About
Europe is ageing – rapidly. The implications for its economies, workforces and welfare systems are profound, yet the urgency of these challenges continues to be underestimated. Drawing on the themes explored in the upcoming book “Timebomb: When Ageing Explodes”, written by Friends of Europe’s Founder Giles Merritt, and using the book’s analysis as a starting point for a broader, action-oriented conversation about the policy choices and societal changes ahead, we will open up a critical conversation on how to design forward-thinking policies that respond to ageing populations, shifting labour dynamics and rising social costs.
Moderated by Stanley Pignal, Brussels bureau chief and Charlemagne columnist for The Economist, the discussion will feature author Giles Merritt, as a speaker. Policymakers and stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors will engage in a discussion mapping out collaborative, cross-sectoral strategies to overcome the challenges associated with shrinking workforces and rapid increases in pension and healthcare costs. From innovative pension systems and intergenerational solidarity to the role of technology and labour market reform, we will explore how to turn Europe’s demographic timebomb into an opportunity for renewal.
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Related content:
- Frankly Speaking
- Press | The Brussels Times | UN report urges rethink of how countries address demographic challenges
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Schedule
Questions include:
- What are the most urgent risks posed by Europe’s ageing population, and how can they be mitigated?
- What political and economic reforms are needed to strengthen the European social contract in light of demographic shifts?
- How can public and private sector actors work together to future-proof Europe’s welfare, labour and healthcare systems?
- In what ways can technology and innovation help manage the pressures of ageing while maintaining social cohesion?
Speakers
Giles Merritt
Show more information on Giles Merritt
Founder of Friends of Europe
Giles Merritt is the Founder of Friends of Europe, and was its Secretary General between 1999 and 2015, and its Chairman between 2016 and 2020.
A former Financial Times Brussels Correspondent, Giles Merritt is a journalist, author and broadcaster who has for over four decades specialised in European public policy questions. In 2010 he was named by the Financial Times as one of its 30 most influential “Eurostars”, together with the European Commission’s President and NATO’s Secretary General.
Giles Merritt joined the Financial Times in 1968, and from 1972 until 1983 he was successively FT correspondent in Paris, Dublin/Belfast, and Brussels. From 1984 to 2010 he was a columnist for the International Herald Tribune (IHT), where his Op-Ed page articles ranged widely across EU political and economic issues.
In 1982 he published “World Out of Work”, an award-winning study of unemployment in industrialised countries. In 1991, his second book “The Challenge of Freedom” about the difficulties facing post-communist Eastern Europe was published in four languages. His book “Slippery Slope: Europe’s Troubled Future” (Oxford University Press 2016), was shortlisted for the European Book Prize.
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