Almost all European countries are facing demographic ageing. In Budapest, the Hungarian capital, an informal meeting of the European Union (EU) economy and finance ministers was held at the end of the week to discuss this issue. Central bankers were also invited. Together, they discussed the decline in the European working-age population and immigration.
According to the Bruegel Report, a Belgian think tank, in the absence of net immigration, the number of people of working age – between 20 and 64 – in Europe will decrease by about a fifth, from 264 million currently to 207 million in 2050.
Consequence of this reality demographic : there will be fewer people in employment and paying taxes and more people receiving pensions and needing more health care.
Retirement age more in question than ever
Continuing immigration at the current rate will not be enough to compensate for the decline in the working-age population, the study says. Many Europeans are already opposed to this. Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe, itself has a very restrictive migration policy.
Immigration is therefore a solution, but not the only one. Also, reforms of the pension and health systems must contribute to this. The survival of social protection and the sustainability of the public finances of the member countries depend on it.
- RFI
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