, adding “AGE Platform Europe agrees with President Juncker’s acknowledgement that Europe has not done enough yet to address population ageing and we believe such Intergroup will help the European Parliament voice older citizens’ concerns and recommendations in EU policy debates that seek to help Member States address their demographic challenges “

“By joining the Intergroup on Active Ageing, Intergenerational Solidarity and Families Policies, MEPs can play a crucial role in proposing a vision of a society for all ages that supports the active participation of older citizens, enhances economic growth, supports greater social justice and cohesion and strengthens the rights and responsibilities of all generations”, Mrs Parent continued.

AGE Members look forward to collaborating with their MEPs, notably on President Juncker’s investment plan, the EC Agenda for Jobs, Growth, Fairness and Democratic Change and the adoption of the long-awaited equal treatment directive in order to tackle age discrimination and the rise of poverty among older persons. MEPs have a key role to play to help Europe remain the best place to age actively and healthily and this Intergroup will have the mandate to push for innovative and forward-looking policies and initiatives.

AGE will monitor and report on the Intergroup’s activities on its blog “Towards an Age-Friendly European Parliament” and we hope this blog will become a collaborative platform on what the new Parliament will do to address demographic change and to find fair and sustainable solutions for the future of all generations.

Since the European elections, AGE is campaigning for the re-establishment of the long-standing Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. Members of the European Parliament will adopt the final list of Intergroups on 26 November. Time is then running to ensure that the Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations makes it through during the vote!

How does it work?

Each political group has a limited number of Intergroups it can support. The two biggest, the Socialists&Democrats and the Christian-Democrats can support up to 22. The other groups can only support 7 or 9, according to their size.

To be established, an Intergroup needs the support from 3 political groups. Competition is thus hard to be in the priorities of the smaller political groups, i.e. the ones which can only support 7 or 9 Intergroups.

42 applications for Intergroups have been submitted and are now competing. They address a wide range of areas, such as climate change, childrens’ rights, antisemitism, energy, and sports.

We believe that re-establishing the Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations is essential as it would bring an even greater added-value to future EP activities in this new term, notably in the light of the European Commission political guidelines in which President Juncker underlined the need for Europe to address population ageing.

Ready to help us?

Please contact your MEPs and ask them to promote the Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations among their political group!

Need more information?

Do not hesitate to contact Ophelie Durand at AGE Secretariat: [email protected] or +32 2 280 14 70.

Now that the newly elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are starting working, AGE is campaigning for the re-establishment of the Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations.

We invite you to join us to make sure ageing and demographic change issues will remain high on the EP political agenda for the coming 5 years.

What is the Intergroup on Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity?

The European Parliament’s Intergroup on Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity has been operating successfully since 1982. It has been a key factor of progress in the past decades to improve the quality of life of the European citizens.

The Intergroup is a forum gathering members of the European Parliament (MEPs) committed to positive solutions to the challenges of demographic change. It is an effective platform to:

• provide a cross-party forum for in-depth discussion and joint action on the challenges posed by demographic ageing and what the European Union (EU) can do
• provide an agenda of events that can help MEPs address ageing issues in a wide range of committees
• help meet the expectations of the EU citizens through measures that cope with demographic change in a positive way

In the last parliamentary term (2009-2014), some 40 MEPs joined this Intergroup. They represented most of Member States and all political groups. AGE cooperated closely with the Intergroup to organise awareness-raising events on pressing ageing issues and to work on legislative files that have an impact on senior citizens living in the EU.

Why re-establishing the Intergroup is important for AGE Platform Europe?

Ageing issues are now more relevant than ever to the European Parliament’s work across a whole spectrum of committees, touching on everything from economic affairs to transport, culture and education, pensions, employment and social affairs, civil liberties, justice and home affairs, internal market, consumer protection, health and gender equality.

It is crucial to continue raising awareness about Europe’s population ageing and the need to find innovative ways to tackle the ongoing economic and social crisis and ensure a fairer and more sustainable future for all generations. The Intergroup can play a crucial role in helping the EP adopt positive attitudes towards ageing in all relevant EU policies.

How can you help to re-establish the Intergroup?

As an MEP, you can encourage your political group to vote in favour of the Intergroup on Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity and encourage other MEPs from your political group to do so after the selection is made. If you are interested in supporting and/or joining the Intergroup on Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, please contact Ophelie Durand at [email protected].

As civil society organisation or citizen, you can help mobilise MEPs to vote in favour of the Intergroup on Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity and encourage other MEPs from their political group to do so when the selection is made.

AGE has prepared documents to help you campaign for the re-establishment of the Intergroup:

- Presentation of the Intergroup, available in English, French, German, Dutch,Spanish, Italian, Swedish.

- Presentation of past activities and successes of the Intergroup, available in English.

If you wish to help us with the campaign, please contact Ophelie Durand at [email protected]