demographics-europeEurope is ageing. On average, each woman has 1.58 children in the EU, substantially below the 2.1 children needed to sustain the current population level. Due to low death-rates and high net-migration, the overall population in Europe may be increasing, but the median age is crawling slowly upwards: 42 years in 2014 compared to just 29 a decade earlier.

The strains on pension and healthcare systems could also increase substantially, as Europeans live longer than ever before. Young Europeans will have to work harder, and be more efficient and productive in order to pay for the healthcare and pensions of a growing cohort of older Europeans (and, in turn, older Europeans may have to put off retirement, working into their 70s).

The demographic challenge is more pronounced in some countries than others. Even when migration is factored in, some EU-28 countries are seeing their overall populations shrink, and population growth is slowing across the bloc as a whole. Unless current trends change, Europe is expected to be the only continent on Earth whose population will shrink by 2050.

Curious to know more about demographics in Europe? We’ve put together some facts and figures in the infographic below (click for a bigger version).

E4C_Ageing-Europe

We had a comment sent in from Peter arguing that the EU “needs immigrants to counter [its] demographic decline”.

To get a response, we spoke to Alejandro Macarrón, Managing Director of Demographic Renaissance, a think tank based in Madrid, Spain. How would he respond to Peter?

macarronI think we need immigration, if it’s properly managed in amounts that can be assimilated and, of course, consists of people with backgrounds able to join the job market relatively easily. But it cannot be the only solution to our demographic problem. It’s seen everywhere that solely immigration cannot compensate totally the deficit in births that we have. So, we need the two things: in the long term, more births. And, in the short term, well managed immigration is much better than no immigration.

Next up, we had a comment from Bastian, who writes that Japan responds to demographic decline by “developing sophisticated technology. For example, harvesting [vegetables] – which in Europe is often a task for migrant labour – can be done by autonomous robots. Japan already has this solution developed.”

In other words, could an army of robot workers be the solution to all of Europe’s problems?

macarronIt’s part of the solution. But I think that if your focus is only on technology you risk having only old people anyway, so that’s not good. The demographic challenge is not merely an economic problem, but also a social problem. If I have no kids, no sisters or brothers, I think life is a little sad, no? When I’m old, I would prefer that my children take care of me. I don’t expect them to live with me, but sometimes they will visit me and help me. It’s not the same thing with a robot. We’re going to live long lives, and loneliness is increasing in society. Not everything is just about money…

Finally, we had a comment from Nikolai, asking how we can encourage women to have more children if their careers will suffer as a result? Should more be done to support men and women who want to start families, so they do not need to give up working?

macarronSomething needs to be done, I agree. However, if we pass the cost of maternity to companies, they are not going to like it. So, it’s society, state, and taxpayers who have to pay for it. The other thing is that for women and men, not everything has to be about careers. At some point in time, we made the two things compatible, and it’s very sad that some people only think of career and not family. It’s not just about women – it’s also about men, who might be successful in business but have kids and don’t take care of them, and don’t know them.

So, I would say to women: don’t give up having kids because of your careers, try to make them compatible. And I think the state should, of course, take measures to make it compatible. I also think everybody has to be aware that every woman who has a child is producing a benefit for society. If everybody is telling me every day that it’s good to have kids, I’m going to look more favourably at my workmate who has a kid and has to take time off work to go to the doctor, for example. If we are really aware we need kids desperately, we will be more favourable. Compatibility between having kids and working is not perfect, but we have to make it possible.

How can Europe reverse its demographic decline? Could immigration compensate for low birthrates in the EU? Or should governments offer greater support for young people who want to balance careers and families? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below, and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!

IMAGE CREDITS: CC / Flickr – Ryan Seyeau
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The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsi­ble for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

 



577 comments Post a commentcomment

What do YOU think?

  1. avatar
    Sebastien Chopin

    Well we’re going to need to bring people in from abroad like we always did…
    How about the refugees?

    • avatar
      [uknown]

      So many conflicts happening in the southern world if it all ended the population wouldn’t get so over filled in one spot

    • avatar
      Steven Young

      Why do people in charge never connect the dots? – Without being ironic why is there no cross fertilisation of ideas – the simple fact is that technology will result in 70-80% of current jobs disappearing – there is plenty of valid research to that effect – that is going to happen – certainly there will be new types of jobs but nowhere near the numbers that heavy industry required in the past – even jobs like doctors and lawyers will more or less disappear – so Europe definitely will not need tens of millions of immigrants – those who put forward this idea are not thinking clearly – I’ve read comments here about immigrants integrating – that is somewhat naive and maybe even racist – why should immigrants abandon their own cultural values just because Europeans seem so happy too – what? they will learn the error of their ways and suddently realise the social superiority of European values – I don’t think so – if tens of millions of migrants are brought in there is far more chance of major social disruption in the jobless future and my guess is that they are not going to be the least bit interested in paying for the pensions of old white people – some comments seem more on the spot – just because the population is readjusting back to pre-baby boom levels isn’t any reason to panic – the main concern is the 20-30 year period until the baby boomers are gone is paying for their pensions – after that time that particular problem ends it won’t be so bad – but coping with the tens of millions of jobless non-integrated immigrants might be of more concern – the solution is simple – make having babies financially attractive – very financially attractive ( for working people not jobless people) – pay women a lot to have babies – if it is as important as governments seem to think it is then pay women a lot to have babies – governments have no problem supplying huge financial support to corporations – well what is more important than having a new generation? but then again the corporations probably don’t care if Europeans die out as long as they are replaced by Africans – even better if they bring many of their existing social problems with them – there is a lot of money to be made out of human misery – the people I feel most sorry for are the socially liberal people – they might well live to see the once socially liberal Europe vanish – the new muslim Europeans will probably have very little time for womens rights as Western Europeans understand them and gays can totally forget it – kind of ironic really – the very people who tend to support mass immigration the most are the ones who probably will have the most to worry about in the new future – well not the current ones they will be dead in 50 -70 years but if mass immigration is the only solution – which it isn’t in a jobless future – Europe will have completely different social values in the future – chances are that the current socially liberal Europeans of today will have great grand daughters who will be wearing burkas which isn’t a problem really – the world changes – it’s just very ironic that the birthplace of such socially liberal values colludes in the ending of those very same socially liberal values – there are many groups of people that are extinct – so it doesn’t really matter in the long run if white europeans become extinct – in the end history won’t care at all

    • avatar
      johan

      They are all men…you are not going to increase the birthrate with more men. You need more women.

  2. avatar
    Rozalija Baricevic

    For decades, we have been educated about the world’s overpopulation, planned and responsible parenthood, enjoying democracy with things and not with children. Now you ask a question but you know the answer.as we know too.

    • avatar
      Gino

      Steven, couldn’t write it better myself. These “ignoramuses” have obviously decided to sell everything for short term profit…and this dictates the mood of the entire society…greed and selfishness just show itself in another way as in deciding that your time is just more important, even when it comes to having children who, heaven forbid might demand some of your “time and money”. And, when folks actually manage to have the one token child, this child never learns to share and thus further encourages the greed and even more selfishness. As if natures laws now have to be replaced with grand ideas such as current “distorted feminism”, far removed from what it was meant to be (now being the war cry against patriarchy – the same patriarchs that created this paradise to which everyone who legally can or legally cannot wants to come to). Isn’t something strange when the society talks more about gay rights (which I am a supporter of as all the research is pointing that it is genetic) then talking about issues such as families or the lack of. And, where is it coming from…maybe the question is who are these people, like many of recent European presidents who profess their love for their countries, just to then deny that cultures, borders or nations even exist. Who is instructing them to talk about everything except about issues that will actually allow their nations to be prosperous in the long term without losing themselves by resorting to forced immigration or “at the end robots” or cloning or maybe creating a society of cyborgs; that would be fun and interesting at least in the short term. I prefer my brothers and sisters to the grandiose experiment and / or gamble; true gamblers know when to get up and leave. And, most reasonable folks admit when they are wrong and stop the nonsense, especially when the stakes are this high.

  3. avatar
    Nando Aidos

    Why do we need to reverse the demographic decline?
    Why do we call it a ‘decline’ in the first place?
    How about NOT calling it a ‘decline’ but an ‘opportunity’?
    How about restructuring daily life, corporate behavior, ‘employment laws’, etc., so that this demography becomes an asset and not a liability?
    How about trying new solutions to new problems?
    Instead of treating an aging population today like we treated aging populations a century ago?
    And so, I propose a new question:
    How can Europe thrive with its aging but more experienced population?

    • avatar
      Martin Unterholzner

      Because it is not sustainable. It can’t be an opportunity in the long run. If you check the numbers, you will see that in 10 generations from now, the population will be only about 10% what it is today.

    • avatar
      Aaron

      You can’t replace your civilization with someone elses babies!

  4. avatar
    Katerina Kyriazi

    The world is overpopulated as it is. Our resources should be going into lowering the birthrate in the developing world instead of trying to increase Europe’s population.

    • avatar
      Stan Mulleners

      The birthrate in the developing world is already shrinking rapidly. In the world as a whole, the amount of children has already peaked. The only reason the world population still grows is because people grow older and so the death rate is much slower. India is going to grow quite a bit still and africa is going to grow quite something too, since africa is about the only place where the birthrate is still high. It’s already low in about all of Asia. Sure it’s good that population growth has slowed and will slow more, but we don’t want the population shrinking rapidly. With such a small percentage of the population young, they’ll have to provide for a very large amount of old people. Sure we will partly fix this with robotisation and such, but eventually we will want to have a population that maintains it’s size at least. Tt

    • avatar
      allen tucker

      the more people in existence, the more discoverers, inventors, creators, comforters, artist, developers, writers, directors … larger populations dramatically increase an individuals access to quantity and quality in every facet imaginable in reference to discoveries, cures, inventions, advancements, and all creature comforts known. These things have been brought to you by the shear numbers of individual human beings who’s collective brain-powers now invent and cure everything for you. In this case, ” Less, is NOT more … ” Simply put, ” more brains = more gains ” and vice-versa.

    • avatar
      cyp

      world is not overpopulated. this is a myth with the purpose of killing most humans and leave just a few slaves for those in power. the illusion of overpopulation is caused by consumerism.

    • avatar
      thehandbehindthecurtain

      Next somebody will suggest post birth abortions even for adults, just go down to your local facility and get a Dr’s prescription for post birth abortion, save the planet by dying. If you are dead you no longer use space, fuel, plastics, oxygen etc. It’s the best thing for the environment. Get your post birth abortions for $99.99, you even get a 10% discount if you bring two friends to take the procedure with you.

    • avatar
      thehandbehindthecurtain

      What could possibly go wrong.

  5. avatar
    Toni Muñiz

    The answer you want is migration, mass uncontrolled migration. But what we really need is to foment native child birth by taking care of newborns necessities until an adult. Otherwise doing what you do now will only halt further native births. Who wants to bring a child into a future Eurabia?

    • avatar
      allen tucker

      Congratulations on your 7th birthday ! ” The earth is crying “…… I mean REALLY ? !……

    • avatar
      William Dibellla

      The Earth weeps tears of pain and bloodlust. We are Terra’s chosen species, our hatred and rage will drive us to the stars, and we shall spread our Mother’s thirst for the blood of planets to the galaxy. Such is our manifest destiny.

  6. avatar
    Vinko Rajic

    Demographic decline is NOT a problem , that is very good . We have to many people in the EU . We don’t need to make Bangladesh out of the EU . The last time a global survey was attempted – by the United Nations in 2005 – an estimated 100 million people were homeless worldwide. Population decline is good .
    Eurostat estimates that 22.159 million men and women in the EU-28, of whom 16.924 million were in the euro area (EA-19), were unemployed in November 2015.
    http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics
    If EU population decline we are going to have high standard of living and we don’t need to make India out of the EU . Australia is rich because they are just over 23 million . Bangladesh , India and Pakistan are very poor because of big population . If you have big population you need strong industry and resources . The EU is going to become very rich if we don’t accept 100 million Arabs . If the EU accept 100 million Arabs the EU is going to become poor . We have over 50 million EU citizens without full time work . We don’t need more people , we have to many people in the EU . Arabs should STOP population growth , people should have one or two children and not more than that . Twenty years ago, the world had about 1.1 billion Muslims. Twenty years from now, it will have about twice as many – and they’ll represent more than a quarter of all people on earth, according to a new [Pew] study released [January 27, 2011] Thursday. https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics_-_Population

    • avatar
      allen tucker

      ” by the United Nations in 2005 – an estimated 100 million people were homeless worldwide” Hmmm… Now…lets have a look-see at what those really big and scarey numbers actually mean at a pedestrian level, shall we? 100 000 000 ( The worlds homeless) Divided by 7 600 000 000 (the current world population) = 0.013% … or in other words, for every 1000 people housed, there’s one person (give or take, an arm or a leg) who might lack housing. As world history go’s… Sounds (to me), like pretty good housing stats. So… how many people might you suppose, lets say, out of a thousand, are decidedly lazy or just plain don’t want to live in a house, or have chosen “other” as an abode ? When the scary numbers get broken down, they kind of just lose their titillating-scary magic, now … don’t they? ( P.S. I live in a converted bus…Decidedly-Homeless ? )

    • avatar
      allen tucker

      Here is the United States of America’s – C.I.A.’s (Central Intelligents Agencies) World Factbook web address concerning the fertily rates of all 224 nations on Earth, as 2016. Each nation is listed in an alpha-numerical order so that the information is a fun and quick experience to the nation of your choosings future demise. Keep in mind that if any nation that has a fertility rate of “2.1 children ( per women )… or lower… ( per woman) is a nation at NON-REPLACEMENT VALUES. As an exercise in concision: see where your nation stands in the grand scheme of things. The website is: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html and here’s a little tip, to go the extra mile…. Go to Youtube and search for “Demographic Winter” parts 1 & 2 ( 1hour Each) quite an eye opener !

