Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Economic and budgetary impact of ageing populations
Date: 2007-03-14
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, economic consequence, female work, immigration, impact study, labour market, occupational health, pension scheme, population ageing, vocational training

13.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/1

III

(Preparatory Acts)

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

434th PLENARY SESSION HELD ON 14 AND 15 MARCH 2007

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Economic and budgetary impact
of ageing populations

(2007/C 161/01)

On 16 May 2006 the European Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the Economic and
budgetary impact of ageing populations.

The Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion, which was responsible
for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 23 February 2007. The rappor-
teur was Ms Florio.

At its 434th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 14 March), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 109 votes to none with two abstentions.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

The removal of older workers from their jobs must be
1.3
discouraged — indeed, greater attention should be given to
employing older workers in the productive cycle.

1.1
The present exploratory EESC opinion comes in response
to a letter from the Vice-President of the European Commission,
Ms Margot Wallström, but it also takes account of opinions
presented over the last
few years embodying the thoughts,
analyses and proposals which the Committee has drawn up on
these questions.

Labour market

1.4
Jobs should match each individual's training and voca-
tional experience, with no age discrimination. The EESC there-
fore calls upon all the Member States to transpose and apply the
directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation
(2000/78/EC).

1.2
The EESC believes that the Lisbon objectives regarding
demographic policies should be pursued. On account of the
rapid demographic changes on the labour market, measures are
urgently needed to tackle the ensuing issues:

Better organisation of work requires an assessment of the
1.5
type of work carried out (hazardous, strenuous or repetitive
work).

— increasing the employment rate among the segment of
workers aged over 50 in both employment and self-employ-
ment, if possible;

Lifelong learning

— promoting instruments that encourage older unemployed
workers to retrain and re-enter employment, so that they
can be sure of a decent pension;

— preventing the over-50s who wish to continuing working

from being pushed out of the labour market.

1.6
Lifelong learning programmes are the key to making
more effective use of over-50 workers both within and outside
companies. Instances of best practice should therefore be disse-
minated and monitored, as envisaged in the annual monitoring
reports presented by the European social partners.

C 161/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.7.2007

1.7
A policy supporting high-quality employment would
guide and train generations of citizens throughout their working
lives. This entails a proactive role for the social partners and all
the relevant economic and social players at local, national and
European levels.

employment policies can serve as motors for growth and devel-
opment.
Immigrants' skills, vocational experience and educa-
tional qualifications should be harnessed.

Towards a pact between the generations

Research and innovation are a key investment for both
1.8
future generations and today's Europeans. Consequently, young
people must be encouraged to take up science courses at univer-
sity, and conditions conducive to employment in the technolo-
gical and research fields must be created.

The European Union must catch up with other countries, such
as China and India, which have made huge strides forward in
these sectors in recent years.

Sustainability of EU welfare systems

1.14
The sustainability of the welfare system needs to be
guaranteed with a series of measures which do not penalise its
final objective, as defined in the EU treaties (Article 2). It is
therefore necessary,
to ensure its sustainability and,
secondly, to pursue the objectives of universality and fairness
which underpin the European social model.

firstly,

Social services of general interest should be guaranteed
1.15
and upheld on account of
their function, as should social
economy actors. Voluntary associations in which the elderly are
active perform an important social
function and should be
supported and put to effective use.

1.9
Investing in disadvantaged areas helps young people not
to move away, and to become an instrument for developing and
regenerating local areas.

Sustainability of pension systems

1.10
2007 — the Year of Equal Opportunities — should
concentrate on determining how to strike a proper work-life
balance, so that decisions on parenthood are not determined by
unstable or difficult circumstances, or by families having to face
alone the costs — which are not purely economic — of
bringing up children.

1.16
The aim of the European Union and the Member States
ought to be to ensure an anxiety-free and decent old age, and
consequently proper pension systems, for future generations.
Supplementary pensions,
if required, must be reliable, secure
and shielded from unforeseeable fluctuations on the financial
markets.

