FRANKFURT – The head of the German central bank or Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, said on Wednesday the influx of refugees is a challenge for Germany, but also an opportunity given its ageing population.

"Coping with the influx of refugees will demand a lot from Germany. But immigration also brings with it opportunities," Weidmann told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview.

"Those opportunities will be bigger, the more successful we are in integrating the people who come to us into society and the labour market," Weidmann said.

Given the demographic change in Germany, with a rapidly ageing population, Europe&39;s biggest economy "needs additional workers in order to maintain its prosperity", the central bank chief argued.

How Merkel Went From Greek Crisis Pariah to RefugeeCrisis Hero http://t.co/sxrPbpnTl3 — Matthew Campbell (@MattCampbel) September 16, 2015

Estimates put the number of qualified workers that Germany will lack by 2020 at 1,8-million.

Weidmann said that the German economy was currently in good shape, "but that&39;s not a given and no reason to rest on our laurels".

"The current recovery will come to an end at some point. In the longer-term, Germany faces substantial challenges, such as the ageing population, increased competition from emerging economies" and the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy, Weidmann said.

As Bundesbank president, Weidmann sits on the policy-setting governing council of the European Central Bank.

Meanwhile, the vice president of the European Central Bank said Europe&39;s ageing society is committing "demographic suicide" and needs immigrants to keep its workforce from shrinking further, Reuters has reported.

In a wide-ranging interview, Vitor Constancio underlined the ECB&39;s willingness to print more money, saying that it had bought significantly less than peers in the US, Japan or Britain.

important points @redrumlisa - refugee crisis will hit the UK’s working class areas hardest http://t.co/PyjkX1pYKx govt/councils take note — Allan Hogarth (@hogihogarth) September 16, 2015

But he cautioned that while the ECB could extend money-printing, expectations that the central bank could single-handedly turn around the euro zone&39;s economy were unrealistic.

Immigration, he said, could help.

Constancio, who deputises for ECB president Mario Draghi on the ECB&39;s executive board, addressed one of the factors slowing the region&39;s economy, namely an ageing society and shrinking workforce that is set to reduce further in the coming decades.

"This is a very acute problem because for years Europe has been doing a sort of collective demographic suicide," said the former politician from Portugal, one of the countries worst hit by the downturn.

"To change the demographic trends, promoting birth is not enough. It also has to be done through immigration. If not, we&39;re creating a great difficulty to growth and to the welfare of future generations," said Constancio, who is 71. – Additional reporting by Reuters