Photo: Labour Party UK

Original article

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, responding to an OECD report which shows young people in the UK spend almost two and a half years out of work, longer than in many of our competitors, said:

“A jobless generation is paying the price for this Government’s failure to get young people into work.

“Young people in the UK spend almost two-and-a-half years out of work on average – more than double those of our competitors and over 30 per cent more than in Germany and Australia.

Speaking to European Commissioner Lászlo Andor at a meeting today in Dublin Castle on Youth Unemployment – An EU Challenge - Deputy John Lyons has stressed the urgent need for a decision on the Ballymun pilot Youth Guarantee scheme. 

“Last October, an application for European Commission funding was submitted for Ballymun to be a year-long pilot Youth Guarantee scheme. Should the application be approved, it would guarantee any young person in Ballymun under 25 who now finds themselves out of work or education for 4 months, a training or education placement. 

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.

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

Zu den Vorschlägen des EU-Kommissars Laszlo Andor zur Bekämpfung der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit in Europa erklärt der europapolitische Sprecher der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion Michael Roth:

Europa kann es sich nicht leisten, an den jungen Menschen zu sparen und eine ganze Generation zu verlieren. Die einseitigen Kürzungsprogramme haben die notleidenden Länder immer tiefer in die Rezession gerissen und die Arbeitslosigkeit in die Höhe schnellen lassen. In Spanien und Griechenland ist mittlerweile jeder zweite Jugendliche ohne Beschäftigung, im europäischen Durchschnitt fast jeder Vierte. Die konservativen Staats- und Regierungschefs haben lange genug tatenlos zugesehen und nichts für die junge Generation getan. Erst auf Druck sozialdemokratischer Kräfte in Europa ist das Thema Jugendarbeitslosigkeit in den Blickwinkel der Regierungschefs gerückt.

Last Saturday, September 8th, I hosted a seminar on the 'Youth Guarantee' in conjunction with Labour Youth and John Lyons TD.

The Youth Guarantee is a straight forward solution to the growing social problem of youth unemployment. It would offer every young person a job, further education or work-focused training at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed.

Over thirty percent youth unemployment in Ireland, a hemorrhage of Irish youth emigrating from our country in search of work and a government struggling to restore the Irish economy in the face of painful austerity policies imposed by the EU, ECB and IMF. This has led to an unprecedented level of cynicism and distrust of politics in Ireland and a broad feeling that there is little that we can do to improve the life chances of our young people at this time.

Artigo de Nuno Sá em Acção Socialista

O Partido Socialista Europeu (PES) lançou uma grande iniciativa política sob o lema “O Teu Futuro é o Meu Futuro” que reclama a introdução de uma Garantia Europeia para os jovens na forma de um novo contrato social que lhes ofereça um emprego, um estágio ou prosseguimento de estudos, no máximo, quatro meses após conclusão do ciclo de estudos ou inscrição no centro de emprego.