Women and the labour market in the EU

1.11
The EESC believes that the use of important directives,
for example on parental leave, should be encouraged, and child-
care and care services for the elderly should be guaranteed; the
pay gap between men and women should be rapidly closed, and
unstable and short-term employment should be combated, as
these are the causes of poverty among many women in Europe.
Incentives should also be devised that encourage men to assume
a greater share of family responsibilities. For women, having
children and working should not be seen as opposites, and
every measure should therefore be taken to ensure that mothers
can successfully combine childcare with their working lives.

1.12
that women enjoy access to managerial posts.

In business too, measures must be adopted ensuring

The role and weight of
changes

immigration in the light of demographic

1.13
Immigration is one of the necessary responses to the
challenge of an ageing population. Holistic integration and

1.17
Combating insecure employment means assuring young
workers of a decent pension, and necessarily entails reducing
late entry into employment.

1.18
The sustainability of pension schemes must be analysed
bearing in mind a series of complex factors which cannot be
reduced to population ageing alone.

1.19
In some EU countries, strict measures against evasion
of tax and social security contributions must be one of the key
objectives in ensuring the sustainability of pension schemes.

The health implications of population ageing

1.20
In the health field, an ageing population will principally
mean investment in prevention the quality of care, and research,
especially into the diseases most frequently affecting the elderly:
efforts and study will need to focus on this aspect.

In the light of population ageing, occupational health
1.21
and safety issues will also assume different dimensions and will
undergo changes which should be analysed and assessed care-
fully.

13.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/3

1.22
The EESC is of the view that the EU Member States
should, in consultation with the social partners, implement joint
programmes to prevent accidents and occupational illness, parti-
cularly when age-related. Monitoring and information exchange
are important tools.

2.6
Ageing populations have important social and economic
consequences for the Member States, making modernisation of
budget and welfare policies a necessity.

Older workers must be allowed to choose freely
1.23
whether to continue working, in the light of the type of work
and with an assessment of how much risk, repetitiveness and
strenuous labour is involved.

The entire economy of a country is affected by ageing:
2.7
the labour market, productivity, technological
innovation and
economic growth, since the population's needs and potential
inevitably change.

1.24
The EESC undertakes to continue analysing, assessing
and making proposals with regard to demographic changes,
aware of the complexity of this issue which will, in the coming
years, demand the participation of all
institutional, economic
and social actors if the challenge is to be met. In accordance
with its Rules of Procedure, the Committee undertakes to follow
up on the questions addressed in the present opinion.

3. Ageing and the labour market

2. Introduction

2.1 Ms Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European
Commission, has asked the European Economic and Social
Committee to draw up an exploratory opinion on the report
that the Commission, together with the EU Economic Policy
recently published on the economic and
Committee, has
budgetary impact of ageing populations for all EU Member
States.

Given the broad scope of this issue and the policies
2.2
in her request Ms Wallström asked the EESC to
involved,
concentrate on areas directly or
indirectly connected with
employment and a number of related aspects, such as health,
pension systems and lifelong learning.

2.3
The Dublin Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and Working Conditions has carried out many studies addres-
sing the population ageing issue and analysing the impact on
European citizens and workers.

2.4
A range of factors contribute to an ageing population:
falling birth rates and increasing life expectancy, together with
the progressive withdrawal from economic activity of the post-
war generation and, in the future, of the baby-boom generation
of the 1960s (1). This latter factor is having, and will continue
to have, a direct impact on the population of working age.

According to Eurostat projections,

2.5
the population of
over-65s in EU25 is set to rise from 75 million in 2005 to
about 135 million in 2050. Their percentage of the overall
EU25 population is expected to reach 30 %, with peaks in
Spain (36 %), Italy (35 %), the lowest rates being in Luxembourg
(22 %) and the Netherlands (23 %).

(1) The EESC has previously emphasised the need for research aimed at
analysing ageing in the EU; concerning the 7th Framework Programme
on Research, see the EESC opinion on Research needs in the area of demo-
graphic change, OJ C 74 of 23.3.2005, p. 44.

