The impact of European Union social policy on shaping the demographic situation in Poland

Invention Journal of Research Technology in Engineering & Management (IJRTEM) ISSN: 2455-3689 www.Ijrtem. com Volume 3 Issue 5 ǁ July –August 2019 ǁ PP 18-23

The impact of European Union social policy on shaping the demographic situation in Poland Dorota Gaudyn 1

(Management Department, Cracow University of Economics, Poland)

ABSTRACT : The publication aims to present social programs implemented on the territory of the European Union, activities aimed at solving socio-demographic problems and to determine the impact of these activities on the situation in the European Union member states on the example of Poland. The analysis covered social and demographic phenomena occurring in the contemporary European economy, as well as the challenges faced by the European Union community. The links between social policy implemented by the governments of European countries and the demographic situation in Europe were pointed out. The main problems and possible directions of actions to improve the economic situation were finally pointed out.

KEYWORDS: Demography, European integration, European Union, Population structure, Social policy.

I. INTRODUCTION The relationship between social policy and the demographic situation is very close. This is due to the fact that the population and the intensity of demographic processes have a significant impact on social needs. Social policy fulfills the demand for issues raised by society and together with sociology, as a related science, it focuses on explaining the behavior of the population and specifies social needs. The whole creates a set of dependencies defined as the impact of social policy on the determinants of socio-demographic processes. The increase in the intensity of changes in demographic processes becomes a challenge for social policy and regional and state authorities. The decline in the number of births, the aging of the population and the migratory movements of the population are very noticeable in large cities. The following urbanization processes are also becoming increasingly intense, especially in the regions of Central and Eastern Europe, also in Poland. Observing these phenomena one can put forward a thesis concerning the aging of the European society, especially noticeable in cities. Structural changes pose new tasks to European policy. They include changes in the economy, labor markets, housing infrastructure, education, culture and health care.

II. CONCEPTS RELATED TO DEMOGRAPHY AND THE SOCIAL SITUATION ON THE EUROPEAN MARKET Census and current registration of migratory movements of the population are the basis for determining the number of population, its characteristics in the region, country and world. This type of information is collected for statistical and practical purposes. The data received is necessary to analyze and adjust social policy to the demographic structure of a given country. The main demographic determinant which is considered from the point of view of social policy is the age structure of the population. For other purposes and tasks to be implemented, social policy is directed towards people of pre-productive, production or post-productive age [1].

Demography is therefore a social science, which consists in observing, analyzing and forecasting the processes of studying the population, demographic events and links between them and the living conditions of the population. On the other hand, social policy is the activity of the state, self-governments or trade unions aiming at improving the living and working conditions of society, as well as socio-cultural relations that lead to satisfying society's needs [2]. These bodies are set up to implement the main objectives of social policy. These goals include: • •

shaping appropriate living and working conditions of the society (this means that society needs to be provided with basic needs through access to paid work, and people who are already professionally inactive pension benefits or other social benefits), shaping pro-development social structures (means striving to create family and social structures that give the opportunity for generational replacement, proper structure of population education, professional structures that are necessary for the implementation of current and strategic tasks of social development in conditions of competition on international markets).

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The impact of European Union social policy…

Proper working conditions support the creation of human capital and are an indispensable factor for social development. These goals are difficult to implement because they combine individual needs and social strivings that present the need to have effective human capital to successively use other types of capital for the economic development of the state [3]. Tools and measures affecting the behavior of people used by the state or local governments are monetary policy instruments. Their division refers to the resources available to various social policy entities. Among them we can distinguish: •

• • •

economic instruments (these are the principles of income taxation, remuneration for work, pricing policies, access to paid work, consumer protection on the market, entitlements to social benefits, money, services, regulations governing granting loans, and in the field of property these will be instruments such as: citizens' access to their own assets or protection of individual, group and social property), legal instruments (rights and civil liberties, constitutions), information instruments (being under the protection of ministries or instruments broadcast by means of mass media), human resources instruments (ie, human resources, their attitudes and motives have a significant impact on the creation of social policy).

