Joint launch of the 'European Parliament Interest Group on Carers' and 'Eurocarers'
SPRU is a founder member of the Eurocarers organisation. Hilary Arksey is our representative on the forum and she will be attending the joint launch of Eurocarers and its partner organisation the European Parliament Interest Group in June 2007. The President of Eurocarers, Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, and Kathy Sinnot (MEP), the Acting Chair of the Interest Group on Carers, will speak about their respective organisations and Mr Georg Fischer, Head of the Social Protection Unit at the European Commission will provide concluding comments on the issues raised.
Background to this event is the urgent need for all EU Member States to address demographic challenges: with an ageing population, change in composition and size of families and an increasing number of women entering the labour market, unpaid caring will form the bedrock of community care provision in the future and will be increasingly part of our life course .
Across Europe, there are millions of carers providing unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner. Therefore, it is time for the EU to consider the role and contribution of unpaid care to health and social care systems at all levels. Carers give so much to society; yet, as a consequence of caring, they experience ill health, poverty and discrimination. If carers are to continue to care, measures will need to be taken to safeguard their rights and interests.
Against this background, Eurocarers was formed. This is a new European organisation with representatives from different member states established with the overarching aim of representing carers’ interests at EU and national levels. Eurocarers aims to promote research on carers and carers' issues within and between EU member states.
In addition, given the variety of current EU policy initiatives with a bearing on care, the European Parliament can play an important role to ensure that carers interests are explicitly being taken into account in current and future EU policy development. Therefore, there is a need for a specific Interest Group addressing these issues.
Eurocarers Guiding Principles
Eurocarers has just revealed the 10 guiding principles that it will strive to implement in all policy areas relevant to carers within the EU.
Eurocarers defines a carer as a person who provides unpaid care to someone with a chronic illness, disability or other long lasting health or care need, outside a professional or formal framework.
- Recognition: Carers should be recognised for the central role they play in community care, and this recognition should be reflected in all policies having effect on carers.
- Social inclusion: Carers have a right to a social life.
- Equality of opportunity: Carers should have equal opportunities in all spheres of life.
- Choice: People should have the right to choose freely whether they want to be a carer, and to what extent they want to be involved in caring; people needing care should have the right to choose who they wish to be their carers.
- Information: Carers should have easy access to the information, guidance, advocacy, advice and training they desire – fitting to the stage of their carer’s career.
- Support: Carers need financial, practical and emotional support in their role as carers as well as access to needed formal care that is available and affordable.
- Time off: Carers should have the opportunity of taking time off. Therefore, adequate relief i.e. respite care arrangements, acceptable both to the carer and the cared for person, must be readily available and tailored to carers’ needs.
- Compatibility of care and employment: Carers should have the possibility to combine caring with paid employment. This presupposes labour market policies that allow for caring activities as well as formal care available during working hours.
- Health promotion and protection:Carer’s own health care needs should be recognised.
- Financial security: Carers should be covered by social security schemes such as income replacement benefits, accident insurance and old age pension, in order to avoid impoverishment as a consequence of caring.
