For a European birth rate strategy

In the European Union, we are one of the largest economies on the planet – alongside the United States –, we have access to half the social expenses of the planet and we are only 500 million in a planet that already has 7.5 billion inhabitants. Nevertheless, we have the lowest birth rates!
By 2050, we will have about 9.5 billion people on the planet, living mostly in cities. In Africa, the population will increase from the current 1.25 billion to 2.5 billion, with an average age of 21! In the EU, the average age will be 49 years – above the 46 years estimated by the UN for developed countries.
We live for longer, which is great, but births are on the decline. Birth rate is the biggest structural challenge facing the EU. In Portugal, the situation is one of the most serious.
In 1960, the average age in Portugal was 27.8 years. In the EU only Poland and Slovakia had a lower average. Today, according to INE (Portuguese Statistics Institute) figures updated in 2018, our average age is 44.4 years and only Germany has a higher average age.
There are several causes that contribute to declining birth rates. Labour legislation needs to not penalise and, more than that, be friendly to the women who intend to become mothers. There are economic and employment-related reasons, especially for young people, who are leaving it later and later to start a family. There are cultural reasons and loss of values. Low birth rates also result from selfishness.
Birth promotion must be a European plan. That is why, at a good time, Paulo Rangel has put forward the proposal to place this on the agenda and insist on a European strategy for the promotion of the birth rate in the next term of the European Parliament.