A seminar on “Demographic challenge, immigration and sustainability of rural areas in Europe” was held in Torremolinos, Spain from 30-31 January 2026, organised by CEAT (Centro Español para Asuntos de los Trabajadores - Spanish Centre for Workers' Questions) in cooperation with IPCM (International Platform for Collaboration and Migration), supported by EZA and funded by the European Union. 45 representatives from European workers' organisations participated in the seminar.
The President of CEAT, David Cervera, was accompanied by Piergiorgio Sciacqua, Co-President of EZA and Gema Pérez, Member of Parliament in the Congress of Deputies at the opening address. Both highlighted the importance of orderly, controlled migration linked to employment, focusing on individuals with profiles that could obtain a job to ensure they develop as a citizen. Gema Pérez stated that rural Europe should not be a one-off destination but a future way of life. Piergiorgio Sciacqua also highlighted the statements of Pope Leo XIV, who is particularly sensitive to the human drama of migration and called for a dignified welcome for migrants. Gema Pérez emphasised that depopulation, ageing and the loss of opportunities threaten the viability of rural areas in Europe, and stressed that migration should be viewed as part of the solution, not as a problem. She reminded the seminar that rural Europe should be a destination for life, not a temporary stage, and that the response cannot be limited to the arrival of people: it is essential to integrate this process into a broader rural development strategy, along with investments and services. She concluded by pointing out that the future of rural Europe is not improvised, it is constructed.
Professor Agustín Blanco, Director of the José María Martín Patino Chair of the Culture of Encounter, introduced several speakers, who presented demographic data on the rural population in recent decades to analyse the problems and propose solutions. Alongside his contributions, Rafael Rodriguez Ponga, President of the International Platform for Cooperation and Migration, continued to highlight the need for cooperation and the design of development aid to encourage settlement in rural areas.
Domingo Castillo, General Secretary of USO (Workers’ Union) Andalusia, focused on the labour shortage in specific sectors and the need for regulated education for migrants in vocational training to achieve dignified and sustainable integration into the world of work throughout Europe. Similarly, Raquel Rodriguez, a vocational training and guidance teacher in the Madrid region, presented the map of vocational training in Spain. She focused on the most depopulated regions and highlighted the need to reorganise education to adapt more effectively to the professional opportunities in the areas where the centres are located. She also proposed to expand distance learning vocational training to the greatest possible extent in many of these regions.
Mario Gonzalez presented a project he is developing as a good practice that could be rolled out to other areas of Europe. He is the Vice-President of the organisation Pueblos con Futuro (towns with a future), an association that has already provided employment and housing in rural environments to over 60 families in various provinces of Spain. Carmen Quintanilla, President of AFAMMER (National Confederation of Federations and Associations of Families and Women in Rural Areas), also participated, and appealed to the other attendees to stop talking about depopulated Spain and start talking about “donor” Spain; as a donor of food, of biodiversity, and a donor of environmental balance. She highlighted the role of rural women, as women create families and generate stability.
The international panel included participants from Poland, Italy, Slovakia, Portugal and Germany, and identified several common challenges and opportunities regarding migration, the labour market and demographic sustainability in Europe. Poland is facing a serious demographic challenge due to low birth rates and an ageing population. Migration, notably from Ukraine, is essential to fill shortages in the labour market, sustain public services, and contribute to economic stability. Moreover, an increase in foreign students enriches both the academic environment and local life. The main challenges for immigration are the effective integration and adaptation of infrastructure and services. The participant from Italy stated the importance of immigration to counteract ageing and the anticipated loss of up to 10 million workers by 2050. The representative from Slovakia stressed the need to boost the capacity to care for migrants, both in terms of infrastructure and essential services. The country also faces a paradox: Slovakia imports qualified professionals, such as doctors and engineers, but many young Slovaks have travelled abroad to work. Participants from Portugal stated that, in general, return initiatives that offer attractive jobs and facilitate administrative procedures were a priority. The importance of improving the quality of the education system to retain talent and support new technology industries that require specialised skills and qualifications, e.g. the automotive sector, was also emphasised, and was a particular concern of the German participant.
Finally, Mercedes Fernandez, PhD in Economics and Director of the University Institute of Migration Studies, focused on the figures in various studies to conclude that migration is a key tool for rural regeneration. The arrival of migrant families helps to maintain agricultural businesses, revitalise services, increase domestic demand, and restore the economic and social viability of areas at risk of depopulation. He showcased some initiatives that have been developed in Aragón, León and Palencia.
The closing remarks were delivered by Javier Morillas, Professor of Applied Economics at San Pablo CEU University, who summarised the key contributions of all the participants. He concluded that immigration should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but as a phenomenon that, when managed in an orderly manner, may be a solution for societies with low birth rates and labour shortages. He also stressed the need for migration flows to occur in a legal and orderly way, and for continued support and reinforcement of birth rates and support for families in European countries.