“Demography: our common challenge”

Adopted at the YEPP Seminar, December 2007

Ljubljana, Slovenia

A. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, we have heard many words about the difficulties that our societies and economies will have to face, due to the increased life expectancy of our populations and the declining birth rates in most European countries. There are of course differences between the latter, but to a certain extent, we are all tackling the same problem, also due to the fact that the EU is a common economic area, with impact also on its neighbouring countries and partners. We therefore welcome the inclusion of these issues into the priorities of the current EU trio presidency programme (German, Portuguese and Slovenian presidencies of the EU) and we are convinced that future presidencies will follow in their footsteps as well, as it is important to tackle these issues jointly, also in cooperation with non-EU countries.

YEPP – as an organization, representing the youth from all over Europe, the same youth that will be most affected in the following decades by the changing demographic picture of Europe – has decided to take an active stand and put forward at this time, certain concrete proposals, which could prove useful in tackling this challenge.

We are aware that the demographic picture of Europe is not a very optimistic one, yet we are convinced that with a positive approach, certain things could be done in order to improve the situation. Since demography is a complex issue, the aim of this working paper is not to find one solution to our common problem, as there are many possible paths we can take. Therefore, we aim to present some factors, which are perceived by the youth of Europe to have more impact on demography, namely issues, deriving from the difficult balancing of work and family life. We also aim to propose some solutions, which could serve as guidelines for our policy-makers.

We do however, bear in mind that issues, related to demographic change, fall under the competences of Member States. YEPP therefore presents these proposals as guidelines, which should make grounds for mutual inspiration, on the basis of which best examples will be identified and possibly implemented. YEPP, as a pan-European youth organisation, believes that a variety of public policy methods should operate in tackling demographic change including: subsidiarity, proportionality, open co-ordination, sharing of best practices and common policy where appropriate.

B. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

There are numerous causes for the demographic changes we are witnessing today, but no one single cause can be picked out as the main culprit for the current situation. Nevertheless, research has shown that it is, among other things, the result of the following elements:

a. Increasing the longevity of the population (also a consequence of more efficient healing of disease.

b. Difficult reconciliation of work and family life.

c. Inflexible labour market with high unemployment rates of youth and women.

d. Unequal treatment of men and women in the workplace.

e. Insufficient affordable housing.

f. Social exclusion of young people.

g. The changing perception of family and its role in today’s society.

h. Somewhat connected to these issues is also the question of brain drain, which is a major problem in many parts of Europe, because of its consequence - the depopulation of entire regions, which then fall into a spiral of underdevelopment

We cannot predict all the consequences of unfavourable demographic trends, but some of them are rather evident:

a. Declining birth rates.

b. Insufficient active workforce (this is currently still manageable, also due to the assistance of immigrants, but will represent a big problem in the coming years), whose consequence is the decline in potential annual GNP growth in Europe.

c. Public pension and healthcare systems are under extreme financial pressure due to the demographic developments. Adequate and sustainable pension and healthcare systems can be assured by immediate reforms.

C. PROPOSALS

The FAMILY as an institution deserves our special and concrete support, as it offers individuals a secure and caring environment in which they can express themselves and live out their full potential.

It should be easier for both women and men to balance work and family life. Achieving this should be our absolute priority!

We need to establish a more children-friendly society, a society in which mothers and children will be better protected.

We should encourage, with the necessary state financial policies, family. We should give motivation to the young couples to have more than two children in order to help in the increase of the birth rate in Europe.

One of the main obstacles the youth have to overcome is HOUSING.

State and local authorities must be aware of the need to facilitate suitable housing for young families. The latter should also ensure that everybody has a fair chance at obtaining suitable housing, also by better managing existing housing capacities.

When building residential areas, we must bear in mind such solutions, which are suitable for the needs of both children and the elderly.

We should consider such architectural solutions, which could encompass dual-use of properties (in times of »baby booms« they could be used as kindergartens or schools and in times of increase of the ageing population, as retirement homes).

We should encourage, with the necessary state policies, decentralization and re-population of de-populated areas .

When it comes to CHILD CARE…

We must strive to improve the availability and access to childcare facilities.

Working hours of such facilities should be adjusted to the working time of the parents, with more individualised services, in order to achieve a better work– family life balance.