  7. avatar
    Petr Horak

    European challenges: 1) The brain drain in the east is significant, drop of working population under unsustainable levels 2) Under current system the majority population will proportionally work less time compared to schooling / elderly pention. 3) Mismanagement of immigration, idiotic schemes not promoting braindrain and rather keeping immigrants on government welfare. Increase in heterogenity of etnicities leading to public unrests. 4) Better treatment of working women on maternity leave and social support to single mothers doesn’t seem to bring fertility up to needed levels. 5) The experience based on evidence in demography says that there might be unexpected changes in fertility or immigration.

  8. avatar
    Michael O'Dwyer Connolly

    Just do what Russia is doing, subsidise having kids, national holiday for procreation, trying to restrict abortion. It’s working for them, TFR back up to 1.8 from 1.3

  9. avatar
    Andrej Němec

    Financial incentives to European (autochthonous European) families. Build more State – run kindergartens and schools, campaigns for the traditional families and stop with gay propaganda mass hysteria. Award local autochthonous families with 3 children or more especially in Eastern Europe.

    • avatar
      Vadim

      Europeans have plenty of sex. It’s just they use stuff in order to prevent getting a child out of it.

  10. avatar
    Jude De Froissard

    Just motivate people….just pay less taxes..just be with the citizens….for the citizens…..not against them

  11. avatar
    Julia Hadjikyriacou

    Firstly, the ECB is injecting 20 Billion a month into the economy via QE and tax evasion and tax avoidance is rife among the mega rich. So do QE for the people, end tax havens and tax loopholes, tax the rich, welath cap them too if you like. Money is not a problem so don’t moan about pensions and working class people living longer. Poverty doesn’t need to exist and can be ablolished by the EU if it wanted and acted in the peoples interest. As for demographics, people cannot afford to raise children, not do they enjoy raising them when both have to work, and women have to go back to work after 6 months to a year. Again, an unconditional basic income would solve that. It is not as if you need parents to work like slaves and not enjoy their children with so much unemployment there will always be people to fill job positions.

  12. avatar
    Daniel Parvanov

    There is no decline it is return to normal after baby boom after WWII … Political class and government workers are scared that less workers payed taxes their will be less money for them ….(Thay say social system will collapse… I do not agree … they just need to adapt to the new (old) normal and spend less…

  13. avatar
    Yordan Vasilev

    The EU must invest in the youth, defend the mothers and care for the children.

  14. avatar
    Enric Mestres Girbal

    Ban abortion and give european working families the same aid as you give to the inmigrant families. Food, clothing, pushchairs, prams, living quorters, school gratuitie, free children activities, etccc.

  15. avatar
    Liri Kodhelaj

    Hahaha, I will just remind you that there are people in Britain who never worked in their lives, not just one generation, milking the system living on other people`s taxes, including taxes of immigrants. They are the people who want everything for nothing

  16. avatar
    Chris Pavlides

    New life vision & a new human centric socioeconomic model. Good schools, working stability, women @ home taking care fulfilled kids home & family, a very serious job. Then the figures will come acceding expectations! Happy people & social balance is the key to ultimate financial optimization.

  17. avatar
    Joao Antonio Camoes

    by atracting people that want to be and desire by european, adopting their social/political values and cultural heritage.

  18. avatar
    Yanni Sfyrides

    Βy establishing strategies for sustainable growth.Mrs Merkel prefers the inflation guarding plan.This is not a plan for EU.Mrs Merkel reminds us the Super market owner of our neighbourhood.Very cheap plan in order for Germany to get reacher and reacher at expense of peripheral countries!! The solutionsof Deographic problems go together with the Economic grouth and prosperity for people.

  19. avatar
    Jimi Sowa

    Stop socialism, stop femism, stop bdsm, stop grnder and to prison Rotshild, Rockefeler, Soros, Warburg, Shiff etc.. families owned FED and banking cartel, who pay for that.

  20. avatar
    Ruairí Hallissey

    Give tax incentives to families and pass legislation around pre schooling, child care, healthcare etc that helps ease the burden of having children in our very busy world.

  21. avatar
    Vlasta Peric

    CREATING NEW (PERMANENT-NOT TEMP. ) JOBS AND LOWERING INTEREST RATES FOR MORTGAGES….THERE IS NO REJUVENATION WITH THE CONSTANT FEAR AND INSECURITY!

  22. avatar
    Mavis Allen

    Start with BRITAIN voting to come OUT of this undemocratic club. WE ARE BETTER THAN THAT

  23. avatar
    Vesna Brezovac

    Employers bear part of responsibility as well. Am I supposed to leave my children alone at home when they are sick? Or kill them so I could go to work? If you are on sick leave, you are considered lazy. Many women in Croatia get instantly fired if on sick leave. Also, inferility is becoming really a big issue… I don’t really see a way out.

    • avatar
      cyp

      good. that is the cure. fire women. the problem is women waiting until 30 to have children

  24. avatar
    José Bessa da Silva

    Let the population reduce. The world is quite crowded as it is. Instead of trying to make europeans to have babies, just try to make underdeveloped nations to stop breeding like rats! Let us reduce our world population. Let us be environmentaly friendly once in our history, for real. Let us see what we really are, a plague!

  25. avatar
    Franck Néo Legon

    stop taxing peoples’ own house and small land owning and transmitting to their children. stop taxing small local activities. feeling safe (food, housing and a few money earning possibility) is the key to confidence needed for peoples to have children.

  26. avatar
    Andreas Pishias

    Why do think people do not have more kids. It is all about economics…give out incentives for large families that will help.

  27. avatar
    Michal Pečeňa

    The planet is overpopulated. Europe shouldn’t encourage procreation – all that we need is to let in all those people who want to live here. Instead of spending tons of money on forcefully keeping them out.

  28. avatar
    Martin Unterholzner

    I think we need more than one strategy:
    – Convince the population that it is indeed a problem (many comments state, that it isn’t) and it is not sustainable as it is in the long run
    – improve the current incentives (parents’ holiday, part time jobs, kindergartens etc.)
    – introduce a new strong incentive: give a big surplus in retirement pensions for 2+ kids.

    • avatar
      Le Gay Luron

      I Don’t feel very concerned by this topic maybe because I’m french. all my cousins – (3 couples) they all have 2 babies my sister is having her first baby after she has abort because it was twins but she project a second baby. [For notice my all family is white (christian/atheist and live in France for over a century] France population in 1945 41 millions Prediction 2050 75 millions the most populated country in EU (especially if UK leave with brexit, Germany is shrinking), and the biggest ;-) Immigration can be also good if this immigration share the same way of life (I like Vietnam and South East asian like chinese, japanese… 1 million asian in France the biggest asian communauty in europe peaceful and hard worker in general) When I was Younger I doesn’t want children because it cost a lot of money and time but I changed my mind. Now I’m 30 years old and I am a civil servant I’ve got a job for life over 11 weeks/holidays per years + all my Sundays and Saturdays + public holidays (around 10 in the year) almost free healthcare + free universities I earn around 2000$/month (1800euros) so after all why not children for my beloved country they also will paid my pensions when I will be an old man. We have already a surplus for a retirement pension for kids in France you can take your retire before. We will have around the same number of young people between 0-20 in 2050 than now according all the polls. France Birthrate around 2.00 children/woman. Thanks to De Gaulle’s policies,after WW2 (a great leader for me), He want to reverse the gap with Germany and put a strong politics for having children and it’s works.. Bad immigration is Bad.(massive or very different by religion and way of life just bring terrorism or others stuff like robbery).

  29. avatar
    Firas Alali

    if the main argument is hot to solve the demographic decline of Europe without bringing people from out side Europe, the answer is it’s impossible, scholars and researchers already answered this question. the decline is irreversible because all the EU countries hit the rate of low population growth that make it impossible for any civilization to continue. for the people who are saying to reform the EU policy toward the aging population it is like asking the elderly to continue working till they die. the problem is not about how skilled they are to continue working. the main problem is that the rate of newborn within the EU MS is sow low and lowers the the death rate. that means simply that the EU population need external labor to keep the welfare system functioning. EU need foreign workers to keep up with industry, agriculture, trade, institutions, financial system and so on. the other main problem is about the ageing categories of EU citizens. EU is and old population which means that the elders are the majority. more over the new youth generation still need more time to get engaged in the workforce. and if the recent trends continue, they will grow up like the no a day adults workers with lack of skills to get engaged and the work market.
    the solution is there: it’s not immigration and refugees at a random level. like just bring people with not criteria. . the EU already have a blueprint system call the BLUE CARD, this system need reforms. the new system should attract interested workers from foreign countries who have the skills and qualifications that the EU societies need to legally join the EU and become part of the society as equal citizens. they should be integrated at a full scale. and with all this the EU might be able to reduce the damage of it’s demographic decline rather than facing the fatal destiny

    • avatar
      Tarquin Farquhar

      @Wendy Harris
      Might I suggest you put yourself forward first!

  30. avatar
    Bastian

    Demographic decline? Rather scaremongering!

    a) Never before have so many people lived in Europe as today.
    b) In a few decades the baby boomer generation will be gone, that will lead to a more balanced age group distribution again.
    c) Although population numbers might still decline but this can mean more prosperity per capita.
    d) An industry 4.0 high tech economy doesn’t need high population figures, particularly not mass immigration. The latter would be rather detrimental for Europe’s future.
    e) The danger is not at all demographic decline but an indistinct open border policy destroying the identity of Europe.
    f) Just to remember: The Portugal which shaped part of the world in the 16th century was able to do so with only 1 Mill. inhabitants. Or, at the beginning of the 17th century the German people were about 16 Mill. declining to 5 Mill. during the Thirty Years’ War. This did not hinder Germany to become a major power in the centuries which followed.
    g) It is obviously not numbers what counts to subsist in history.

  31. avatar
    ironworker

    Jobs, jobs and more jobs. A decent, predictable and secured income/individual, a bit of risk taken, hope and faith, will eventually solve the problem. Lack of jobs, uncertainty, deception, unbearable taxes and fees, bad housing and schooling policy and economic austerity (in general), will push things from bad to worse.

  32. avatar
    Alejandro Macarrón

    By way of further information to the reader, I was born in Asturias, a charming land in the North of Spain, that had the lowest fertility rate in the period 2010-2014 of the 257 regions that officially exist in Europe, all countries combined. The next two least fertile regions in that timespan were also Spanish (Canary islands and Galicia). German people is the most aged in Europe, and is dying slowly. Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal and all Eastern Europe have also a lousy demographic health. In no European country there are even 2 children per woman. If we deduct the contribution of non-European immigrants to births and fertility, even the European countries with a higher total fertility rate, like France or Sweden, look not so fertile. Even Ireland has only around 1.9 children per woman now.
    I love my Asturias, my Spain and my Europe. And I find most disgusting to contemplate how they die slowly because we do not have enough babies everywhere, while our politicians / elites / intellectuals / academia / media mostly ignore or downplay this immense problem.
    Europe should not surrender to demographic suicide without trying seriously to avert it! Either we experience a true demographic renaissance, based on more babies or else….

    • avatar
      Martin Unterholzner

      Hi Alejandro, I share your concern. However, I don’t think that the problem is downplayed only by a political elite. Reading through the comments in this thread, it seems to be a common opinion that the demographic decline is not a bad thing. I am very worried to read that.

    • avatar
      Miriam

      They killed us all with their fascism and still seem to be actively trying to. How are we supposed to forget being called terrorists ourselves (Irish) and being absolutely crushed? They’re tricksy thugs and it’s not a world you feel secure enough to bring lots of children into.

  33. avatar
    EU reform- proactive

    How can Europe reverse its demographic decline? Why should it? Out of panic or because some politicians & advisers say so? How big a catastrophe could it be- if not achievable? Admittedly very complex situations where politicians reached & even think tanks are nearing their wits end! A rather long story?

    How to influence a trend in human evolution? We learned & witnessed from politicians & economists that the present trend is: “nothing needs to balance anymore”. The choice & will of voters does not balance with the deeds of politicians. Government expenditure increasingly soars & is only matched by more debt, bonds & borrowings. THOSE who pretend to provide the shortfalls dominate everything- be that by TREATIES, money out of thin air or openly admit to “manage” referendums not to their liking! The reproduction rate follows politics & economics. The taxpayer in the end has to pay for all this folly anyways- never the have’s.

    Why not change from a private reserve bank to a “the taxpayers reserve bank”- print & lend its “own” money at zero %? No need to use an agent or go between with all the expensive hocus pocus. Every responsible citizen should have the ability to save and be obliged to finance their own pension during their ~45 working lifetime- not defer it to the next generation. An impossibility? Conditioning? By whom- the past, the corporate political system? Why not (slowly) change the system?

    Ongoing & better education produces not only better qualified people & furthers innovations, but provides a chance & demand for a better life quality- satisfaction, independence- none traditional life choices as well. These consequences equally need acceptance & be confronted.

    So far, destructive (US) inspired capitalism forces all & couples to work to make ends meet. More stress, no time, more play, higher demands, delayed & no marriages result in less children with a shortened & maybe unhappy childhood.

    The above average rich can afford gardeners, nannies, cooks & cleaners- but not the majority and average worker. Is that what immigration is all about? To afford them their freedom to be free to do what they want & squeeze the rest?

    The present political cum destructive economic model is the chief terminator and creator of all imbalances. Change the status quo, change the model, mindsets & imbalances. The demand on the economy must be to create & maintain sustainable jobs, remain profitable within a fair competitive market, without endless growth, politicians learn to govern without lying, the schemers, fraudsters & banksters brought to heel & to justice and the differential between insane salaries & average earnings contained by a certain factor.

    A world with a shrinking but educated, happier, tolerant & clever population could become an example for a just & better world through honest, less greedy, more humane governance and less utopian concepts driven by impossible targets.

    To be seen which forces will be the winners!

  34. avatar
    Anne Voie

    Demographic decline is not a problem. Old people are pretty independent until they reach the very last 3-4 years before they die. The only problem might be the retirement age, it may need to be raised. So no need to make a drama out of it. The only thing that will happen is that the population will get smaller. Which means plenty of space and housing for everybody.

  35. avatar
    Codrin Cernăuțianu

    Simple, move the whole of Africa, Asia and South America to Europe ! Problem solved.
    Oh wait, they are already doing that ! No worries than, the demographic problem will soon be over.

