By: V4 Agency
Population decline is a massive problem that simply cannot be ignored; demographics are about the future of our countries, Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa stressed in his speech on Thursday at the 4th Demographic Summit in Budapest.
Heated debates are taking place in the EU about the future of Europe, but the most important issue is demographics, Slovenian PM Janez Jansa said in his speech at the 4th Demographic Summit in Budapest.
Demographic changes affect nearly every aspect of life, including school, tax and pension systems. If there are no consumers, there is no economy, if there are no students, there are no schools. However, population numbers have begun to dwindle in many places in Europe, he noted.
Having a child is a personal decision, and it should remain so, Janez Jansa underlined, adding, however, that there are many young people who want to have children but cannot afford it.
Therefore, the Slovenian premier believes,starting a family should be made easier for young people and families should be given priority as they are the core of society.
In Europe, the birth rate has fallen by 40-70 per cent since the 1950s, 17 out of 27 EU member states have negative birth rates, which have dropped further during the Covid crisis, Mr Jansa emphasized, adding that there is a need for brave proposals, for some kind of European programme to prioritise families.
This forum is a key part of debates on the future, he said.
Mr Jansa stressed that although economic stability and better wages are important, birth rates are not just a matter of the economy. This has been proven by the fact that today financial circumstances of people all over the world are better than they were 50-60 years ago, but often the richest countries have the lowest birth rates.
It is also dependent on leadership, “as leaders of our countries we have to find the answers to these pressing questions,” Mr Jansa concluded.
