On 7 December 2015, the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council of the Luxembourgish EU Presidency, adopted conclusions (2015/C 418/04) on a number of health-related items, including conclusions on “people living with dementia: improving care policies and practices”, calling on all Member States to address dementia as a priority, to develop national strategies or actions plans, and to strengthen the collaboration between European countries.
As part of this, particular emphasis was placed on the need to uphold the human rights of people living with dementia, on dementia as a cause of disability, on the need to promote healthy lifestyles – especially where brain health is concerned – to reduce the risk of dementia, as well as the importance of recognising that people can live well with dementia.
The Council specifically invited Member States and the Commission to:
- Recognise that continued collaboration across sectors among Member States and at EU level will allow for a valuable contribution to improve the support of people living with dementia
- Recognise the benefits of the empowerment of people living with dementia and encourage their inclusion in decision-making processes
- Support a gender-sensitive, individual and research-based approach in the elaboration of strategies, plans and programmes on dementia
- Recognise the important role of families and caregivers
- Emphasise the work of non-governmental organisations and voluntary work in the field of dementia aiming to contribute effectively to national strategies, action plans or programmes.
The Luxembourg Conlusion can be downloaded below.