May 30, 2019 Ces

Dear Colleagues,
The 14th ETUC Congress was held in Vienna from 20 to 24 May. Ten (10) delegates from FERPA participated. Our Federation had also set up a booth allowing us to have more visibility and to converse with the delegates and the visitors.
FERPA spoke in the general debate, illustrating and supporting our demands for millions of retired and elderly European citizens. We also represented and supported our amendment concerning the recognition of the right to vote at FERPA. I regret to inform you that our request to amend the statutes has not been accepted by the Congress, since the votes in favour did not reach two-thirds of the votes cast. Once again, the role and work of FERPA has not been recognized in the ETUC to protect the most vulnerable European populations. As a reminder, the Youth Committee and the Women’s Committee have the right to vote. There is clearly a serious discrimination against our federation.
At the next meeting of our Steering Committee to be held on June 6th, we will carefully evaluate the work accomplished during the Congress.

My fraternal greetings.

Agostino SICILIANO
General secretary