health - "The Europe we want is for all ages"

MEP Manders: Ease the access to COVID19-certificates in paper!

Published on 12/10/202121/12/2021 by lettraphiLeave a comment

Member of the European Parliament, Toine Manders (NL, EPP) has put forward a written question to the Council of the EU on ‘digital green certificate’. He highlights the burdensome procedure in the Netherlands to receive a paper version of the certificate, barring the digitally excluded from participating in social life.

The digital COVID certificate allows to proof vaccination against, recovery from or negative testing for COVID-19 in all EU member States. With the easing of lock-down measures, many activities such as entering shops or eating out are now conditional on the presentation of such a certificate.

In some member States, residents who have been vaccinated can call a telephone hotline to receive a paper version of their certificate, in order to allow the digitally excluded to receive their papers and continue participating in society as everyone else. However, callers are confronted with long waiting times.

MEP Toine Manders - Photo credit: European Parliament

Waiting times are long and callers are often simply told to apply online. This is precisely what they wanted to avoid.
MEP Toine Manders

Mr Manders asks the Council what steps it undertakes to allow the digitally excluded, of which many older persons are part, to access their certificates.

The Council responded to the written question by pointing towards the Council recommendation on the Digital COVID certificates, indicating that member states shall provide the certificates in a digital or paper form, or both. In the response, the Council also underlines that the format has to follow the choice of the person to whom the certificate belongs.

The Council did not respond to criticisms on the difficulties in actually obtaining these certificates, however.

Portrait of Commissin Vice-President Suica reading her statement

“It cannot happen again” - European Parliament discusses the tragic impacts of COVID-19 on residential care

Published on 12/10/202023/12/2021 by ageplatformLeave a comment

The European Parliament plenary debated, on 8 October 2020, the impact of the pandemic in long-term care facilities. There was a large consensus that there have been serious breaches of the dignity of older people and people with disabilities.

Responding to an introductory statement by European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Suica, many Members of the Parliament (MEPs) recognised structural problems in long-term care systems. MEP Benoît Lutgen (EPP/Belgium), focused on the deeply rooted lack of choice for older people in need of care:

“We need to respect the choice of older people to go or not to go to care homes. People are in care homes because we haven’t looked at the range of actors that can support them to live at home. We must see the bigger picture.”

Most highlighted EU’s shared responsibility and governance mechanisms available – be it through the European Semester or the provision of EU funds – to coordinate national policy responses.

Several MEPs called for investigations about the management of the crisis, in the manner of MEP Eugenia Rodriguez Palop (GUE/NGL, Spain), from Spain, who said “we’ll need to know who died, why they died” or MEP Miriam Lexmann (EPP, Slovakia) who advised that shortages, including insufficient support to the facilities, are carefully examined.

Some also openly referred to the societal attitudes that are behind the underdevelopment of Europe’s care systems. MEP Brglez (S&D, Slovenia) reflected on the weight of ageism, which the crisis has revealed clearly:

“Older people are viewed as a social burden. Together we need to do more for intergenerational solidarity to ensure the respect of the rights of older people”

Dubravka Suica, Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, represented the European Commission in the debate. She committed to addressing the challenges in the upcoming actions, which include the Green Paper on Ageing, the Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Conference on the Future of Europe:

Picture of European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Suica

“We will need to take a close look at long-term care indeed and I am totally in alignment with you”, she said in reference to the demands for EU action to ensure quality of care.

This debate follows a joint call from AGE, the European Disability Forum – EDF and the European Federation of Public Service Unions – EPSU to the European Parliament to investigate the situations witnessed in care homes across the EU, which received the support of 88 MEPs.

More informatino

Article from Agence Europe: Coronavirus, les eurodéputés veulent un enquête sur la situation des établissements des soins de longue durée
AGE Platform Europe Press Release: AGE calls for “far-reaching reforms” in Long-Term Care after important debate at the European Parliament

An investigation on long-term care during COVID-19 at European level?

Published on 30/07/202017/12/2020 by lettraphi2 Comments

AGE Platform Europe, the European Public Service Union and the European Disability Forum, have called for a European investigation into the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the long-term care sector. A wealth of evidence is emerging about the risk to which staff and beneficiaries of long-term care have been exposed to, given the lack of protective equipment, adequate working conditions and access to testing and treatment. The call was directed to European PArliament President David Sassoli, as the only directly representative European institution should be the one investigating abuses to EU Fundamental Rights on an EU scale.

The call was supported by a group of 88 MEPs accross the political spectrum:

“We, as Members of the European Parliament, believe that it is absolutely necessary to examine what happened at European level with all the means at our disposal, in order to have comprehensive data in front of us and to identify political and management responsibilities, so that we can change course immediately.
We are committed to ensuring that the European Parliament has the will and strength to discover and reconstruct what has happened, strengthen attention on these facilities, find alternatives of group housing and avoid other mistakes and tragedies.”
Supporting statement by MEPs for investigative action on long-term care and COVID-19

In November, MEPs organised an online debate on the way forward based on the call. A summary can be found here.