Tomorrow from 14h30 to 17h30 and on 7 June, from 9h00 to 12h30 you can follow the live streaming of the conference "I want a job and I want it now" at www.youth-guarantee.eu.

The conference is organized by the Group of the Socialists and Democrats at the European Parliament and aims at debating the EU contribution in fighting youth unemployment. The Youth Guarantee will be one of the key measures in discussion.

There will be live-blogging from the conference and you can send your comments and questions via twitter @theprogressives using #IWantAJob

Conference programme

European Commissioner for Social Affairs, Laszlo Andor, endorses the idea of a Youth Guarantee

Junge Menschen sollen spätestens vier Monate nach Abschluss ihrer Ausbildung oder nach Eintritt in die Arbeitslosigkeit (wieder) arbeiten können. Das ist Ziel einer Europäischen Jugendgarantie, für die sich die SPE, die Sozialdemokratische Partei Europas, einsetzt. Die Kampagne wird auch von SPD-Europaabgeordneten unterstützt.

Welsh Labour Euro MP, DEREK VAUGHAN, has backed calls for a European Youth Guarantee that would provide every young person in the EU with a job, further education or a training place at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed.

The European Youth Guarantee scheme proposed by PES (Party of European Socialists) is designed to help the 5.5 million young people in the EU currently without a job.

Peter Skinner MEP (Labour Party, UK) addresses a Partit Laburista (PL, Malta) town meeting and endorses PL pledge for education, training and employment of youth.

Pervenche Berès MEP has proposed a European Youth Guarantee in a resolution approved by the European Parliament on 24 May.

The MEPs are calling for the reallocation of EU structural funds to projects capable of creating jobs for young people, and asking for a "European Youth Guarantee" to be implemented. This guarantee is already defended by the PES and it would ensure that young people are not without jobs for more than four months.

More information on the "Youth opportunities initiative" resolution

Maltese Labour Party Joseph Muscat, teachers, trade unionists and professors endorse the Youth Guarantee.

MEP Emer Costello (Labour Party, Ireland) supports a European Youth Guarantee during a debate on the "Youth Opportunity initiative" resolution - in the European Parliament.

Original news

Earlier this week the youth-wing of the Redbridge Labour Group welcomed proposals by the Party of European Socialists (PES) to tackle the crisis of youth unemployment in Europe.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) warns that fiscal austerity and short-term labor reforms, far from alleviating the crisis, are worsening the economic conditions and job markets worldwide. In its annual ‘Global Employment Trends for Youth’ report, published on Tuesday, the UN agency states that strong government policies are needed to lower the devastating global unemployment rates, which are expected to increase to 12.7 this year. The rise in the youth unemployment rate is the highest in the European Union.