PES Manifesto

European Senior Organization: Solidarity between the generations

Published Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 15:32
by Editor (499 views and 0 comments)

A New Social Europe calls for solidarity between citizens of all ages.

This was the main message when activists from the European Senior Organization (ESO) visited the PES Secretariat in Brussels on 8 May 2008. The 20 activists met to discuss the PES manifesto and the 2009 election campaign. During their visit the senior activists decided on 10 priorities which ESO will recommend to the PES.

ESO President Karl Blecha presents three of the 10 priorities:

“Among our 10 priorities is the recognition of the value that seniors add to society. Maybe not as employees on the job market, but via volunteer work, research and social work – all this supports younger generations.”

“Another priority for the PES manifesto should be to secure the purchasing power of elderly. Pensions need to match living expenses. Currently long life expectancy is used as an excuse to cut down on pensions. We need to counterweight this development, public pensions are the pillar of the pension system”

“It’s also very important to fight poverty among elderly. Old-age poverty is often a women’s issue and we need to ensure equal opportunities and social security for both men and women.”

See more photos from ESO’s visit to the PES Secretariat here.

Tags: elderly, equality, welfare, women