Claude Moraes MEP launches groundbreaking new European research on 'ageing' with the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity in Brussels.

Ground-breaking research into the needs and experiences of ethnic minority elderly older people across the EU confirms that gaps in mainstream services remain. The Minority Elderly Care (MEC) Project, led by the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity, draws on the views of elders, practitioners, care workers and project managers to formulate practical policy responses on how the needs of this group can be met.

On 8 May 2003 at the European Parliament, Brussels, the 'Minority Elderly Care in Europe: Country Profiles' book will be launched. Researchers in ten countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK) are examining 27 minority groups over a three-year period, looking at social and welfare structures, health, employment and living conditions. This project is the first venture to begin compiling information on minority elders on such a scale.

While the experiences of each country are distinct, there are undoubtedly similarities that can be drawn in terms of poor access to housing, lower paid employment and a worse state of health. The project involves minority groups who came from former colonial possessions in the post-war period and those who have arrived more recently, fleeing war and dispossession. It also examines the provision of groups who have known no other homeland yet are endemically discriminated against, such as the Roma.

Naina Patel OBE, Director of PRIAE and MEC Project Leader, said

"This unprecedented research into the position of minority groups across ten countries confirms that policymakers have yet to wake up to the realities of an ageing minority ethnic population. Given the impending EU legislation on age discrimination, these findings must be incorporated in future policy decisions."

The event in Brussels will be addressed by Claude Moraes MEP, Stephen Hughes MEP, Lord Navnit Dholakia OBE (PRIAE Vice Chair) and Naina Patel. Researchers from all the participating countries will also be present.

Welcoming the first publication in the MEC Project series, Mr Moraes said:

"Age and race discrimination are central issues for the EU and this timely research comes at the time that the ground-breaking Article 13 legislation from the EU is being implemented and will have an impact on real lives. My own parents are ethnic minority elders who have given their working lives to their adopted European home - the UK. This work by PRIAE should both change policy and bring visibility and awareness to the needs of this important group of Europeans"

Mr Hughes added:

"This research brings to light a set of circumstances which have so far remained largely hidden from policy makers. The challenges it exposes are not theoretical - they are very real and almost upon us. It is a wake up call for policy makers in all EU institutions."

cmoraes@europarl.eu.int

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