08 May 2002

The Fifteen to present reports on pensions reform strategy

-
Information from the Presidency:
As agreed following joint work carried out by the EU’s Social Protection and Economic Policy Committees, pensions reform is to be implemented in accordance with a series of objectives adopted at the European Councils of Laeken (December 2001) and Barcelona (March 2002).

The agreed objectives relate to the introduction of measures to tackle poverty and social exclusion, modernise pensions systems and ensure their stability and viability.

In the European context, faced with challenges such as the ageing of the population, work is being carried out to create a common framework for action, which will lay down broad guidelines for the reform to ensure the viability of pensions systems.

This collaboration, known as the “open method of coordination” is being carried out in accordance with the basic principle of subsidiarity, which guarantees each country full sovereignty to take the internal policy measures it considers appropriate in view of the particular features of its own system.

© Presidency