European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica has suggested that Europe should increase migration from Africa and other areas in a bid to stem the demographic problems the continent faces due to an ageing population.
Šuica stated this week that around a fifth of the population of Europe was over the age of 65 in 2021 and that the number of people above 65 was increasing in each member-state of the European Union.
“According to predictions, in 2070 Europe will be only 4 per cent of the world population. So we have to put this into balance. And this is the reason why we are interested in global demography,” she said.
Šuica, who serves as EU Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, stated that immigration from areas like Africa, which has the youngest average population of any continent on average in the world, would be the way to solve the looming demographic crisis Europe faces, Euractiv reports.
The comments are not new for a member of the European Commission, with former Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker stating in 2017 that Europe needed to allow millions of migrants from Africa to migrate to it.
The Commission Vice-President also added that she wanted to see more done to help migrants live in rural areas of European Union member-states, stating that it was a focal point for the Commission.
The comments follow similar remarks made by French president Emmanuel Macron in September of this year, in which he proposed populating rural areas of France with migrants, as many such areas face demographic decline due to ageing populations.
“The conditions for their reception will be much better than if we put them in areas that are already densely populated, with a concentration of massive economic and social problems,” Macron argued.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick in the United Kingdom was looking to enact a similar policy, allegedly telling politicians that the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was looking to settle asylum seekers in rural areas across the country.
“We are now seeking to procure accommodation more broadly in smaller cities, towns, and indeed in some cases in rural areas,” Minister Jenrick said.
“That does mean I am afraid that as long as numbers are so high that more parts of the country experience this issue, but it does ensure greater fairness as to how, as a country, we tackle it.”