Extra €500 million to fight youth unemployment
- €500 million exclusively for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI)
- MEPs negotiated big increase in funding for jobs for youth during budget talks
Parliament approved on Wednesday an extra €500 million for the Youth Employment Initiative, part of a €1.2 billion top-up agreed for 2017-2020.
MEPs voted by 574 in favour to 113 against, with two abstentions, to add €500 million to the EU Budget for 2017.
In their resolution on the Draft Amending Budget 3/2017, they call on the Commission and Member States to ensure that all of the additional €500 million is fully taken up by the end of 2017.
Quote
Rapporteur Jens Geier (S&D, DE), said: “Despite recent positive news about EU economies, the number of young people not in work is still disgracefully high. The rate of unemployment for those aged 16-25 is more than double the average rate in many EU countries. This extra 500 million Euro will help support new job placements, traineeships and further education for those most in need. However, it is still nowhere near enough. We will continue to push for the resources needed to deal with the crisis."
Quick facts
In April 2017, MEPs backed a revision of the EU’s long-term budget, resulting in an additional €6 billion for jobs, growth and tackling migration, including a top-up of €1.2 billion for the YEI for 2017-2020.
The Youth Employment Initiative was launched in 2013 to support young people who are not in education, employment or training, aged below 25 and living in regions where youth unemployment was higher than 25% in 2012.
According to the European Commission, since 2013 the YEI has provided direct support to over 1.4 million young people (Figures from October 2016).
Related country-by-country information can be downloaded here. A report on the first results of the YEI was published in October 2016.