  36. avatar
    catherine benning

    I repeat what I wrote on another thread, because of gulag style political correctness and the ensuing fear to speak out, the people of Europe, including the UK, have developed, Stockholm Syndrome. And are colluding in their own demise,rather than finding a way to rid themselves of obvious destruction.

    http://crime.about.com/od/victims/a/stockholmsyn.htm

  37. avatar
    Matej Mlinarič

    The only reason young don’t have more children cause there is never enough money for them to have jobs and support families, cause all that money rather goes to everybody else…….

  38. avatar
    SD

    If Europe wants to fight against it it’s demographic decline it must encourage marriage.

  39. avatar
    Maia Alexandrova

    If nurseries are free and parents receive from their government 1000 euros per month per child, for example, I believe more children will be born. But if there is no money to do that, then probably it is better to have less children until such time comes when it will be possible to raise children without financial difficulties.

  40. avatar
    Al Belegratis

    Give bonus to families do not ” punish” them with taxes. Values to believe not only numbers we r humans stupid

  41. avatar
    Michael O'Dwyer Connolly

    Restrict abortion, better subsidies for families, national conception holiday, etc. follow the Russian model. Brought their TFR from 1.3 to 1.8

    • avatar
      Le Gay Luron

      LOL the Russian Economy is the Size of Italy. I’m in France and all my cousins (3 couples) have 2 children. 1.8 LOL we have over 2 in France 2.01 My sister has got a little girl she has abort because she doesn’t twins she project to have a second. When have legalise the abortion the number of abortion has Fallen (abortion was made in secret for us it remember Vichy laws a Fucking collaborator of nazis) [For your Knowledge all my Family is white christian (catholic)/atheist and live in France for over a century] Thanks from De Gaulle’s policies (a great leader he avoid a civil war, put the US forces out of France enlarge our territory with some ex-italians cities like Tende, gain a seat ONU) he put a strong politics from having children he wants to reverse the gap with Germany. Germany win because it was much more populated than France in 1939 France 39 Millions Germany 81 Millions (same as today) the main reason of our defeat in 1940 bigger army and best material (and no mention of the 300 000 italians in our borders).. France 1945 41 millions 2050 75 millions We will have the same number population of 0-20 in 2050 than today according the poll we will be the most populated country in EU and the biggest. When I was Younger i Don’t want children. Now (I’m 30 years) I will probably accept with the girl I love after all I’m a civil servant I’ve got a job for life it help. I have over 11 weeks/holidays per year (+public holidays) + all my Sundays and Saturdays. Almost Free Healthcare, Free university + a lot of childcare in France,.. I earn 1800euros/month and I’m the less paid in my job ( I’m one of the Younger Nothing wrong)..…. I have work in the French navy and a lot of officiers has got more than 3 children and they don’t look immigrant (africans, arabs….) quite the opposite. The UK NHS and unemployement allowance in uk are a joke comparing the French système (and it’s some brittons my mother’s friends who said it). The worst is we are keeping immigrants who wants to come in UK in Calais. I will wote for a leader who let them enter in UK…They take the better and let us the worst I think we will change it in the Future.

  42. avatar
    Andrej Němec

    Financial incentives to European (autochthonous European) families. Build more State – run kindergartens and schools, campaigns for the traditional families and stop with gay propaganda mass hysteria. Award local autochthonous families with 3 children or more.

  43. avatar
    Claudio Bartoletti

    nice topic, and quite simple to reverse, give europeans a better standard of living and maybe more incentives to have children, you see the scenario is as follows, an intelligent person calculates how much is needed to raise a child and give it all it needs in life, good education, certain amount of luxury and a dignified standard of living, other cultures breed like rabbits and raise their children in poverty, so we do not need to fill europe with rabbits to make numbers, we simply have to put europeans in a position to afford more children, as the saying goes ” Quality not Quantity”.

  44. avatar
    Marco Peel

    In an overpopulated world with dwindling natural resources, and an EU with high unemployment rates and refugee inflows, you worry about declining birth rates ???. The modern economy no longer needs to depend on cheap labour, and shouldn’t by any standard. Any economist who argues we need more people should have his head examined – perpetual growth in a finite environment is mathematically unsustainable.

  45. avatar
    Nando Aidos

    We do not need to reverse the demographics. We need to reverse the working conditions and the substance of the working life. Why should I stop working at the age of 60? Why do I want to? Because at that age I am sick and tired of working for some idiot bosses performing some idiotic tasks. But if I have the opportunity to continue being productive and useful and appreciated I will not want to stop working at the age of 60.
    I know what I am talking about. I am 70 and still productive and working.

    Ah, and cut the crap, stop all the tax havens and severely punish those caught in some rogue foreign tax haven.

  46. avatar
    Nando Aidos

    We do not need to reverse the demographics. We need to reverse the working conditions and the substance of the working life. Why should I stop working at the age of 60? Why do I want to? Because at that age I am sick and tired of working for some idiot bosses performing some idiotic tasks. But if I have the opportunity to continue being productive and useful and appreciated I will not want to stop working at the age of 60.
    I know what I am talking about. I am 70 and still productive and working.

    Ah, and cut the crap, stop all the tax havens and severely punish those caught in some rogue foreign tax haven.

  47. avatar
    nando

    We do not need to reverse the demographics. We need to reverse the working conditions and the substance of the working life. Why should I stop working at the age of 60? Why do I want to? Because at that age I am sick and tired of working for some idiot bosses performing some idiotic tasks. But if I have the opportunity to continue being productive and useful and appreciated I will not want to stop working at the age of 60.
    I know what I am talking about. I am 70 and still productive and working.
    Ah, and cut the crap, stop all the tax havens and severely punish those caught in some rogue foreign tax haven.

  48. avatar
    Lucas Kroon

    Why have the European politicians never encouraged their people to get children?
    I know they have seen this problem coming. Haven’t they even tried to conserve the European people instead of taking in immigrants? Why is immigration always a good answer to them? Instead of solving the problem, it causes ghettos and ”no-go zones” in European cities. Most of them are not integrating and unemployment is 60-80% in Swedish immigrant sub-urbs.

  49. avatar
    Rui Correia

    Quite simple (or maybe not)… develop our economy further, create more jobs and opportunities for Europeans, with decent salaries… and we’ll have lots of babies and huge families!!! Most Europeans are not stupid, and people need to have minimum standards of living to provide for their families… health, food and clothing, education, etc etc… it all costs money… why am I telling you this?? You guys know!!… Without these minimum standards, well… sorry… you do it… PS- immigration DOES NOT COMPENSATE FOR NOTHING, it only adds fuel to the fire!!… it makes the whole problem even worse, and it brings down all standards!!! We should take care of ourselves first, and then afterwards, we will be in a better position to help out everyone else in the rest of the planet… building a better Europe first, then a better planet… and so on…

  50. avatar
    Brian

    Decline in total fertility rate is essentially irreversible. The only way to compensate in terms of maintaining a stable population that is balanced by age is to a) have the government subsidize procreation, and or b) support a robust immigration policy. Otherwise all countries will eventually pass through the 4th stage of demographic transition to the end state contraction phase. Remember we are the only species on earth that chooses not to reproduce. The human population is currently trending toward voluntary extinction, which might not be a bad thing for the rest of life in the biosphere

  51. avatar
    PG

    All the politicians talk of population decline , yet none think about sustainability ,is it beyond their comprehension , especially as all are talking about the consequences of global warming for food and water resources . It would appear that the city dwelling politicians no longer understand sustainability and resources , and what climate change will really mean

  52. avatar
    Alex

    What we call demographic decline is just a natural phenomenon to do with the consequences of societal changes, such as equal numbers of men and women being in the workforce. The decline of the coercive influence of religion and culture has a big part to play as well.

    Over time, I think people’s attitudes will change, and women may regret not having had children.You’ll probably see women in the late forties having lots of babies more and more. Some women may decide having a career is no special either. Perhaps more men will stay at home, and bring up the kids if their wives are doing well in their careers.

    A much more radical solution could be for society to pay womenor men a salary to stay at home and bring up their children. Who knows.

  53. avatar
    Vicki

    I am a mother and know well the irreplaceable joy that having a family brings.
    All species have to reproduce in order to survive and modern western lifestyles and expectations are totally out of sync with nature, if this is no longer happening. The human family is the bedrock of a culture, nation and civilization and also vital for our personal and emotional health.
    I believe we urgently need to make the population of western Europe aware of the issue especially at school and university. Having children is natural, it is our skewed society that is now making it harder and less desirable to have them:
    1) Have more positive role models for women who popularize motherhood in leading and key government and academic roles. The modern feminist agenda is anti motherhood.
    2) Desist from telling parents how to raise their children and from making it seem such an impossibly expensive task. The cult of spoiling children materially is putting people off having them. Children do not have to be costly, they do not all need the latest iphone to be happy. Siblings to play with and a loving home with engaged parents are more important to children’s happiness than gadgets and material possessions.
    3) A positive vision of motherhood needs to be re-embraced. Today women who choose motherhood over careers are looked down upon and almost reviled by society, as if they are unintelligent and unfit for anything else. It is not a dumbing down of a woman’s intelligence to be a mother. Running a home and family successfully takes the same level of skill as running a business. This vital role needs to be more highly valued.
    4) Young families should be encouraged with tax breaks and financial assistance. Society should share more in the cost of raising future generations. For the childless couple who will need their pensions paid by the children others pay to raise, this should be seen as part of their pension plan.
    I am an educated woman who gave up a successful career to raise my children. I had been persuaded to see motherhood as low status, almost a prison for a woman and therefore against my rights as an equal to men, by my education. Luckily I had a little ‘accident’ or would have been denied the joy of being a mother. How little I knew or understood what would really bring me happiness! I have never regretted my choices.

    • avatar
      Patrick

      I am total support of your ideas and values

  54. avatar
    PG

    There seems to be little thought about sustainability of countries as climate change kicks in and many countries will have food and water supply problems , and importing countries no longer find sources of food , the aging and reduced population will become a norm . As can be seen in Muslims countries with little birth control and a population increase , there are major problems of food , water and infrastructure leading to internal conflict .The Earths resources are finite and nature has a very nasty way of dealing with excessive populations .
    Politicians always talk about aging populations because they do not want to change the current financial and business models which are outdated and dangerous for the planet .

  55. avatar
    joey kilgore jr

    stop bringing in migrants who hate you for starters secondly stop pushing white guilt over racism and colonial policies of past stop giving handouts to economic migrants and welfare junkies from africa and middle east and stop pushing things like feminism and gender identity and homosexuality on people and support traditional policies and you will have a huge population rebound and also get away from poisonous U.S. and pivot to russia

  56. avatar
    arnold

    All the answers given here as to incentivate birth rate with longer maternal leaves, money to families etc. definetly help, but the most important thing is a societal change of attitude, of values and of priorities, and not all the gold in the world can achieve this. In one word, the only way to reverse this problem is that WE REALISE IT IS INDEED A PROBLEM AND HAVE THE WILL TO TAKE ACTION ON IT.

  57. avatar
    Pat sam

    Make babies instead of talking nonsense.

    Good idea. Isn’t it.

  58. avatar
    Boyko Vesselinov

    Only qualified immigration – point system like Australia, Canada etc., plus incentives for families.

    • avatar
      Matej Žganec

      We have some of the best universities on this planet, why can’t we educate enough skilled labor?
      These unis are publicly funded anyway, so why do we import competition for the people that we pay to get educated.
      If we prioritize importing skilled labor rather then educating them, then cut public funding to universities.
      Ofcourse I’d rather the EU implements programs that incentivize young people to study the needed programs, but the EU has no interest in that…. they rather fund some ridiculous NGO organization that does god knows what.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Matej Žganec

      That is precisely what the UK is going to do now we are leaving the EU.

      Quality migrants over quantity.

    • avatar
      Boyko Vesselinov

      If it is done by selection and student visas with option to stay upon graduation – why not. That does not mean to let in just anybody over the fence.

  59. avatar
    Γεώργιος Δανιηλίδης

    Υοu mean how can increase population of course.With new babies (with increase social benefits and incomes for parents) or with increased migrants who already contribute to solve the problem.Of course not by guiding old citizens to death earlier by cutting pensions and health care

    • avatar
      Alekos Michaelides

      no, bombing their countries IS not the solution. But bringing people in europe after we bomb them is just crazy. You telling me that the solution to the demographics in europe is to import people from abroad?

  60. avatar
    Lee Marsden

    The planet needs a demographic decline. There’s too many people using up too many of its resources.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Lee Marsden

      Would you be happy to see the extinction of western society to achieve your demographic decline ?

    • avatar
      Lee Marsden

      What are you defining as Western society? And what evidence do you have that it is going to go extinct?

    • avatar
      Lee Marsden

      It’s happening in Japan as well Razvan. It isn’t unique to Europe at all.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Lee Marsden .

      Western society as not in African or middle eastern.

      Birth rate below 2.1 = extinction.

      Have you actually read the article ? lol

    • avatar
      Louis Jeffs

      Ivan Burrows have you? It says that the population will only start shrinking by 2050. You’ll probably be dead by then.

  61. avatar
    Andrew Potts

    Start with affordable housing for young European couples. The modest ambition of a stable relationship, a home and a few kids in the community you grew up in is a modest one. It does seem every Government, economic and social policy is against this. A home is not an asset it’s shelter. Young European couples are being betrayed and by everything from endless work pressure to de valuing motherhood and fatherhood. If a nation does not value it’s own children it will only feed somebody else’s. Replacing European families with the rest of the worlds families is the sure death of all European nations. Investing in a nations families is renewal.

  62. avatar
    Lonzo Bildelberg

    The real question is should Europe reverse its demographic decline? Because just maybe we are simply balancing our population. And it’s not like we’ll go extinct because of a replacement ratio of 1.8 that can actually go on for centuries before we reach 100million population.

    • avatar
      João de Oliveira

      and forbidding women’s pill, condoms, …, any type of birth-control method .., right?

    • avatar
      Tiago Bartolomeu

      The biguest problem is the comercialization and vulgarization of sex

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      Below 2.1 children per family = extinction of western society = No quality.

