Mariano Rajoy announces that Framework of Action for Elderly will be put to Council of Ministers the following week

Moncloa Palace

Mariano Rajoy asserted that International Day of Older Persons, held on 1 October this year, "reminds us every day of the key importance of the elderly in our society and in our lives". In his opinion, "their autonomy, quality of life and right to live well" and their entitlement to continue participating in different facets of society are "a key target for this government".

The President of the Government also pointed out that the 8.5 million Spaniards over the age of 65 belong to a generation that "helped consolidate the democracy in Spain and worked hard to guarantee social cohesion". That means, he added, that they "are the key players of the best Spain that has been seen for a long time": a modern, democratic, supportive, open Spain that is "fully integrated in the European construction project".

Furthermore, the President of the Government acknowledged the key role that the elderly "have played in the crisis, as a safety net for many families hit by unemployment and the lack of opportunities", "That is why", he added, "it was so important to guarantee their pensions, because on many occasions not just their own well-being, but, in tough times, the well-being of their families, depended on this".

Framework of Action for the Elderly

Pool Moncloa / David MudarraPresident of the Government Rajoy announced that the Framework of Action for the Elderly will be put to the Council of Ministers the following week.

He explained that the aim of the document, drafted in collaboration with more than 100 different bodies, is for "the elderly to have stronger individual and social rights, to increase their well-being, their autonomy and, in the end, their quality of life".

Mariano Rajoy stressed that this framework is the result of "a broad social consensus" which, among other things, enshrines "the affection that all Spanish people feel and the importance we give to our senior citizens".

Approval of Law on Third Sector and on Voluntary Work

The President of the Government underlined that the commemoration of the International Day of Older Persons coincides this year with the approval in the Lower House of Parliament of two very important laws: the Law on the Third Sector and the Law on Voluntary Work. Mariano Rajoy explained, addressing the elderly, that these two laws "come from you, exist for you and respond to a demand dating back many years".

Spain, a supportive country

Pool Moncloa / David MudarraPresident of the Government Rajoy stressed that these initiatives are an example of Spain being a supportive country. "We are so between regions, as it should be, through the system of financing. We are so between generations, thanks to a pension system. And we are so as a nation, since all our taxes go towards maintaining the Welfare State which is the basis for our social cohesion".

According to Mariano Rajoy, "we are supportive because we share projects, values and principles, a shared idea of Europe that is better and stronger". Finally, he added that "solidarity has been the key to success for Spain in its strategy to tackle the crisis and it has been so because being supportive is helping us all to come out of it sooner, better and, above all, together".

The event, held at Moncloa Palace, started with a few words from Luis Martín Pindado, President of the Democratic Union of Retired Persons and Pensioners of Spain (Spanish acronym: UDP)