The goal of social policy should be to eliminate social inequalities. It should be implemented through sustainable development and striving for effective and efficient society [4].

III. DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES TO SOCIAL POLICY IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION An important issue is to distinguish the scope of social policy at various levels. At the level of the European Union, social policy covers issues of employment, employees' rights as well as safety and working conditions, while at the level of Member States it is understood as social security and education. These areas in highly developed countries are the largest fields of state activity. Social security according to the definitions used in the European Union, means the actions of state and private entities, aimed at reducing the burden resulting from the needs and risks. Nowadays, social policy is not only helping the poorest, but also securing all citizens in case of illness, old age or disability. European countries are much more protective of citizens than other developed countries. It is about the strength of integration of the EU countries. According to Eurostat data, funds allocated for social security in the European Union are growing every year. These data are summarized in the table below.

TABLE 1: SPENDING ON SOCIAL SECURITY IN% OF GDP IN 2008-2011 State Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Greece Spain Netherlands Ireland Lithuania Luxembourg Latvia Malta Germany Poland Portugal Romania

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2008 28,5 28,3 15,5 19,5 18,0 30,7 14,9 26,2 31,3 26,2 22,2 28,5 21,5 16,1 21,4 12,7 18,1 28,0 18,6 24,3 14,3

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2011 29,5 30,4 17,7 22,6 20,4 34,2 16,1 30,0 33,6 30,2 26,1 32,3 29,6 17,0 22,5 15,1 18,9 29,4 19,2 26,5 16,3

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The impact of European Union social policy‌ Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Hungary United Kingdom Italy European average

16,1 21,4 29,5 22,9 25,8 27,7 26,7

18,2 25,0 29,6 23,0 27,3 29,7 29,0

The increase in the ratio of social security expenditure to GDP is due to the decline in GDP and the increase in social security expenditure. This increase results from the unchanged level of benefits paid to citizens and the increase in social needs. This situation causes an increase in the state's debt, but at the same time provides a sense of stability for society. The real level of social policy depends on the gross domestic product to be divided.

It results from the deployment of resources between the unemployed, working and already inactive. There are strong links between the economy and social policy. This dependence is connected not only with the division of GDP, but also with its quality and amount. People who use social security decide about quality. This investment nature of social policy is increasingly appreciated by the Member States of the European Union. The European Union influences the social policy of countries belonging to the community by forming programs and social priorities. The Community enforces the necessity of limiting the public finance deficit, however, their essential part is spending on social purposes. Limiting the deficit, therefore, is associated with changes in social policy.

This may be manifested by lowering pensions, for example. The European Union has a significant influence on shaping the social policy of the Member States thanks to its competences in the field of economy. Another issue is conflicts between national social security systems and EU law. These problems arise most often at the time of partial privatization or the commercialization of the social security system. An example of such a conflict is the ruling of the European Union regarding Polish pension funds (OFE). Poland was of the opinion that the European Union has no competence to regulate this type of funds, but the case-law of the community was different. It accused Poland of violating the free movement of capital. In this example, it can be seen that the process of European integration in economic and social terms creates great problems due to the difficulties in separating these two areas. Limitations on existing solutions in the field of social security, increasing social spending result from too social European policy [5].

There have been unfavorable demographic changes for many years, not only in Europe but also in developing countries. The fertility rate drops from year to year. It illustrates the number of children who were born into the world by women in their childbearing period, i.e. from 14 to 49 years of age. The balance between the number of births and deaths has been disturbed. The continual decline of the European population is becoming another challenge for maintaining the demographic balance as well as shaping economic and social policy [6]. An increase in the average life expectancy and decline in the population will affect the proportions between the active population and the rest of society. Violation of this proportion will negatively affect the process of economic development as well as the ability of the state to solve social problems. The demographic situation of the European Union countries is presented in the table below.

