Many voters rightfully ask about the relevance of the European Parliament to their everyday lives. Are the elections coming in May really nothing but more of the same political bickering? Are they really worth bothering about?

I am presenting myself as a candidate for these elections in the belief that the European Parliament can be an instrument of change for the better of all Maltese, especially for our senior citizens, for our volunteers, and for those of us who may be particularly vulnerable or having special needs, whether throughout their lives or during specific episodes.

This belief is backed by concrete action which the European Parliament is promoting or being closely involved in as one of the leading European Institutions and direct representative of all European citizens. This essential work is undertaken not only by MEPs within the Parliamentary Committees focusing on the issues of healthy and active ageing, volunteering and social inclusion, but also by the Intergroup on Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity. This Intergroup brings together MEPs who have an interest in discussing the challenges that ageing poses for all generations, and finding sustainable and fair solutions for all of Europe’s citizens.

One good example of the work done within the Intergroup is a recent resolution to highlight the important contribution that older volunteers bring to society and to reflect on how best to remove the current obstacles to volunteering among older people. The objective is to encourage stakeholders to build on the momentum created by the European Year of Volunteering to foster active ageing and valorise the work done by older volunteers for our societies.

This is very relevant for Malta and especially for the 125,000 citizens aged 55 years and over. For many of these, volunteering can be a way to manage the transition towards older life while remaining active and fulfilled. There are around 15,000 persons aged 50 and over who are involved in voluntary work, and these provide one half of the volunteers in our country. This number can be and indeed needs to be increased, especially when considering that for many ageing Maltese, the work done by volunteers is essential for them to access help and support, and keep living in one’s own community. Through its work, the European Parliament is supporting projects and incentives aimed at volunteers, especially older ones, to help recognise and improve the work they do towards those needing their assistance.

In fact, through another line of work, the European Parliament has recently adopted a resolution stressing the importance of supporting and facilitating older volunteers and volunteering between generations. It also encourages development and innovation in this field as a means of inclusion and as contribution towards the sustainability of long-term care systems.

The same resolution addressed the special difficulties which may be faced by older women. The European Parliament recognises that women may find greater difficulty to work and earn a good income later in their lives, in good part because of missed opportunities due to their roles as care-givers within their families. In Malta, only one in every six women between the ages of 55 and 64 are working – the number of men who are working is three times as high.

The resolution thus recognises a greater risk of poverty for women, which could become more serious at older ages. It proposes solutions which consider all the different aspects of a person which could lead to special difficulties, by taking both gender and age into consideration. It calls for measures in different areas impacting directly on the quality of life of older women, covering the fields of employment, pensions and health care. In particular, in the area of health care, the European Parliament is calling for better screening and preventive action. In order to sustain the quality of life, it is encouraging EU Member States to better support the families who care for dependent persons and to address gender discrimination in pension entitlements.

The above are merely a couple examples of the positive, ongoing work which is being done at the European Parliament to improve the living standards of people in a concrete manner. I believe that as Maltese, there are many opportunities for us to benefit from this. Malta has to seek and can indeed obtain support and assistance in a manner which helps us to sustain and strengthen the values which bind us together as families and communities and which ultimately define us as a nation.

We can build further on our sense of care-giving within families and of mutual support within our tightly-knit communities to help us face the challenges of the future. At the same time, we need to provide all the space, support and opportunities for our younger families to develop the lifestyles they aspire for, while continuing to foster solidarity between generations.

These very same values, principles and actions are strongly articulated in the electoral manifesto of the PL. They are gradually coming to fruition with the ongoing work of the Government. We look forward to the publication of the Active Ageing Strategy by the Government later this year, and to proposals for measures related to it.

The European Parliament recognises and provides avenues to support, valorise and implement these actions. I look forward to be deeply involved in this work after the elections in May.

Peter Cordina is a Labour Party European Parliament election candidate