Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-11-19-Speech-3-350"
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"en.20081119.23.3-350"2
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"− Madam President, I might take a bit longer but I promise to compensate for that in the second response.
In the 2008 report, the focus will be on the potential of the baby boom cohorts. A growing number of people in their 60s and 70s will probably be willing to continue playing an active part in social and economic life.
The employment rates of older people have risen in recent years, reversing the past trend towards ever earlier retirement. But more needs to be done: when they reach 60, only 40% of men and 30% of women are still in employment. Yet most people in that age group are still fit and capable of contributing to the economy and society. The ageing baby boomers can also make a major contribution to society as informal care providers and volunteers. Their contribution deserves to be recognised and supported by public policies. It is crucial to ensure that the growing number of older people can lead an independent life for as long as possible.
A key objective of demography forums is to promote mutual learning based on good practice among the Member States. The next European Demography Forum – to take place in Brussels on 24 and 25 November – will focus on family policies and active ageing. It will also provide an opportunity to take stock of how prepared the Member States are for demographic change and to identify the most important opportunities for further action.
Early next year, the Commission will present an update of the implications of demographic change for future public spending, in particular, in the area of pensions, health and long-term care, based on Eurostat’s new population projections.
To wind up, I want to emphasise that it is the responsibility of the individual Member States to implement the right policies in the face of demographic change. But demographic change is a challenge we all face together. The Member States can learn a lot from each other’s successes and failures in responding to this demographic change. That is why the Commission encourages a Europe-wide debate on demographic change and is offering a platform for the exchange of experiences and mutual learning.
Parliament’s request for a statement on demographic trends from the Council and the Commission comes at the right time. This Friday, the Commission services will present their second demography report – in time for the European Demography Forum on 24 and 25 November.
The European Union is going through a major demographic transformation. All the Member States have seen life expectancy rise and fertility rates decline among their populations as a result of scientific, economic and social progress. Today, Europeans live longer, healthier lives than their forbears did, and we can expect life expectancy to increase in the future.
This ageing of Europe’s population is no longer an abstract scenario for a distant future. The baby boom began 60 years ago and the first baby boomers are now reaching retirement age. So the European Union’s demographic development has reached a turning point. From now on, the number of those aged 60 and over will rise by two million people every year for the next 25 years.
Meanwhile, the rate of growth of the working age population is falling fast and will stop altogether in about six years. Today there are four persons of working age – between 15 and 64 – for every person aged 65 or over in the 27 Member States. In 2060, the ratio will be two to one.
Some see ageing as a threat and paint a bleak picture of conflict between the generations. But demographic change need not be a threat if we look at the opportunities it holds. Living a longer, healthier life can mean staying active longer. Most of the baby boomers are better educated and better trained than previous cohorts. Today they are still fit and healthy.
I am convinced that demographic change offers the chance of stronger solidarity between the generations. But I do not expect that to come about by itself. Society will have to make better use of the abilities of all generations and give everyone the chance to develop his or her full potential. That means modernising our social policies – in line with the renewed social agenda the Commission adopted in July. The renewed social agenda identified Europe’s ageing society as a priority area for action and recommended a number of policy responses. Our goal is to help the Member States make the most of the possibilities and manage the impact of an ageing society effectively.
The approaches and recommendations set out in the Commission’s 2006 communication ‘The demographic future of Europe: From challenge to opportunity’ continue to be valid. That communication expressed confidence in Europe’s ability to adapt to demographic change. But it also stressed the need to act in five key areas: promoting demographic renewal in Europe, by creating the conditions for our fellow citizens to fulfil their desire to have children, in particular, by helping to reconcile work and family and private life; promoting employment in Europe, by ensuring that more and better jobs are created and people can work longer, in order to improve the balance between active and inactive people; promoting a more productive and more dynamic Europe, by optimising skills at all ages; taking in and integrating migrants into Europe, by attracting skilled and unskilled workers from abroad and facilitating their integration in order to alleviate labour shortages; ensuring the sustainability of public finances, by consolidating budgets and reforming social protection systems in order to guarantee adequate social protection and public services in the future.
The Lisbon Strategy already covers the most important of those policy responses, but it focuses less on the long term than the demography debate. That is why the Commission has proposed additional tools in the form of biennial reports on the demographic situation in Europe and two-yearly demography forums."@en1
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