Table 2: The demographic situation of the European Union in 2014

State

Population

Average age

Number of births

Number of deaths

Migration rate

Factor of fertility

Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia

8199783 10392226 7322858 788457

41,3 41,1 40,9 35,1

8,69 10,29 9,62 12,56

9,84 10,32 14,28 7,72

1,91 1,22 -3,71 0,42

1,37 1,64 1,39 1,80

Number of years until the expiration of the nation 925 1575 950 2100

10228744

39,5

8,96

10,64

0,97

1,22

750

5468120 1315912

40,1 39,4

10,91 10,17

10,30 13,30

2,5 -3,22

1,74 1,41

1975 875

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The impact of European Union social policy…

Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

5238460 63713926 82400996 10706290 9956108 4109086 58147733 2259810 3575439 480222 401880 16570613 38518241 10642836 22276056 5447502 2009245 40448191 9031088

41,6 39,0 43,0 41,2 38,9 34,3 42,5 39,6 38,6 38,9 39,0 39,7 37,3 38,8 36,9 36,1 41,0 40,3 41,1

10,42 12,91 8,2 9,62 9,66 14,40 8,54 9,43 8,87 11,84 10,28 10,7 9,94 10,59 10,67 10,65 9,0 9,98 10,2

9,93 8,55 10,81 10,33 13,05 7,79 10,50 13,64 11,05 8,42 8,19 8,69 9,94 10,56 11,81 9,48 10,41 9,81 10,27

0,78 1,52 2,18 2,34 0,96 4,82 2,06 -2,27 -0,72 8,64 2,04 2,63 -0,46 3,31 -0,13 0,3 0,76 0,99 1,66

1,73 1,98 1,40 1,35 1,33 1,86 1,29 1,28 1,21 1,78 1,51 1,66 1,26 1,48 1,38 1,33 1,26 1,29 1,66

1900 1100 900 875 2950 900 725 675 1875 950 1700 850 1125 1000 850 700 875 1625

60776238

39,6

10,67

10,09

2,17

1,66

1825

According to the UN forecast, Europe's population will decrease by around 10% in the next 30 years, while the world's population will increase by 40%. In this context, the ruling European Union states introduce familyfriendly social policy. Some countries are targeted at attracting immigrants so that they can provide an adequate supply of labor force. Another challenge is the extension of the average life expectancy of the residents, resulting in an increase in spending on nursing services and the development of the health services sector. This will increase fiscal burdens, which translates into a decline in the competitiveness of the European economy. It is also costly to take measures to restore the imbalance in the social structure of the population. A noticeable tendency in the European Union countries is a significant increase in the professional activity of women, which often translates into a decrease in women's interest in family life and having children. The requirements of the modern labor market are also not favorable to women, as employees are expected to be involved in professional duties, improve their skills, which is not conducive to combining work and family life [7].

IV. POLAND’S DEMOGRAPHICS SITUATION AND PROSPECTS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT In Poland, the population decline has been maintained since 2012, although in the years 2008-2011 its increase by an average of 300,000 people per year was noticeable. In 2012-2016, the population decreased by over 100,000, with the largest decline noticeable in 2015. These declines are caused by the unfavorable tendency of foreign migration and a decrease in the birth rate. For years, Poland has been an émigré country, although immigration and immigration trends are beginning to appear. The reason for this phenomenon is the diversity of Poland and the countries of Western Europe. The rate of population loss is at the level of 0.01%, which means that for every 10,000 people there were 10 people left. The chart below presents the development of the level of population growth and losses over the years.

Chart 1: The rate of increase/decrease in the population of Poland in the years 1990-2014 (in %)

Source: Eurostat

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Although Poland is in line with unfavorable changes in the demographic development prevailing in Europe, it still remains a country with high demographic potential. Currently, Poland is ranked 6th among the European Union countries in terms of population. Inhabitants of Poland constitute 7.5% of the Union's population.

