''We carried out a number of projects already back in the 2014-2020 period. Now, Slovenia's EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027 ushers in new opportunities for further improvements in the area of mobility and web accessibility for the elderly,'' said Minister Jevšek about how cohesion policy can make a meaningful impact.

Cohesion policy 2021-2027 will support active employment policy measures to help people with disabilities and older people get and keep a job. It will also support companies’ efforts to manage and adapt workplaces to ageing workforce to promote extending working lives. The policy will deliver investments in new and existing education and training facilities to modernise old educational building stock. Support will be provided for deinstitutionalisation measures, i.e., measures promoting the transition from institutional to home-based care by providing social care services and support as well as community-based services. Supportive environments will be set up to improve the social inclusion of people with disabilities, enabling them to live more independently with support. Measures for the early detection of dementia will also be supported.   

In the current period, the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has already issued funding decisions for projects relating to some of the areas relevant to the people with disabilities and the elderly. EU co-financing for these projects stands at EUR 160 million.

The preparation of new projects is underway. These projects will address age frailty, strengthen competences to manage dementia and set up housing groups and deinstitutionalisation multidisciplinary teams. We will deliver investments in community-driven dementia care centres and public health facilities. These measures will make the quality of provided care much higher, allowing the elderly and people with disabilities to stay in their homes for as long as possible.

The consultation at the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia was organised by the Commission for Social Care, Labour, health and the Disabled in partnership with the Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, and the National Council of Disability Organizations of Slovenia.