A delegation of MEPs from the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), visited Ballymun this week as part of a two day official visit, during which they also held a series of meetings with Ministers, members of the Dáil, Government departments and NGOs.

 6 billion secured for the Youth Guarantee at EU Council - thanks from the PES, PES Women and ECOSY! 

The PES campaign ‘your future is my future’ has been fighting since its launch to ensure that the appropriate funding is allocated to the implementation of youth guarantees

• Following the huge efforts of social democratic and socialist Prime Ministers, the European Council (meeting on 8^th February) decided to include 6 billion € in the Multiannual Financial Framework (EU budget) for youth guarantees
  
  
• Thanks to the action of PES Heads of State Prime Ministers, Ministers, Commissioners and the members of the European and national parliaments, that brought your voice into the core of EU decision-making, such a youth guarantee is now firmly on track
  
  
• Thanks to your mobilization and to PES ministers’ tireless work, the youth guarantee could be approved by European Social Ministers already by the end of the month (28^th February)

These are great steps, and everyone at the PES thanks you all for your efforts to get so far, so quickly.

Now we need to ensure that the funds are used quickly and efficiently. There are 5.7 million young people around Europe who are waiting for words to become action.

We need to make sure that the these funds will actually be paid out, that they will be matched by national funds for youth guarantees and that they will be used to create new, decent jobs for young people and to improve education and training systems as soon as possible.

And we need, with the European Parliament’s help, to make sure that the 6 billion dedicated to tackling youth unemployment is the start rather than the ceiling.

The 8^th of February was a big day for the youth guarantee across Europe:

• In Brussels PES Heads of State and Prime Ministers were making sure that there was 6 billion secured to start the European-wide Youth Guarantee. A budget line dedicated to young people in Europe, providing the funds to implement the youth guarantee in all European Member States was adopted
  
  
• At the same time, in Dublin, EU ministers in charge of Employment and Social Affairs ministers (EPSCO) met to discuss the Commission’s proposal for a European-wide introduction of the youth guarantee. The social democratic and socialist ministers met ahead of the EPSCO to discuss a common line, ensuring that an ambitious Council recommendation is adopted as soon as possible. They are very committed to bring young people back to work as soon as possible, for example by creating new jobs, improving active labour market policies and enhancing vocational and educational training systems

So, this is a really important victory, but the devil lies in the detail…

• Funding – it is important that the agreement on a youth guarantee in Europe will be given the means to become a concrete policy. We said we would need 10 billion for a genuine European-wide guarantee – we will keep pushing for this!
  
  
• Implementation – once the Council recommendation is adopted, we need to ensure that it is actually implemented. We need to increase the pressure on every national government to introduce an ambitious youth guarantee as soon as possible
  
  
• Keeping the pressure on – In order to make sure the youth guarantee becomes a reality, we need you to keep the momentum for a European Youth Guarantee
  
  
• What can you do?
  • Join our campaign, organize and join events in your region and spread the word to your family and friends. Need more ideas?
  • Activists from Italy have been very active in promoting the European Youth Guarantee campaign, spreading the word via conferences, articles and online actions
  • We have the example of the engagement of the Irish Labour Party fighting to advance on a youth guarantee during the Irish Presidency of the EU. Make sure you support MEPs campaigning for a youth guarantee

Remember, your support is key to tackle youth unemployment in Europe!

COMING UP

Brussels, 28 February, 9.00am
Youth Disengagement – what costs and what remedies?
Joint event by the Eurofound and European Youth Forum

Järna, Sweden, 7-10 March
ECOSY - Young European Socialists Congress

Budapest, 8-10 March
PES activists Forum

Original article

Youth unemployment was high on the agenda for today’s meeting of European Ministers for Social Protection and Employment which was part of a two-day event held in Dublin Castle as part of the Irish Presidency. Chaired by Minister Joan Burton, the theme of yesterday and today’s meetings was ‘Getting people into work’.

In preparation for the Social and Employment Council meeting of February 8th, social democratic and socialist ministers gathered this Friday in Dublin to push for a fast adoption of ambitious youth guarantees in Europe. Irish Social Protection Minister Joan Burton, chair of the Council meeting, emphasized the crucial role the introduction of youth guarantees plays to give new opportunities to young people and to overcome youth unemployment.

STATEMENT BY JOAN BURTON

Minister for Social Protection

Labour TD, Dublin West

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, has welcomed further progress made on the EU Youth Guarantee which would form a key part of the response to the youth unemployment crisis.
 
Minister Burton also welcomed the funding proposal announced by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. 

Original article, by Joan Burton TD, Irish Minister for Social Protection

Let's start with the figures, because they're simply horrendous. Across Europe right now, 5.5 million young people – one in five of those aged between 15 and 24 who are on the labour market – are without a job. In some individual member states, the situation is even worse.

In Spain and Greece, it's one in every two young people on the labour market, with youth unemployment rates above 50 per cent. In Ireland, the rate is 32 per cent, which corresponds to about 61,000 young people.

Original article

€3.16 bn - cost of doing nothing to combat youth unemployment

The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) welcomed political support for a “youth guarantee” following a meeting on the scheme today with Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton.

The NYCI has been a long time advocate of a youth guarantee – which would ensure young people on the live register for four months or more will automatically be directed into employment, education or training.

Campaign update 8

After the winter break, the campaign for a European Youth Guarantee is back with great news!

