Europe needs all of us to build its future.

Anyone reading this brochure might think that there is something odd about discussing demography, vocational training and immigration when there is a major crisis going on, and talking about a skills shortage when unemployment is not only climbing fast, but is also affecting well-trained and highlyqualified people for the first time in ages.
The recovery is likely to be slow. Nonetheless, there is no harm in thinking about what we can do now – while national governments are rethinking their political choices and Europe is defining a new road map – to ensure that the economic rebound is as strong as possible and that everyone benefits from it.
The European Economic Discussions (Entretiens Economiques Européens) organised by Confrontations Europe in 2009 focused on “The transformation of capitalism in Europe”, and highlighted three major challenges: long-term financing, the climate and the social issues.
We firmly believe that social investment, centred on training and employment, is a condition for renewed and more sustainable growth. How can we raise our employment rate and increase our productivity, and at the same time make a success of sustainable development and social inclusion? This is a difficult challenge in a context of ageing populations…