Refugee Crisis 2015: Could Syrians Help Europe's Aging Population Problem?

International Business Times ^ | 09/10/2015 | By Lydia Tomkiw

[SeekAndFind]

European countries have some of the world's most rapidly aging populations, meaning they need more young people to replace retiring workers. As record numbers of refugees continue to try to enter the European Union from conflict-ridden and repressive states, including Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea, officials said some EU states could benefit from the influx of young refugees and families amid a looming demographic crisis. Here’s a look at the current population issues facing Europe.

Which EU Countries Have The Lowest Fertility?

The overall fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her childbearing years, has fallen across Europe since the mid-1960s, according to Eurostat. Europeans have been having fewer children and waiting until later in life to have them. This means that in order to keep the population across the continent constant, a fertility rate of 2.1, called the replacement level, is needed. As of 2013, the EU had a rate of 1.55.

The countries with the lowest fertility rates were Portugal at 1.21, Spain at 1.27 and Poland at 1.29. The countries with the highest rates were Sweden at 1.89, Ireland at 1.96 and France at 1.99.

While overall the 506 million population of the EU has shown growth, with an increase of 1.3 million people from 2014, the populations of 12 states have declined and the union faces an increasing population of people over 65 in every member state, according to Eurostat. The number of working-age people in the EU has been shrinking compared with those retiring.

Why Is Declining Population A Problem?

Europe’s aging population needs a younger population to look after its elderly, work in healthcare and move to more rural areas that are being emptied out by population decline and economic flight. Europe’s countries are “no longer self-sustaining,” according to the Guardian, citing government spending on pensions among other indicators.

The reverberations of the 2008 economic crisis are still being felt across Europe with high rates of internal European migration as people leave countries, including Portugal and Spain, to find work elsewhere. Portugal’s population has been shrinking for the last five years, with the National Statistics Institute estimating that by 2060, it could fall to 6.3 million from 10.5 million. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has said, “We’ve got really serious problems.”

Governments have been making an effort to address their declining populations. In the Galicia region of northwestern Spain, hundreds of abandoned villages were listed for sale and some were even being offered for free in hopes of attracting residents.

“If you close the door [to immigration], you will pay an economic price,” said Jean-Christophe Dumont, an expert on migration at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in an interview with Reuters. “For now, we can make better use of migrants who are already here, matching their skills better to labor market needs. In the longer term, it will not only be about matching skills, it will also be about numbers.”

Japan's shrinking and aging population could provide a disturbing glimpse into Europe's future. Japan's population problems have been well-documented, with 2014 showing the largest population decline on record, according to the Washington Post. With fewer Japanese people of working age, officials have expressed concerned about the future of Japan's economy.

Which EU Members Would Benefit Most From Immigration?

EU officials were debating this week a proposal by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that called for resettling 160,000 refugees across states, taking into account the economic conditions of each country. States opposing quotas have questioned how much countries would have to spend on resettlement, integration and possible social support if refugees have difficulty finding employment. Far-right parties across the EU, including France’s rising National Front, have argued that refugees would steal jobs and are being used for cheap labor.

Some countries with the lowest fertility rates have been reticent to accept refugee quotas, with the Polish government saying it would not accept a quota system. Spain, however, changed its position after the announcement of Juncker’s plan. If Spain follows the proposed quota system, it would take in the third-largest number of refugees in Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a migrant before visiting the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for migrants in Berlin on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. Merkel visited several facilities for migrants, including an application center for asylum-seekers, a school with welcome classes for children and a shelter.  Sean Gallup/Getty Images

German officials have said they expect approximately 800,000 refugees this year – the most within the EU. The EU’s most populous country and biggest economy faces a looming population decline. Germany has estimated that by 2050 there will be two working people for every retiree – a gap that could be filled by immigration. Chancellor Angela Merkel sees the influx of refugees as a positive sign. “If we do it well, this will bring more opportunities than risks," she said.

Countries with relatively high (but still below replacement) fertility, including Sweden, Ireland and France, have all agreed to take in refugees. Sweden has received the most refugees compared with its population than any other state in the EU. Ireland said it would take in up to 4,000 refugees by opting into the quota system and France has agreed to take in 24,000.

[MNDude]

Oh sure! They’ll be so tender to Europe’s senior citizens.

[Resolute Conservative]

She taking lessons from McLame? Pose with the enemy.

