The European Parliament today adopted a draft Resolution to combat youth unemployment. “If Europe does not act firmly to tackle youth unemployment, it risks losing whole generations from the labour market forever. The situation in several Member States such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal is highly alarming. We expect decisive and firm action from the European Council. We have no time to wait”, said Csaba Őry MEP, EPP Group Coordinator in the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, and Joanna Skrzydlewska MEP, Rapporteur on tackling youth unemployment.

"The youth unemployment rate exceeds 50% in some Member States and it is one of our greatest common concerns. Several good ideas are already on the table on how to tackle it, like the European Commission's Youth Employment Initiative or the Youth Guarantee itself, but the challenge is huge, we need further efforts. Member States should invest more in the right skills for jobs in demand and introduce reforms in the educational systems to make them more cost-effective and competitive”, said Csaba Őry.

"I cannot emphasise enough the importance of cohesion funds, in this field particularly, the European Social Fund. These funds should remain untouched and should be used for concrete projects. Funds for real job creation should not be diverted", added Őry.

"I hope that the adoption of the Resolution will contribute to discussions at the forthcoming meeting of the European Council. Despite the actions which have already been taken, I am more and more concerned about the situation of young people on the labour market. It proves that there has to be an ambitious and comprehensive approach to this problem, but effective involvement of the relevant funds is also necessary. Therefore we should immediately implement the Youth Guarantee as a temporary solution for young unemployed Europeans”, concluded Joanna Skrzydlewska MEP.

Background information:

In March 2013, 5.7 million young people were unemployed in the EU27, of whom 3.6 million were in the Euro area. The youth unemployment rate was 23.5% in the EU27 and 24% in the Euro area. The most alarming rates are in Greece (59.1%), Spain (55.9%), Italy (38.4%) and Portugal (38.3%).

For further information:

Csaba ŐRY MEP, tel.: +33 (0)3 88 175833

Joanna Katarzyna SKRZYDLEWSKA MEP, tel.: +33-3-881-75282

Miklos Panyi, EPP Group Press and Communications Service, tel.: +32 473 866137

Katarzyna Klaus, EPP Group Press and Communications Service, tel.: +32 484 138359

Note to Editors

The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 269 Members and 3 Croatian Observer Members.