Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-21-Speech-4-162"
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"en.20080221.15.4-162"2
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"The EU must respond to serious demographic changes if it wants to preserve its demographic and territorial balance. On the one hand it is necessary to deal with population ageing. The situation is alarming. Each year after the year 2010 the number of people at work will decrease by 1 million and that will threaten intergenerational solidarity.
On the other hand there are the problems caused by the decreasing birth rate; these problems have already existed for several years. Postponing childbirth until later in life may be the reason for an increase in infertility of couples. Protection of mother and family must be the focus of all EU policies. Pension systems must not punish women for being mothers.
In recent years the differences between the Member States have been reducing but at the same time the differences inside the individual Member States have become much deeper. Disadvantaged regions in particular are less developed and on top of that they are also the ones most affected by demographic changes, namely by population ageing and migration. Since there are not enough well-paid jobs, qualified workers leave for the big cities. Heavy concentration of economic activities in capital cities erodes the demographic, economic, social and environmental balance and leads to a population decrease in rural areas that often lack the basic infrastructure needed for development.
I voted in favour of the report by Mrs Castex on the demographic future; this is one of the important reports. We have to realise that demographic development is a fundamental component of all policies, whether they are medium- or long-term."@en1
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