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Unemployment in the 27-nation EU reached 22 million or nine percent in July 2009; in the 16-nation Euro region, the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, meaning over 15 million jobless. Not all countries have been equally affected by the crisis. In Spain, unemployment was over 18 percent but in the Netherlands, it was only 3.3 percent. In Germany, Europe's largest economy, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, slightly lower than the EU average, in part because of government programs that substituted short-time work for layoffs.

Europeans continue to retire earlier than Americans. One reason is that European retirement systems offer relatively generous payments not linked to stock market performance. In 2008, a third of Americans aged 65 to 69 were in the labor force, but four percent of French workers in this age group. In the US, Social Security replaces an average 45 percent of pre-retirement income; in Europe the share can reach 90 percent, as in Denmark.

The EU had 500 million residents in 2009. The four largest EU countries are Germany (82 million), France (64 million), the UK (62 million) and Italy (60 million).

Refugees. The European Commission in September 2009 proposed a Joint EU Resettlement Program to "share the burden" of dealing with foreigners seeking asylum in member states. The Commission, noting that only 10 of the 27 EU countries have refugee resettlement policies, proposed that the European Asylum Support Office develop a refugee resettlement plan.

The Commission, which emphasized that EU member states would be free to determine the number of refugees they accept for resettlement, hopes that offering to resettle more refugees will deter foreigners from illegally entering the EU. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in September 2009 said that the EU should open an office in North Africa to screen persons seeking to be recognized as refugees in Europe, and then distribute those found in need of protection among EU member states.

Some 333,000 foreigners applied for asylum in Europe in 2008, including 13,000 unaccompanied children under 18. The leading countries of origin of those applying for asylum in Europe were Iraq and Russia. The New York Times on August 28, 2009 reported that more Afghan boys were arriving in Europe and applying for asylum in the hope that their families would be allowed to join them in Europe.

Muslims. There are about 15 million Muslims among the 500 million residents of the 27-nation EU, and their number is growing via immigration and natural increase. France has about five million Muslims, Germany four million and Britain, two million.

Journalist Christopher Caldwell, citing predictions that up to a third of the residents of major European countries could be Muslim by 2050, asks: "Can you have the same Europe with different people?" He concluded that "Europe is not welcoming its newest residents but making way for them." Caldwell believes Muslim immigrants retain a Muslim identity, which slows their integration.

Caldwell castigated European leaders who tolerated or encouraged low-skill immigration to prop up decaying industries or to limit the costs of labor-intensive services such as health care. He considers large-scale Muslim immigration a risky experiment that will turn out badly if European governments do not slow Muslim immigration and take steps to assimilate Muslim newcomers.

More Muslim women in France are reportedly dressing in full-length veils, so-called burqas, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy to declare in summer 2009 that "the burqa is not welcome" in France; an estimated 400 women are fully veiled in public. In 2004, France banned head scarves in public schools, and in 2009 the official High Authority Against Discrimination and for Equality ruled that government-sponsored French classes are entitled to exclude fully veiled women.

Caldwell, Christopher. 2009. Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West. Doubleday.