16/03/2011 Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
Brussels, 16.03.2011 – There are proportionately fewer Europeans in the world, and the trend is set to continue, members of PACE’s Migration Committee were told yesterday at a hearing in Brussels on demographic trends in Europe.
UNECE expert Vitalija Gaucaite Wittich explained that Europeans made up 22 per cent of the world’s population in 1950. By 2010, that had dropped to 11 per cent, and will drop to 8 per cent by 2050 if the trend continues.
However she added: “It is not necessarily true that declining population leads to declining power or influence. Demography is not destiny. Age-distribution matters more, and non-demographic factors even more.”
Ahmet Icdygu of Koç University in Turkey said a “long-term vision” was needed to deal with this situation, with a range of realistic policies designed to encourage migrant workers, extend working life, manage immigration appropriately and boost fertility.
Nursuna Memecan (Turkey, ALDE), who is currently preparing a report on the topic, said the hearing showed how difficult it was to make predictions or come up with solutions concerning demographics, but added: “if we want to leave our grandchildren a world to live in, we need to be aware of what is coming”. Mrs Memecan’s report is due to be debated by the Assembly in June.