3.1
The Lisbon strategy addresses the employment rate of
older workers, with an initial goal — still unattained — of a
minimum of 50 %.

Ageing is reflected firstly in an increase in average age,
3.2
and secondly in a reduction in the overall number of citizens of
working age, as the older generations are not replaced by suffi-
cient numbers of young people. Young people are, moreover,
entering the labour market at an ever later stage (2).

The labour market is particularly susceptible to the influ-
3.3
ence of population ageing. The implications are such that
measures are urgently needed to deal with issues including:

— increasing the employment rate among the segment of
workers aged over 50 in paid employment and not blocking
their entry into self-employment;

— promoting instruments that encourage older unemployed
workers to re-enter employment (including retraining), so
that they can be sure of a decent pension;

— preventing the over-50s who wish to continuing working

from being pushed out of the labour market;

— facilitating young people's entry into the labour market,
with regular employment contracts contributing to conti-
nuity and to a better working life.

(2) See the European Commission's recent Communication on The demo-
graphic future of Europe — from challenge to opportunity, COM(2006) 571.

C 161/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.7.2007

3.4
The effects of population ageing affect not only workers,
but also entrepreneurs. As one generation replaces another,
means must be provided to facilitate the hand-over of busi-
nesses, especially in the SME field. A progressive rise in the
average age of entrepreneurs has also been noted, with direct
and indirect implications for innovation, the capital market and,
more broadly, on the entire industrial fabric of Europe. An older
population of entrepreneurs means that many have already
retired or are on the point of doing so, without fresh genera-
tions of younger entrepreneurs to replace them. A shrinking
number of entrepreneurs means a shrinking number of busi-
nesses and, consequently, a smaller number of jobs.

best practice between the 27 EU Member States and a perma-
nent dialogue with the social partners, as called for by
numerous European institutions (5).

4.2
Guidelines on lifelong learning have been laid down year
after year since the Luxembourg summit (1997), in the form of
the European Employment Strategy (EES). On each occasion,
emphasis has been laid on the importance of the employability
of older workers — and, consequently, of their further voca-
tional training — in tackling the problems raised by an ageing
population.

3.5
The removal of older workers, not only from industry
but also from the tertiary sector, is ever more worrying. The
difficulty of fitting into a new work environment, the handicap
of having vocational experience from perhaps one or only a
small number of jobs, and the discrimination from which older
workers unquestionably suffer when seeking new employment,
are factors which affect all European workers.

Greater attention should be given to employing older
3.6
workers in the productive cycle: in some sectors, their experi-
ence generates qualitatively higher productivity. In the business
sector too, purely age-related assessments should be abandoned
in favour of an appreciation of actual skills. The European direc-
tives banning any form of discrimination (2000/43/EC and
2000/78/EC) should be brought to in this area and monitored.

4.3
The expression lifelong learning is used for all significant
learning activity aimed at enhancing capacities, knowledge and
skills. Such activities should therefore be seen as being relevant
to the entire working life, since the loss of occupational skills
and updating has the most serious effects precisely on older
workers.

The EESC, for its part, has highlighted the intergenera-
technological knowledge and
imbalances in terms of

4.4
tional
acquisition of various skills (6).

4.5
In-house training is an effective instrument in boosting
worker adaptability. Some Member States (United Kingdom,
to varying
Spain, Portugal, Netherlands and Austria) have,
degrees, encouraged in-house training and refresher courses by
means of tax incentives and exemptions.

3.7
All workers should have jobs which match their training
and skills as closely as possible: this would pave the way for
higher productivity which would, at least in part, offset the
negative effects of an ageing population (3).

Active policies to support

3.8
the employment of older
workers must, in any case, take account of the type of work
carried out: hazardous, strenuous or repetitive areas of work
require targeted analysis and must involve a greater degree of
personal choice on the part of workers (4).

