95. Calls for the EU to be more active in South Asia and South East Asia in support of democratic developments and reforms in the area of governance and the rule of law; welcomes, therefore, the commitment to a democratic, secular, stable and socially inclusive Pakistan; welcomes the first EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue held in June 2012 and the engagement for constructive discussions on enhancing bilateral cooperation and shared views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including a more proactive engagement in t ...[+++]he fight against terrorism; calls on the EU and its Member States to strengthen relations with India, based on the promotion of democracy, social inclusion, rule of law and human rights, and invites EU and India to swiftly conclude their ongoing negotiations of a comprehensive EU-India Free Trade Agreement, which would stimulate European and Indian trade and economic growth; Calls on the EU and its Member States to support Sri Lankan post-war reconciliation, reconstruction and economic development and, in this regard, urges the Council to support Sri Lanka in the implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) report ; welcomes active support of EU for the promotion of democracy in Myanmar;

93. Calls for the EU to be more active in South Asia and South East Asia in support of democratic developments and reforms in the area of governance and the rule of law; welcomes, therefore, the commitment to a democratic, secular, stable and socially inclusive Pakistan; welcomes the first EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue held in June 2012 and the engagement for constructive discussions on enhancing bilateral cooperation and shared views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including a more proactive engagement in t ...[+++]he fight against terrorism; calls on the EU and its Member States to strengthen relations with India, based on the promotion of democracy, social inclusion, rule of law and human rights, and invites EU and India to swiftly conclude their ongoing negotiations of a comprehensive EU-India Free Trade Agreement, which would stimulate European and Indian trade and economic growth; Calls on the EU and its Member States to fully support Sri Lankan post-war reconstruction and economic development and, in this regard, urges the Council to carefully consider reinstating Sri Lanka‘s favourable terms of trade with the EU, notably her GSP+ trade status; welcomes active support of EU for the promotion of democracy in Myanmar;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that equitable access to healthcare and treatment options for older patients are included in their health policies and programmes and to make adequate access to healthcare and treatments for older people a priority for ‘2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity’; calls on the Member States to promote initiatives in order to tackle social isolation in elderly patients as it has a significant impact on patients’ longer-term health; stresses the need fo ...[+++]r the European Union and its Member States to anticipate, through an appropriate long-term strategy, the social and economic impact of the ageing of the European population, in order to guarantee the financial and organisational sustainability of healthcare systems, as well as equal and continued delivery of care for patients;

The Social OMC has increasingly become a reference point for a wide range of social issues that are high on Member States' agendas and cut across different policy areas, such as the social impact of migration; the social inclusion of ethnic or disadvantaged minorities, including Roma communities; poverty in rural areas; long-term care and social inclusion of the disabled; social consequences of climate change, environmental degradation and trends in energy prices; educational disadvantage and unequal access to continuous training and lifelong learning; financial education and access to basic financial services; digital divide and social ex ...[+++]clusion; active ageing and intergenerational solidarity.

Member States and the social partners must increase efforts to boost the level of employment particularly by pursuing active employment policies which help people in work and provide incentives for them to remain there, developing active ageing policies to discourage people from leaving the workforce too early, and by modernising social protection systems, so that they continue to offer the security needed to help people embrace change.

The Conclusions of the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 acknowledged the importance of social protection in further developing and modernising an active and dynamic welfare state in Europe, and called upon the Council to strengthen cooperation between Member States by exchanging experiences and best practice on the basis of improved information networks.