Timebomb: When Ageing Explodes

by Giles Merritt

Overview

Ageing is a timebomb. We celebrate our greater longevity, yet few of us consider its consequences. This book is an important warning that unless Europeans defuse its explosive force, within two decades our societies will be devastated by it.

The hard fact is that because our political economies have been built around shorter lifespans, they risk being blown apart by ageing. The pressures exerted by the over-60s, who are increasing from today's quarter of the population to a third, will upend our politics and impoverish our young.

Millennials and Gen-Zers are already saddled with their elders' runaway pension and healthcare costs, but are themselves poorer and less privileged. Merritt, a veteran analyst of the European scene, traces the demographic projections that politicians of all persuasions have long ignored, and shines a harsh light on policy shortcomings that must be urgently addressed.

For anyone wants a stake in our future, this book is essential reading which clarifies the political choices to be made if comparatively prosperous Europe isn't to die of old age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781447375951
Publisher:	Policy Press
Publication date:	05/27/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	976 KB

About the Author

Since his 1978 arrival in the 'Capital of Europe' as a correspondent of the Financial Times, Giles Merritt has specialised in Europe's policy challenges as a journalist and think-tanker. He's often hailed as a 'Brussels institution' by readers of his incisive and often critical commentaries on European politics and economics.

In 1999 he founded the 'Friends of Europe' think tank, and in 2010 the Financial Times named him among thirty 'Eurostars' who most influence debates on Europe's future course.

Giles Merritt writes his fortnightly 'Frankly Speaking' commentaries for 'Friends of Europe' and is also a Senior Associate Fellow at Belgium's Egmont Institute. This is his fifth book, with earlier ones that include World Out of Work, an award-winning study of unemployment (Collins 1982), and Slippery Slope: Europe's Troubled Future (Oxford University Press 2016), which was shortlisted for the European Book Prize .

Table of Contents

1. The Timebomb’s Ten Detonators

2. The Timebomb is Ticking Fast

3. Wealth Gaps Will Soon Be Chasms

4. Europe’s Grim Demographics

5. Gen-Z: Golden or Blighted Youth?

6. The Young Need Better Pay

7. For Homeless, Read Childless

8. Older Voters’ 'Silver Stranglehold'

9. Ageing’s Costs are Youth’s Burden

10. The Deepening Debt Quagmire

11. ‘Soaking the Rich’ isn’t That Easy

12. Ten Ways to Defuse the Timebomb

Editorial Reviews

"The demographic timebomb is one of the most pressing challenges facing Europe today. Giles Merritt provides a compelling and necessary wake-up call. As the generational imbalance deepens, public policies on pensions, healthcare and the labour market will face unprecedented strain. Merritt lays out these challenges with clarity and urges policy makers to act before it's too late." Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy and author of the EU's Letta Report on Europe's future

"Giles Merritt takes a deep dive into one of the most significant challenges Europe faces, posing hard-hitting questions for decision-makers. His thoughtful work outlines the problems and puts forward brave and far-reaching measures to address the slow-burning crisis. It would be folly not to heed his call for action." Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Chair of the UK Parliament Select Committee on Health and Social Care

Giles Merritt is right: Europeans must think hard about demographic reality and assess ageing's economic, social and political risks. Ageing may seem a slow-burning crisis, but this book tells us how massive and imminent its consequences are. Merritt underlines growing imbalances of population growth within the EU, and stresses the need for more policy coordination." László Andor, Secretary-General of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and former EU Commissioner

Demography really matters. If you want to understand why you simply have to read Giles Merritt's superb account." Sergio Arzeni, former Director at OECD and President of the International Network of SMEs

"Sheds light on the crucial yet overlooked challenge of ageing to nearly every aspect of social, economic, financial and personal life. Giles Merritt applies his analytical expertise to bring new insights in a book that is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future." Sir Michael Leigh, former Director-General in the EU Commission and Adjunct Professor at SAIS Europe

"Demographics doesn't always have to be destiny, but the ageing and eventual shrinkage of Europe's population is as threatening to our way of life as climate change. Giles Merritt boldly sets out the challenging path we must follow to avoid a disastrous fate. His book is essential reading for those who care about younger generations." Erik Jones, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre at the European UniversityInstitute (EIU)

"Giles Merritt's book is an extraordinary wake-up call to Europe's dramatic demographic problem. Merritt offers insights, a great deal of data and a slew of policy recommendations. He believes it's time to tackle ageing with measures that confront social pressures and that also encourage the integration of migrants into our societies." Ferdinando Nelli Feroce, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Italy to the EU, and former President of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome

"An impressive warning to Europeans of demographic decline's clear and present danger. Giles Merritt's urgent wake-up call sets out the range of policy responses needed to defuse this timebomb. Ageing is becoming a massively destructive force that has to be heeded by politicians." Paul Révay, former European Director of the Trilateral Commission

"There's no growth without children! But Europe's population is in long-term decline and must come up with answers to its worrying demographic situation. Giles Merritt tackles an issue too long neglected by European leaders." Jean Dominique Giulian, President of the Fondation Robert Schuman, Paris

"Giles Merritt does what he does best: shaking Europeans' complacency. He applies Gramsci's 'pessimism of the intellect' to the ten detonators of ageing's ticking timebomb, and happily he also believes in the 'optimism of the will' with advice on how to defuse the detonators." Jim Cloos, Secretary-General of the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA)

''Giles Merritt identifies the fundamental issue lying behind those being given far greater attention such as defence, climate change, competitiveness and immigration. Unless Europe follows Merritt's excellent recommendations and faces up to the ageing's impact, none of these challenges will be solvable." Bill Emmott, Author and former Editor-in-Chief of The Economist

"Greater longevity is a blessing and a threat. Giles Merritt's 'Ten Commandments' are sound and helpful proposals for adapting our societies to ageing's existential challenge." Enrique Baron Crespo, former President of the European Parliament

From the Publisher