Care as a driver of sustainable growth

“The good news is that investing in childcare and long-term care, in addition to improving the wellbeing of [people], also creates new jobs, thus enlarging the tax base“

Chiara Saraceno in “The European Care Strategy: A Chance to Ensure Inclusive Care for All?”
(FEPS-FES Policy Study, March 2023)

This lunch policy webinar was part of a series building on the policy study ‘The European Strategy: A chance to ensure inclusive care for all?‘. The “Care4Care Policy Series” will offer a set of short discussions highlighting the persisting challenges related to care policy-making. The series will especially focus on policy-oriented solutions and on their interaction with other policy fields.

The need for care is projected to grow with the EU’s population ageing. According to projections, the total age-dependency ratio could accelerate acutely and is expected to reach 76.1% by 2050. EU action is needed to anticipate this demographic trend. This session built on the recognition that EU sustainable investments can no longer ignore care deficits that significantly impact women and other underprivileged groups, especially women with a migrant background. Likewise, the positive economic impacts generated by the care economy was at the heart of the discussion contributing to the enactment of a sustainable and people-centred care model.

Care being such a complex and multifaceted policy field, each discussion targeted a different dimension relevant to understanding how the Strategy can give itself the means to ensure that care-givers and -receivers do not fall short of the EU’s fundamental values and the fulfilment of social rights.

The European Care Strategy can be seen as the very start of the EU’s journey towards developing solid and encompassing policies acknowledging the centrality of care whilst protecting and valuing all those needing or providing it.

In the policy study, the authors feed and guide the discussion by critically assessing whether the European Care Strategy can be seized as an opportunity to trigger a new approach to care that is truly inclusive and fair for all. They explore whether the EU is sufficiently equipping itself to live up to the claims that European values “can only flourish in a caring society”. On the one hand, it offers an analysis of the positive developments welcomed by the key stakeholders. On the other hand, it also serves better to understand the remaining blind spots of the Strategy.

Presentations

• Prof. Chiara Saraceno,Honorary Fellow, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy
• Cecilia Naverra / Fernandes Meenakshi Maria, Policy Analyst, European Added Value Unit, European Parliamentary Research Service

Discussants

• Milan Brglez, Member of the European Parliament, S&D, Slovenia
• Mary Collins, Senior Policy & Advocacy Coordinator, European Women’s Lobby

Moderator

David Rinaldi, Director for Studies and Policy, FEPS

Stay tuned for the next lunch policy webinars!

• Monday 5 June – Fair working conditions in childcare
• Monday 19 June – The future of care: platform work & digitalisation
• Wednesday 6 September – Care as a driver of sustainable growth
• Tuesday 10 October – Enhancing sustainable long-term care