Dear participants,
Thank you very much for the opportunity to address you today.
I am grateful to the Danish Presidency for organising this conference.
Ageing and long-term care is a core challenge to managing demography in the European Union.
Life-expectancy has risen due to social and economic progress, and advances in healthcare and medicine.
It is now at 81.4 years on average.
And this is good news.
But it is also a responsibility we need to prepare for.
Ageing starts at birth.
To make longer lives a true gift, we need to narrow the gap between lifespan and health-span.
That means investing in
- longevity literacy, including the financial part,
- preventing diseases, and
- addressing major health risks.
With the longevity society, long-term care is essential for ensuring the dignity, well-being and quality of life of older people.
Clearly, the demand for long-term care is increasing.
Longevity also has an impact on public finances and the entire social protection system.
According to the 2024 Ageing Report of the European Commission, ageing costs amounted to 24.4% of GDP in 2022. They are projected to rise by 1.2 percentage points over the next decades to 25.6% of GDP in 2070.
The highest increase will come from long-term care.
Therefore, it is essential to ensure the sustainability of long-term care.
One pillar we rely on is informal care.
It is traditionally provided by family members, predominantly women.
However, social and demographic shifts, such as changing family patterns and the ageing of potential carers, are expected to reduce the availability of informal carers.
We will therefore see some additional strain on formal care systems, the other pillar of long-term care.
This requires governments to invest in the long-term care workforce, improving the quality of care and ensure accessibility and affordability for those who need it.
The European Care Deal which we are working on in the Commission will have to address these issues substantially.
And I am sure that your conference can contribute to this effort.
In the broader context of tackling ageing, the European Commission has developed a Demography Toolbox with recommendations.
It rests on four pillars which I would like to briefly recall:
- supporting parents in balancing family and work, not least by providing quality child-care.
- empowering young generations through skills and opportunities in education and training.
- enabling older generations to remain active and supported; and
- using legal migration and integration strategically to address labour market needs - where labour shortage cannot be filled domestically.
I am glad that many Member States have already put measures in place related to demography – or are in the process of designing reforms.
Let me once again thank the Danish Presidency for taking this agenda forward and wish you a productive exchange.
Thank you.
