BY YAMAN TORUNER
MILLIYET- Europe gests older every day. The average annual number of births in 1950-1955 was 12 million, but by 2000-2005 this had fallen to 1.35 million. One-third of Europe's population will be over 60 by 2050. But the under-16 population will stay at 13%. The over-80 age group is growing at a staggering rate of 180 percent. This is leading to mounting healthcare expenditures and the need for young manpower and a young population who can take care of the elderly. Some 4.6%-6.2% of European countries' gross national product (GNP) is spent on health care, and this is expected to climb to 5.6%-8.2%. In 2005 Europe's total population was 28.4 million, and this is expected to reach 653 million by 2050.
The situation in Turkey is just the opposite. Our 2005 population was nearly 73 million, but this number could reach 82.6 million by 2050. The average lifespan in Turkey is 69.1 years for men and 74.3 for women. A Turkish person lives nine years less than a Swede, whose average lifespans are the highest. People older than 65 in Turkey can hope to live about 13 more years, whereas in Europe they can look forward to more than 18 on average. What's more, this figure is climbing to 19.9 years for women. According to EU research, the greatest disadvantage of Turkey's rapid population growth will be continued gaps in our social safety net. The biggest obstacle to our EU membership is our high, and climbing, population. But our young population is whetting their appetite.
The decision-making process within the EU and the impact of population on this process should be weighed carefully, because we must show them that our young population will be an asset for them and that our rising population won't overburden them. EU decisions come into effect after four stages: the European Council, Commission, Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The European Parliament is elected by the EU public, and so the population has an important role to play. The EP has 732 members, and 268 of them are Christian Democrats, the largest group. Women MEPs constitute nearly one-third of the total. If Turkey joins the EU, its MEPs would be the largest single country group, and thus expectations that the number of Muslim MEPs would increase and the number of women would shrink are giving Europe pause. In addition to the EP, establishing a senate and giving it veto power might make many things easier. Conditions for being elected to this senate could depend on various criteria. Even the Security Council within the UN fulfills this task in a sense. While harmonizing with the EU, we should look at issues from their point of view as well.