• On January 16, European Parliament members voted overwhelmingly for a resolution by socialist MEP Pervenche Berès proposing a European Youth Guarantee. This resolution backs the EU Commission’s proposal from December, tabled by EU Social Commissioner László Andor, and puts an emphasis on quality framework for education and training, as well as on the role of the European Social Fund in the financing
  
  
• Last week, French President François Hollande announced a youth guarantee scheme to be implemented at national level. The measures include a minimum salary for unemployed citizens aged 16-25 who have not complete secondary education  and a first professional experience for young unemployed in public and private enterprises with a contract of up to three years. President Hollande also underlined the importance of intergenerational solidarity by the implementation of a ‘generation contract’, benefiting employees over 57 and young workers with a temporary contract.

But it is not all good news.

While your actions have made it possible to get a commitment from the EU to a youth guarantee and while progressive leaders work hard to tackle youth unemployment, conservatives in Europe continue to oppose to a European Youth Guarantee:

• In the UK, the Tories refused to back the plan proposed by the Labour Party to implement a national compulsory jobs guarantee for the long term unemployed 
• Despite its 546 votes in favour, the youth guarantee resolution overwhelmingly approved by the European Parliament still faced the stubborn opposition of conservative MEPs

In addition, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) draws our attention to the total number of young unemployed worldwide (73.5 million). The report mentions that the number is likely to further increase by half a million by 2014.
Concerning Europe, the ILO estimates that because of the crisis and the lack of growth and job creation, youth unemployment rates and the average duration of unemployment are set to rise further.

 So you see, we are close to implementing a system that can efficiently tackle youth unemployment, but we won’t get there without your help.

Conservatives are ready to take us back to square one. Your engagement is crucial in making sure this does not happen!

Join our campaign, organize events in your region, support MEPs campaigning for a youth guarantee and spread the word to your family and friends.

Coming up:

Genoa, 8 February, 5.15 pm
Debate on a European Youth Guarantee

Dublin, 8 February
PES ministers meet ahead of the EPSCO Council to discuss a European Youth Guarantee

Brussels, 28 February, 9.00 am
Youth Disengagement - what costs and what remedies?

Campaign update 7

This week and the next one will be decisive in implementing an EU-wide Youth Guarantee.

Our supporters continue to mobilize all around Europe, organizing events and spreading the campaign, but now more than ever we need you to make your voice heard in calling for a European Youth Guarantee:

• Just yesterday, the European Commission presented its Employment pack, including a proposal for a European Youth Guarantee. Thanks to the commitment of Commissioner Laszlo Andor, the model of such a guarantee strongly resembles the one we are demanding, including the deadline of four months to give young people in unemployment a job, professional training or the possibility to pursue further education. Laszlo Andor also made sure that the jobs proposed in this context are ‘quality’ jobs. However, the devil lies on the detail: the funds for such a guarantee are not clearly defined and we risk losing the battle for a lack of clarity and funding. Reactions to the Commission’s proposal included an appeal by German MEP Jutta Steinrück, German MP Michael Roth and Irish MEP Emer Costello for a swift implementation of a Youth Guarantee and its financing by the European Social Fund
  
  
• Next week, as the European Council meets on 13-14 December, we need to make sure EU leaders strongly support a European Youth Guarantee. It is up to you to build pressure on your government ahead of the Council so all EU countries support and implement, without delay, Youth Guarantee schemes tailored to the specific needs of every national context. Furthermore, EU leaders need to make a clear commitment to use the European Social Fund to back the scheme.

If you need more arguments to persuade your national leaders, please feel free to refer to campaign events taking place all over Europe that keep building momentum for our Youth Guarantee demand:

• In Nottingham (United Kingdom), the Labour Party together with the Socialists & Democrats Group in the European Parliament organized a big event to debate youth unemployment. The discussions focused on the extremely high levels of youth unemployment around Europe and the need for a European Youth Guarantee. Dominic Hannigan TD, Chair of the EU Affairs Committee in the Irish Parliament, spoke of the commitment that the incoming Irish Presidency of the EU would give to the Youth Guarantee.
  
  
• In France, campaigners met with Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to discuss the situation facing young people in the country and to call on the Prime Minister to support a Youth Guarantee implemented at EU level.
  
  
• Last week, Spanish and Belgium youth representatives met with PES Women President Zita Gurmai in Brussels to discuss youth unemployment. They also handed hundreds of signatures of the petition Rise up to Mrs. Gurmai. “Rise up” is a campaign created by socialist and social democrat youth organizations calling on the European Council to change European eco­nomic policy of austerity and to build a Europe of jobs, democ­racy and ecology.
  
  
• In Ireland, Emer Costello MEP is promoting an active campaign to sensibilise people to the need of a Youth Guarantee. The launch of the campaign gathered Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Hannes Swoboda MEP (Austria), Leader of the EP's Socialists and Democrats Group, and John Lyons T.D.
  
  
• In Switzerland, European Socialists in Geneva organized a conference on youth employment in Europe. The main speaker was Dr. Ernst Ekkehard from the International Labour Organization (ILO)

You too can let us know about your story; tell us how you are contributing to the campaign and join the thousands of campaigners calling for a European Youth Guarantee. 
Remember, your support is key to tackle youth unemployment in Europe!

COMING UP

7 December – 14.15-15.00

Twitter Chat with László Andor (@LaszloAndorEU) on Youth Employment & the European Youth