Mar 26, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

First of all, I hope you and your loved ones are all well. I am concerned and saddened by this situation…we are living through terrible times in our respective countries because of the pandemic that is causing thousands of people to be infected and so many deaths.

This week, we were supposed to meet all of us in Brussels for the EXCO meeting. Unfortunately, we are all confined to slow down and avoid any contagion from Covid-19.

We all know that this serious health situation, which particularly affects the elderly, will have a negative impact on the world economy and more particularly on Europe and its various states. I would like to share with you some of my thoughts and ideas in order to try to find strategies together to continue and improve, together and as members of FERPA, our role in the defence of the millions of elderly and retired people in Europe.

The questions I am asking myself are the following:
When we, soon I hope, emerge from this situation, will Europe and the various governments take account of what has happened to prevent it from happening again in their future choices in terms of economic policy, development and research?
Everyone recognises the commitment of doctors, nurses and all health sector workers who are on the front line to save lives. In the future, will there be investments in public health systems to improve them beyond the usual logic of cuts and privatization, as this emergency has highlighted the shortcomings, difficulties and damage caused in many countries by the constant reductions in welfare and public health.
Will the European Union be able to make economic policy choices to manage this crisis without placing the burden on workers and pensioners as it did with the financial crisis of 2008?
The scientific community has sounded the alarm about the high mortality of older people because they are vulnerable and therefore more at risk. Will European nations take this reality into account in the future and encourage policies to promote active and healthy ageing for as many citizens as possible?

Today, we do not know how the European Union and the governments of our respective countries will act, nor what policies they will adopt on these issues. FERPA and all its members must be ready to act with our demands. Many of the answers to these questions can be found in the work we are doing through the dossiers. These dossiers will enable FERPA to play a more incisive role vis-à-vis the European institutions.

We must also, I repeat, ensure that the austerity policies and the cuts due to the crisis are not implemented for the sake of supposedly defending the jobs and incomes of workers and pensioners.

I understand how difficult it is to talk about trade unionism and our ongoing issues during this painful time for all of us when thousands of people are infected and die because of VIDOC-19. I apologize for this intrusion but I thought it would be useful to keep in touch with you during these dark times and to strengthen the solidarity between us through work that will certainly be useful in advocating for the interests of the seniors and retirees we represent. This work can also help us to look beyond this terrible pandemic, so that we can arrive at our mid-term Assembly in October with the completed dossiers on the basis of which we will be able to build a project of common demands.

I express my solidarity and fraternity with all of you, as well as with Jessica and Henri.

My warmest greetings.

Agostino Siciliano
General Secretary

March 26th, 202026