On 15 September, European Commissioner President, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her annual “State of the Union” speech to the European Parliament, in which she reflected on developments over the past year, whilst setting out the political priorities of the EU for the year ahead. The speech had a significant focus on health matters, particularly in relation to actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, she emphasised the importance of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Of particular interest was the commitment to the creation of a European Care Strategy, however, no details were provided on the exact nature of the strategy and its contents. The inclusion of this commitment in the speech follows a position paper by the European People’s Party, focused on a European Care Strategy, which was published in June 2020.
You can read or watch President von der Leyen’s speech at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/ov/SPEECH_21_4701
You can read the EPP position paper at: https://www.eppgroup.eu/newsroom/publications/epp-group-position-paper-on-a-european-care-strategy