EU Commission Launches Talent Booster Mechanism for Struggling Countries

The European Commission has launched the "Talent Booster Mechanism", which aims at helping workers who are affected by the demographic transition to be trained, retained and recruited.

“We must ensure that regions experiencing population shrinking have the means to attract and harness the fruit of their investments. By addressing these challenges, we will ensure the future prosperity of our societies and well-being in the EU,” the Commission mentioned in a statement.

According to Eurostat data, the European Office for Statistics, Eastern European countries and regions are being severely affected by a declining working-age population. The departure of people between 15 and 39 is especially noticeable in the Baltic countries and other regions in France and Spain, Greece, Poland and Romania.

This phenomenon is also affecting countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, and many regions in Greece and Poland, Hungary, Hungary, and Italy. The shrinking working-age population, and the decreasing tertiary educated residents of these areas, are just a few examples.

There are 16 European countries with 82 regions that face challenges such as population decline, increasing urban-rural divide, lack of innovation, and poor access to service.

Eurostat recently reported on the growing urban-rural divide, with data showing that rural populations are declining in Europe. The population in rural areas decreased by 0.1% between 2015 and 2020. However, it remained stable in intermediate regions. The population of the EU's urban areas has seen a significant increase with an average annual 0.4% increase.

According to three age groups, younger EU citizens (younger then 20) prefer urban areas, with the rate of such citizens increasing by 0.3% between 2015 and 2020. However, the percentage of young people living in rural and intermediate regions decreased by 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively, over the same period.

EU citizens in working age saw a 0.1% increase in urban areas and decreases of 0.5 to 0.6 percent in rural and intermediate regions. This is somewhat less affected by depopulation.

Senior citizens, on the other hand, saw the greatest increases in all three regions: 1.6% in urban and intermediate areas, and another 1.8% in rural regions.

Eurostat also revealed that the EU's population increased by at least 0.3% per year over the five-year period in all 108 rural regions. However, the number of people in rural areas fell rapidly in 155.

 

Source: schengenvisainfo.com