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The Mission: Europe Cares for Us

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Infographic to Mission: To ensure Europe cares for us
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Contact

Kristina Birke Daniels

+46 768 486 705

kristina.birke(at)fes.de

What is the challenge?

  • Europe has an ageing population, with a reliance on social care that will only get heavier.
     
  • The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of a functioning social care system, but also its precarious financial situation, which has been made worse by shrinking social care budgets.
     
  • These cuts hit women hardest because it is usually women who shoulder the burden of unpaid care of children and the elderly.
     
  • Those working in the social care sector are not as valued as they should be.

    What is the solution?

    This mission is to ensure social care for all by:

    1. Investing public money in the “care economy” according to its needs, which can be shown by a regular “wealth and well-being” report highlighting the advantages of good quality care in a welfare state.
       
    2. Ensuring that employed care workers enjoy decent work and pay.
       
    3. Comprehensively implementing the EU directive on parental leave, fostering more equal burden-sharing by encouraging men to take on their fair share of unpaid work, thus giving women the chance to achieve economic autonomy.

    How would this mission benefit Europeans?

    • The mission would ensure Europeans have access to quality social care in childhood, in sickness, and in old age.
       
    • It would improve the lives of care workers and relieve women from the primary responsibility of unpaid care, thus helping to narrow the wage gap and reduce inequality.
       
    • By regular reporting and monitoring, it would also reinforce the sense that the EU is serious about the well-being of all its citizens.
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