In response to the ageing and shrinking of the working-age population, the European Union has agreed ambitious goals for raising the employment rate and the exit age of older workers. This article traces the development of EU policy approaches and presents EU-15 figures on the state of affairs. Progress so far has been modest, but EU policies are expected to facilitate the emergence of better regimes of age management within Member States. In turn, this will help Europe move towards its employment targets for the working population aged 55 to 64 years.