The EU-Commission's Vice-President for Demography and Democracy Dubravka Šuica invited some of Population Europe's experts to Brussels this week. The researchers presented visions for "the Future of the EU through a demographic lens". Participants included demographers Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak, Helga de Valk, Arnstein Aassve, Diego Ramiro Fariñas, Wolfgang Lutz, Jakub Bijak and Pieter Vanhuysse.
The Vice-President and the research experts share an important view: Europe may be ageing - but there is much more to do than to simply paint a negative picture. The Vice-President, after the meeting stressed in a tweet the "need to continue encouraging policymakers at all layers of governance to address demographic changes & their impact on Europe’s competitive edge".
Topics discussed among others were the predominantly rural challenges of regional development and the strengthening of intergenerational ties, along with more urban challenges of tight housing markets, high population density and greater social inequalities.
"Demography is also about competitiveness and resilience, two keywords for the next years", said Arnstein Aassve, Head of Research of the FutuRes Project after the meeting. "Today at European Commission experts met with policy makers exchanging ideas, insights, policy actions and long term strategies. Feeling optimistic!"
We wish to thank Vice-President Šuica for her invitation, and express our gratitude for years of her championship and support for demographic research.
Images courtesy of the European Commission, office of the Vice-President for Demography and Democracy