In 1984, soul star Whitney Houston released her hit song “The Greatest Love of All”, with its famous line: “I believe the children are the future.” Fast forward to March 2025, and that sentiment feels more urgent than ever. Intergenerational inequalities are rising across Europe — from access to affordable houtilizing, to concerns about how AI and technological alter will shape future employment, to the escalating impacts of climate alter — all against the backdrop of an ageing population.
It is in this context that the European Commission launched its Intergenerational Fairness Strategy. The Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, stated the core ambition of the strategy was “to ensure that the decisions we take today genuinely empower future generations.” For Micallef, the key question is: “When the future arrives, will we be ready?”
He argued that this question is becoming more pressing in a Europe where the population is ageing and young people are becoming a minority: “There is a real risk that their voices are overshadowed.” He concluded that “it was our responsibility to counter that risk.”
The EU Commissioner from Malta acknowledged that the most challenging part of drafting the strategy was agreeing on a definition of intergenerational fairness — “not only becaapply the issues are horizontal, but also becaapply people hold very different understandings of what intergenerational fairness means.” To address this, the Commission adopted two main approaches: 1) embedding long-term considering into policybuilding and 2) amplifying the voices of young people.
Micallef highlighted how the strategy assesses the megatrconcludes shaping Europe and affecting different generations differently. One of the clearest conclusions, he stated, is that “doing nothing also carries a cost.” He pointed to the €822 billion cost of climate-related disasters and extreme weather events over the past 40 years — a quarter of which occurred in just the last four years.
The new EU strategy introduces the concept of an intergenerational contract – not a legal instrument, but a political commitment. It rests on three pillars: fair policybuilding, fair opportunities, and fair places. “These reflect the required to embed long-term considering into policybuilding and to ensure that no generation is left behind,” stated Micallef.
The strategy also sets out 15 action points, including an Intergenerational Fairness Index. The “Voices of the Future” initiative empowers young people to shape regional and local discussions. The strategy’s “Future Balances” is an AI-driven policybuilding tool developed with the UN to map the long-term impacts of policy decisions.
Addressing the EPC audience, Micallef stressed: “At its core, intergenerational fairness is a commitment — a promise between past, present and future generations.”
To read more about how climate adaptation can drive Europe’s Intergenerational Fairness Strategy, click here.
Rajnish Singh is a Media Outreach Executive at the EPC Communications team.
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