    • avatar
      Ruairí Hallissey

      Europeans have always invested heavily in there children. We are the quality.

  63. avatar
    João de Oliveira

    Reducing the retirement age… if people retires at age of 60 still is active and healthy enough, they can assist growing their grand-children’s, they can develop their communities, they will travel … Mind, people do not eat money …

    As bigger the retirement age is, bigger is the unemployment of young people. If young people have no jobs, there is no baby’s, the innovation and creativity shrinks, no workplace renovation … it’s easy to understand, just look at the figures, it’s not rocket science…

    • avatar
      Alessio Ver

      In Italy the age for retirement is going to be over 67!

    • avatar
      João de Oliveira

      Alessio Ver, and look at the youngest unemployed… is growing in the same level and the natality is shrinking in the same rate … it’s 99% correlated.

      And the issue gets even worse, young people start looking at that and stop willing to study more… they question “Why, if there’s no jobs?” … after a while we get a young population under educated and therefore not fit for the jobs of the future …

    • avatar
      Edita Buržinskaitė

      Alessio Ver, it will be the same in Lithuania. It’s currently in the phase-in stage.

    • avatar
      Benoit De

      Well the trend to ask people to work for an older age is increasing through Europe… Another issue, at least in France, is if you get fired after 50 years old, nobody want to hire you anymore… at the same time retirement time is moving to 65….

    • avatar
      João de Oliveira

      Benoit De, absolutely… that’s the issue… all that people has at least 25 years ahead and what gets as income? Does the EU institutions think about the major social impacts of a large number of people without income ? And in the future with all the automation (Robots, AI …) more people Will be out of work…

      Retirement age MUST GO DOWN to 60 …

  64. avatar
    Alessio Ver

    Europe is overpopulated! We need a demographic plan of slow inhabitants reduction!

    • avatar
      Fernanda Parente

      Do you want to kill some people, that’s your solution?

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      A birth rate of 2.1 is needed to ‘maintain’ the species so your plan would be to depopulate Europe of Europeans ?

    • avatar
      Matthew Wolfbane

      Europe’s population is easily eclipsed by the populations of Asia and Africa.
      Not sure where you’re getting the “overpopulation” from.

    • avatar
      Alessio Ver

      Fernanda Parente…tell me where I wrote this you say

    • avatar
      Alessio Ver

      Matthew Wolfbane…probably the immigration is the answer to your answer!

    • avatar
      All Doughty

      Someone needs to work to pay for public services, pensions etc.

    • avatar
      Arnout Posthumus

      if the decline is normal then there is no such problem. We now have a problem because of babyboomers.

    • avatar
      Rickard Uddenberg

      All Doughty do not forget that more people means more pollution, and environmental impact…so if you’re worried about the climate stop making babies. :)

    • avatar
      Kaloyan Yanakiev

      Rick, that’s not necessary true. We, as species has raised efficiency ridiculously in the last few hundred years.

    • avatar
      Arnout Posthumus

      We still used up earth for this year already :P

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Arnout Posthumus

      But less people does mean a poorer quality of live, or are you expecting the magic Brussels money tree to pay for your retirement ?

    • avatar
      Arnout Posthumus

      Ivan Burrows no we have refugees foreign workers like the netherlands has always had. Thats why we are rich. Unlike the UK who thinks they where all great by themselves instead of the labour they deprived from afar. We do facts :)

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Arnout Posthumus

      Sweden’s birth rate is reliant on immigration of unskilled Middle eastern & African immigrants, does this make you happy because it fits your ‘fact’ ? we will see how long Sweden remains rich & if they will pay your pension.

      The UK’s birth rate is currently around 1.9 & rising, mainly due to the 3 million young intelligent ‘European’ immigrants.

      The Netherlands, Sweden and all Nations controlled by Brussels stupidity will go the same way of the dodo.

    • avatar
      De Visu Carlo

      With robots there will be no need to work

    • avatar
      Arnout Posthumus

      Ivan Burrows what a stupid question? It doesnt make me anything. Why should it make me sad or happy. Sweden pay my pension? Do you know how rich the netherlands is? XD

      The dodo being? Oh yes education makes sure people do not multiply. So thanks for the awnser. Also we are made out of refugees/foreign workers for centuries so I dont know what you are on about because you have some awesome 1 day statistic. We have trived off thier work as I told you before, neglecting my history and your own is just stupidity. We got rich off them and thats why we need them and education will also slow them down. Facts all facts.

  65. avatar
    Theofanis Faid Koulouris

    Offer a societal solution which can allow young couples to have children with less financial, professional and psychological cost. You cannot ask from a young woman with a good degree to be successful as a professional, with no background financial support and somehow find the time, effort and risk to make children. In the end, yes, love is very important and a new life is a sacred thing, yet someone who has been raised all this life with a middle class quality of life, cannot today find a fit in that. The wages are low, the risk is big, the cost is huge. Who wants not to be able to provide for his child?

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      How on earth would that create babies ?

    • avatar
      Rick Wilmot

      Mixing the gene pool! :)

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      Mixing the gene pool will not end the decline, more babies are needed not the same number of babies with a new fake Nationality.

    • avatar
      Rick Wilmot

      OK, let’s look at it from another angle. The sperm count is declining and if is carries on then eventually humanity as we know it will be defunct. We can then leave the planet to the machines.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Rick Wilmot

      Mixing the gene pool amongst Europeans will not increase the birth rate, only more births per family or importing more European migrants will..

      Which is pretty much what the UK has done by importing 3 million young intelligent European migrants. But at least the the EU will replace them, a pity it will be with unskilled African / Middle eastern migrants though.

    • avatar
      Rick Wilmot

      People are people, we’re all basically the same, just different conditioning.

  66. avatar
    Christoph James

    By stopping the abortions, supporting financially families with children or making food banks for them, stop food waste, creating more jobs for people etc.

  67. avatar
    Alfredo Coelho

    Not by importing dark ages 7th century people, but with policies to promote birthrate grow to the europeans.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      That’s pretty much what the UK has done by importing 3 million young intelligent Europeans, the trouble is the EU is replacing them with unskilled African migrants which will be a disaster, particularity for the Eastern & Southern European Nations who are losing a whole generation of child bearing age people.

  68. avatar
    Higaara Nakamura

    Population is increasing and this should be the problem we should be addressing as resources are scarce and consumerism unsustainable if we want to make peace instead of war. Technically we are living in the information and technology era, we shouldn’t be worried about doing heavy works that require a lot of muscle, machines should be doing them instead and we should be using brains and experience upon them. We cannot have the good part of life without the bad, either we have a lot of dead people and younger populations or we have fewer younger people and not so many dead. Pick yours.

  69. avatar
    Faddi Zsolt

    Europe should not take away everything from young couples in the form of taxes. EU should motivate them financially. Family planning has become a material problem today in many countries, thank to economic systems made by the unelected rulers of the world!

  70. avatar
    Edita Buržinskaitė

    Finally, I’m glad you took note and acknowledged that. It is indeed a huge problem for our future. I will not pretend to be a social policy expert but, at least how I imagine it, a variety of campaigns could be organised on a regular basis to promote family and family values, children at school should have a specific class where they would be taught familial values and how to share family-related responsibilities with their partner (this is actually very important because everything starts with school), better conditions for young women to re-enter the labour market, longer parental leaves, a good creche network, perhaps even some form of a financial incentive, for example, for those who choose to have more than one child, etc. On a more abstract (but actually even more important) note, something must be done to inspire the Europeans with a belief that our civilisation is worth to be continued and to flourish in their future. Why am I saying that? I have noticed that way too many people have this attitude of “meh, I don’t care, we’ve had a good run” (in different variations but it’s the same in the end). It may seem like nothing but it is actually what will be the end of us because too many people have simply lost the will to continue and don’t see the point. It is a combination of many different factors, so the approach to counter that should be a comprehensive one. We need a vision of the future, the sense of where we are going (and may I suggest, it should also include further space exploration and advancement towards creating colonies on other planets in the future). If we manage to pull it off, we will recover. If not, in the long run we’re finished.

  71. avatar
    Vintan Ioan

    1. Raise wages in Eastern Europe.
    2. Return to Orthodox Christianity, primary philosophy of life.
    3. Drop your family planing and LGBT ideea.
    4. Children are not a product, a commodity.

    • avatar
      Benoit De

      Aligned with 1 and 4
      Forgot the 2 and 3, this is part of our European identity to be free. That’s your right go to church it’s mine to do not and to support my LGBT friends against discrimination

    • avatar
      Vintan Ioan

      This, is my opinion.
      Is my solution.
      Aniway, succes in its own extinction.
      I say it with real sorrow.

    • avatar
      Thomas Beavitt

      If demographic decline is a problem, then LGBT is indisputably a major part of that problem.

      Or, as others here have argued, maybe it’s not a problem. Let the West decline! Plenty of other civilisational models out there willing to make a go of it! No LGBT there!

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Benoit De

      How many children have ‘ever’ been born to LGBT couples ?

    • avatar
      Fernanda Parente

      And how many children are abandoned by straight couples?

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Fernanda Parente

      Doesn’t really solve the problem of a low birth rate though does it.

  72. avatar
    Vintan Ioan

    The mistakes of the philosophy of the French revolution begin to show their ugly reversal of the medal.

    • avatar
      Benoit De

      You are out of topic, freedom is a core value

    • avatar
      Vintan Ioan

      Sorry.
      And the suicidal people have freedom, but i think they do not use them anyway.
      Freedom without reason has utopian value.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Benoit De

      Genetic & cultural extinction is a core value of the EU ?, that god we are leaving the madhouse.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      That would give people more time to watch a bigger Tv.

  73. avatar
    Vintan Ioan

    Come back from the actual philosophy of the basic instincts to the old Greek-Orthodoxism. Plato and Paul the Apostle.

  74. avatar
    Ivan Burrows

    .

    By ending the crazed love affair with politicly correct dogma that puts homosexuality & individualism above the natural unit of the ‘family’.

    Only a return to real family values will stop the decline.

  75. avatar
    Piedade Luisa Pinho

    By giving to EUROPEANS – not promoting an invasion of Muslims and Africans – hope and political measures to incentivate them to have children!!!! Protecting and incentivating EUROPEAN families! A

  76. avatar
    Piedade Luisa Pinho

    And don’t even dream that European women will ever have children from the invaders!!!! We shall abort the result of rape!!!! We will abort them all!

  77. avatar
    Craig Willy

    Yes, where there’s a will there’s a way! (Israel and France, for instance, have successfully implemented policies raising the birth rate.)

    • avatar
      Ricardo Santos Marques

      Israel and France have large Muslim minorities which contribute enormously to the birth rate spikes…

    • avatar
      Tiago Do Val

      Nah it’s all about social security and financial aid… At least in France…

    • avatar
      Stefan de Vries

      The birth rate in France has been declining for many years now. And by the way, there is no proven link between an active birth policy and birth rates. The only answer to the question above is immigation.

    • avatar
      Craig Willy

      On a serious note:
      1) I think the historical record shows that policies can indeed affect the birth rate. There are many examples (economic incentives, measures to promote work-life balance, awareness-raising campaigns, etc). That isn’t to say it is easy (it isn’t). If we consider low fertility a problem, we should of course at least *try* to reverse the trend.
      2) The idea that a childless population can only make up for this by *population replacement* with outsiders is the mark of a dying people. Europe cannot survive her short-sighted, hedonistic, and decadent elites!

  78. avatar
    Matej Mlinarič

    Stop mass immigration. Kick out useless masses that are shopping for welfare and have no interest to contribute anything. Especially get rid of criminals, islamists and their supporters. After that allocate capital from those welfare programs to job creation and help our young families. That is what it takes. Just if this aging population claim is even real that is on you. Cause you spend decades undermining everything that each native European population stand for.

    Just i know that this won’t happen with current political “leadership”. Cause you are doing everything to fight against coming change and wishes of European populations. You are deliberately sabotaging our economic development cause only thing that those politicians are concerned with is more control. Just what you fail to realize that without our support your decisions mean very little. Cause all that control you want to impose ultimately needs to be self-imposed. Any puppet government that you want to impose will mean very little when populations reject them. So really start respecting interests of our populations and stop lying to further your own economic interests at our expense.

  79. avatar
    Sylvain Duret

    Stop austerity is a good beginning, fight against tax cut on richs in order to help poor and middle class, create job will help a lot.

  80. avatar
    Lino Galveias

    social policies instead of merely economic ones. One Europe for the people that focuses on social development, happiness, welfare, justice, democracy. A life-work balance, fair development.
    The current hyppocritical financial mood of EU is destroying its social and demographic tissue

  81. avatar
    Bódis Kata

    Support families and young people. Young people are often forced to choose between education/carrier and having a family, so they put off having children and in the end may have none.
    Universities and employers should be made more family-friendly through legislation.

    We also should make an effort to change our role models in popular culture. There are too many selfish a**holes worshipped as stars..

    The EU currently spends at least 50 billion(!) euros on migration and we know that over haft the people are illegitimate asylum seekers. Send them home so we have more resources to support European families.

  82. avatar
    Michael paul Borg

    Well it seems that our Europe is dying and we need to improve our technology like the Japs and also make much more awareness campaigns in order to help our fertility rate since we Europeans are much more focused on job related activities rather than focusing on a healthier less stressful lifestyle. Thus we need to have a balanced life and focus on other things such as family, something that here in Malta is effecting us negatively. In our islands we are having an illegal migrant takeover due to the bad lifestyle.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. – Winston Churchill.

      Here is the reality of real socialism.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-khxxgksmQU

    • avatar
      Weronika Natkaniec

      Look at Sweden this is real and modern socialism country (app.70% taxation level). Socialism can work :)

    • avatar
      Bódis Kata

      Sweden doesn’t have socialism. Sweden is a parlamentary democracy with a market economy and a fairly good social system that costs a lot of money to taxpayers and is an attraction to free riders. (Look up the term if you don’t know it. )

      Get an education, people..