4. Lifelong learning

4.1
One of the specific objectives set in order to increase the
employment rate of older workers is to implement efficient and
effective lifelong learning programmes, through exchanges of

(3) In this regard, see the recent EESC opinion on Quality of working life,
productivity and employment in the context of globalisation and demographic
challenges, OJ C 318 of 23.12.2006, p. 157.

(4) See EESC opinion CESE 92/2007 on Promoting decent work for all.

As part of

the Lisbon strategy,

importance has been
4.6
attached to efficient training methods and systems which effec-
tively meet labour market requirements as a key component in
a knowledge-based economy, which was one of the objectives of
the summit in Portugal.

Removing obstacles to the employment of older workers

4.7
means anticipating the effects of demographic change.

5. Towards a pact between the generations

5.1
In 2004, the EESC strongly advocated supporting a pact
between the generations in order to provide European citizens
with sufficient renewal of the generations on the labour market,
a welfare state adjusted to reflect the new demographic condi-
tions in Europe, and European legislation promoting employ-
ment policies, vocational retraining and closer links between the
education system and business (7).

(5) See the Framework of actions for the lifelong learning development of compe-

tencies and qualifications, signed by the ETUC, UNICE and CEEP.

(6) See, for example, the recent EESC opinions on Key competences for lifelong
learning, OJ C 195 of 18.8.2006, p. 109, and on Relations between the
generations, OJ C 157 of 28.6.2005, p. 150.

(7) See the EESC opinion on Relations between the generations, OJ C 157 of

28.6.2005, p. 150.

13.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/5

5.2
Policies in support of ‘good’ employment must in any
case also be geared to helping young people to enter the job
market, by accompanying them throughout
their working
lives (8), without creating a ‘digital gap’ between young workers
and their older colleagues who intend to remain at work.

5.3
In its opinion, the EESC identified the challenge of ‘facili-
tating the development in the future of more consultation on a
major issue, where coordinated, ongoing action from a wide
range of players and the continuity of a constructive plan are
necessary and short-term interests must not be allowed to
prevail. A new pact between the generations needs to take shape
step by step across the EU’.

5.4
Research and innovation are fields in which investment is
inevitably required if future generations of Europeans are to be
assured future well-being and a satisfactory, sustainable quality
of
life. It is therefore also important to take account of the
average age of European researchers and scientists, and of the
need to bring young people into these key sectors.

5.5
The lack of adequate investment in research throughout
Europe — which is still lagging far behind the Lisbon strategy
targets — prevents young researchers, who are often compelled
to work on an extremely insecure basis, from building a future
and a career in the field of scientific and technological research.
The higher average age of scientists in Europe compared to
other world powers points to future danger. In India and China,
for example, the number of graduates in scientific subjects is
increasing, to such an extent that 60 % of researchers and scien-
tists in the USA come from these two countries. In many Euro-
pean countries, in contrast, university science departments have
witnessed a definite fall
in the number of new students over
recent years.

Population ageing also has a direct impact on regional
5.6
cohesion: young people tend to leave certain areas to seek work
in others which can offer better living and working conditions.
This widens the gap between regions with a more developed
economy and those where impoverishment and ageing are accel-
erating.

5.7
The work-life balance is a pillar of the European social
model. The rising average age of the European population poses
the problem of how to boost the birth rate. This is to be under-
stood purely in terms of offering all couples the opportunity to
have children, without necessarily having to give up work or
drastically cut the family's standard of living — which can, all
too often, fall to levels close to the poverty line. Young people
today are typically affected by unstable employment conditions
incapable of providing them with any security for their futures:

(8) See, for example, the Communication from the European Commission
COM(2003) 728 final on Improving quality in work: a review of recent
progress.

consequently, they are tending to have fewer children or none at
all.

