25-09-2024
On 17 September, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen presented the list of commissioners-designate and their portfolios. For the first time, a Commissioner might be given responsibility for intergenerational fairness and ‘ensure that decisions are taken with future generations in mind’. The Maltese Glenn Micallef has been designated for such a post which also covers Youth, Culture and Sport.
The creation of this post follows and seems to respond to the call of our Future Generations Initiative.
Following the initial announcement of the creation of such a post, our coalition supported by other civil society organisations sent a mission letter to Mrs. von der Leyen outlining our vision of the role and missions of a Commissioner for Future Generations. The President of the Commission acknowledged our contributions in her reflection on the drafting of the mission letter.
Here’s our recommendations when shaping this new post ahead and beyond the public hearings on the Commissioner-designate.
Incorporating a Future Generations’ Impact Assessment
Whether in policy development or legislation, young people and future generations are often grouped together. However, although they share common interests, the difference between these concepts needs to be better defined.
Even if youth policies can be directed with a long-term vision, thinking about future generations means taking decisions and legislative measures that go even further in time and well beyond those implemented in favour of young people.
For this reason, the proposal to revise the Better Regulation Guidelines to include a youth impact assessment – as suggested in the mission letter with the Youth Check – should be much more ambitious and also integrate future generations in order to make intergenerational justice a key principle of all legislation.
Strengthen the rights of future generations with an Interinstitutional Declaration
As indicated in our manifesto, we also recommend the adoption of an Interinstitutional Declaration on the Rights of Future Generations to protect their interests.
This declaration should fill the gaps and establish a solid framework that guarantees the protection and advancement of the rights of future generations, while including the commitments of the three institutions of the European Union to incorporate protections for future generations into legal frameworks and policies.
To fulfil the task of developing a ‘Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness’ and ensure the protection of current generations’ interests in policy and legislation, we recommend that the Commissioner include key legal principles, which can be developed in an interinstitutional declaration as outlined in our proposal.
With this new college of commissioners and their portfolios, Ursula von der Leyen seems determined to link the issues of today with those of tomorrow, since intergenerational equity is a concept that also appears in the portfolios of the other commissioners-designate. Moreover, the appointment of a Commissioner for Intergenerational Equity for the first time also marks a significant step for our coalition.
While the proposed mandate is a significant step forward, it still needs to be developed further to ensure that the interests of future generations are taken into account in EU law-making and adequately protected.
Our coalition will continue its advocacy work in defence of future generations and their rights, and will seek to work with the future Commission in this direction.