Extending working life : employer behaviour and social policy

Main challenges faced by the European Union to compete successfully in the global market refer to the progress needed in innovation and productivity. Taking into account population ageing, shrinking of European labour force, and increasing migration on the one hand, and increasing pressures for social policy reforms and stabilization of public finances on the other, the European Union needs to mobilize all resources, in particular its intellectual capital, to keep its competitiveness. The world economic and financial crisis, and in particular recent economic problems experienced by the Eurozone countries, and consequently by other EU member states, showed visibly how difficult is to continue the common policies. These difficulties were deepened by other threats experienced at national levels