The health crisis has underlined the need to develop a more human-centred approach to long-term care, too often considered through an economic prism. The virus has threatened older people’s rights, increased their social isolation and limited their access to health and social services. Whilst the share of people aged 65 or over is expected to reach 30.3% of the EU population in 2070, compared to 20.3% in 2019, there is a need to define a long-term vision for efficient and resilient care systems that guarantee equal rights for the elderly.

Such a vision must take into account the importance of PHS in the European Union. This essential sector, which has been emphasized by the crisis, is too rarely recognised and supported by public authorities and suffers from the massive use of undeclared work. Considering the future Green Paper on Ageing, EFFE calls on the European Commission to :

– As part of the Green Paper on Ageing, commit to the recognition and development of the PHS sector, including the direct employment model, in order to implement the 18th principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), stating that everyone has the right to affordable and accessible long-term care services of good quality, in particular home-care and community-based services.

– Engage with the PHS sector and all other relevant stakeholders to develop an ambitious Care Plan to ensure that European citizens have access to high-quality and affordable care models.