EC Consultation on Green Paper on Pensions

Summary of consultation responses

On 7 March the European Commission published a summary of consultation responses to the Green Paper “Towards adequate, sustainable and safe European pension systems.” The purpose of the Green Paper was to initiate a European debate on the key challenges concerning pensions and how the EU can support the effort of Member States to ensure adequate, sustainable and safe pensions for their citizens both now and in the future.

The consultation was extremely successful, receiving almost 1700 responses from across the EU including 350 from Member State governments, national parliaments, business and trade unions organisations, civil society and representatives of the pension industry.

General comments of the respondents to the Green Paper on pensions were largely positive and welcomed its holistic and comprehensive approach and the commitment of the European Union to support Member States in their efforts to make pension systems adequate and sustainable and to promote a sustainable growth in the longer term.

Practically all the respondents agreed that Member States have different situations and priorities and that pension issues must remain in the hands of Member States, although some coordination at EU level and some interaction with the EU is essential.

Summary of Consultation Responses to the Green Paper [pdf 97 kB]

Vladimíra Drbalová
International Organisations and EU Affairs