Press Release: 2009 Ageing Communication: a renewed strategy for tackling Europe’s demographic challenge

Europe's population is living increasingly longer and in better health, a huge achievement that we have every reason to be proud of. However, ageing populations also pose major economic, budgetary and social challenges. While the first priority is to make the current recession as short as possible, we must not lose sight of the policies and reforms needed to ensure that the elderly have decent pensions and access to health and long-term care without putting an unsustainable burden on future generations. The 2009 Ageing Communication adopted today states that governments have a window of opportunity before the baby-boom generation retires, to implement policies that address the challenge whilst being compatible with the need to support the economy at this juncture, as recommended in the December European Economic Recovery Plan. Projections agreed with the Member States put the increase in age-related expenditure at an average of 4¾ percentage points (pp) of GDP in the EU by 2060. In the same period we will move from having four people of working age for every person aged over 65 to a ratio of 2 to 1. Ageing will already start affecting most EU economies in the coming decade.