Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-11-Speech-3-406"
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"− Let me react to Mrs Harkin’s question.
The Presidency will also organise the European Conference called ‘Social Services – a tool for mobilising the work force and strengthening social cohesion’, which will take place in Prague on 22 and 23 April. The conference will pay special attention to growing employment opportunities in social services in the context of population ageing, support for informal carers and the role of social services in active social inclusion and reconciliation of care and employment.
Priority attention will also be paid to independent living in the community. The conference should contribute to the exchange of best practices.
Let me conclude with the recent development in the area of taxation. The Ecofin Council reached an agreement just yesterday in Brussels that all Member States should have the option to apply reduced VAT rates on a permanent basis to domestic care services such as home help and care of the young, elderly, sick or disabled.
The Presidency is fully aware of the importance of long-term care in the context of an ageing population. According to Eurostat, the population of over-65s in the EU will double between 1995 and 2050. In its conclusion of 16 December 2008 on public health strategies to combat neuro-degenerative diseases associated with ageing, the Council welcomed the work already carried out by associations that defend and support patients and their carers and called on the Member States and Commission to reflect together on support for carers and to consider ways of developing it further.
In addition, the Council also invited the Member States to establish, in cooperation with the stakeholders concerned, a national strategy action plan or any other measures aimed at improving the quality of life of patients and their carers, as well as to improve the distribution of useful information to patients, their families and their carers, in order to make them aware of the care principle and best practices that have been identified.
The Council also recommended that Member States should evaluate the complexity or redundancy of administrative procedures which confront patients and their carers and consider measures for simplifying them.
Moreover, in the 2008 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, transmitted by the Council to the European Council, Member States committed themselves to increasing access to quality services. To this purpose, they reaffirmed that the right balance needs to be struck between public and private responsibilities and formal and informal care, and that provision in a residential or community setting is to be preferred to an institutional setting.
The Council also called on the Social Protection Committee to continue to promote the sharing of experiences and exchange of best practice regarding the quality of long-term care, assistance to carers, the organisation of long-term care and the importance of integrated care.
The Presidency will carry on the objective of the 18-month programme of the Council in the field of public health and focus efforts at EU level on enhancing the exchange of experiences relating to healthcare and solidarity with carers, taking into account the health challenges created by our ageing societies.
The Czech Presidency will pay special attention to issues of community long-term care, informal family care, and the dignity and rights of older persons. The Presidency will organise a European conference on dignity and hazards for the elderly, which will take place in Prague on 25 May 2009.
The Conference will focus on the reform of social and health services to respond better to the needs and preferences of older persons and families and will deal
with such issues as Community long-term care, family care, geriatric frailty, prevention of abuse and neglect of the elderly, and the role of municipalities."@en1
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