5.8
In order to achieve the aim of a progressive rise in the
birth rate, all social, health and education services (pre-school,
medical assistance, preventive health care, financial support, etc.)
should be reinforced,
into line with
current demographic conditions in the EU countries.

improved and brought

6. Female employment and the birth rate

6.1
In 2005, the female employment rate in the EU25 stood
at 56.3 %. The problem is less acute in the northern European
countries, but more pressing in the Mediterranean countries.
But even women who do work find it difficult to shape a career
enabling them to build up significant welfare contributions.
Women at work are effectively confronted with a series of diffi-
culties:

— women are currently the worst affected by insecure and
short-term employment, economic instability and, more
broadly, often by poverty;

— the pay gap remains a very damaging factor in almost all EU

countries (an average of 24 % less for the same work);

— the inadequacy of child-care services and care arrangements
for the elderly continues to oblige primarily women to sacri-
fice their careers so they can devote more time to caring for
family members;

— major directives,

leave, are not
for example on parental
treated seriously enough and women must still choose
between having children and having a career;

— female employment and childbirth should not be seen as
from the best
incompatible: examples should be sought
practices of
those countries whose tax systems enable
women to get back into the labour market more easily after
the birth of their children, without being penalised in career
or pay terms. It should also be emphasised that incentives
for men to share in the responsibilities of having children
remain insufficient.

The Commission rightly considers that the decline in the
6.2
size of the working-age population may be partly offset by a
series of measures including,
in the short term, rising female
participation in the labour market. The cultural changes which,
over recent decades, have made it possible for women to work
and become independent, are reflected in inter-generational
differences in female employment
In Europe, young
women have a greater presence in working life than do middle-
aged women.

rates.

C 161/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.7.2007

6.3
Increasing female participation in the labour market is
unquestionably a positive sign of social progress, although
according to statistical analyses, including recent ones, it is not
yet sufficient. Moreover, it is essential that this growth lead to
the real application of equal working conditions and pay with
men, as well as protection of women against abuse and discri-
mination at work and in society. Employment differences
between men and women also exist among entrepreneurs: there
is a glaring discrepancy between the numbers of businessmen
and businesswomen. The Member States and the European
Union must therefore strengthen what tools they already have
and adopt new ones in order to facilitate and safeguard female
employment.

8. Sustainability of EU welfare systems

The European Commission states,

8.1
in a range of docu-
ments, that public debt must be substantially, progressively and
continuously brought under control or reduced if sustainability
of public finances in the Member States is to be achieved. Effi-
cient allocation of resources — without repercussions for the
quality or universality of public services — is necessary for this
purpose.

7. The role and weight of
demographic changes

immigration in the light of

8.2
Demographic changes — which are raising concern
about the sustainability of the welfare state — are the main
reason why the various social protection funding systems in the
EU Member States must, each in its own, specific way, operate
efficiently, fairly and transparently to serve their citizens.

Immigration into the EU is growing constantly. The vast
7.1
difference between economies and standards of
living inside
Europe and the developing countries outside Europe is driving
migration towards our, richer countries. Immigration must not
be seen as a threat but rather as a phenomenon which,
if
comprehensive policies are implemented, can represent a poten-
tial factor for growth, development and integration.

8.3
The EESC emphasises that social services of general
interest, and the social economy actors, have an important func-
tion in supplementing support for families and the elderly. The
importance of their work needs to be recognised, and such
bodies should be supported on the basis of agreed requirements,
since they perform a socially useful role.

Given the general ageing of

7.2
the population and a
declining working population, migrant workers perform tasks in
the EU which effectively match the production, economic and
social needs of the host countries. Employment and integration
policies must be geared to allocating human resources, including
immigrants, as effectively as possible by making best possible
use of their skills, vocational experience and qualifications (9).

7.3
The Commission itself argues that immigration could be
a positive factor in labour market adjustment. Moreover, as long
as immigrant workers are employed within the official economy,
their tax and social security payments contribute to welfare
systems, and they therefore constitute a major new element in
the European labour market of
the next few years. Neither
should the vital economic support provided by their remittances
to their families be overlooked: these often constitute their sole
source of economic support. For these reasons, better integra-
tion of immigrants is an essential objective for EU Member
States (10).

