European Parliament Proposes European Youth Guarantee to Combat Rising Youth Unemployment

Strategic Insights -

The European Parliament has called for the establishment of a European Youth Guarantee, a program aimed at ensuring young people who are unemployed do not remain jobless for more than four months. This proposal comes as the economic crisis continues to drive up youth unemployment rates across the EU. According to a resolution adopted by the Parliament, more than 5.5 million young people under 25 were unemployed in December 2009, making up 21.4% of all young people. The resolution, drafted by Emilie Turunen (Greens/EFA, DK), emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to address the issue of youth unemployment, including the provision of jobs, apprenticeships, further training, or job combined with training.

Key Takeaways:

  • The European Parliament has proposed a European Youth Guarantee to ensure young people are not jobless for more than four months, with a focus on providing a job, apprenticeship, further training, or job combined with training.
  • MEPs emphasize that traineeships are part of education and must not replace real jobs, calling for the establishment of a European Quality Charter on Traineeships to ensure educational value and avoid exploitation.
  • The charter should lay down time limits on internships, provide for social security benefits, and a minimum allowance based on standard of living costs of the place where the internship takes place.
  • MEPs call on Member States to guarantee young people a decent income to be financially independent, citing examples of discriminatory national laws in the UK, France, and Denmark.
  • The European Parliament proposes earmarking at least 10% of the European Social Fund for projects targeting young people to ease access to the fund.

Statistics:

  • More than 5.5 million young people under 25 were unemployed in December 2009, making up 21.4% of all young people.
  • Youth unemployment has increased faster than the average rate during the economic crisis.
  • The Parliament calls for a minimum of 10% of the European Social Fund to be earmarked for projects targeting young people.

Sources:

  • European Parliament: Resolution on improving access to the labour market for young people.
  • Emilie Turunen: Greens/EFA, DK, author of the resolution on improving access to the labour market for young people.