To keep its pension system alive, Europe will need 42 million new active people by 2020 and over 250 million by 2060. Leonid Bershidsky's calculations, published by Bloomberg, show that our economy Continent needs immigrants more than ever.
Furthermore, an EU report – as La Repubblica reports today – shows that in Europe there are four people of working age (15-64 years) for every pensioner. In 2050, however, there will be only two.
The situation will be even worse in Germany, with almost 24 million pensioners against just over 41 million adults. In Spain, on the other hand, there will be 15 million pensioners dependent on only 24,4 million workers. In Italy the ratio will be 20 million to 38 million.
There are only three possible ways to prevent the system from collapsing: cut pensions, raise contributions or increase the number of people who pay them. In this sense, the arrival of migrants in Europe is decisive.
Not only that: foreigners are also essential for the maintenance of public finances. In Italy, for example, in 2014 immigrants paid 6,8 billion Irpef on declared income of over 45 billion euros a year. Without them, today the Renzi government would be looking for almost 7 billion euros to amend the stability law.
According to the Leone Moressa Foundation, the cost-benefit ratio of immigration is largely positive for our country: the taxes paid by foreigners (between taxes and social security contributions) exceed the benefits they receive from national welfare by almost 4 billion euros. And the situation is not very dissimilar in all other European countries.
“The contribution of immigrants to the economy is greater than what they receive through social benefits or public spending – explains Jean-Cristophe Dumont, head of the Immigration Department of the OECD – They have neither increased the unemployment rate nor lowered the average level of wages”.
Expenditures are also reduced: on average, in OECD countries, immigrants absorb 2% of funds for social assistance, 1,3% of unemployment benefits, 0,8% of pensions. In the light of these numbers, the welcome that Europe is about to guarantee to 120 refugees – tomorrow the European Commission will present the plan for the distribution of quotas – takes on much more complex contours than those of a simple gesture of humanity.
