Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 13072
| 21 November 2012
- Author(s):
- Committee of Ministers
- Origin
- Adopted
at the 1154th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (14 November 2012). 2012 - November Standing Committee
- Reply to Recommendation
- : Recommendation 2000
(2012)
- Thesaurus
1. The Committee of Ministers has taken
due note of Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2000 (2012) on
“Decent pensions for all”. It has brought it to the attention of
member States’ governments and has forwarded it to the relevant
Council of Europe bodies for information and comments. The Committee
of Ministers shares the objectives of the Assembly on the need to
ensure the sustainability and adequacy of pension systems, in particular
in times of ageing populations and economic and financial crisis.
It also subscribes to the view expressed by the Assembly that new
intra- and intergenerational inequalities can pose a threat to social
cohesion.
2. As called for by the Assembly, the Committee of Ministers
would invite member States to give due attention to the suggestions
outlined in paragraph 2 of the recommendation. In this respect,
it would draw particular attention to the European Social Charter
and Revised European Social Charter and the European Code of Social
Security which are the basic standard-setting instruments of the
Council of Europe in the field of social security and require that
pensions attain certain minimum levels. Moreover, Article 23 of
the Charter specifically protects the rights of the elderly, including
to adequate resources. These instruments are important in ensuring
that pensions in member States remain adequate even after possible
reforms of the pension systems. The Committee of Ministers would
therefore invite the member States which have not done so yet to consider
ratifying these instruments, as well as the Additional Protocol
to the Charter on the collective complaints procedure, which can
play an important role in protecting the rights of the elderly,
including in relation to pensions.
3. The Committee of Ministers would also recall the Council of
Europe’s New Strategy for Social Cohesion and Action Plan (2010).
The Strategy encourages stakeholders and other actors to be committed
to the long-term financial and qualitative sustainability of social
rights, also stating that public pension schemes must be refocused
to ensure their long-term sustainability. In this respect, the Committee
of Ministers considers that when making potential reforms related
to pension systems, as well as other social protection policies,
it is important to involve, whenever possible, citizens, communities
and social partners in the process, to keep confidence up and to
avoid the reforms being seen as a potential threat to welfare and
well-being. The Action Plan specifically invites member States to
provide adequate and sustainable pension schemes, while strengthening
intergenerational solidarity. It also stresses the importance of
recognising the significant role that older people can play in society
and in the labour market.
4. The Committee of Ministers would also highlight the importance
of including a gender perspective and the fact that the effects
of life courses on women’s pensions should be considered in all
current and future reforms of social security systems in relation
to the changing labour market.
5. With reference to paragraph 3 of the recommendation, the Committee
of Ministers would inform the Assembly that at this preliminary
stage, the drafting group of the CDDH on the human rights of the
elderly is identifying possible issues which have an impact on the
full enjoyment of human rights by older persons, including measures
to promote their social inclusion, such as social protection and
social security. The Assembly is invited to follow the progress
of this work in the framework of the meetings of the CDDH.
6. The Committee of Ministers signals the relevance of the 2nd
Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Social
Cohesion (Istanbul, 11-12 October 2012) entitled “Building a secure
future for all”, which addressed issues related to protecting and
empowering groups of vulnerable persons, particularly in times of crises
and achieving social sustainability through intergenerational solidarity.
7. Finally, the Committee of Ministers would recall that pension
systems and social security policy is primarily a national responsibility
and how Council of Europe member States design their systems to
reach their goals should be coherent with their individual policy
designs.
