29 April | 10:00–12:30 CET | Register here.
This Policy Lab is the third in a series of MERGE Policy Labs. This time, we will discuss how policymaking can be made fairer for future generations: an increasingly urgent question as long-term challenges such as climate change, demographic shifts, and rising inequality demand decisions that go beyond short-term political cycles.
Intergenerational fairness is a concept that places the wellbeing of both present and future generations at the heart of public decision-making. It means rethinking how policies are designed, assessed, and implemented so that they account for their long-term impacts.
Why does this matter now?
The EU has published its first-ever Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness, built through a debate that drew participants from across the Union, spanning social cohesion, democratic governance, environmental sustainability, care systems, and education. The breadth of that conversation signals something important: intergenerational fairness cuts across virtually every policy domain, and no single ministry owns it.
Addressing that challenge demands a Europe that works for all generations, built on shared prosperity, sustainable foundations, and institutional arrangements that do not routinely favour the present at the expense of the future.
What you can expect
A keynote on EU strategy for intergenerational fairness from Deša Srsen, European Commission, Cabinet of Commissioner Glenn Micalle
Two national case studies:
- Wales – The Future Generations Act, presented by Sophie Howe, first Future Generations Commissioner (The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales)
- Italy – Generational impact assessment, presented by Flavia Melchiorri Terribile and Giuliana Coccia, ASviS Senior Experts (ASviS – Alleanza Italiana per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile)
Three deep dives into key policy areas:
- Intergenerational public procurement — Warren Smith, Posterity Global
- Generational renewal in agriculture — Alba Barrutieta, DG AGRI, European Commission
- Breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty — Laura Cassio, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
Interactive breakout sessions where participants can exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and reflect together on how intergenerational fairness can be embedded into policymaking across different contexts and levels of governance.
The outcomes of the Policy Lab will feed into a policy brief developed after the event, helping translate shared learning into actionable guidance for advancing sustainable and inclusive wellbeing through public policy.
Detailed agenda
Join us!
Are you a policymaker, civil servant, researcher, or civil society organisation working on sustainable and forward-looking policies? If so, then this is your space. Join us and help shape policies that deliver fairness and wellbeing for all generations — and stay tuned for upcoming Policy Labs spanning multiple political domains of the EU.
For more information, please contact our colleague Valentina Caimi (EPC): v.caimi@epc.eu
