The Associated Press - Europe's declining birthrate risks leaving too few young people to fill the ranks of the armed forces over the next 20 years, forcing nations to downsize their armies, develop more automated weapons or outsource military tasks, according to a report endorsed Tuesday by European Union defence ministers.

However, ministers said the impact would not be too dramatic because increased professionalism and technological advances were already leading to smaller armies.

"Of course this aging of the population, it is a problematic matter in social policy and so on, but not so big a problem concerning our armed forces in Europe," said Finnish Defence Minister Seppo Kaariainen, who chaired the meeting.

He told reporters earlier that governments were already moving toward leaner, more professional forces. Finland, he pointed out, had already cut its forces by half over the past decade.

The report, drawn up by European defence experts, paints a worrying picture of an aging Europe in 2025 struggling to maintain military spending in the face of burgeoning pension costs, even as threats multiply from a crescent of instability running from Africa through the Middle East and into the former Soviet bloc.

And the Europeans won't be able to rely on their traditional transatlantic ally, as the United States will increasingly switch its attention to Asia, where China and India are developing as new global superpowers, the report warns.

"Defence will need to contend with public finances under pressure from a growing pension burden, a shrinking recruitment pool and societies increasingly cautious about interventionary operations," the report says.

The report was discussed by European Union ministers on the second and final day of their meeting in Finland. It is not binding and is designed to serve only as long-term guidance for military planners.

In the "long term vision" report, the EU's European Defence Agency says the probability of European nations fighting conventional wars against other countries is remote, but the threat from terrorism, rogue leaders or overspill of regional instability is growing.

It says the media and public opinion will be more and more averse to conflict, meaning armies will have to take more care to avoid casualties � among their own ranks or among civilians.