Youth unemployment

Ahead of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on Tuesday 15 October 2013, European municipalities and regions and their representative associations underline the crucial role of local and regional authorities in the fight against youth unemployment and highlight the necessity to reinforce their involvement, especially in the implementation of concrete measures.

The meeting will allow European ministers to exchange views and to address the status and advancement of current initiatives, including the application of the “Youth Guarantee”* – which aims to ensure that every young European has a job or work-focused education or training.

As the closest representative of citizens, local and regional authorities are indispensable in achieving this goal. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) shall produce a report to present existing initiatives at the local and regional level to combat youth unemployment. The report to be published by the end of 2013 will analyse the adoption and implementation of the “Youth Guarantee” vis-à-vis existing strategies and programmes. It will also provide examples of good practices to promote transferability and sustainability of efficient strategies.

This report is a response to the European Commission’s “call to action”, aiming to accelerate the implementation of the “Youth Guarantee” and the investment in young people. It also aims to develop tools at the European level to help EU countries and businesses recruit young people.

CEMR’s Secretary General, Frédéric Vallier, stresses the importance of a partnership between local, regional, national and European authorities: “Local and regional authorities are the best placed to understand the needs of young people as well as the labour market at the local level. Moreover, they benefit from proximity to social partners, businesses, and to training and educational institutions.” The “EU Starter” programme, promoted by CEMR in spring 2013 is a good example of potential proposals within the framework of the “youth guarantee”. “EU Starter” offers young Europeans without a job, training or diploma to acquire a year of experience at a public institution or non-profit organisation.

*The “Youth Guarantee” scheme was launched by the European Commission to fight against youth unemployment. It aims to ensure that young people under 25 who have lost their jobs or cannot find it after leaving school are offered a good quality employment, continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship. This scheme will be partially financed by the European Social Fund and strengthened by the Youth employment initiative with 6 billion euros for the period 2014-2020.