Press remarks by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu and Commissioner Micallef on the Intergenerational Fairness Strategy

Executive Vice-President Mînzatu

Today we present the Intergenerational Fairness Strategy. This is about how we turn principles of solidarity between generations into practice.

Intergenerational fairness may sound abstract. But it is not. It is practical. It is logical.

Around the world, intergenerational fairness is rising in public debate.

Several countries, including some of our own Member States, have already embedded it into their institutions by thinking long-term:

• Finland has the ‘Committee for the Future', a permanent parliamentary body that institutionalises foresight into governance.
• Spain has a ‘National Office of Foresight and Strategy' that coordinates the ‘Spain 2050' roadmap, aligning current policies with long-term intergenerational targets.
• Malta has a high-level commission that audits government sectors to ensure sustainable development policies do not compromise future citizens.

Also, many EU Member States have specific Regulatory Impact Assessments on youth and/or future generations: Austria, Belgium-Flanders, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands or Sweden.

At the heart of this Strategy is a simple image: ‘the empty chair' at the table. The chair that represents those not yet born, or those too young to speak for themselves, but whose lives we are shaping through our decisions.

Our responsibility is clear: today's decisions must not become tomorrow's burdens. We must ensure that the choices we make expand opportunities for future generations.

The Strategy is shaped around the concept of an ‘Intergenerational Contract', built on a threefold foundation:

• Fair policymaking, by applying a ‘youth check' and foresight tools.
• Fair opportunities, to address the risks of age discrimination.
• Fair places, recognising that geography matters, and that where you are born should not determine the limits of your future.

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Commissioner Micallef 

I am pleased to present to you today the Intergenerational Fairness Strategy.

The future is calling and the Commission has answered.

This Strategy is the result of a year-long consultation process. Most of the concepts you will find in the text derive directly from those consultations.

The Strategy begins by framing the concept of intergenerational fairness.

This was perhaps the greatest challenge, given the horizontal nature of the topic. Everyone had a different understanding of what intergenerational fairness means.

We approach it from two angles:

• Embedding long-term thinking into our policymaking; and
• Amplifying the voices of young people.

This choice is obviously fully aligned with my own portfolio; but more importantly, it reflects the ambition of the Strategy:

• To ensure that today's decisions do not limit the opportunities of future generations; and
• With our societies ageing, young people are becoming the largest minority in Europe, and there is a real risk that their voices are overshadowed by older generations. It is therefore our duty and responsibility to amplify them.

From this starting point, the Strategy examines major megatrends and their impact on the balance between generations. It considers how the horizon of opportunities is changing for different generations and reflects on the cost of non-action.

From there, we move to the key deliverable of the Strategy: a new intergenerational contract.

The idea of this contract comes directly from citizens. It is a contract with the future. We cannot sign it, but we have the responsibility to honour it for the benefit of those who come after us.

The contract rests on three dimensions:

• Fair policymaking;
• Fair opportunities; and
• Fair places.

These dimensions reflect the need of embedding long-term thinking into our policymaking; ensuring that no generation is left behind and uniting generations around the shared objective of a better future; and recognising that geography matters, because places and territories are not neutral when it comes to opportunities and fairness.

Each dimension is supported by a set of actions, 15 in total, to be deployed over the next 12 months.

Let me briefly mention just a few.

First, the Intergenerational Fairness Index, which will be ready in May. It consists of a basket of indicators that translate fairness from perception into something measurable and quantifiable, helping us assess how our policies contribute to building the capitals of the future.

Second, ‘Voices of the Future', where we are partnering with the Committee of the Regions to encourage local and regional authorities to bring generations together to reflect on the future of their territories.

And third, the ‘Futures Balance', an inspiring initiative we are developing together with the UN. Using Artificial intelligence, it will help us explore alternative scenarios, anticipate spillover effects, and assess the long-term implications of policy choices decades ahead.

These are just 3 of the 15 actions we will implement over the next 12 months. It is an ambitious timeline, but we wanted to ensure that all actions are delivered in time for the progress report scheduled for early 2028.

Why 2028? Because it marks the next rendez-vous of the Declaration on Future Generations at the UN General Assembly. This Strategy, and its deliverables, constitute a clear European contribution to that milestone.

Let me conclude with a word on mainstreaming.

Ultimately, the success of this Strategy will be measured by the extent to which it shapes and infuses your own upcoming proposals.

It will succeed if, for example, the Anti-Poverty Strategy addresses the intergenerational transmission of poverty, or if the revision of Better Regulation fully integrates an even longer-term perspective.

This Strategy is a starting point, a scene-setter.

Because intergenerational fairness is, at its heart, a promise.

A renewed promise between past, present, and future.

Thank you. With the Strategy will bring us forward to becoming Good Ancestors for the future generations!