European Commission
Malmström

There has been much debate in Sweden in recent weeks over Prime Ministers Reinfeldt’s statement on retirement at an older age. The retirement age debate is, of course, directly linked to pensions, an area in which the EU plays only a supportive role to ensure that Member States have well-functioning pension system. My colleague Laszlo Andor presented an assessment this week of the pension situation in Europe, which is based on a consultation process with Member States. In it, we say that as the average age of EU citizens increases, it is also reasonable that the retirement age should also be rasied. Merely raising the retirement age is not enough to meet the huge demographic challenge ahead of us, we also need to boost our workforce by attracting labour migrants to Europe. Commissioner Andor and I are currently looking into ways to facilitate labour migration to the EU.

Yesterday the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted for a more responsible budget, which also included an amendment saying that the Parliament, which currently commutes between Brussels and Strasbourg, should only have one seat. The question of where the European Parliament shall convene is stated in the EU treaty.  To change this, all Member States must agree. But the fact that the Parliament has clearly stated that commuting is a major cost for EU citizens (not to mention the environmental impact), and therefore should be abandoned, is very good.