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Pasi Konismäki is a welder with the Helsinki Public Works Department.

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Aged 54 and with 38 years of experience, he's considered to be a very important member of the team.

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In many European countries, people in their 50s, like Pasi, don't have a very good image.

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Too expensive, not flexible enough, they're pushed towards early retirement.

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In Finland, it's the opposite.

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Older people are valued because Finnish baby boomers are approaching retirement,

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but the reinforcements aren't there yet.

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As a result, Finland is adapting and developing programs to keep older people at work.

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It's motivating for me to come to work every morning and still feel useful.

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You know, in the 1970s, when you were 50, they tried to push you out of the door.

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The brains behind all the schemes for older workers in the country is this man, Juhani Ilmarinen.

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For a decade, he's been developing programs to extend the working life of older employees.

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We have to get money for growing older.

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Life expectancies have been increasing all the time in Europe,

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so we have to be able to finance the longer life.

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And the only way to get the money is to work.

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This problem concerns all countries in the European Union,

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because to replace a generation, the birth rate must be 2.1.

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With a birth rate of 1.5 children in 2003,

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it'll be difficult for Europe to remain competitive and finance pensions.

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According to the experts, 1.7 would be a realistic ratio within the European Union.

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Today, four working people pay for the retirement of one pensioner,

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but if the retirement age stays the same, this ratio will be halved by 2050.

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That's why the European Commission is sounding the alarm

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and wants to encourage policies allowing people to have the number of children they desire.

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We need a global concept, a global response.

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Most importantly, a policy which makes life easier for families with children.

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A better balance has to be found between family life and professional life.

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This involves flexibility at work, more childcare,

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but also new concepts of life in an urban environment.

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A city can either be family-friendly or not.

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An example is Estonia, whose population fell by 13% between 1990 and 2003.

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The reason, emigration, but also a steep decline in the birth rate.

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In the 90s, Estonia was facing the threat of a demographic crash,

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but today the policies put in place by the Tallinn government,

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encouraging people to have more children, seem to be bearing fruit.

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The main method we've used is parental benefit,

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which means that one of the parents receives full compensation

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for the missing salary after a child is born.

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This compensation is envisaged for one and a half years,

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and we're thinking about prolonging the period.

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Secondly, we're developing methods to better balance family and working life.

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Let's hope these initiatives will be enough to reverse the trend,

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because in the EU, forecasts are not encouraging.

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From 2010 on, there'll be more Europeans in their 60s than in their 20s.

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So, in the 21st century, Europe faces a demographic challenge.

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In the meantime, older people have to stay healthy.

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Two or three times a week, it's off to the fitness centre for Percy,

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and it's his company that pays the membership.