|
|
Doc. 9631
3 December 2002
Challenges of social policy in our ageing societies
Opinion1
Committee on Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation
Rapporteur: Mrs Tatiana Yarygina, Russia, Socialist Group
I. Conclusion of the committee
1. The Committee on Economic Affairs and Development has examined the report on “Challenges of social policy in our ageing societies” prepared by Mr Hegyi, Rapporteur, for the Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs.
2. It suggests the following amendments to the draft Recommendation contained in Doc. 9615.
At the end of paragraph 8 in the draft Recommendation, add the following words: “…, which will require a new approach to employment policy.”
After paragraph 20 in the draft Recommendation, add the following new paragraph:
“Council of Europe member states will also have to prepare policies for a future where more aged and fewer young people will lead to a far less innovative, risk-taking and dynamic society, with major consequences for economic growth and consumption patterns.
II. Explanatory memorandum by the Rapporteur
1. The report by the Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs on “Challenges of social policy in our ageing societies” (Doc. 9615; Rapporteur: Mr Hegyi) eloquently and most exhaustively examines the various demographic changes which can be observed in the large majority of Council of Europe member states and which will become even more visible in the years to come. In brief, life expectancy is increasing owing largely to better health and working conditions, while birth rates are going down, both as a result of women’s having fewer children and because of their having them at a higher age, leading to a wider gap between generations. These developments will have important consequences for the future of our societies, especially as regards our ability to finance pension and health care systems (the elderly need more care) in a situation where the contributors (in working age) will be fewer and the beneficiaries (the retired) more numerous, at least until eventually mortality reaches also this group.
2. Also worldwide, birth rates are coming down, although less rapidly, turning population ageing into a global phenomenon. This is due in part to rising incomes in many developing countries, leading people to have fewer children to provide for them in their old age. A major factor is also the improved education opportunities in many countries for girls and young women. The more and longer they can study, the fewer children they tend to have.
3. Since so many economic aspects have been covered in the Social Committee’s commendable report, there remain only a few for this Rapporteur to add. One would be that population ageing in Europe will doubtless lead to a society which will be less dynamic and more ‘conservative’ – in the non-political meaning of the word, the Rapporteur hastens to add. This will create radically new consumption patterns – to put it succinctly, more face-lifting operations and fewer toys and rock galas – and less risk-taking and entrepreneurship in economic life. The consequences for economic growth are obvious, and Europe will be at a disadvantage not only vis-à-vis ‘younger’ countries in other world regions but also as compared to, say, the United States which, while ageing also, will nevertheless maintain a younger population due to higher immigration.
4. The Social Committee’s report in its paragraph 10 rightly points to the difficulties faced by many countries in eastern Europe which experience not only low and falling birth rates but also major emigration abroad by their young and best educated, due to a lack of good and well-paying jobs in their home countries. It is important that the countries that suffer from such a ‘brain-drain’ shape their policies in such a way as to be able to attract sufficient domestic and foreign investment which alone can secure employment.
5. The rights of the elderly to a secure old age, and those of women to full and equal participation in working life are hard-won and uncontestable gains. They should, however, not prevent us from reflecting on how we might reform our pension and health care systems or our employment policies, and how we might improve our family support, working conditions so as to permit, and indeed encourage, people to have more children. This holds also for the countries sharing the euro. They will have to think particularly hard about pension reform, since the stability of the euro vitally depends on good public finances in each and every participating country under the EMU’s Stability and Growth Pact. High pensions payments in a country with an older population will, unless compensated for by savings in other areas, cause inflation to rise in all of Euroland and raise prices in, say, the housing market also in another Euroland country with a younger population eager to buy real estate.
6. Finally, with immigration pressure from outside Europe likely to increase even further in the years to come – and this in spite of the previously mentioned slowing down in world population growth – Council of Europe member states may well have to revise their policies in this domain if they want to remain competitive - especially after 2010, when the ‘baby-boom’ generation of the 1940s and 1950s retire from the labour markets and many fewer people in working age will be there to take their place.
*
* *
Reporting committee: Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee
Committee for opinion: Committee on Economic Affair and Development
Reference to committee: Doc. 8798 and Reference No 2747 of 25.09.02
This opinion was approved by the committee on 20 November 2002
Secretaries to the committee: Mr Torbiörn, Mr Bertozzi, Ms Ramanauskaite and
Ms Kopaçi-Di Michele.