Re-training and employment of the elderly in childcare should be possible (taking into account the minimum education requirements for the job).

SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEMS have to adapt to the new challenges but at the same time retain their solidarity and viability.

We need to create better financial conditions for parents on parental leave and also, by influencing the public opinion, encourage more men to take parental leave.

Family welfare allocations need to be more effective; supervision against abuse must be put in place.

Social security contributions of parents, who stay at home and take care of their children full-time, should be reduced.

Some of the most crucial proposals need to be seen in relation to the PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN GENERATIONS, mentioned already in YEPP resolution on solidarity between generations. YEPP is aware how valuable this partnership is, and we do not consider the elderly as a burden. The young and the elderly can learn a lot from each other, the former having the energy that is needed to more forward in all areas of human development and the latter having the wisdom and experience to guide us in our efforts to build a Europe of true solidarity and prosperity. Certain things do, however, need to be taken into account if we wish for this partnership to succeed. PENSION systems need to be revised in order to adjust to the pressures of demographic change, however, we must ensure an adequate balance between generations, so that the younger generation is not the only one who has to pay the price of these revisions.

Obligations regarding pension schemes should be more proportionally distributed across generations.

Establishment of private pension funds is a necessary supplement to the public ones.

Special attention and focus has to be given to women, which are often discriminated against in the pension schemes, due to their motherhood and care for children.

The LABOUR MARKET needs to undergo certain changes, in order to keep social security systems financially viable in the long run and maintain them socially acceptable.

The crucial thing is to make the labour market more flexible, especially when it comes to making working time more family friendly,

Different forms of work should also be encouraged (part-time jobs, work from home…).

A greater participation of women and youth in the labour market should be encouraged by the elimination of obstacles that prevent them from entering it.

o We must ensure job security for pregnant women and mothers. o We should promote incentives for those companies, which would open childcare

facilities for their employees. o Housework and bringing up children should also receive greater recognition and

the skills acquired in doing so should be recognised as qualifications when it comes to looking for a job.

The older generations should be given the opportunity to work as long as they are willing and able to do so, even after their retirement age, thereby helping reduce the costs of demographic change.

Employability and up-skilling are key requirements for the vitality and prosperity of parents and family over time. More specifically:

o We must ensure a constant exchange of information between educational facilities and the labour market, in order to ensure an adequate response to the needs of the latter.

o The concepts of lifelong learning and access to quality training should be actively promoted, consequently increasing job mobility.

o The increased use of information technologies offers a strong means for social inclusion.

o We must strive to continue with the reforms of our education systems in order to provide them with greater flexibility and efficiency, hence enabling our youth an earlier entry into working life and a better adaptability to the labour market.

o We need to reduce the brain drain from Europe by re-attracting our experts with a flexible and competitive labour market.

Last but not least, it is necessary to mention IMMIGRATION, which can be either part of the solution for the current demographic trends, or if not handled carefully, also part of the problem. Awareness of the long-term implications on the social and economic systems of illegal immigration, and the need for states to address the demographic features of these communities, is vital.

We need clear standards, when it comes to immigration, so that we can welcome those who wish to participate in building a democratic and economically stable society and reject those with hostile attitudes.

We also need to assure good integration of legal immigrants, based on their active participation in society, a possible area where to encourage that is the SME sector.

YEPP believes in allowing such a level of legal immigration that member states see fit, taking into account the needs of their respective economies, yet at the same time

stresses the importance of preventing illegal immigration. D. CONCLUSION

Our political family has been tackling the above-mentioned issues for some time already, either through policies of our national governments, our party manifestos, the EPP-ED group in the European Parliament or various events on an expert level. We are aware how important it is to tackle such issues promptly and efficiently, if we are to continue to live in an area of peace, prosperity and solidarity.

We – the Youth of the European People’s Party - therefore urge the European People’s Party to be even more proactive in this regard and again urge its members to act nationally in favour of such policies, which aim to improve the demographic situation in Europe.

As demographic change is an issue of utmost importance for us specifically, we also stress the importance of consultation with the youth on issues that affect us already today and will continue to affect us in the future.

YEPP has always been on the side of those who wanted to move Europe forward. Let us continue with this practice and lead the way to change also in this domain!