    • avatar
      Kánai Mariann

      Socialism is not about high taxes. Actually there are hardly any taxes , because people do not own properties.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Weronika Natkaniec

      Sweden can’t really be said to be a real socialist country as it believes in free trade, is business friendly and relies on NATO, none of which are socialist ideology.

      At best it could be called conservative with a small ‘c’.

      Here is the reality when Sweden does follow socialist dogma.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcjcpKY0hpo

  83. avatar
    Zoltan Kiss

    By supporting families with tax breaks and affordable housing. Having children must be promoted and supported. Mass migration from different cultures is not a solution.

    • avatar
      Piedade Luisa Pinho

      F… them all. We have and will, get you out of Europe! You all belong in the Hell Koran has teach you to create! This is a God’s continent. Get out!

  84. avatar
    Glenn Zasman

    1/3 of all pregnancies in Europe are terminated. Few other species on Earth eliminate their own progeny and then bemoan the fact that their population is in decline.

  85. avatar
    Dimitris Orfanoudis

    The demographic reverse could be change if you create more jobs and more benefits to the european youths in order to be able to get married and making childrens…. Your stupid idea of importing migrants to solve the demograpic problem is absolutey wrong i repeat wrong…..

  86. avatar
    Arthur Lamy

    Why It should? Whenever I hear these sort of blues I’m a bit baffled. On one hand the biggest challence humanity faces is complex environment deterioration to which we do not have any feasible technological answer. The only one at the moment is slowly decrease overall populations, not boost them.

    What we need is not some deep tought about the way we can economically manage the decline.

    Yes. When the decline in one part of the world is too steep then in the other, the only solution should be migration – we see how popular it is however :(

  87. avatar
    Arthur Gustin

    We don’t need to, like we don’t need migrants to sustain a demographical madness while destroying the core of our values !

  88. avatar
    Vera Cardoso

    Creating more permanent job positions with fair salaries, increasing the parental leave and ensuring general access to public education and day care for all ages.

  89. avatar
    Matthew Wolfbane

    More children. Which I don’t personally want any myself, but that seems the main thing which could gradually help raise indigenous demographics again.

  90. avatar
    Enric Mestres Girbal

    Probably incentivating the normal family to have more children through social help instead of spending the money subsidying inmigrants.

    • avatar
      Áron Kalmár

      And if they did that, the problem would be that. “Those free loading young people! Getting MY money from taxes to raise their children!!! BACK IN MYDAY!!!” *Agressively shakes cane*

  91. avatar
    Miguel Branco

    Take a look to Ecology science, please: carrying capacity and age structure are too much linked… Not a surprise for me, neither a problem in my opinion. Immigration shouldn’t be seen neither as a problem but not as a solution. What about the economic politics rules? This World is overpopulated and we should think about how to have societies sustainable (at any scale you think of) with much lower impact in ecosystems.

  92. avatar
    Adriana Lung

    De ce nu aduceți imigranți gata să se fecundeze și cu bătrîneledin poză ? De ce susțineți familiile de homosexuali , care nu pot să dea naștere la copii ? Voi sunteți de vină …

  93. avatar
    Áron Kalmár

    Personally, no matter how much subsidies I’d get… i’d never want children. For one, I want to live my life, thank you very much, and second, i don’t think I’d be even remotely capable of even trying to raise them in to a decent person.

  94. avatar
    David Fernandes Coelho

    Give the people definite better living conditions. Cut the European parlament salaries by half and offer free schooling for all.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      .

      Europeans of a different Nationality are also foreigners.

  95. avatar
    Enric Mestres Girbal

    The 1,58 ratio for european women crashes with the 4-6 children for muslim ones. So, where does the money go?. because 70% of subventions go to the last.

  96. avatar
    Jorge de Jesus

    In Portugal lots of people want children but it is impossible to have them even since salaries are to low to have a family even with both parents working. Give better working conditions and proper child support and see what will happen :)

  97. avatar
    Daniel Martinez

    At least in my country (Spain), the most part of young couples which that doesn’t have children are due to economic reasons. Mainly the unenmployment and the bad employment conditions especially for young people.

    So the better we improve economic conditions, the better born-children results will be seen…

  98. avatar
    Jip

    In the UK: Super inflated house prices, 20 years of wage stagnation, conning children to get into debt for unnessecary education that in many cases is not needed, making jobs as unslable to keep wages low and corporate profits high, structuring work so that children have to move away from their familys so reducing help with children, and hollowing out of middle income work, damaging social cohesion and ethics has caused this. In many ways it is surprising that the brith rate is still at 1.6.

  99. avatar
    Captain Yolo

    There is little emphasis on the importance of children, loads of birth control, high number of abortions and hedonism/consumerism seems to effectively have turned life into a me, myself and I attitude for a lot of people. Why have kids when they are a drain on your finances and take precious time that could be spend on living the life, you only live ones. Europe (and the US) have seized to be countries and turned into giant shopping malls. The mall needs consumers, and they have no problem importing the children Europeans couldn’t bother to have.

    The mall beats all.

  100. avatar
    Andrian Marinov

    Stop propagating about how bad it is to have children. Stop with the aggressive 24/7 commercials about pills and condoms. Promote families with 3 or more children by giving them some dividends and ensuring the success and actual possibility of having a normal amount of offspring like that..

    • avatar
      Diaconu George Razvan

      pills and condoms are necessary! have you seen unwanted childrens fate! you have to do it in the good way aka … take care of them food shelter chlotes education!

    • avatar
      Sorin Costea

      Diaconu George Razvan maybe he likes to get stds man. Don’t judge.

    • avatar
      Andrian Marinov

      You didnt understand a thing from what I wrote, did you? Im writing about the commercials that brainwash people from a child age that everything is scary and will ruin your life. Having kids could stop you from sleeping with whomever you want (with the whole world if its possible), could ruin your business life and everything. They also scare you with stds which aint possible if you live a normal life and make a family like people did for millennias. The politics of the EU and the west are self-destructing. According to them we get people from the third world to fix our demographic crisis. In the same time they did create the crisis by demoting the family life and promoting whoreness and living for your job aka they just want to make from the white Europe a mish mash which started in the ex colonial empires and they aim to do it everywhere else. Not only we wouldnt hate each other and a unification of Europe would be possible but we would be so little by the time we understand whats happening that we wouldnt even think about fighting each other…

  101. avatar
    Oli Lau

    let young people flourish, earn a good salary, stop stressing them like hell, with crazy taxes and regulation on approximately everything they would need (job, house, etc.) in order to raise a family.

  102. avatar
    Bódis Kata

    Give huge tax cuts to families and young people who want to have families, support their housing.

    There are countries in the EU where people are disadvantaged to rent an apartment if they have children! Such discrimination must stop.

  103. avatar
    Marko Martinović

    Start with deporting “refugees”. Stop anti fammily and abortion propaganda. Stop feminist anti hetero campains.

    • avatar
      Marko Martinović

      Javier Mnts That is a bad sentiment to solve named problem. My answer would indeed solve the that problem.

    • avatar
      Marko Martinović

      Javier Mnts That is a bad sentiment to solve named problem. My answer would indeed solve the problem.

  104. avatar
    Max Berre

    Four steps.
    1: both women AND men get parental leave
    2: state-subsidized child care
    3: Policies targeting youth unemployment
    4: take every alt-right xenophobic retard and hang them in the nearest public square.

  105. avatar
    Craig Willy

    We need a social and political consensus that this problem must be redressed (as exists in Israel, which has successfully raised Jews’ birth rate to 3.1, equalling the Arabs).

    European media and politicians need to systematically raise awareness on this: bearing and raising beautiful children is one of the best things Europeans can do, perpetuating our priceless peoples and civilization, the legacy of our ancestors. They need to talk about families more and less about materialist short-sightedness like free trade and GDP.

    We can imagine policies: life-work balance, financial incentives, good healthcare services. Awareness-raising, I think, is the most important step however. The rest will follow. The Israeli example shows that the slow decline and physical replacement of Europeans in their own nations is not inevitable, but is a highly questionable political choice by our ruling class.

  106. avatar
    Ivan Burrows

    Don’t worry, the EU’s plan is to subjugate its citizens as Spain has done in Catatonia and import millions of migrants. ‘One people, one Nation, One Leader’ is the new motto of Brussels. If you have never heard that before google it, it is ‘your’ future.

    • avatar
      Phil Malatino

      It’s clear you don’t understand the difference between a nation and a federation.

    • avatar
      Ivan Burrows

      Phil Malatino Is the USA a ‘country’ ? I am perfectly aware of the difference comrade and as your unelected president Juncker has made perfectly clear, you will all be part of the Nation of the United states of Europe, whether 440 million people want it or not. ‘One Nation, One people, One Leader’ is the new motto of Brussels, sound familiar ?

    • avatar
      Stefania Portici

      e invece il moello britannico !? Parla del tuo modello Ivan che al nostro ci pensiamo da noi

  107. avatar
    Olivier Dutreil

    Easy …less taxes on families….wages for mother at home and more hope and enthusiasm for future in Europe….less Muslim more employment more security..

  108. avatar
    Vicente Silva Tavares

    And why we need to have more people? The experts are not saying the new economy will be based on robots and that most people will be unemployed? So, more people for what? To be unemployed and living on welfare?

    • avatar
      Chris Pavlides

      This is the life or machine planet?

    • avatar
      Marie A Lund

      More people to ruin the planet. The whole globe is overpopulated. Africans and Middle Easterners, Europe’s closest neighbours breed like rabbits, so there will be far more than enough people to take care of Europe’s elderly, as we won’t be able to stop them from entering Europe. Providing, that we don’t give them incentive (no child support for the third or any subsequent children – for Ethnic Europeans, too) to have many children but to have few (though it does sound cruel, I admit, but how do you make people by centuries manipulated by religion to limit overpopulating?) may be we can lower population growth and improve our quality of life insted of destroying it.

    • avatar
      Simeon Milanov

      If Europe’s demography doesnt change, there will be no robots and high tech stuff, cause there will be no Europeans :D

  109. avatar
    Maria Lunderius

    Demographic decline is a BLESSING. To mitigate climate change and other issues we need to as rapidly as possible LOWER POPULATION GROWTH. In Africa, Middle East and other more primitive (religion and tradition manipulated) societies it is far more difficult to do, thus might take longer than this planet can stand. Europe is the most advanced and should lead. We need to plan for other means to support aging population than constant population growth. More advanced technology, for example, changes in taxation, changes of distribution of income and wealth. And benefits for those who contribute to depopulation instead for those who thoughtlessly multiply like rabbits.

    • avatar
      Simeon Milanov

      Yes, more taxes are the way to DECREASE the population.

  110. avatar
    Chris Pavlides

    A connected refrigerator, a autonomous car or modern money slavery do not mean for humans a better standard of living or a meaningful life to share with kids.

  111. avatar
    Marco Matani

    Refusing labour reforms Eu and Germany are trying to impose us and let families to be formed

  112. avatar
    Simeon Milanov

    Certainly not with welfare state and EU regulations. Europe’s demographic problem is a cultural one – cultural egoism, atheism, lack of family values and the fact that most young people are a bunch of Peter Pan’s who don’t want to grow, but instead focus on endless pleasures (bloody hedonists). Stop regulating everything, lower taxes so people may pursue their fortune and stop with the destruction of European Christian civilization, and you will have higher fertility rates :)

    • avatar
      James Taylor

      Where do you people come from?

    • avatar
      Simeon Milanov

      James Taylor I come from Bulgaria and I am on 1l iiter of whiskey so d o you wonna aruge?!

  113. avatar
    Ibrahim Uzun

    In Greece if some one wants to start new business is almost impossible, the remote areas population has dramatically declined, and specially in Macedonia / Thrace area because of the government wrong policies and the closure of the schools there is no way that this can be reversed, just simple example ,
    In Thrace region in most villages( %90 ) there is no internet and no mobile phone network is working,
    If they are opportunity yes they are, but with all this negative movements is better to stay away.

  114. avatar
    Ibrahim Uzun

    In Greece if some one wants to start new business is almost impossible, the remote areas population has dramatically declined, and specially in Macedonia / Thrace area because of the government wrong policies and the closure of the schools there is no way that this can be reversed, just one small example ,
    In Thrace region in most villages( %90 ) there is no internet and no mobile phone network is working,
    If they are opportunity yes they are, but with all this negative movements is better to stay away.

  115. avatar
    Yanni Sfyrides

    Yes it can! Every problem has its solution. but the step one, is to realise that there is a problem- In any way I don t see the population ‘import’ a proper solution though.There are other far more better solutions and steps to be made to the benefit of European societies.

  116. avatar
    Vicente Silva Tavares

    European Union – EU should worry about corporations not paying taxes, dislocation of factories, robots and unemployment in the future. Germany receive 1 million refugees. How many are working? I heard it was about 100 thousand people. Who care about the 900.000? Europeans with their taxes. Is this what EU bureaucrats want? To destroy once for all the Welfare State?

  117. avatar
    George Yiannourides

    Lots of refugees from war torn and poverty stricken nations .
    They are young and hard working and have children .

  118. avatar
    João Machado

    Mathematically too late. But it’s another mathematical factor of a specific demographic group that scares me the most..

  119. avatar
    Franck Legon

    It’s not a “decline” that has to be reversed, it’s the evolution of intelligent mankind in order to have a balance with earth’s biotop while keeping on the technological progress and modern way of life. It’s the other countries that have to be stopped making so much children and start a responsible demography, through limiting the number of children they make, just like China did, or the nature that sustains our life will die soon. Demography shouldn’t be a decision based on shareholders profit growth will, that asks for ever more customers import through migration to defeat the natural evolution for balance, but on ressources availability management on the long run.

  120. avatar
    David Moody

    Debating Europe ~This article in conjunction with previous ones are akin to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll: “We need to increase the birthrate as we have a declining population, and we need to import masses of people to make it increase & do the jobs”. ~Followed by~ Mr Hyde “We must do something about population numbers, the world population exploding and the planet cant cope, the carbon footprint is too large. Also, we will need less people to do jobs in future due to automation & robotics”. Ok that makes it real clear, of what riddles ye speaketh of here / EU wot M8?

