Fertility and demographic policies in the Southern countries of European Union

Concern for very low fertility and its consequences is spreading in the Southern European Union countries. Population ageing is already a fact and these countries are rapidly ageing and expected to become the oldest populations in the EU-15 by 2050, with an increasing proportion of the very old (over 80), more subject to loss or reduction of their personal autonomy. Actions to face population changes should be embedded in social policies in a threefold strategy: implementing adaptive measures to population ageing, acting on the work family relationship to favour fertility and dealing with specific situations of very low fertility. All changes described by the second transition theory are at work in the Southern EU countries but the presence of some specific obstacles, among which the extreme situation of youths and working mothers, prevent the developments that have already occurred in other countries. In addition, public resources for supporting the family are much lower than in other parts of the EU-15.