Population Matters? European Integration Process during a Demographic Change

Abstract

The global financial crisis of 2008 and the accompanying economic crisis led to a greater interest of the European Union and its Member States in the condition of the European economy and public finances. Issues such as the demographic situation in the EU were of secondary nature and were invoked primarily as a context for socio-economic and financial problems. However, in recent years, due to systematic publications, both by international organizations (e.g. United Nations, Eurostat) and national institutions of long-term population projections and its revisions for countries, regions, continents and the world, the awareness of the importance of demographic issues has been increasing.

The aim of the paper is to analyse and evaluate the projected demographic changes in the EU and their potential influence on the future of European integration. The underlying theoretical assumption of the paper is that demographic changes will affect EU Member States to various extents and will put pressure on the future of the integration process. This article presents the results of the preliminary analysis of the demographic situation of the EU-28 in view of the Eurostat’s population projections until 2060, and formulates the most important conclusions for the functioning of the EU and its future.