Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-16-Speech-3-225"
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"en.20010516.9.3-225"2
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"Mr President, I think there are many good points in the Commission’s report, and I would like to congratulate the rapporteur on a job well done.
Much has been said about solidarity and security. This is exactly what should be addressed with regard to pensions. There is still great anxiety about the discussion on pensions. My colleagues have expressed unease over certain crucial points. In my home country, Sweden, we have already started to adapt to this type of change, and a considerable part of our future pension system will be linked to a supplementary pension based on what happens on the financial markets. In Sweden, most people have started buying and selling shares and in the past few years many of them have experienced just how risky buying shares can be. Many have lost a great deal of their savings and are now wondering whether the same thing could happen to a pension system which is so heavily dependent on what happens on the financial market.
There is a worry that the system will be unfair. Most of all, perhaps, there is a worry that it will be unreliable. Our group has tabled an amendment to tomorrow’s vote, in which we ask that the effects of the new system are at least assessed and the impact on solidarity on society studied. What will happen to security? How will it affect women?
Several speakers, including Mrs Jensen and Mrs Van Lancker, have pointed out that women are a particularly vulnerable group, and in many countries I believe that women could lose out in the system now being introduced.
I would also like to mention our Amendment No 13 in which we address a general raising of the retirement age as a way of solving future pension problems. It is tempting to use such a solution to try not only to increase levels and ratios of employment, but also to reduce the pressure on the pension systems. However, this presupposes that people will manage to keep working up to the raised retirement age.
This may work in certain countries as they currently have a relatively low retirement age, at least for certain categories of pensioner. However, in my country and other Scandinavian countries, where we already have a relatively high retirement age of 65 – 67, there is currently talk of raising the age threshold to 70.
I believe this is unrealistic. Most people are worn out from a long working life long before they reach retirement age. In this situation it is foolish and inhuman to try to force people to remain in the labour market.
Finally, I would like to point out that I believe it is regrettable that neither the Commission nor the report we are now discussing mentions anything about the candidate countries. It could be said that this is a problem for the future, but when talking about pensions we are talking about the future. It is clear that there should have been a discussion on what a system of the type we now want to introduce will mean for poor candidate countries."@en1
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