The profound changes experienced by rural areas in Europe over the past couple of decades have resulted in obvious disadvantages: loss of employment due to changes in the agricultural sector, migration of young people towards urban centres, leading to a demographic imbalance, and insufficient...

Following recent enlargement of the EU, the regional diversity in relation to living conditions, economic prosperity, infrastructure and educational levels of rural areas has become even more accentuated. Rural areas in the poorer countries tend to be characterised by a less educated workforce,...

In recent years, the European demographic situation has been characterised by a growing proportion of older people and a shrinking proportion of younger people – a trend that is set to continue for at least the next two decades. These developments pose challenges for both public policy and the...

Over the last decade, Foundation research has examined effective ways of promoting the participation of older workers in the labour market, to enhance their contribution and productivity, and prevent their early exit and unemployment. This report extends the research to the new Member States and...