The head of the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) said Wednesday it was his view that Europe could not have a viable economic future without migration, DPA reported.
"In my personal opinion, Europe cannot survive without migration," Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in Geneva.
Guterres said the low fertility rate combined with an aging population meant Europe needed people to move to the continent.
Commenting on the debate surrounding immigration in the developed world, he said: "The problems of migration and asylum... need to be discussed in a rational way and not in an emotional, populist way."
Guterres said Europe should develop a common asylum policy, rather the piecemeal legislation existing in each state, particularly as free movement across most of the continent is already largely ensured though the Schengen agreement.
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