[marron]

If you are importing muslims because your own population is in decline, you are just accelerating your own demise.

What does it mean if, within the borders of the former country known as Germany, there are no Germans?

These people are replacing themselves. Once you’ve lost faith in God, you lose faith in your own right to exist.

[MeshugeMikey]

they will benefit the themselves....each other...and the CALIPHATE....

[moehoward]

You bet! By killing them off so they aren’t a burden.

[henkster]

So Merkel is “solving” Europe’s population problem by replacing Europeans with moslems. I like the photo of her standing with what will be the typical “Germans” of 2070, when all the white ones are dead.

[tennmountainman]

Sure they will help decrease the aging population by cutting their heads off
and killing them with IED’s.

[Buckeye McFrog]

These immigrants have little education, minimal skills, and hold a number of socially destructive attitudes. I don’t see the upside.

[marron]

Any country admitting immigrants should seek to admit only those who want to come in because they admire your culture and want to be one of you. That, and they have something positive to contribute.

And they should admit them in numbers that can be successfully integrated into the whole.

Otherwise, why ever would you admit them?

[poobear]

They made it so expensive to have a family in the 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s for middle class to have children now they need to import immigrants? The plan to wipe out “white” tax paying middle class worked well. Bastards!

[Oldexpat]

What makes them think that Muslim men will actually work? They don’t come from a culture that expects that, especially if there is a welfare system that pays you to have more kids and wives.

[Lera]

“Refugee Crisis 2015: Could Syrians Help Europe’s Aging Population Problem?”

Only if this is what you mean by help

Elderly Jewish Couple Brutally Attacked in Holland
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/200344#.VfHPh5cbZ-8

The Blugs say two men, who looked to be of Moroccan descent, knocked on the door to their apartment, claiming to be the police and demanding entrance.

As soon as Samuel opened the door, the nightmare began. Two men dressed in black barged into the apartment and started severely beating the couple.

The assailants threw the couple on the floor, kicked them repeatedly and shouted: “Dirty Jews - from now on your property is ours.”

After tying up the badly injured couple, the thieves ripped Diana’s jewelry off her body. At gunpoint, they forced the couple to tell them where the rest of the valuables in the apartment were located.

Samuel was blinded in the assault and suffered a broken femur. Both he and Diana, who were living independently before the attack, are now confined to wheelchairs at a rehabilitation center in Amsterdam.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Any country admitting immigrants should seek to admit only those who want to come in because they admire your culture and want to be one of you. That, and they have something positive to contribute.

And they should admit them in numbers that can be successfully integrated into the whole.

__________________________

Very nicely and succinctly put. I wish every single Presidential candidate out there simply articulate this as their immigration motto.

[donna]

Joel C. Rosenberg explained the thinking of rich-elites in his book "The Last Jihad", 2002, page 213. The character is Jon Bennett, Senior Advisor to the President:

He believed a "new world order" was possible. He believed in a "twenty-first century global financial architecture," about which he'd waxed so eloquent to colleagues around the world.

He truly believe that fiber optic networks and digital capital were making nation states obsolete. Why not one giant global free trade zone, rather than all these trade barriers and complications?

[KarlInOhio]

I suspect that the Miami and Shawnee tribes really appreciate that my ancestors came to help them out with their population decline. Too bad there aren’t enough around here to ask.

[GOPJ]

We could ‘solve’ our demographic problem too... by paying inner city blacks in Detroit and street people from Mexico and South American to have all the children for the country - while other people and races work jobs... I’m sure in 50 years it’d still be the same country.../s

Germany’s looking for cheap labor... they’re going to discover that ‘cheap labor’ comes with a cost...

[VerySadAmerican]

To me it’s obvious Islam will take over the world because people will allow it. Maybe Islam is THE antichrist. I pray I’ll be with Jesus when it happens.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Maybe Islam is THE antichrist.

Well, they are waiting for the Mahdi, redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine, or nineteen years (according to differing interpretations) before the Day of Judgment.

So, there is some similarity with Christ.

Of course, Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet.

[riri]

Ahhhh, who cares. They'll raise the VAT to seventy million quadrillion percent. A can of coke will cost $47.

But, hey, Horst will still get six weeks off a year, ofcourse, he will have to spend it at the mosque. Small price for pay for urlaub machen.