Vice-President Suica delivers a keynote speech via video message for a conference “Demographic 2024 - A national priority”, organized by Next is now and DOME Consulting firm

VP Suica delivers a keynote speech via video message

Dear Sofia, Ladies and Gentlemen,

thank you very much for organising this event and for inviting me. I am very happy to hear that this Demography Conference is becoming a regular event in your policy and decision-making cycle. Indeed, the presence of your Prime Minister, to whom I send my warm regards, is in itself a testament to the importance of this event. We all agree that we need to work together to shape our future demographic outlook as well as to coordinate and share experiences in order to take the necessary action.

Five years ago the Commission decided to step up its efforts to tackle the demographic challenge. And this is why I have been entrusted with this portfolio. During these years I have been engaged in an effort which will hopefully lead Europe to be better equipped for the demographic transformation, without which we cannot hope to successfully achieve the digital and the green transitions. It is indeed the third key transition.

In this year of elections we need to focus our political efforts to give the Commission the means to be able to continue this work and to assist and support Member States, within the framework of the respective competences, and to transform reflections into effective policy actions. We need to have dedicated resources that are empowered to collect and analyse data in order to address the diverse needs of the Member States.

I was in Athens last January to present our Demography Toolbox. In the meantime, we continued working on the follow-up, and I would like to underline two points in particular that could be relevant for your work today.

The first one regards birth rates: the Commission's Joint Research Center has published a Science-for-Policy paper looking at the current situation and the drivers. It highlights the fact that low fertility is closely related to three factors:
(1) education and employment,
(2) living arrangements and household structure,
and (3) the personal choice of whether and when to have children.

Structural factors can hinder the realisation of intentions. The cost of bringing up children, economic uncertainties, housing costs and insufficient family support all play an important role in such decisions. The causes also relate to social and cultural norms.

One of the conclusions is that, despite a large body of research that has analysed the drivers of low fertility, there is still much work to be done to understand the trajectory of a country's fertility rate once it has fallen below replacement level. Therefore political choices in this domain are endeavouring to navigate scientifically unchartered territory.

The second point I would like to underline is that an ageing population can be an asset. The largest source of brain drain in Europe is a result of people retiring sooner than they would like to. This is a cohort that has knowledge and experience that are not easy to replace. Therefore we need a wider reflection on workplaces, on mandatory retirement ages, on ensuring that, if people want, they can keep contributing to society.

I am sure that your Action Plan will be well thought out and well designed. Please do not forget to mention clearly what you expect from the European Union. I invite you to refer to the Demography Toolbox: now is the time to shape what the Commission can deliver in the next five years. All across the EU we will also be choosing our representatives for the European Parliament. Such crucial choices require informed reflections.

I wish you very good discussions and debates!