  121. avatar
    David Moody

    Debating Europe ~This article in conjunction with previous ones are akin to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll: “We need to increase the birthrate as we have a declining population, and we need to import masses of people to make it increase & do the jobs”. ~Followed by~ Mr Hyde “We must do something about population numbers, the world population exploding and the planet cant cope, the carbon footprint is too large. Also, we will need less people to do jobs in future due to automation & robotics”. Ok that makes it real clear, of what riddles ye speaketh of here / EU wot M8?

  122. avatar
    David Moody

    Debating Europe ~This article in conjunction with previous ones are akin to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll: “We need to increase the birthrate as we have a declining population, and we need to import masses of people to make it increase & do the jobs”. ~Followed by~ Mr Hyde “We must do something about population numbers, the world population exploding and the planet cant cope, the carbon footprint is too large. Also, we will need less people to do jobs in future due to automation & robotics”. Ok that makes it real clear, of what riddles ye speaketh of here / EU wot M8?

  123. avatar
    David Moody

    Debating Europe ~This article in conjunction with previous ones are akin to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll: “We need to increase the birthrate as we have a declining population, and we need to import masses of people to make it increase & do the jobs”. ~Followed by~ Mr Hyde “We must do something about population numbers, the world population exploding and the planet cant cope, the carbon footprint is too large. Also, we will need less people to do jobs in future due to automation & robotics”. Ok that makes it real clear, of what riddles ye speaketh of here / EU wot M8?

  124. avatar
    David Moody

    Debating Europe ~This article in conjunction with previous ones are akin to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll: “We need to increase the birthrate as we have a declining population, and we need to import masses of people to make it increase & do the jobs”. ~Followed by~ Mr Hyde “We must do something about population numbers, the world population exploding and the planet cant cope, the carbon footprint is too large. Also, we will need less people to do jobs in future due to automation & robotics”. Ok that makes it real clear, of what riddles ye speaketh of here / EU wot M8?

  125. avatar
    David Moody

    Debating Europe ~This article in conjunction with previous ones are akin to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll: “We need to increase the birthrate as we have a declining population, and we need to import masses of people to make it increase & do the jobs”. ~Followed by~ Mr Hyde “We must do something about population numbers, the world population exploding and the planet cant cope, the carbon footprint is too large. Also, we will need less people to do jobs in future due to automation & robotics”. Ok that makes it real clear, of what riddles ye speaketh of here / EU wot M8?

  126. avatar
    Andrew Potts

    It is a modest ambition of young Europeans to have a home, stable relationship and a few kids in the communities they grew up in. It would appear the EU, media, every government agency works against them. From tax laws to mass importation of labour to nutty educational requirements the odds are stacked against the young Europeans. Provide the environment of affordable housing with three and four bedrooms, then this generation will have the same families their parents and grand parents took for granted.

  127. avatar
    Art Dodger

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R1Q38EXXJY9WAG/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1903386233 Browne advocates zero net migration: equal numbers coming and going. Those coming should include some refugees, as well as children, husbands and wives. It does not mean ‘fortress Britain’. It does not mean zero immigration.

    Browne concludes, “As this book has shown, Britain doesn’t have a declining population; Britain doesn’t have a declining workforce; it isn’t faced with a demographic time bomb; immigration is no fix for an ageing society; there are no economic benefits in terms of increasing GDP per capita; Britons don’t want to be culturally enriched, but, like most peoples of the world, want to preserve their culture.” Trip to the library?

  128. avatar
    Art Dodger

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RCP8FYX509AFZ/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1906837740 As Rowthorn notes, “There is widespread agreement amongst specialists that the overall fiscal impact of large-scale immigration is normally small as a proportion of GDP. The large positive fiscal contribution of some types of immigrant is largely or wholly offset by the negative contribution of others. Dustmann and Frattini (2013) estimate that over the period 2001-2011, migrants made a net fiscal contribution in the range -0.7 per cent to +0.2 per cent of GDP, depending on how it is measured. Their widely publicised claim that recent (post-2000) migrants from the EEA have generated a large fiscal surplus should be seen in perspective. The estimated surplus of £22 billion over the 2001-2011 is only 0.2 per cent of GDP.”

  129. avatar
    Jude De Froissard

    By not milking them with taxes and unnecessary bureaucracy. …by motivating them by giving them hope for a better and safe future and jobs.Due to stupid austerity and fictitious debts….people are not making babies anymore…too expensive .

  130. avatar
    Marcel

    Why is EU declining?
    No point to look for a solution until one understands the problem.
    Maybe EU population is being forced to be selective about their lifestyle?

  131. avatar
    Magaly Morales

    Equality for women would help. Now a woman have to choose between maternity and no career prospect and poverty in older age.

  132. avatar
    Matiss Shiraazi

    By denying the access to pharmaceuticals and medical services to anyone who has reached the age of retirement. Only. :)

    • avatar
      Mētra Zeltiņa

      No we need to have or low costing baby stuff , like diapers etc

  133. avatar
    João de Oliveira

    Reducing the retirement age to 60 years old… that would force a renovation, more jobs for younger people, more babies … more innovation, more growth… it’s so simple.. an unemployed person cost to governments is bigger than the balance between retiring a 60 years one and employing a younger … moreover, peoples do not eat money, so the 60’s will be spending money in their communities, for example …

    Just simple math … not rocket science…

    • avatar
      Zé Miranda

      And how do you propose they live for 30 years without a job? Social Security wouldn’t be able to handle the strain as to be sustainable the age needs to go up and not down. Without some kind of decent private pension products being introduced in the market to help ease the strain on public pension systems there is no way a person can retire at 60.

    • avatar
      Marcelo Augusto Pires

      You have to finance the welfare state with taxes. Higher taxes for higher fortunes. Not for everybody, not to every company. Just for those who nowadays pay less.

    • avatar
      João de Oliveira

      Zé Miranda, the people retiring give place to others that will compensate the social security…moreover, the 60’s can help the communities, can assist their sons with the grandsons… they can create their own small businesses … people do not eat money…and with 60’s they still are active…simply they will work when they want doing what they want … they can even go to the interior and develop it … it’s a all new way of living and organize the society … extending the retirement age is driving a huge unemployed crowd of young people, is decreasing births, is slowing down innovation and economic growth… look at EU … having an average growth of less than 2% for 20+ Year’s now …

  134. avatar
    Zé Miranda

    “I think we need immigration, if it’s properly managed in amounts that can be assimilated and, of course, consists of people with backgrounds able to join the job market relatively easily.” – key: people able to join the job market!

    • avatar
      Vicente Silva Tavares

      Muslims never integrate. You can see it in all countries with big Muslim minority communities. And many of them live on welfare. Recognized by their own people. There is a video of an Egyptian saying that in an interview.

  135. avatar
    Faddi Zsolt

    It must support the families materially and mothers should stay at home 3 years after giving birth with her children. As it is in Hungary.

  136. avatar
    Rui Correia

    Very simple, pay up!… pay better/higher salaries, and paying extra sums to native Europeans who have children, etc etc… no one with half brain will have children to live in poverty.

    • avatar
      Iasen Kostov

      And somehow the reverse is true. Poor UNEDUCATED people / countries (outside Europe – Asia and Africa) have more children and the richer/ educated have less …

  137. avatar
    Christopher

    A declining birth rate is not a ‘problem’. As for pensions and healthcare, make people work for longer. If that means people retiring then falling in an dying after two years then that is just tough.

  138. avatar
    Julio Cubillas

    Its a cycle really…A big population is necessary during these times for a strong economy, thus immigration is the best deal. Bringing a constant flow of immigrants (Not a huge amount just constant) will bring more money and consumers. The genetic identity of the population will slowly change while still tilted towards spanish (European) genetic. Those immigrants and children culture and value will, also, change towards that country’s, and then they will have less kids and more immigration will come in. The cycle repeats.

    Theoretically, this will raise the quality of people overall while depopulating huge countries like mexico, japan, Brazil. Unemployment will be higher than normal, but those who are educated will be a lot more by comparison. Yes, alot of jobs that exist now will not exist in the futures and skill will become more important. But there will always be menial jobs like small food booths, street performing, lifting, and most importantly, soldiers. An army is extremely important for first world countries, and you need a reasonable amount of people without a college degree (as they tend to join the army more) to create a good-sized army.

  139. avatar
    Miriam Wells

    They didn’t care about us. They’ve been slaughtering us and calling our communities terrorists at random for centuries. Now we’re all dead or have given up they are whinging.

  140. avatar
    Riza Guntur Prakoso

    Well, it is very clear from the stats and predictions, European citizens will grow old and die as everyone does. The problems exist within the European values, which do not value a birth apparently, do you? A bit of unpredictable natural disasters may speed up the decline. Then, the world will be replaced by sober people who think easier, live happier although the lives may be just decent. They are Muslims who will win without any war, just from the higher birthrate as explicitly stated in Islam as Allah commands. It is the will of God anyway, no worry no problem. If you think they are foolish, you may need to reflect on you yourself. Obeying to no God? Atheistic with no respect to family values? Neglecting parents? Cruel taxation system? What hardship you must face. Poverty is a problem that can be solved by charity not taxing anybody.

  141. avatar
    cyp

    Stop hiring women. Women with careers will only consider children after 30 and by then is too late as they are almost at menopause. The gov forces companies to hire women despite producing less than men having more vacations and costing companies more. And all their money is spent on clothes cosmetics and junk. Hiring women is a lose lose situation. There aee exceptions like kineergarden and primary school teacher but not many.

    • avatar
      Bódis

      =ban birth control

    • avatar
      Ivan

      Bódis Kata If you mean ban killing unborn children then yes.

  142. avatar
    Antonio

    Phorbid porn…..no. I meen forget about that one. Higher wages for people old enough to think about starting a family.

  143. avatar
    Joaquim

    No more births are need it. The earth doesn’t have the resources for one more decade of capitalism. The time that everyone decides if and how many needs to stop. They only are interested in more births to sustain social security.

  144. avatar
    Ana

    Make equality between women and men a political priority in all public policies.

    • avatar
      Ivan

      equality between the sexes as been the law for decade’s so do you mean to force women to do jobs they don’t want to do just to hit some idiotic quota ?

    • avatar
      Ana

      You miss the “h”: has been instead of “as been”. Also decades instead of “decade’s”.

  145. avatar
    Julia

    A universal basic so mums or dads can afford to stay home and be able to support their children.

  146. avatar
    Chris

    In case women stay @ home a) no more unemployment + increased incomes b) demographic solved c) happy kids = promising future d) more balanced society = productive e) everybody happy!

  147. avatar
    Limoc

    I pay extra taxes per children, the local taxes are increasing with every child you have. I am force to bride everyone, teacher, doctor, etc. How can we can to make more children when i don not have the money to provide for them all the family is working.

    • avatar
      Bódis

      In Hungary taxes decrease with every child. Most people with 3 children hardly pay any income tax and young married couples who promise to have 3 children or more can apply for family housing support and cheap mortgage generally enough to build a home.
      (Sales tax is high though.)

    • avatar
      Péter

      And real wages are nowhere near Western standards…

  148. avatar
    Jaime

    Os jovens não têm emprego estável e que lhes permita formar família e sem isso não arriscam a gerar filhos. Como os donos do dinheiro cada vez estão mais ricos e os restantes mais pobres, eles que tenham filhos.

  149. avatar
    Marquitos

    Removing economic growth as the goal of every single life and stopping the promotion of endless consumption of goods as the path to happiness.

    • avatar
      Ivan

      Can we assume you wrote that on a 20 year old computer or does your idea not apply to you ?

    • avatar
      Marquitos

      Ivan Burrows I don’t have children so I may be part of the problem.

  150. avatar
    Jude

    Diminish taxes…give everybody a home…support families with one or many children accordingly..unstress people by making them think they are only money machines for the state.

  151. avatar
    Anonymous

    Bribe people at durex and trojan to poke holes in tge condoms hahaha no seriously, improve hope: its the basis for all. If you believe europe will be here in 50 years (many people think we are going to world war 3) and that your children will be taken care of if you fail/die. (By the state for example) etc. But it all comes down to hope. Second id say cristian values, why bother marrying when you can stay single and fuck eastern european girls for 50 euros? Why indeed?…

  152. avatar
    Elena

    By 2050 diminishing population at last. I will not be around, but i am glad i have done my part by not having children.

  153. avatar
    Julia

    Perhaps by making it more affordable for the young inhabitants of Europe Tobe able to start a family. For a young couple who can only afford to hire a room in an apartment starting a family is out of the question.

  154. avatar
    Simon

    I think it has less to do with policy than peoples mindseds and values. So this is trully a spiritual question that has no solution!;-)

  155. avatar
    Sándor

    There is a direct inverse link between the level of education and fertility. So, kick the girls out of school at 15 and voila. /sarc

  156. avatar
    randomguy2017

    The answer to this is quite simple. Warning for leftists and liberals you wont like it…

    Here are steps:
    1)ban abortion with rare exceptions
    2)stop spreading promiscuity and lbgt as normal
    3)less condoms
    4)promote family families
    5)benefits for the those who want families
    6)encourage active lifestyle and less sitting

  157. avatar
    randomguy2017

    Fixing error above:
    4)promote family values

    Adding one more:
    7)less anti social media… stop facebook, twitter, and anything like it. maybe people will leave their homes more.

  158. avatar
    George

    Stop importing migrants, and reverse “austerity” programs.

    • avatar
      Max

      Actually they’re asking how to REVERSE demographic decline. Not sure which part of the EU you live in, but in Belgium one resident in 3 is retirement aged.

    • avatar
      George

      Max then I guess “importing migrants” and austerity measures did not work in Belgium, so why ask for more?
      South Europe has a ton of migrants, when can you take them in, so you can fix your demographic problem? 🤔

  159. avatar
    Ivan

    It’s simple, put all social justice warriors into lunatic asylums where they belong and return to the natural order of men + women coming together, having children & bringing up them up ‘together’ . It’s not rocket science. If we continue with the current politically correct nonsense it will lead to the utter destruction of Western Civilisation.

