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Resolution 1767 (2010) Final version
The demographic future of Europe and migration
1. The global population is currently
predicted to grow by over 40% over the next forty years unless fertility rates
in the developing world decrease considerably. In the same period,
the population of the member states of the Council of Europe is
expected to drop by about 6%, so reducing Europe’s share of the
world’s population to 7%. In addition, Europe’s demographic make-up
is going through dramatic changes. These trends will bring new challenges
for Europe in terms of competitiveness on the global market and
the viability of its existing social security systems.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls its two recent debates
on policy measures that influence population trends and on the demographic
challenges for social cohesion. It reasserts its support for the
recommendations adopted after these debates (Recommendation 1683 (2004) on population
trends in Europe and their sensitivity to policy measures, and Recommendation 1749 (2006) and Resolution 1502 (2006) on
demographic challenges for social cohesion).
3. The Assembly regrets the discontinuation of the valuable work
previously carried out by the European Population Committee. It
remains convinced that population- and migration-related issues
merit continued intergovernmental attention by the Council of Europe.
4. Population decline, ageing of the population and migration
are closely interlinked and need to be looked at together, to assess
the future of Europe’s population as well as its productivity needs.
Fertility, ageing and migration need to be managed through comprehensive
policies that are capable of adapting to new demographic realities.
5. The most essential question for European population management
today is how to achieve an increase in both fertility and domestic
labour force participation, with a view to boosting Europe’s productivity
and maintaining the efficiency of social protection systems, especially
retirement systems. The Assembly believes that European policy makers,
businesses and citizens need to combine their efforts to rethink
the organisation of the entire life-course perspective of work,
parenthood and retirement.
6. Increased immigration is another way to help mitigate the
effects of the falling population in the medium term. Currently
immigration is the principal reason for positive population growth
in several European countries and immigration needs are projected
to grow once the economy recovers. Nevertheless, the Assembly is convinced
that immigration will not be an adequate instrument on its own –
nor is it a desirable policy option – to compensate for population
“greying”, and it is no substitute for economic reforms.
7. The Assembly believes that, whereas migration has brought
diversity and dynamism to European societies, future movements need
to be better managed. These need to be linked to specific demands
of the economy, based on a realistic assessment of labour-market
needs, as well as implementation procedures to ensure that migration
continues to meet these demands while respecting developing needs
of countries of origin.
8. The main challenges to realising the potential of immigration
are linked to irregular migration and the integration of migrants
and their descendants into European societies. Both are linked to
human rights issues, as well as to a danger for European societies
of the emergence of a new underclass. Therefore, the Assembly sees
targeted migration and opportunities for legal employment as the
desired direction for managing migration in the future.
9. The Assembly is convinced that, whereas temporary and circular
migration programmes bring more benefits for the countries of origin,
as they reduce the impact of the brain drain, maximise remittances
and encourage knowledge and technology transfers, many labour needs
in the Council of Europe member states will be long term in nature,
with job-specific skills that take time to acquire. Demographic
and migration-related issues would therefore need to be looked at
from both mid- and long-term perspectives.
10. In the light of the above, the Assembly urges member states
to combine the following broad policy measures, if they have not
already done so:
10.1. with regard
to increasing birth rates:
10.1.1. enable individuals and
couples to exercise their right to decide freely and responsibly the
number of their children and the interval between them;
10.1.2. make it easier for women to combine family and professional
life, namely through availability of child care, flexible working
hours, teleworking, paternal leave, etc.;
10.1.3. make it easier for young people to start work and found
families, for example by promoting a more child- and family-friendly
environment in all spheres of society, particularly in urban areas,
including housing, child-care programmes, part-time and flexi-time
work, fiscal policies and recreational facilities;
10.1.4. develop public-health measures aimed at reducing involuntary
infertility;
10.2. with regard to population ageing and with a view to increased
labour force participation:
10.2.1. facilitate legal employment
through such measures as reducing the cost of employment, liberalising
labour codes and removing unnecessary costs linked to termination
of employment;
10.2.2. further encourage employment of women through incentives
that facilitate combining family and professional life;
10.2.3. introduce necessary legislative changes to gradually increase
the retirement age;
10.2.4. promote active ageing by giving those who are still in
good health and willing to work the chance to work longer, and by
focusing more on the number of years worked rather than age for retirement;
10.2.5. devise a wide range of policies to enable people to work
longer in healthy conditions, including by promoting possibilities
for lifelong training and retraining;
10.2.6. develop atypical forms of employment for those who cannot
or do not want to work full-time;
10.3. with regard to migration:
10.3.1. put in place
mechanisms to identify and monitor domestic labour shortages at
national level and keep legal avenues open for the entry of immigrants
to satisfy these shortages;
10.3.2. communicate publicly the need for continued and possibly
even increased immigration across the full range of skilled and
unskilled labour, while at the same time ensuring that appropriate
policies for the management of migration and integration of immigrants
are in place; in particular, develop strategies for attracting migrants
with the sought-after profile;
10.3.3. in countries of net emigration, capitalise on the domestic
sources of labour and retain top talent by improving academic excellence,
introducing salary incentives and possibilities for training and
retraining;
10.3.4. develop official means of recruiting migrants so as to
reduce the incentive for employers to hire them through the informal
labour market, and to prevent trafficking and exploitation of migrants;
consider introducing job-search visas as an appropriate recruitment
avenue for certain profiles;
10.3.5. look for opportunities to redirect irregular migration
and illegal employment into legal channels. Such a system needs
to apply to all skill levels, be long term in nature and incorporate incentives
for both employers and immigrants to follow the rules;
10.3.6. foster successful integration of migrants and their families,
in particular those coming from non-European countries, into their
new European host societies; in particular, address the issues of
education among immigrants and their children, remedy the problems
associated with their geographical concentration and social isolation
and help second-generation immigrants to overcome the difficulties
they face in entering the labour market;
10.3.7. pay greater attention to having a balanced public debate
on immigration that avoids language that justifies or even reinforces
discriminatory attitudes against migrants.
11. The Assembly notes that many of these measures are already
part of the European Union agenda. It commends the latter for its
recently adopted Stockholm Programme and Action Plan, which recognise
the valuable role that immigration plays in addressing the Union’s
demographic challenges and in securing the European Union’s strong
economic performance over the long term. Considering that European
Union policies have a great impact on candidate countries or non-European
Union member states of the Council of Europe, the Assembly further
encourages the European Union to:
11.1. aim
to introduce a genuinely unified admission system for migrants by
re-examining the idea of the “Blue Card” system initially proposed
in 2001;
11.2. carry out an in-depth study of Europe’s labour needs in
the short, medium and long term;
11.3. further develop mobility partnerships with relevant member
states of the Council of Europe through the Eastern Partnership
Programme;
11.4. consider, as a matter of utmost urgency, options for the
regularisation of the situation of the millions of irregular migrants
who are employed in underemployed sectors.
12. The Assembly also calls on the specialised international organisations
to carry out further studies that would incorporate comprehensive
data on demographic and migration trends in Europe. Such data will
help counteract populist or xenophobic reactions, and help governments
to take a more realistic and comprehensive approach when defining
national policies.