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

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.

Inclusive Ageing: Reducing Social Exclusion amongst Older People. The Way Ahead – ROSEnet final conference

Closing the four-year work programme of the ROSEnet Cost Action – Reducing Old-Age Social Exclusion – the event will present new, evidence-based policy messages adressing old age exclusion and targeting major participation domains: civic; social; economic; services; and neighbourhoods and communities. It will also present a roadmap for research and policy collaboration that advances the capacity of national and EU institutions to manage demographic ageing in a fair and just manner.

The discussions will furthermore assist in informing the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and its principles related to older adult inclusion.

This conference is organised in cooperation with AGE Platform Europe.
Venue: European Committee of the Regions, 99 Rue Belliard, 101, 1040 Bruxelles

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For further information on this event and AGE involvement in ROSEnet, please contact Maciej Kucharczyk, maciej.kucharczyk@age-platform.eu

Council and Parliament adopt the revised directive on occupational pensions

In December, the Council of ministers of the EU has finally adopted the revised ‘Directive on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision’ (IORP-II), regulating occupational pensions, after the approval of the European Parliament in its plenary session. The directive aims to strengthen requirements on the protection of beneficiaries, mainly through improved information, transparency and governance requirements. AGE has been accompanying the revision process started in 2014 and welcomes the adoption of the revision, while regretting that important improvements have been left out of the proposal.