"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 University Institute (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

★ Giles Merritt, one of the Financial Times’ 30 Most Influential “European Stars,” a specialist in political and economic affairs, think tank founder, and award-winning author, presents his brand-new 2025 work!

★ Highly recommended by numerous leading global figures and experts in politics and economics:
◎ Sir Michael Leigh, Academic Director of the Master’s Programme in European Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University and former Director-General of the European Commission,
◎ Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy,
◎ Bill Emmott, former Editor-in-Chief of The Economist,
◎ Enrique Baron Crespo, former President of the European Parliament and Chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee,
◎ Layla Moran MP, Member of the UK Parliament and Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee,
◎ László Andor, Secretary-General of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS),
◎ Sergio Arzeni, former Director at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), among others.

★ Ranked No. 3 on Amazon UK’s New Releases in Gerontology list.
★ Featured as a pre-launch recommendation by The Bookseller, a leading news magazine in the British publishing industry.
★ A sharp and insightful work! It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to secure a place in the future, as it clarifies the choices we must make to prevent our relatively prosperous and civilized present from being driven toward decline simply because it has grown “old.”

Aging populations are a ticking time bomb.
We celebrate longer lifespans, yet few consider the consequences. This book serves as a critical warning: unless we can defuse this explosive force, our societies will be torn apart within two decades.
The harsh reality is that our political and economic systems, designed for shorter lifespans, are at risk of disintegration under the strain of an aging population. The share of people aged 60 and over is rising from one quarter to one third of the total population, and the resulting pressures will upend our political institutions while plunging younger generations into poverty.
Millennials and Gen Z are already bearing the brunt of ever-increasing pension and healthcare costs imposed by older generations, even as they themselves are poorer and have fewer rights.
Merritt, a seasoned analyst of economic and political affairs, examines demographic projections that have long been ignored by politicians across the political spectrum, sharply exposing the urgent policy gaps that must be addressed.

Giles Merritt
Expert on political and economic affairs, journalist, think tank founder, and award-winning author.
Giles Merritt joined the Financial Times in 1968. From 1972 to 1983, he served as the FT’s correspondent in Paris, Dublin/Belfast, and Brussels. From 1984 to 2010, he was a columnist for the International Herald Tribune (IHT). His columns primarily focused on the EU’s political and economic issues. Whether as a journalist or a think tank expert, his commentary on European politics and economics has been incisive and often critical, earning him widespread acclaim from readers who frequently refer to him as “the authority on Brussels.”
In 1999, he founded the Friends of Europe think tank and currently serves as its founder and chairman, as well as editor-in-chief of its policy journal, The World of Europe. In 2010, the Financial Times named him one of the “30 Eurostars” who most influence debates on Europe’s future course, alongside figures such as the President of the European Commission.
Merritt writes a “Frankly Speaking” column for Friends of Europe every two weeks. He is also a Senior Associate Fellow at the Egmont Institute in Belgium, also known as the Royal Institute for International Relations. Affiliated with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egmont is an independent, non-profit think tank based in Brussels dedicated to interdisciplinary research on international relations.
This book is his fifth. His previous works include:
“The World of Unemployment” (HarperCollins, 1982), an award-winning study of unemployment in industrialized countries;
“The Challenge of Freedom” (1991), published in four languages;
“Slippery Slope: Europe’s Troubled Future” (Oxford University Press, 2016), which was shortlisted for the European Book Prize; and
“The Power of the People” (Bloomsbury, 2021), which examines European attitudes and policies toward migration.

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