The distance between local action on employment and the principles of activation. Two examples of active employment policies at local level

The European Employment Strategy guides the actions of all member states concerning employment and social cohesion issues. The EES set some goals for the EU as a whole in the perspective of 2010 and of 2020 as well. A basic guiding principle of the European Employment Strategy is the activation paradigm, hence shifting the blame to individuals for their situation regarding employment. Activation is also the key element that guides the implementation of active employment policies, whose realization is carried out at local level.

In this paper, we present two examples of a research carried out on the topic addressed. It highlights the importance of local specificity in the actions on employment and shows how far away they are from the premises of the activation driven by the EES.