Europe Has Too Few Workers and Too Many Retirees. Cutting Immigration Will Make the Math Worse.
Europe faces a growing fiscal crisis due to aging populations, low birth rates, and shrinking workforces, which threaten the sustainability of generous pension systems. Restricting immigration, a potential solution to labor shortages, exacerbates the demographic imbalance and increases financial strain on public finances. Political resistance to reform and public opposition to both pension cuts and immigration have stalled meaningful policy responses across the continent.
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Europe Europe Has Too Few Workers and Too Many Retirees. Cutting Immigration Will Make the Math Worse. Europe’s resistance to immigration is a path to budgetary disaster. Reem Ibrahim | 4.30.2026 12:00 PM Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google Media Contact & Reprint Requests <img src="https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q80/uploads/2026/04/Europes-Fiscal-Doom-Loopv-1-800x450.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto" width="1200" height="675" alt="Europes-Fiscal-Doom-Loopv-1 | Midjourney/Alexander Makarov.Dreamstime" /> (Midjourney/Alexander Makarov.Dreamstime) French pensioners have it pretty good.
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