GUE/NGL MEPs called for sincere effort and measures from EU leaders to tackle youth unemployment in this morning's debate on the €6bn youth guarantee scheme in the European Parliament. The group put down an amendment for a Youth Guarantee Scheme of €21 billion in line with International Labour Organisation recommendations; it was rejected by a majority of MEPs.

"We have to recognise that the scourge of youth unemployment is the result of your austerity measures," French MEP Patrick Le Hyaric told representatives of the Commission and Council. Highlighting the lack of training opportunities and suggesting "the mobilisation of the European Central Bank to allow access to credit for businesses, local authorities and public services, to support and incentivise training," he said the "youth guarantee as it stands was a propaganda bandage on the scourge of youth unemployment."

"What we have here is a guarantee equivalent to a verbal promise from a dodgy second hand car salesman," said Irish MEP Paul Murphy. "Its purpose is not to offer the five and a half million unemployed young people in Europe a real job, but to try to keep the jobs of MEPs by allowing them to pretend they're doing something about youth unemployment when they make the crisis worse." Murphy finished by questioning Commissioner László Andor on his views on the Irish government's use of the Youth Guarantee as "a Trojan horse to make it compulsory for young people to be exploited under the free labour 'JobBridge' scheme."

Stating that the "goal of offering young people out of work a place in education, training or employment requires significant capacity to ensure offers are suited to each individual's need," Irish MEP Martina Anderson said the scheme "must also include all young people, irrespective of whether they are linked into the public employment services or not.

"For countries like Ireland a poorly funded Youth Employment Scheme will fail to tackle the problem of youth unemployment and emigration. It will mean that energy, skills and new ideas will continue to leak out of towns and villages as the 'Skype Generation' are scattered around the world. Do more - and give our young people reasons to stay, not reasons to leave," she urged.

GUE/NGL Press:

David Lundy +32 470 85 05 09

Emily Macintosh +32 470 85 05 08

Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20

www.guengl.eu

European United Left/Nordic Green Left

European Parliamentary Group