Source: European Parliament
Since demography is a cross-cutting issue and with no direct legal basis for EU-level policy interventions, the Demography Toolbox focuses on integrating demographic considerations into various funding schemes and initiatives across policy domains.
The Commission supports Member States in funding demographic studies and support programs through instruments such as the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The ESF+ is investing in people and helping to address the demographic challenges.
The total budget is of EUR 142 billion for 2021-2027. It supports e.g. employment measures, access to services, e.g. long-term care and childcare, and education and skills.
The ERDF has been supporting EU regions to address their challenges to growth and prosperity, including demography, for decades.[1]
The Technical Support Instrument assists national authorities with their strategies addressing demographic change.[2]
Under the Talent Booster Mechanism[3], the ‘Smart adaptation of regions to demographic transition’ is aimed at all EU regions in demographic decline. It offers technical assistance to Castilla y León and Extremadura to adapt to demographic transition and invest in talent development.[4]
Through the European Statistical System, the Commission supports Member States to enhance their population and housing statistics and to implement the future legal framework for European statistics on population and housing.
To enhance the analysis and research on demographic change the Commission has developed the Atlas of Demography[5]. The launch of the regional section of the Atlas in the second half of 2025 will include analyses and projections of demographic decline for EU regions and municipalities.
- [1] In 2021-2027, EUR 7.2 billion from the ERDF are invested into improving healthcare and long-term care, EUR 5.6 billion in education and training, and EUR 40.5 billion are supporting connectivity. EUR 41 billion are supporting territorial strategies fostering urban and rural linkages, new economic opportunities and access to services.
- [2] Responding to a specific request from Spain, the Commission launched the ‘REFORM: 25ES20 — Integrated approaches to address the Demographic Challenge in Spain’, see https://reform-support.ec.europa.eu/our-projects/flagship-technical-support-projects/tsi-2025-flagship-tackling-demographic-change-through-supporting-skills-labour-market-and-social_en
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/communities-and-networks/harnessing-talent-platform_en
- [4] The initiative more widely supports access to knowledge and funding opportunities to regions and cities from the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) and European Urban Initiative (EUI), which are already materialising with many projects on the ground all across Europe.
- [5] https://migration-demography-tools.jrc.ec.europa.eu/atlas-demography