However, there are also other unfavorable trends. Namely, it is about the aging process of society. There is an increase in the share of the post-working age population from 14.8% in 2000 to 20.8% in 2017. It means that there are more and more inactive people, the aging process of the society is increasing. Poland is on the 10th place in terms of the advancement of population demographic old age in 36 countries studied in Europe. The proliferation of life expectancy and the achievement of old age by generations born at the end of the 1930s contribute to these processes. In 2017, the number of people aged 80 and more was 1.6 million, it doubled in comparison with the results from 2002, when people from this age group were 860,000 [8]. The activities of the Polish government should be focused on effective demographic policy. This is due to unfavorable changes taking place in the demographic situation, namely the very low level of fertility, the downward trend in the number of births. The focus should be on the young part of the society that begins working and family life. The actions of the government should make it easier for the society to connect these areas of life and provide institutional support, namely nurseries, kindergartens, and leave arrangements for both mothers and fathers. The basis is to examine the conditions that will contribute to favorable changes. This analysis should include assessment of the labor market, flexible employment conditions, or government programs supporting families.

Lack of appropriate actions may lead to a collapse of the situation in Polish demography [9].

The European Union is becoming an important ally in activities aimed at improving the standard of living of the population and equalizing standards between the sexes. This is particularly important in the areas of postcommunist countries, where the situation seems to be much more difficult than in the other countries of the European community. Despite this, it is noted that the actions taken by the European Union are too slow and often marginalized. On the basis of the Barcelona targets set by the European Union, at least 33% of children under three years of age should have state-supported nursery care, while among children aged 3-5, 90%. With the current rate of increase in the accessibility of care services in Poland, it will take 30 years to reach the level of these indicators. EU documents regarding family policy relate to social investment strategies. They are to indicate a positive financial result for the state budget. The Europe 2020 programs and the Strategy for Equality between Women and Men 2010-2015 were introduced, which included provisions on women's career support instruments, family policy, gender equality, emphasis on employment issues. As a member of the European Union, Poland has adopted these solutions aimed at supporting the country's demographic policy. When analyzing family policy reforms carried out in the countries of the European Union, attention should be paid to expenditure from the state budget, which these reforms attract. The positive impact of social investment may be small due to the economic crisis and the need to reduce social spending of the state. On the other hand, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe use the resources of structural programs. These are programs for the development of human capital, support for women in the labor market, or funds provided for the development of care services [10]

V. CONCLUSION Europe's demographic situation is very uncertain and unstable. It is characterized by the lowest dynamics of population growth in the world, population decline, the fastest level of aging population, high mortality rate.

These processes will strongly affect in the near future the economic and social problems of European Union countries. On the other hand, the burdens of economic life will be imposed on employers and employees. The society of the European Union was faced with the challenges of improving the socio-demographic situation.

Actions taken by governments are aimed at preventing or at least weakening the consequences of an aging population and a decline in the population of Europe. Some of them have attempted to rebuild social structures through immigration policy in order to mitigate problems on the labor market. Also Poland, for which demographic forecasts are not optimistic, faces these problems. The state government counts on improving the situation through the reforms undertaken in the area of family policy, increasing access to medical care, conducting migration policy and building an innovative economy that allows it to gain the status of competitiveness in Europe.

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J. Orczyk, Polityka społeczna. Uwarunkowania i cele Poznań: Akademia Ekonomiczna (2005).

J. Wrona Geografia ludności świata i Polski Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie (2009).

B. Rysz Kowalczyk Leksykon polityki społecznej Warszawa: ASPRA-JR (2012).

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[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

G. Firlit-Fersnak, M. Szyłko-Skoczny Polityka społeczna Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne (2017).

E. Małuszyńska, G. Mazur Unia Europejska 2014+ Warszawa: Difin S.A. (2015).

W.S. Brinbridge Demografic collapse Futures (2009).

The Economist Women in the workforce: female Power (2010). http://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/podstawowe-informacje-orozwojudemograficznym-polski-do-2014roku,12,5.html K.R. McNamara Economic Governance, Ideas and EMU: What Currency Does Policy Consensus Have Today? Journal of Common Market Studies, 44 (4), 2006, 22-26.

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