On 18 June 2025, The Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) organised a webinar “Towards a more coherent framework for addressing long-term care (LTC) workforce challenges from evidence to policy responses”. The webinar was not only a dedicated time to discuss the current challenges regarding long-term care, but also to introduce possible solutions to be developed by actors across the EU.

The first part of the half-day webinar was dedicated to give some updates on some of the main political developments on the sector, including:

• A presentation on the follow-up actions of the European Care Strategy with Katarina Ivankovic-Knezevic, Director for Social Rights and Inclusion (DG EMPL, European Commission);
• A focus on the importance of the LTC workforce and the challenges they face, and how future initiatives from the LEFT aim to address it by Ms Li Andersson, Chair of EMPL Committee (The Left, European Parliament);
• An update on LTC in the work of the Social Protection Committee presented by Ms Ulrike Neufang, Vice-Chair of the Social Protection Committee;
• A presentation on the Framework of Actions and Recruitment in Social Services by Mr Sylvain Renouvel, Direction of the Federation of European Social Employers, and Ms Samantha Howe, European Public Sector Union.

The second part of the webinar saw several parallel workshops on working conditions; labour rights, enforcement and undeclared work; and skills.

During the workshop on working conditions, Prof. Eva Kocher, Professor of Labour Law, Centre for Interdisciplinary Labour Law Studies, presented the Care4Care project as one of the key initiatives working on improving long-term care in the EU. Prof. Kocher discussed some of the main points of the Policy Paper developed as part of the Care4Care project (the Policy Paper can be found on the Care4Care website), focusing  on the topics of working conditions, collective bargaining, health and safety, migration, discrimination on the base of gender, funding, and calling on the upmost importance of recognising legally and politically the value of care work.

To close the webinar, the parallel workshops were summarised highlighting:

• Workshop on Working Conditions: Discussions revealed that there is no one-size-fits-all challenge in this area. Working conditions in the LTC sector vary significantly across Member States. Importantly, the conversation also highlighted the link between working conditions and occupational health risks.
• Workshop on Labour rights, Enforcement and Undeclared work: Undeclared work emerged as a central issue, with participants underlining the enforcement challenges and administrative burdens that often drive informality in the sector.
• Workshop on skills: Skills were recognised as critical levers for shaping the future of work and society. The emphasis was placed on the need for continuous investment in skills development and reskilling to adapt to evolving demands.

Concluding the webinar, several speakers highlighted both their own updates and call for actions:

• Mr Sven Erik Bukholt, Head of the Legal and International Unit at the Danish Ministry of Senior Citizens, outlined key priorities for the upcoming Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU. He also announced a significant national development: a new Act defining LTC will come into force at the beginning of July.
• Mr Danko Reli?, rapporteur for the Opinion on the Health Workforce and Care Strategy for the Future of Europe and member of the European Economic and Social Committee, focused on the crucial issue of wages in the care sector. He stressed that many workers leave not due to a lack of motivation, but because they simply can’t afford to stay.
• Ms Birgitta Sacrédeus, rapporteur on workforce shortages in healthcare at the European Committee of the Regions, issued a strong call for collaboration. She urged all stakeholders to unite in addressing the challenges of an ageing population to secure a resilient care workforce in the years ahead.

Ms. Katarina Ivankovic-Knezevic, DG EMPL, closed the webinar focusing on how the upcoming Danish Presidency of the Council of EU will bring some key opportunities to discuss and work together on the topic of care and specifically LTC. She also mentioned the report on the Social Economy Action Plan to be published next year.

On behalf of the Care4Care Project, EFSI wishes to extend its thanks to DG EMPL for the invitation and the opportunity to present and discuss our project at the webinar.