7.4
The need to be brought into the official economy does
not concern immigrant workers alone: population ageing raises
issues such as combating unregistered and insecure work on the
agenda as a matter of urgency, if national economies are to be
put on a sounder and more sustainable footing.

(9) See the EESC opinion on Immigration,

integration and employment,

OJ C 80 of 30.3.2004, p. 92.

(10) See, in this regard, the recent EESC opinion on Immigration in the EU
and integration policies: cooperation between regional and local governments
and civil society organisations, OJ C 318 of 23.12.2006, p. 128.

respect:

the Lisbon strategy (integration of

The European Union can perform an important function
8.4
social,
in this
introduced an unprece-
economic and employment policies)
dented,
innovative approach, and one of its instruments, the
open method of coordination, can be seen as one of the most
interesting innovations in Community policy in recent years.
This instrument has unfortunately been underused and often
underestimated, at the same time as the Community legislative
instrument has been abandoned. The European social model is a
goal which unfortunately remains far from being fulfilled — but
is certainly not an obstacle to be sacrificed for the sake of the
internal market.

8.5
In some European countries, especially those facing
macro phenomena such as the rising average age of the popula-
tion, funding for welfare and pension systems is jeopardised by
evasion of tax and social security contributions. Any project to
overhaul welfare and health systems and employment possibili-
ties must include measures to combat tax evasion and avoidance
which represent
to sustainable national
budgets.

the primary threat

8.6
The EESC therefore wishes to draw attention to the
importance, in seeking solutions and changes in line with demo-
graphic developments, of combating evasion of tax and social
security contributions, as well as
the falling number of
taxpayers.

13.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/7

9. Pension systems

concerning the labour market, economic growth and social
protection systems in the various EU countries.

9.1
Numerous European Commission documents on the
sustainability of pension systems focus on the shrinking popula-
tion of working age and the increase in the number of retired
workers, both of which are effects of rising life expectancy.

9.2
Over the coming decades, pension systems will need to
be capable of guaranteeing future generations a secure and
decent old age. This is why,
in the first place, the impact of
ageing on pension systems cannot be countered only by
encouraging the use of supplementary or private pensions: to
do so would be a dangerous simplification. Rather, efforts
should be devoted to devising effective instruments making such
supplementary pension schemes more straightforward, secure
and reliable, and to ensuring that they are shielded from unfore-
seeable fluctuations on the financial markets. Supervision of
private pension funds also needs to be stepped up, in order to
extend control arrangements and guarantee proper manage-
ment.

In many EU countries,

9.3
the current crisis in pension
systems is not caused by population ageing alone, but also by
the fact that contributions are steadily contracting, with no
corresponding increase
(e.g.
in resources
through tackling evasion of tax and social security contribu-
tions), while the demand for pensions on the part of citizens
continues to rise.

from elsewhere

9.4 Matters are made still worse by the fact
that young
people are entering employment ever later, and frequently on
insecure and low-paid terms, meaning that
they pay lower
pension contributions compared to their parents at the same
age.

Population ageing may require individuals to stay for
9.5
longer on the labour market. In some EU Member States in par-
ticular, however,
to speed up entry into
employment and, more broadly, to provide better job opportu-
nities and working conditions early in working life.

is more urgent

it

9.8
The objectives that should be set in order to address the
question of pension system sustainability go beyond simply
if applied without
raising the pension age, a measure which,
regard to specific criteria, could prove useless — indeed harmful
— for the quality of life of European citizens.

In view of

9.9
the differences between types of work,
including strenuous, repetitive or physically demanding work,
the solution to the problem of an ageing population cannot be
simply a higher retirement age across the board: working longer
will not have the same effect in all occupations, and the differ-
ence between the legal pension age and the real age of retire-
ment must be taken into consideration.

9.10
Steps to combat job insecurity and undeclared work
and to support wage policies, fairer distribution of wealth and
more effective social cohesion must be accompanied by an irre-
versible, gradual and voluntary rise in the retirement age, to be
achieved and upheld through permanent dialogue with the
social partners and civil society.