    • avatar
      Kirstie

      I think you wish to be selective in who you refer to as a ‘social justice warrior’, a lot of the rights you take for granted were achieved by those very people you want to put in ‘asylums’. The women in your life didn’t get the right to vote by just asking nicely!

    • avatar
      Mathilde

      Kirstie
      I think he is speaking of LGBT community and their difficulty of bearing children.

    • avatar
      Ivan

      BOOM ! and the facebook anti free speech algorithm kicks in to silence the truth 8|

    • avatar
      Ivan

      Kirstie Lets try this one. Suffragettes were not SJW’s, they were upper class women demanding rights for upper-class women who had no interest in the lower classes. The legislation was already going through parliament before their movement so their actual impact was minimal at best. Most women did not want it as it should have included the draft & equal employment, so not being called on to die in muddy fields in some god forsaken part of the world or work 12 hr shifts killer industries is a female privilege, To SJW’s sexual discrimination seems fine when it only works one way.

    • avatar
      Christophe

      Kirstie giving people the right to vote has screwed up the world. The only people who do should be allowed to vote is intellectuals who have a grasp of politics.

  160. avatar
    Robin

    1. Offer real incentives to support couples having children. It’s too expensive to have children, really.

    Maybe we should offer free daycare, free kindergarten, free education, 2 years paid leave for one parent, to raise the new offspring, better child-supporting infrastructure (parks, theaters, activities), the child-raising period should count as work etc.

    2. This is not only a matter of bringing a child into this world, but also a matter of: we have a child, what’s next?

    There is little significant support for families with kids.

    3. Immigrants are not a problem. What, I can’t have kids because some poor soul came into my country and tries to make living? This is ridiculous.

    4. As societies, I don’t think we’re offering enough support for single parents. Also, couples don’t seem to receive the necessary support, it may sound ridiculous, but maybe they need a two week break from kids, once or twice a year. Not mandatory, but compulsory.

    Finally, as more and more people travel, I don’t think the rights of children born overseas are properly enforced, or even remotely useful in the 21st century.

    • avatar
      Любомир

      You can’t do all of these things without raising taxes significantly. And they are high enough as it is. High social spending is the main reason for high taxes in Europe, and high taxes are one of the reasons people don’t feel they have enough money to have and raise children.
      All social spending on non-EU citizens must stop immediately and these funds should be used for the needs of the European citizen and taxpayer. And especially for the young European family.

    • avatar
      Raquel

      This might actually work

    • avatar
      Robin

      Любомир This ca also be achieved by a more efficient use of our current money.

    • avatar
      Christophe

      Любомир A newspaper article from 1889 said ”a handful of people control the money wealth of the world and therefore the world itself!”. Market manipulation, Bank crisis/depression/austerity can be traced back to those handful of people. There are a million and one ways they enslave us and make child bearing an economic decision for most as to whether or not they should have one or more children or none at all.

    • avatar
      Любомир

      Christophe This is explained perfectly by the Pareto principle and has always been valid, regardless of the socioeconomic system and structure.

  161. avatar
    Guilherme

    Well immigration is clearly not an option

    • avatar
      Max

      Clearly not. Just ask the Canadians. :P

    • avatar
      Guilherme

      Max I was being ironic due to all the things that are happening to refugees

    • avatar
      Любомир

      Illegal economic migrants are not refugees.

  162. avatar
    David

    Why do you want to stop the demographic decline? I find it a good thing, there are too many people in this planet already.

    • avatar
      Matej

      Sure, but economically speaking it will lead to a collapse.

    • avatar
      David

      Matej With less people there’s more to share :)

    • avatar
      Любомиp

      It’s a myth that there are too many people on the planet.

    • avatar
      Ivan

      David Unless you are one of those to be replaced ?

  163. avatar
    Christine

    More immigration. Young folk, hopeful of building a new life for themselves and their families. The planet is our home
    Manage

  164. avatar
    Любомир

    Stop all social spending for non-EU citizens and use these funds to stimulate young European families. Every single cent the EU citizens pay in taxes should go back to them, not to immigrants and foreigners. Family and children should become the cornerstone of European social policies.

  165. avatar
    Mathilde

    What, and have a multitude of children? my generation does not want multiple kids – they’re costly and they hinder our careers.

    us females now have more opportunities than before, so we choose not to have children so young as our parents did

  166. avatar
    Sandrine

    I’ve seen enough! I have nearly pulled all my hair out!
    We need to slow down population growth, mostly in developed countries (because we, per person, create 16 to 50 times as much CO2 a year than developing nations) and re-align the corporate driven economy to not be purely dependent on growth…which is the way it is now.
    We NEED to downsize because our resources (i.e. food) are going to decline due to desertification and failed crops year after year. Look around! It’s already happening and government patches aren’t going to be able to keep up in very short order.
    This also means importing the “other” 6 billion people into our wasteful consumerism ways will spell disaster very quickly. OMG I just don’t understand this “we need more babies”. Middle class is an anomaly in all history, and we’re all going to have to pay the piper, get less, be the pions once more…at least with the goal to save our planet.

  167. avatar
    diligentdave

    I don’t believe it can. And I don’t believe women want to. People divorce themselves mentally and emotionally from the fate of their nation or continent. It’s become every man, or, in this case, every woman for herself.

    Everyone is selfish. They don’t give a fig about the people around them. Not enough to sacrifice themselves for them.

    Love has largely been lost, one person for another. Lust and lasciviousness largely prevails. The natural man (and woman) is not only an enemy to God, but an enemy, ultimately, to themselves.

    Carbon footprint and environmentalism? It’s phony baloney, simply to control people by the elites, and for certain elites to make big money on everyone else.

    But the whole world is falling apart. The middle east is. Africa is. Asia is. No one is virtuous anymore. Once good nations have become evil. There are no good guys. Just innocent children who are being perverted in various ways.

    Europe would have to become truly Christian again, but not forcibly Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox. But they won’t. Other peoples of other religions will grow in numbers, until they can take everything over by their numbers. Their resentment of white Europeans grows year by year (I’m not in Europe, and I can feel it clear on the other side of the world). It will become worse than few now imagine when the others from elsewhere take over. (BTW, I am not plotting this at all myself—it is just so obvious as to the degree of denial by most ethnic Europeans that this will happen. Most are happy to “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die”. Party, party, party! Drink, get drunk, get high, screw your live-in. Go next door and screw who you can there. And no familial connections to speak of.

    If there were, more people would get married. But, there is no true (or even legal) commitment, much, to speak of. (There should be. It would be much better for all involved). But most don’t marry, because they are a sinful and adulterous generation, just like so many of the Jews (and gentiles) were in Jesus’ day. That’s why he called them out on it.

    It was true also in the days of Jeremiah among the Jews—

    7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

    8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.

    9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

    —Jeremiah 5:7–9

    But this isn’t anti-Semitic. I’m speaking against all who do this anywhere. Lack of chastity before marriage, brings lack of fidelity afterwards. As my nearly 103-year old father-in-law has long said it (about men not marrying if they don’t have to), “Why buy the cow, when the milk is free (anyway)?”

    My father-in-law himself didn’t practice this. He just observed that women who will put out for a guy without marriage first, can’t afterwards expect fidelity after she gives him what he wants, for free!

    And fornicators and adulterers don’t care about children. They just want to fornicate and adulterate. Children to them are just a nuisance.

    As long as a fornicating and adulterating culture prevails (and it will, without severe punishment otherwise), children by-and-large won’t be desired. Carnal pleasure is all this ‘me’ generation wants.

    I wish Europe could and reverse its demographic decline. Unfortunately, that ship left port decades ago (as much as many of us would have it otherwise).

  168. avatar
    Paul Rice

    The world is overpopulated and the population will decline in the near future ,
    as climate change effects food and water resources , governments will have to reduce populations to a sustainable level , and strictly control immigration .
    The world business and financial models will have to be changed and consumption made a dirty word .
    The other problem with immigration is that most immigrants are not educated enough , and as jobs are automated there will be less unskilled jobs , and they will be a burden on society.
    Today asylum and refugee agreements are being misused for immigration not protection , and refugees refuse to go home .
    All male asylum seekers should be told to go and fight for their countries and their rights and not just run away and expect others to house and feed them

  169. avatar
    Jérémy

    Why should we be always growing ? There is no point anymore in growing. We should even be reducing how many we are

    • avatar
      Dionìs

      who is we? Not all counties have same population growth

    • avatar
      Borislav

      or population density.

    • avatar
      Raquel

      we humans

    • avatar
      Jérémy

      We still don’t need to be so many. If your country is not full, enjoy it and keep it that way. No point being everyday more

    • avatar
      Matthew

      two reasons. First, businesses want to make sure they have a steady supply of labor. Second, the government wants to make sure that it can maintain its tax base. If a country has a lot of elderly people, it also needs a lot of younger people to pay the taxes necessary to support the pensions and healthcare costs of those elderly people. If the native population stops having children at replacement levels or higher, the country will eventually face a fiscal reckoning. Of course, that’s why countries with low birth rates tend to want immigration. If their own people won’t have children, they will bring in people who will.

  170. avatar
    Giossas

    more fiscal and work benefits for couples with kids

  171. avatar
    Fabio

    increasing and manageing migrations

  172. avatar
    Michael

    Develop gestation via artificial incubators as an alternative to pregnancy.

  173. avatar
    Dani

    I live in a small city AND I STILL DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PARKING SPACE, even if I live at the edge of the city ! WHAT IF this is not exactly right? Afterwards STATISTICIANS DID WRONG MAAAAANY TIMES ! ! ! Comparing to generations with too many people of course the demographic decline is bigger ! Afterwards this is a problem for the people born in 50’s-70’s whom retirement incomes might be reduced because of less and less people getting born and work for them ! It’s not really that bad that they are less and less people ! ! ! Chinese knows best ! And it’s not an ironical race joke, it’s the goddamn truth !

    • avatar
      Lore

      The Chinese have changed their 1child policy as they are facing a demographic issue too with many old and too few young people.Do we want masses of poor pensioners?

    • avatar
      Dani

      Yep….. The main problem…….. Which afterwards it might be worse, lol, that’s true.

  174. avatar
    Borislav

    There’re multiple problems:
    – is the pension system a ponzi system? If so We Will never get enough youngsters, mainly because a lot of migrants work without or zero hour contacts and no social insurance.
    – Is our economy ponzi system? If so growing by numbers but not by providing better wellfare/wages for everyone thru automatisation is a scheme that wouldn’t improve no matter how many youngsters the average nation has.

  175. avatar
    Bódis

    Millions of young Europeans cannot afford a home and cannot afford a family, and they are brainwashed by the media that family is not important, they should just endeavour to make a career and consume, live for the day.
    Causes have effects.

  176. avatar
    Franco

    Low wages, high taxation, predatory banking, health and pension uncertainties and misandry and feminism are not motivations to bring new life to the plantation of free range Europeans serving oligarchs, by men likely to lose their scanty wealthy, families, children and be sentenced to slavery and parental alienation, at the whim of a capricious woman with the egregious abuses of our terrorists governments. In a way, this is why the silenced Yellow Jacket movement is fighting; for family, for a stronger Europe for all, not a few.

  177. avatar
    George

    hahahahahha bring more arabs and east africans !good luck

  178. avatar
    Tiago

    easy,., stop mass migration and promote european family policy you idiots

  179. avatar
    Е. М.

    It is definitely not with immigrants and refugees.

    • avatar
      Mário

      And why not?

    • avatar
      Borislav

      Mainly because the integration policies aren’t as effective as one hopes thus creating a minority that does live In a democracy but votes authoritarian e. g. The Turkish referendum few years back.

    • avatar
      Larry

      and what about the native majority that votes authoritarian e.g. the Hungarian election?

    • avatar
      Max

      you didn’t answer the question

  180. avatar
    Taline

    Provide supporting system like the Scandinavian countries

    • avatar
      Michael

      The Scandinavian countries are also in demographic decline. It’s great to have more support anyway, but it’s not working to reverse the trend.

    • avatar
      Παυλος

      but what is the decline rate? If it’s slowed down it’s ok we can’t grow for ever but if it’s a free fall like Bulgaria or Greece….. ” Huston we have a problem “

  181. avatar
    Enric

    Incentivating the EUROPEAN families with social help for children, housing, schooling, etc.

    • avatar
      Max

      you’ll need to travel back in time 20 years and implement that idea back then if you need that to work.
      Seriously. We’re seeing a ton of old people retire RIGHT NOW.
      So we need solutions that’ll work WITHOUT time travel.

    • avatar
      Παυλος

      it’s not that difficult, there are lots and lots empty houses abandoned by their previous owners, that in most cases there are returning to government ownership, only to be neglected and fall apart, for the government will cost nothing to give them to people that need them and couldn’t be even a source of taxes, the rest can be done thru the public education system .
      Also retiring people might be a cause of financial problems right now but we have to make plans for the future

  182. avatar
    Daniel

    Let it go. Its a self regulated system, why to interrupt it. All climate problems are caused by overpopulation

    • avatar
      Franco

      If you believe overpopulation is the problem, you can help by self sacrificing. All you need is a bio-rope.

    • avatar
      Daniel

      u don’t need to kill people, just don’t try to prevent people from wanting less kids

    • avatar
      Dionìs

      so you want to solve the problem by making the caring part of population extinct? The caring ones ain’t the problem neither. And EU has negative population growth rate.

    • avatar
      Daniel

      Extinct? I would say adjust. U know, our planet has its own limits. I would say adjust the population number to limits of our planet

    • avatar
      Bódis

      Have you noticed that it’s not Europe that’s getting over-populated?
      And if the European way of life is such a problem to the environment, then why bring in millions of new people to live the same European way of life when they could have stayed on their small carbon footprint wherever they came from?

    • avatar
      Daniel

      So u want others to live in poverty?

  183. avatar
    João

    First, allowing taxes rate to go down and quickly…

    • avatar
      Mário

      And who pays for public services?

    • avatar
      Oscar

      you with the heaps of cash you make not paying stupid high taxes and with a decent salary increase. 15% flat tax on people and companies. Born equal pay equal.

