Source: European Parliament
Informal carers, mainly women, face significant challenges due to the disproportionate burden of unpaid care responsibilities, lack of formal care services and insufficient recognition for their crucial roles.
This can have negative impact on their well-being and work-life balance, and lead to career breaks, part-time work, or early exit from the labour market, which impacts lifetime earnings and future economic security.
The European Care Strategy[1] and the Council Recommendation[2] on access to high-quality long-term care provide a framework for reforms and investments to improve care services, address workforce challenges, and support informal carers.
Implementation actions at EU and national levels, include numerous reforms targeting informal carers and a toolkit for supporting informal carers.
Building on these, the Commission will work on creating a more coherent framework for addressing l ong-term care workforce challenges, including facilitating the recognition of skills and qualifications, supporting skills development and career progression, and improving working conditions.
The planned policy initiatives, including Quality Jobs Roadmap, Pillar Action Plan and the Anti-Poverty Strategy, as well as the recently delivered ones, such as Union of Skills[3], will contribute to this objective and strengthen long-term care systems.
In 2027, the Commission will prepare a report on the implementation of the Council Recommendation.