[Documents/Docheader.htm]Demographic challenges for social cohesion
Doc. 10371
14 December 2004Motion for a recommendation
presented by Mr Tkác and othersThis motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it
1. The potential conflict areas linked to demographic changes in Europe are largely known. The key demographic issues are low fertility, an ageing society and the management of migration and integration of migrants.
2. Europe's population is expected to decline over the next 20 to 50 years if present fertility, mortality and migration rates will continue at the same levels as today. This decline can already be observed in some member states. In addition, Europe will experience further population ageing. Both population decline and population ageing, but also migration, require adaptive population-related policy measures in many domains of social and economic life.
3. The main demographic concerns that need policy-responses can be identified as follows: policy implication of changing family formation (including relations between work and family life), population ageing and its challenges to social policies, impacts of migration on society and policies, and policy challenges raised by vulnerable population groups. These issues are the key population issues for the identification of priorities for action regarding social cohesion policies.
4. The Council of Europe's European Population Committee, in close co-operation with the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and relevant Steering and Expert Committees of the Council of Europe, will on 7-8 April 2005 organise a European Population Conference to debate the above themes. The aim is not to count people but to make people count.
5. The Parliamentary Assembly in its Recommendation 1683 (2004) on Population trends in Europe and their sensitivity to policy measures already addressed several of the major demographic challenges for the member states of the Council of Europe. Several reports on social, health, migration and family policies also reflect the consequences of demographic changes.
6. It is against this background that the Parliamentary Assembly wish to take part in the up-coming European Population Conference and to assess its findings and conclusions with a view to formulating recommendations to the Committee of Ministers on the priorities of the Council of Europe's future work related to population issues, including migration, and social cohesion. These recommendations will also address policy priorities on the population, migration, social and economic agenda of member states.
Signed [1]:
TKÁC, Vojtech, Slovakia, EDG
ÇAVUSOGLU, Mevlüt, Turkey, EDG
CILEVICS, Boriss, Latvia, SOC
CLIVETI, Minodora, Romania, SOC
DANIELI, Franco, Italy, LDR
ETHERINGTON, Bill, United Kingdom, SOC
FERNÁNDEZ AGUILAR, Adolfo, Spain, EPP/CD
GÜLÇIÇEK, Ali Riza, Turkey, SOC
HANCOCK, Michael, United Kingdom, LDR
IWINSKI, Tadeusz, Poland, SOC
JUDD, United Kingdom, SOC
KURDADZÉ, Irine, Georgia, NR
OSKINA, Vera, Russia, EDG
TEKELIOGLU, Mehmet, Turkey, EPP/CD
WILKINSON, John, United Kingdom, EDG
SOC
EPP
EDG
LDR
UEL
NRSocialist Group
Group of the European People’s Party
European Democratic Group
Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
Group of the Unified European Left
Not registered in a group