10. Health

10.1
The fact that an increase in the average age of the popu-
lation leads to an increase in health spending is readily under-
stood. However, forecasting future trends in health expenditure,
and predicting which specific areas will require the heaviest
investment, over the coming decades, is an extremely complex
exercise. It is not possible to predict how much public money
will have to invested in health on the basis of demographic
trends alone; health spending also depends on the types of poli-
cies it is decided to implement in this field, on advances in
medical science, the evolution of diseases and levels of pollution,
and on the political and technological choices made in order to
contain them.

9.6
The European Commission forecasts an increase in
spending on pensions from now until 2050 throughout the EU,
with the exception of Austria on account of its pension reforms
in 2000. Although only slight
increases in expenditure are
expected in Italy and Sweden, as their public pension schemes
are contributory, very substantial increases are projected in the
other countries, rising to 9.7 % in Portugal.

9.7
Consequently, the issue of pension system sustainability
cannot be analysed and resolved in isolation. There must be a
clear picture of its causes, which are not generated only across
European society as a whole, as in the case of widespread popu-
lation ageing, but also arise from all the differing circumstances

10.2
However, as previously explained, all studies reveal that
a situation is rapidly approaching in which people will work
longer. Older workers are inevitably at greater risk of illness and
physical decline simply because they are older than their collea-
gues. As the population of older workers is unquestionably set
to continue rising, a health system urgently needs to be devised
that can implement effective preventive policies in all the EU
Member States. Furthermore, workers who have been in long-
term precarious employment will find themselves in need when
they reach pension age: they will have to be provided for using
other forms of collective solidarity, according to the arrange-
ments in each Member State, including for health and welfare.
The increase in precarious employment will thus have a direct
impact on welfare costs.

C 161/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

13.7.2007

10.3
If the aim is to keep public spending down to sustain-
able levels, the EU Member States must pool their efforts to
implement care, accident prevention, monitoring and informa-
tion exchange programmes, in order to forge closer and more
effective links between working life and health.

10.4
Not all jobs are the same. Workforce ageing is also tied
in with the fact that some jobs are more strenuous, risky or
repetitive than others: the effects of age vary according to occu-
pation. An older worker cannot perform physically demanding

manual functions, but can more easily carry out office-based or
mental tasks.

10.5
A longer working life consequently entails greater
health problems for workers in strenuous occupations. This
future plans revolve
factor must be taken into account.
around a later retirement age in those sectors where it
is
possible, then major efforts will have to be made in the field of
health care and health and safety at work.

If

Brussels, 14 March 2007.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Communication from the
Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social
Committee concerning the need to develop a coordinated strategy to improve the fight against
fiscal fraud

COM(2006) 254 final — 2006/0076 (COD)

(2007/C 161/02)

On 31 May 2006 the Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned communication.

The Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion, which was responsible
for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 23 February 2007. The rappor-
teur was Mr Iozia.

At its 434th plenary session held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 15 March), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 97 votes to two with one abstention.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

1.3
The Communication's practical response to the issue of
relations with third countries is to propose a Community
approach. The EESC agrees with the proposal.

1.1
The European Economic and Social Committee regrets
that the Commission's initiatives intended to combat fiscal fraud
have not yet been adequately backed up by cooperation from
the Member States. It supports future initiatives in this regard
the powers
and urges the Commission to make use of all
presently invested in the European institutions by the treaties.

1.4
The EESC supports the proposal to reconsider VAT —
something it has itself advocated on previous occasions —
believing that a think-tank should be formed to envisage repla-
cing VAT, with the proviso that any new tax should not lead to
increased payments by businesses or citizens.

The EESC considers the Commission's communication to
1.2
the problems
taking a balanced view of
be well-structured,
involved in tackling fiscal
fraud and singling out stronger
administrative cooperation between the Member States as the
main means of countering the spread of fraud.

1.5
The EESC recommends that the Commission make full
use of OLAF's current powers, under which the European anti-
fraud body holds important functions. The Commission must
assess whether OLAF has adequate means to perform its official
tasks.