Timebomb: confronting the challenges of an ageing continent

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Democracy

10Jun2025

starts 13:00

ends 14:30

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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.

Related content:

Book | Timebomb: When Ageing Explodes
Frankly Speaking | To combat ageing, Europe must revolutionise its democracies
Press | The Brussels Times | UN report urges rethink of how countries address demographic challenges

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Schedule

13.30 14.30

Timebomb: confronting the challenges of an ageing continent

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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?

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Speakers

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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Stanley Pignal writes the Charlemagne column on European affairs, and serves as the Economist’s Brussels bureau chief. His previous postings include covering economics and business out of Paris and Mumbai. Prior to that, he was the banking editor, overseeing coverage of financial institutions from London. Pignal joined the Economist in October 2012 from the Financial Times, having previously worked as an investment analyst in the energy sector.

Birgit Van Hout is the Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representation Office to the European Union. In the field of demography, UNFPA provides guidance on megatrends affecting population dynamics and promotes rights-based solutions to new and emerging demographic changes. With over 20 years of experience in human rights, gender equality and the rule of law, Van Hout has held roles with the UN, the EU and the OSCE. Prior to joining UNFPA, she was the Regional Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Brussels, where she initiated the first strategic human rights dialogue between the UN and the EU.