This was in line with the Parliament's approach (It should be noted that other EU institutions also use age limits in their competitions, and that in some cases these are lower than 45 years.) For grades other than basic grades, age limits set down in Commission competitions may be 50 or 55 years, as is the case for the competition which gave rise to this question.

Does the Commission propose to change its current policy of discriminating against job applicants aged 45 and over in the light of the European Ombudsman's current investigation into whether such age discrimination amounts to maladministration.

The issue of caring for very old and frail people was raised in the communication ‘Towards a Europe of all Ages’ which the Commission issued as a contribution to the United Nations (UN) International Year of Older Persons.

The question of age limits must also be seen today in the context of new article 6a inserted in the Treaty of Amsterdam, which states that "the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation".

The measures proposed -which will cost an estimated 2,4 million ECU for the two-year period 1991-1992- come under the following headings : -------- (*) COM(90)80 - 2 - - Studies should be undertaken into both the principal problems of ageing and the positive contribution which elderly people can make to society and the results should be made available to specialists and policy-makers throughout the Community ; the Commission proposes that the results of these studies be included in a new Community database containing up-to-date information on all aspects of ageing ; - Events should be organized both to raise awareness of the issues involved in ageing and to disseminate the latest research findings of interest to specialists ...[+++]dealing with these issues ; - Preparatory work should be carried out towards the building of a learning network around some fo the most innovative steps taken within Member States to deal with the problems of ageing; - 1993 should be declared "European year of Elderly People and Solidarity of Generations".

The Commissioner said that the following questions should be examined in the further development of the Charter : - whether or not the Charter should be limited to social rights in the strict sense of the term, or whether it should also cover economic and cultural rights or even civil and political rights; - whether it should enshrine such concepts as the right to an adequate level of physical and mental health, the right to education, to family protection, to minimum income, the right to participate in cultural life and the right to housing, - the right of free association and the right of free collective bargaining, a fundamental prin ...[+++]ciple of our common European heritage; - the prohibition of discrimination between EU citizens and the legally resident non-EU citizens in work related issues, as well as the rights of third country nationals not to be arbitrarily excluded from the Union and the right to family union, are also fundamental questions; - the right to non-discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, age and disability must be enshrined in the Constitution of the European Union in a way that is legally actionable by individual citizens.