'The pension age cannot be same for everybody': EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights

"The pension age cannot be the same for everybody […] There has to be a criteria of hardship taken into account." For Schmit, the French government's reforms to the pension age cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution. The EU's Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights said any raising of the retirement age must go hand-in-hand with programmes to ensure that people at the end of their careers do have realistic employment opportunities. "If you want people to work longer, you have to prepare them to work longer. That’s about working conditions, investing in their skills, they might evolve and change the way they work. If you consider that someone might work the same way when they are 20 as when they are 64, then this is not realistic."

At the heart of Commissioner Schmit’s portfolio are European citizens' Social Rights. The EU announced last year an objective to lift 15 million people out of poverty by 2030. Schmit reiterated his commitment to that goal, and outlined his Commission’s recommendations as to how member states should advance: "Not just by having a better minimum income which allows you to have a decent life, but also by being included in society, to find a job, to be skilled, to have decent housing at an affordable price. These are elements which help to combat poverty, so I think what we need to combat poverty is a comprehensive approach." Although many of the proposed measures are national competencies that are up to member states to adopt, for Schmit, the EU’s vigilance can ensure progress is achieved. He said: "We will use the recommendation, and we will follow up on member states policies precisely to get poverty down, and to achieve the objective of at least 15 million people out of poverty."

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