The 25th of all EU-r rights: older people and how the Charter contributes

On average, 52% of EU citizens see age as the biggest disadvantage for job candidates, with older workers often perceived as less adaptable and less digitally competent.⁴ This is an issue in a situation where close to a quarter of the EU population are 65 and older.

In the Mangold case⁵, the CJEU judgment established non-discrimination based on age discrimination as general principle of EU law at a moment when the transposition deadline for equality framework Directive 2000/78/EC was not yet over. The case concerned a German law allowing unlimited fixed-term contracts for workers over 52. In fact, age discrimination has featured in a variety of prominent cases held before the EU Court of Justice. Many of them were decided soon after the Charter has entered into force. But the Charter played not much of a role. These cases concerned compulsory retirement ages, maximum age limits for entering professions or rules disadvantaging younger workers (e.g., counting seniority only after a certain age). In the Petersen case⁶, the CJEU rejected the justification of an age limit for dentists participating in public healthcare systems. The Kücükdeveci case⁷ found a German law discriminatory because it excluded employment before age 25 when calculating notice periods. Similarly, in the Hütter case⁸, the CJEU considered it discriminatory to exclude work experience before the age 18 of when calculating salary progression. While the Court did accept mandatory retirement for university professors such as in the case of Georgiev⁹ and for the public prosecutors case of Fuchs and Köhler¹⁰, it did not do so in the context of the Prigge case of the airline pilots¹¹.

However, Article 25 is close to non-existent in the case law of the EU Court in Luxembourg.¹² The reason for the low judicial relevance of Article 25 is in its nature of being a principle rather than a legal right¹³ in combination with the fact that Article 21 of the Charter establishes a strong prohibition of discrimination based on age and the EU legislator has, in the context of employment, provided with Directive 2000/78/EC for detailled legislation in that regard. Some national courts did however use Article 25. For instance, the court of cassation in France referred to Article 25 and found that making the allowance of solidarity for the elderly (allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées) dependent on having held a residence permit which authorized work for at least ten years prior may become disproportionate. That is, if it deprives a person from a living minimum income before the age of 75, and consequently does not allow to lead a dignified and independent life, as required by the Charter.¹⁴

Various constitutions refer to State’s obligations to:

• take care of older people when they are unable to support themselves¹⁵,
• provide adequate material security in old age¹⁶,
• establish a general state pension system based on social soidarity¹⁷ or
• ensure special health care for persons of advanced age¹⁸. The focus appears to be rather on the needs of older persons and less on their dignity and their participation in the life of the community – the 2 key elements of Article 25. As with many other rights, the Portuguese constitutions stands out as especially detailled. It enshrines the right of the elderly to economic security and to conditions in terms of housing and family and community life that respect their personal autonomy and avoid and overcome isolation or social marginalization. Moreover Article 72 of the Portuguese constitution states that the policy for the elderly shall include measures that provide them with opportunities for personal fulfilment by means of active participation in community life.

Since 2000, the Employment Directive 2000/78/EC has provided strong legal protection against discrimination based on age but remains limited to the field of employment, despite widespread age discrimination across other areas such as financial services, healthcare, housing, and access to digital technologies.¹⁹

In 2021 the European Commission presented a Green Paper on Ageing. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) criticized the paper for treating older people as a cost on society while ignoring the social and economic benefits of including older people more actively. The EESC calls for the adoption of ageing plans at national level with specific targets and indicators to measure the effectiveness of policies supporting older people, and, at the EU level, a European Strategy for Older persons and the creation of a European agency dealing with older people, ageing and the demographic challenge.²⁰

In March 2026, the European Commission presented a Strategy on Intergenerational fairness.[21] While it appears to lack a focus on older people and their needs, it does announce some relevant measures including a report on Adequate Social Protection in Old Age.

25 years ago, and thus long before discussions began at the UN level on a convention specifically dedicated to the rights of older persons, the EU had already drawn attention to the rights of this important population group by including Article 25 in the Charter. The provision provides further impetus for the development of a rights based approach to ageing, as advocated by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in its 2018 Shifting perceptions: towards a rights-based approach to ageing report.

Legally speaking, the value of Article 25 was described as mainly "symbolic".²² The character of Article 25 as a principle rather than an individual right, limits its judicial role. However, Article 25 can and should serve as an important reminder to EU lawmakers and policymakers to fully and consistently take the needs of older persons into account across all policy areas. Moreover, the wording of Article 25 shifts the perspective, encouraging us to view older people not primarily through the lens of special needs, but in terms of their dignity and their value to society as a whole.

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