Youth Guarantee programme

12.2.2018

Question for written answer P-000864-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Angelo Ciocca (ENF)

By July 2017, three years from the start of the Youth Guarantee programme, some 1 200 000 young Italians had taken part in it. Of the 152 000 young people to whom at least one of the funded measures had been offered , 60% were able to gain work experience.

On 28 May 2017, the EU funds allocated to Italy, however, dried up and the cost of the allowances to be paid to trainees was passed on to the companies training them.

On 20 June 2017, the Council of the European Union agreed to refinance the Youth Employment Initiative by allocating a further EUR 1.2 billion across the EU. Italy will thus be able to rely on further additional resources of approximately EUR 343 million.

However, eight months on, the Italian regions concerned have not yet received the funds assigned to them.

In the light of the above, can the Commission answer the following question:

• —How has it been supervising the time frames that Member States are required to comply with in order to transfer those resources, also in view of how important these funds are in combating youth unemployment?