    • avatar
      Nuno

      Born equal?… :D
      You’ll pay public services with your heaps of cash but don’t want to pay taxes… Yeah, i see you!

    • avatar
      Oscar

      yeah born equal, it’s not India luckily, we have equal rights, we should pay the same percentage.

    • avatar
      Federico

      no, rich folks have to pay more. And by the way I don’t see the correlation between taxation, tax rates and birth rates. Hungary , Romania, Baltics and Ukraine all have flat taxes, and they are all a demographic disaster

    • avatar
      Max

      and that’s going to address the issue how exactly?

    • avatar
      Jay

      @ Mario how about..Let’s radically cut public services. Then no-one needs to pay for the part we’ve cut. Simples :)

  184. avatar
    Manuel

    Provide early retirement for couples with children and more years of work for couples without children :)

    • avatar
      Mário

      That’s a radical, albeit interesting, proposal…

    • avatar
      Παυλος

      A very interesting proposal Extreme times need extreme solutions 👍

    • avatar
      Jay

      More time for couples with kids as punishment for contributing to overpopulation. Extreme times, extreme measures.

  185. avatar
    Jude

    Easy…..stop harassing people with taxes and stupid bureaucracy

    • avatar
      Max

      how is that going to solve the problem exactly?

    • avatar
      Παυλος

      people now days can’t afford to sustain them selfs, how they are supposed to have children also? In my country if abortion wasn’t concentrated a huge sin birth rates would had declined even more

    • avatar
      Jude

      It will solve some of the expenses one has when having children …..it will give more purchasing power….
      Today it costs a lot of money to have children in europe. …

    • avatar
      Borislav

      next thing is that companies can use two shifts of 30 hours a week to maximize the use/efficiency of The provided workplaces without investing In New workplaces.

    • avatar
      Max

      how is that going to solve the issue?

    • avatar
      Marco

      you should have a child if you have time enough to educate him, otherwise better not to have it.

  186. avatar
    Olivier

    Less migrations and a strong family policy

  187. avatar
    Teresa

    Putting Juncker, Tajani in jail and reversing this depressing period neoliberlism, fascism and corruption in EU

  188. avatar
    Παυλος

    Give a stable financial/ political environment that will allow people to make new families

  189. avatar
    Belarmino Álvarez

    Is necessary relate pensions to the number of children each couple has: to more children, higher pension in the future. Immigration is not the solution, rather a problem in a long term.

  190. avatar
    Alex

    Give a chance to young people to get good money and job stability,to have a real family of their own.

  191. avatar
    Rob

    Population aging/decline is not a bad thing, it will prevent depletion of natural resources, it will reduce energy problems, waste, water usage, epidemic risks, stress on the oceans ecosystems, poverty. It improves nature preservation, biodiversity, you name it. The only real drawbacks are a reduction in economic growth and GDP. So it would hurt large and international corporations and its shareholders.

  192. avatar
    João

    Yeah I don’t see it as a problem. We had a baby boom now we need to use resources to sustain the elderly that outgrew the states’ contributors but it’s a temporary situation. Unfortunately the same is not happening in the massively breeding like rabbits countries so we will never be able to control excess population in the world; that will end us all no matter what we do.

  193. avatar
    John

    It can’t and there is no good enough reason it should either..

  194. avatar
    Marco

    Working less, maximum 30 hours a week

  195. avatar
    John

    The diference between poor and rich is to big. Same can’t afford kids anymoore and with a population in decline, over streested and over worked.

  196. avatar
    Aris

    well, demographic decline is a complicated issue.
    The modern way of life make people marry in an older age and have 1-2 kids. When a woman marry at her 38-40s how many kids you expect she will have?
    An other important issue is the Economic issue. All parents wants to offer their kids the best they can. A lot of toys, a lot of clothes, high education etc etc. All these cost a lot.
    Maybe the European Goverments should offer economical benefits to parents who have more than 2 kids such as lower taxation, real free education etc

  197. avatar
    Jude

    By stopping harassing people economically …and giving them motivations to have children.

  198. avatar
    Michael

    Artificial wombs for births without pregnancy.

  199. avatar
    Peter

    Pay decent wages, organize free child care and tax the rich for it.

  200. avatar
    Tim

    I would rather decline than be overrun. Better poorer and European

  201. avatar
    Xavier

    You cant. Only thing we can hope for is a replacement rate (by ptoviding jobstability for youth before its too late for us to have kids) and global equilibrium through migration.

  202. avatar
    Andreas

    Τhe solution has already been implemented…immigrants!

    • avatar
      Tim

      Andreas – yes, let’s decimate the indigenous people for money

    • avatar
      Antonio

      I don’t believe Immigration could be a definitive and sustainable solution fot that serious problem. Early it will change a more serious than the demographic decline, unfortunatelly!

  203. avatar
    Hebron

    Well the problem is being solved. With the mechanisation of all the jobs taking place hence cutting off people from the simple jobs. People will have no work but more time for sex will leads automatically to an increased chance of producing children like in the poor economic countries. And the legalisation of cannabis will create a happy generation of people.
    Now do the math ( more free time+poverty + high stoned happy people = increased sex activities hence increased birthrate) 😅

  204. avatar
    Michal

    I’m baffled by the anti-immigration voices here. If you want to have more young people, you should let more young people in, not fewer. Just open the borders and there’s no demographic problem.

  205. avatar
    Παναρας

    How about make living for young couples more convenient and family orientated…? people chasing money and career forget to reproduce…

  206. avatar
    Julia

    Make life and children more affordable. Give a GMI to mothers who want to stay home to see and guide their children while they are growing up. Governing bodies want tax payers [except for corporations, they get away with 1% tax from legal loopholes and local business that don’t declare their true revenue.] and do not care about people’s quality of life or basic needs. We were born on earth free, created a society to serve all except that went wrong. It just serves a few at the expense of the many. People are cash cows and their right to freedom and happiness has been taken away.

  207. avatar
    Galina

    And I believe that your bosses says migration is the answer! I believe that we need people to consume and do the bad jobs, so the rich can get fatter! I think that we are enough and if we continue like this, soon the nature will destroy us.

  208. avatar
    Zap

    Decline is good, we are overpopulated. Focus should be on a more productive population

  209. avatar
    Anna

    Well it’s too late now so stop immigration into Europe especially from third world countries.. yes yes I know it sounds mean but that’s the only solution.

    • avatar
      Amphib

      Anna – how would that help?

  210. avatar
    Tiago

    why dont you promote European family policy instead of importing non european migrants in mass???

  211. avatar
    Alan

    By assisting legitimate fellow Europeans in South Africa who’s ancestry, lineage is restricting them from leaving the country back to Europe.

  212. avatar
    Dionìs

    Europe’s demographics isn’t declining, obviously! It simply got partially OUTSOURCED starting from decades ago (well now, like many other thigs got outsourced, after all; local parents are too ” expensive to hire”) – maybe “reproduction got outsourced” would be a more correct terminology. Your question shall be changed into “how to rely on local production in case of scarcity from the outsourcing branch”. 😉 ….. 😂
    The other question shall be, what do you mean with Europe?

    • avatar
      Bódis

      I remember 10-20 years ago the common propaganda: “the Earth is overpopulated, we will all suffer, it’s irresponsible to have more than 1 child…”
      Where are those people now?

    • avatar
      Dionìs

      Bódis – the Earth is actually overpopulated but 1) technology and cooperation can take us out of this
      2) Europe has another problem, the opposite one.

    • avatar
      Dionìs

      Bódis – apparently Euroepans got confused cos they didn’t get they have a different problem.

  213. avatar
    Frédéric

    Could it be a good news as it is decreasing our ecological footprint ?

  214. avatar
    Sakis

    Immigration used as a excuse to deal with this problem keeping pushing wages down is what eu politicians do the last 15 years. Creating themself the problem. Now asking how to solve it is a joke. Answer is so stupid easy. Acting like people have the iq of an eggplant is why people keep voting far left or right. People are fed up by business representatives playing politicians. People need real politicians. Richest part of the world created themselves problems its pathetic.

    • avatar
      Elena

      Just one correction, it is not the last 15 years, it is since the manmade economic crisis of the 1980’s.

  215. avatar
    Michiel

    Demographic decline isn’t necessarily a problem. With the robots coming for our jobs and the climate crisis less people might even be a solution to our problems.

  216. avatar
    Artur

    My country has free abortion paid by taxpayers.They think thats’s the answer.

    • avatar
      Hildin

      Artur – Whereas you think forcing women to get children is the answer?

    • avatar
      Artur

      Hildin – Pregnancy is not a disease. N H.S. should not “treat” it.I don’ t have to pay for somebody else’s mistakes.

  217. avatar
    Michail

    By making parenting profitable for Europeans and not for the aliens.

    • avatar
      Federico

      I didn’t know folks are coming down with UFO to breeding on Earth

    • avatar
      Michail

      No. But people, who are utrerly alien to traditional European culture & values come enmass. And breed on welfare, yearned by others for them.

    • avatar
      Federico

      tipical brexiter-like bullcr***. There is literally nothing which suggest that immigrants are having more children than locals because of that. First generation of immigrant always has a higher fertility rate simply because is the one they carried on from birthplace. Starting from 2nd generation, fertility rate plunges as it is happening everywhere.

    • avatar
      Michail

      Typical liberal bias and stupidity. Even if you’re right, the welfare system of Western Europe benefits mostly the migrants, encouraging them to breed and not the locals. And there are plenty of examples, Federico.

    • avatar
      Andy

      Michail – no typical sociological research. Unlike your prejudices. Worldwide research has shown that as the living standards go up people have less children because they no longer need to have many hoping some will reach adulthood and look after them. Instead they focus all their energy and resources and a few to give them the best education as possible for a better future. Same reason why despite the lifting of the 1 child policy in China people are still not having more children. It’s far more expensive now to raise children than it was when the 1 child policy was implemented. Facts not feelings.

    • avatar
      Xavier

      How many kids do you have man? And how many do you wish to have? If, you can find a girl, as typical traditional societies believe that males kids are “worth more” instead of females, then you need to have 2 kids at the minimum. Nobody is making that because of typical right wing policies and the destruction of the welfare state. Migrants from rural areas also, being, you know, people, tend to drop their feriltility from 3 or 4 kids to 1 or 2 within a generation. The reasons are many. The main one is urbanization (as kids become an expensive coomodity in the cities instead of an asset in the farm, and other factors like women having rights these days). The book empty planet is a pretty good resource for the global population decline.

    • avatar
      Paschalis

      Federico – actually there is many proof that this is exactly happening in the, UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy and I can go on but when people like you prefer to have a say on everything without a shred of proof that you had researched, what you are engaged in debating with others then we know as to why the EU is a failure

    • avatar
      Federico

      Paschalis – awaiting for datas

    • avatar
      Paschalis

      Federico – well why don’t you research the countries I had stated on terms of benefits on illegal immigrants compared to locals. I am not going to be your father and give you everything on a platinum platter. It is funny because this is exactly what I had just state din my first comment, you haven’t done any research whatsoever

    • avatar
      Max

      Michail – are they? That stats say otherwise

      examples you say?

    • avatar
      Larry

      Wow, what a textbook case of Dunning-Kruger! spewing delusions as if they were facts, and then dismissing the facts that refute his delusions.

    • avatar
      Arber

      Why are Slavic people the most anti immigrant and they get no immigrants

    • avatar
      Federico

      Arber – in the question, you have the answer: they are countries of emigration so they do not attract immigrants. With noticeable exceptions of course: Slovenia and Czech Republic

  218. avatar
    Jay

    WHAT!? WE DON’T WANT TO REVERSE THE DECLINE! Millennials have been considerate of the environment and diligently NOT had kids….and here’s the boomers trying to repopulate again.

  219. avatar
    Roman Korn

    Well, the prevailing opinion seems to be that population decrease is a BAD thing, as I see it, however only few if any admit that it is natural and in fact, necessary.
    Does anyone think of other living species sharing this world with us, anymore? We certainly have the technology to sustain an even larger population on this planet, however it would INEVITABLY lead to mass extinction of various animal and flora species in LONG TERM, considering our level of technology advancement and the impact it has on environment! Very few are willing to admit that our way of life is killing us along with all around us, transforming once lush and live land into concrete tombs of soon to be extinct civilization, OUR civilization – THAT is the real problem, as far as I can understand.
    There were many civilizations on this planet before us, all have met the same fate as we are going to do, and the new civilizations that will rise from the remnants of our, will follow that natural order of things as well. It would be naive and foolish to expect other outcome, considering all the evidence and knowledge we possess nowadays about ancient cultures and human psychology along with recorded history.

    Real question is, who volunteers? And also, who is prepared well enough to form the seed of our successor civilization? The latter is much easier to answer, however, giving us hope that our homo sapiens species will never get extinct, unlike many unfortunate others that once shared this world with us.

  220. avatar
    Daniel Perret

    We are over populated. Leading to too much building. We need less stress on Nature and to handle increasing age average in another way. I am not against immigration but definitely against being blind about a natural balance with nature.

  221. avatar
    Yannick

    Our per capita ecological footprint is still far higher than what is considered sustainable by scientists (about 4 to 8 times for Europe, depending on your choice of indicators). Therefore I think this idea of population growth seems rather linked to this enduring idea of economic growth at any cost. Since we are not very good at reducing this footprint, I don’t think reducing population is a bad thing per say. Nature might force it upon us faster than we think, sadly.

  222. avatar
    Christos

    Stop bailing out banks and investing in arms and wars…. and start investing in families…

  223. avatar
    Olivier

    With a family policy ….tax incentive for the 3 rd child

  224. avatar
    Любомир

    Stop importing immigrants, lower the taxes, stop promoting sexual promiscuity and encourage the traditional family.

  225. avatar
    Γεώργιος

    Ageing means raise of life span and its a benefit. The photo is cute and optimistic

    • avatar
      Любомир

      You are mistaking average population age for average life expectancy. They are two different things.

    • avatar
      Γεώργιος

      Νo mister.They are the same.

  226. avatar
    Γεώργιος

    Νot proved by any reliable research.

  227. avatar
    Крис

    By investing more in the Europeans quality of life.

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