Youth unemployment and active policies to create jobs in the EU

24.7.2014

Question for written answer E-005966-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Josep-Maria Terricabras (Verts/ALE) , Ernest Maragall (Verts/ALE)

The economic crisis has had a particular impact on young people. During the 2009-2013 period, the number of young people emigrating from Catalonia increased by 47%. According to data from the European Parliament, youth unemployment in Spain currently stands at 56.1% and throughout the EU 5.5 million young people are jobless.

In 2013, the Commission presented an investment plan based on the Youth Guarantee. The aim is that under-25s should receive a job offer within four months of completing their training or starting a period of unemployment. Although the initiative, which has an estimated budget of EUR 6 billion, could help to alleviate the difficult situation faced by thousands of young people, it has yet to bear fruit.

Does the Commission have any proposed plan to improve the monitoring and implementation of the Youth guarantee?

Will the Commission put forward a directive to limit the current wide variety of employment contracts and protect young people from precarious contracts?

Is the Commission considering creating new programmes to generate quality jobs in the EU?