Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Greece as a Member State of the European Union associates fully with the statement made by the Spanish Presidency.

On behalf of my Government, I would like to reaffirm Greece's commitment to all major UN Summits and Conferences, particularly the Conference for Social Development and the Millenium Summit, to create stable and suitable environments, where all people can live in dignity.

We firmly believe that this Second World Assembly on Ageing should give a new impetus on the wider issues of an ageing population. Furthermore, we came here in Madrid to identify new challenges and trends. More importantly, we gathered here to agree upon objectives and actions, and to ensure that further commitments will be made and implemented. We are convinced that the achievements that were reached during these 20 years since the First World Assembly in Vienna will not only be amplified, but also augmented and strengthened.

Mr. President,

The improvement in health and living conditions has contributed to an overall ageing process. It has been a while that old age is a rather positive given in our traditions. One generally expects to carry on long after the working life, long after his or her own family obligations have been fulfilled, under conditions that have to be re-thought and re-structured, as ageing itself has become an important process and a good part of the life cycle.

There is much the individual can do to remain active and healthy in later life. Right lifestyle, involvement in family and society, supportive environment for older age, are determinants for the preservation of well - being. Maintaining health and quality of living across the lifespan will do much towards building fulfilled lives and a harmonious, intergenerational community.

Demographic ageing interacts with the dynamics of social, economic and cultural conditions to produce social forms and structures, to establish new models of life, as well as to pose more and more challenges and dilemmas for policy.

A coordinated, comprehensive approach is needed to meet the challenges we are to face in the coming decades. The rising age wage has to be apprehended, acknowledged and taken into consideration when planning. This means providing policies and services, which take account the different needs of a larger older population. It also means establishing principles that foresee ageing and prepare for it, and at the same time strengthening the relationship among generations.

Mr. President,

Although time is very limited to describe all the actions for the elderly undertaken by the Greek Government, we would like to give a general outlook of what ageing means for us.

Our vision is a society for all ages, where older people lead safe, healthy and independent lives. Our goal is positive ageing, where older people continue to make valuable contributions to society. Our mandate is to create a network of services, which address groups and individuals at critical points and phases with proper forms of intervention.
 

Our tasks are:
• To secure conditions for a longer active life in someone's own home with or next to family and existing social bonds
• To reduce resorting to institutional care to absolutely minimal
• To eliminate dependency and isolation, and to prevent conditions and circumstances that lead to them
• To strengthen intergenerational solidarity within and beyond one's own family 
• To promote and develop community level participation and involvement, and 
• To increase social awareness on the conditions, needs and prospects of the elderly among the general population.

In this direction, the structure of health and social care services for old age has changed through the last years. The Greek Government, taking into account the wish of the elderly to remain at home, is providing options and easy access to alternative services. That is why, it strengthens family policies, enabling the family to endure the burden for the care of the elderly when they stay within.

In cases where elderly people do not have a family, or when they do but they live apart, away, or they are isolated, the "Help at Home" Program has proven to be the most successful one. This Program tackles with isolation and insecurity that the elderly face, while at the same time it provides a range of services that empower the elderly to remain at home.

Other successful examples of policies for the old age include the "Open Care Centers for the Elderly" which provide preventive health services and psycho-social support, the full access to health services as well as the pension allowance to all uninsured, and the "Social Solidarity Allowance" for the low rate pensioners.

Mr. President,

Greece shares the concerns along with other European countries on the issues of ageing population. At a time like this, it becomes even more important to foster social cohesion, to design policies that prevent social problems, and to include ageing in the development agenda at both national and international level.

Although the figures and the rationale vary from country to country, we strongly feel that we need to promote concerted international action, close regional cooperation, and the will to think beyond our borders. Greece firmly believes that the international outlook is the right direction for our society to invest in for the future. Our hitherto values and traditions in human and social rights entitle us to do so.

I would like to conclude this address by thanking the Spanish Government for its hospitality and by expressing the conviction that the efforts invested in this World Assembly, as well as the outcome, will prove worthwhile.