One of the most ugly faces of the economic crisis is unemployment. There are countries in the South of Europe where the unemployment rate is around the 25 %. In the last four years we have broken the raising line we followed from the nineties. In fact, many of the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda on this matter have failed.

A group of scholars from RAND Europe have studied the issue and analyse the perspectives of a better future for the promotion of labour force and the reduction of inequality in European countries. In Life after Lisbon, Europe’s Challenges to Promote Labour Force Participation and Reduce Income Inequality, they argue that

«both low labour market force participation and high income inequality remain significant policy problems across the European Union. The aftermath of the economic crisis of 2008 has undone much of the progress on improving employment and growth in Europe over the last 20 years». The, it is not minor question.

In front of Europe 2020 Agenda, the authors consider it is necessary to set up a «concerted strategy to define the principles in employment and social policy and values and mechanisms that can facilitate effective policy coordination and exchange». To achieve this goal, two main policies emerge: the first one, EU members need to share their more information to «understand which aspects of policy work in specific national and regional contexts». If one policy works in one specific region of Europe, it is smart to study possible applications in other places which have similar social, educational and labour conditions. And at the same time, the writers of the report ask for formulating «common principles in social and employment policy and values and mechanisms that can facilitate effective policy coordination and exchange». It seems that communication is the key factor to improve labour policies. But as it happens with other European political decisions, the lack of unity is a big barrier to the development of a balanced prosperity.