EUROPE – European member states’ measures to tackle population ageing are “not equal to the task,” says European Commission president José Manuel Barroso.

“The measures taken or planned by most Member States to cope with Europe’s demographic challenge are not equal to the task, given that our ageing population seriously affects our growth potential,” Barroso told the European Parliament in Brussels today.

He put forward the idea that people over 45 should have upgraded training.

He said: “For the over-45s, a strategy of “active ageing” should be set in train, involving upgraded training, vocational retraining and financial incentives to extend people’s working lives.”

Last month the Commission said that 15 EU member states have yet to fully notify the Commission about the transposition of the directive on occupational pension funds into national legislation – almost four months after the deadline.

And in December it said that the right policy response to increasing life expectancy may be flexible retirement ages.

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