Council conclusions on Aging Population

14 February 2006

The Council held an exchange of views on a report by the economic policy committee and the Commission assessing the likely impact of ageing populations on public expenditure during the period from 2005 to 2050 and on the sustainability of the member states' finances. The Council endorsed the report on age-related expenditure projections prepared by the Economic Policy Committee and the Commission on the basis of commonly agreed assumptions.

The Council invites the EPC to deepen its analysis of the labour market implications of ageing populations, and on policy measures which can contribute to extending working lives and lead to a better control and management of public expenditures. The EPC shall update and further deepen its common projection exercise of age-related expenditure projections by the autumn of 2009 on the basis of a new population projection. The Commission should undertake a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of Member States’ public finances by autumn 2006. The EPC should report back to the Council on the basis of that assessment by the end of 2006.

Council conclusions

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