US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recent comments about 'old Europe' caused a few hands - especially French ones - to be thrown up in horror.
Mr Rumsfeld's words were meant geopolitically. His point was that the centre of European gravity is moving eastwards away from the Franco-German axis. His provocation caused many objections to be raised.
But in one respect, Rumsfeld was certainly right. Demographically speaking, Europe is 'old' - and getting older.
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Lisbeth founded EUobserver in 2000 and is responsible to the Board for effective strategic leadership, planning and performance. After graduating from the Danish School of Media and Journalism, she worked as a journalist, analyst, and editor for Danish media.