You don't just outsource on such short distances. Would you call it "outsourcing" when a company in Detroit buys something from a company in Chicago? It's about the same distance from Vienna (former west Europe) to Ukraine (outside EU). It may not always be high tech, what comes from the east, but that's reflected in the price.
France is 15% of EU's economy, and an even smaller part of Europe, and they do have a problem, but it doesn't mean everything to EU as a whole. I know they have problems, but I frankly don't know much about French politics. Seen from a north European point of view, Russia, Poland, UK, Germany and USA are much more important than France, except when buying cheese and wine in the supermarket.
With regard to Germany, I think you need to look at two factors that are not shown easily as numbers: Rules and culture. It's a huge and complex topic, but it's necessary in order to discuss the future of Germany's economy, because it decides what kind of burden the aging population will be.
Anyway, in many east European countries, the aging population is actually in very good health. Otherwise they would simply die - unlike the west Europeans, that have access to modern drugs, treatments and help. If a Ukrainian Babushka cannot walk well, she's got a huge problem, since the toilet is probably outside in the yard, she earns her money on the market or needs to grow her own vegetables. |
