Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-340"
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"en.20080312.23.3-340"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, I had a visitors' group here again today. It will be a familiar situation to many of my colleagues. We have visitors' groups, some large, some small, and the largest groups are from the silver generation. That was the case with the group today. There were 60 people, extremely interested, really engaged, very active, and this is increasingly the case. This is surely the challenge for Europe.
Demographic change is often depicted as a threat. The figures speak for themselves. Between 2010 and 2030 the number of EU citizens aged between 65 and 80 is expected to rise by 40%. However, like Mr van Nistelrooij, I do not see this as a threat. I think it is a major opportunity for Europeans to show that we are the region of the world that is most committed to a high quality of life at every stage in people's lives and for every age group. We need to show more concern for the elderly, and we must ensure that we do so as the people of Europe, the region of the world that protects life.
I would like to congratulate the Commission on this proposal. This Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) programme links this major trend, namely demographic change – which is more pronounced in Europe than in other regions – with our strengths in research and innovation. We are strongly committed to ICT technologies and AAL brings these two trends together.
It is quite clear, ladies and gentlemen, that we have no direct competence, as the European Union, for standards relating to older people, building of houses, etc. However, using these pilot programmes, we can promote best practice and we can bring together what is already being done best by some Member States and give it a European seal of quality so that it genuinely serves as a model for others. Ladies and gentlemen, with this programme the Commission is helping to close the so-called digital divide between generations within our society.
I would like to thank Neena Gill, the rapporteur, for having conveyed this message extremely clearly, much more than other rapporteurs, I must say. I would like to express my sincere thanks to her. She also defended Parliament's position very courageously in the trialogue and ensured that our arguments were conveyed effectively. There is no need for us to hide ourselves away. As a representative of this House, let me say that we wish the AAL programme the greatest success. Our very good wishes go with it."@en1
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