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Tisdagen den 10 maj 2016 - Strasbourg

3. Ekonomisk tillväxt och ungdomssysselsättning (debatt)

  Presidente. – L'ordine del giorno reca la discussione sulle dichiarazioni del Consiglio e della Commissione sulla crescita economica e l'occupazione giovanile (2016/2702(RSP)).

  Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, President-in-Office of the Council.– Mr President, the good news is that, according to the spring economic forecast issued by the Commission last week, economic recovery in Europe continues. It is true that the picture is not always just a rosy one and we do face a difficult global environment. The growth rate remains modest at a projected 1.8% in the EU this year and there are significant differences between Member States. But things are slowly getting better. The employment situation is also slowly improving but, again, with significant differences among Member States.

In this context, I am happy to note – and I will focus my intervention on this specific point – that unemployment of young people has dropped slightly recently. The gradual improvement in the economic situation over the past two years has translated into a somewhat better situation regarding youth unemployment. While remaining at overall high levels, it has been declining since the year 2013. In 2015 and early this year, 2016, youth unemployment continued to fall and at a faster rate than overall unemployment. Let me be clear though, because we should not hide the fact that the overall level of youth unemployment still remains very worrying, and I would like to underline once more that the situation differs significantly among the Member States.

What did we do and what is still to be done to address this? It is not necessary to remind you that three years ago the Council adopted a recommendation on establishing the Youth Guarantee. This recommendation has been, without any doubt, a cornerstone of European policy measures on youth employment. Funds from the Youth Employment Initiative have been front—loaded and the Member States are implementing the Guarantee through their Youth Guarantee implementation plans.

Obviously implementing is just one thing. Taking stock of what has been done and, above all, what is still to be done is another thing. Three years after the adoption of the Youth Guarantee, the Employment Committee has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Guarantee and for that purpose a framework for indicators has been developed.

Earlier this year, in March, the Council approved recommendations from the Employment Committee and I am convinced that they are of great importance for the implementation of the Youth Guarantee after 2016. In this respect, we look forward to the review of the Commission which should be presented by the end of this year. The same goes for the announced new skills agenda which should contribute to the achievement of the EU’s targets of cutting the early school-leaving rate to below 10% and getting more young people into higher education or equivalent vocational education.

Let me also remind you that the new EURES Regulation should enter into force in the coming days and I sincerely hope that the modernised EURES network can also substantially contribute to the fight against the unemployment of young people.

We are fully aware of the fact that Parliament expressed its concerns in the recent past about the slow implementation of the Youth Guarantee. Funding was increased and we tried to speed things up, although it should be clear to all of us that, first of all, Member States are the ones that have to implement structural reforms.

As you all know, youth employment has always been a central subject in the country—specific recommendations, and will continue to be so. We need more job creation and we also need to exploit the full potential of the exchange of best practices among the EU Member States, and also beyond the Union. Let me also underscore that the social partners have a very important role to play within this context.

With specific measures like the Youth Guarantee and, above all, with the ongoing structural reforms in the Member States, we should be able to take advantage of the improving economic situation and, thus, to make further progress in the reduction of youth unemployment.

  Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, since its first day in office, a key goal of this Commission has been to boost economic growth through a combination of funding tools such as the investment plan and structural funds, policy reforms in the framework of the European Semester, new initiatives to unleash the potential of the internal market such as the digital single market or the energy union, and, finally, policy guidance. Our objective is that this will help to tackle the high level of unemployment we are still faced with, and notably youth unemployment.

There are now encouraging signs which I should first mention, as was also just mentioned. Approximately 4.3 million young people in the European Union were unemployed in March 2016. This is down from a peak of 5.7 million in December 2012, or, simply put, a drop of nearly 25%. These are positive developments, reflecting a return to growth, decisive action from the Member States and the support given by the EU. However, while the youth unemployment rate has decreased from a peak of 23.9% in February 2013 to 19.1% in March 2016, it is still too high in various Member States. There are peaks of more than 35% in several countries. Moreover – and more alarmingly – in 2015, 12% of young people aged between 15 and 24 were not in employment, education or training, with peaks of around 20% in Bulgaria and Italy. Wasting the potential of young people, who are usually better trained, is something we cannot afford.

Against this background, President Juncker made it clear that we need to channel funding towards projects that can help get the younger generation back to work in decent jobs, further complementing the efforts already undertaken with the Youth Guarantee Scheme, the implementation of which must be accelerated and progressively broadened. As you may know, the Youth Guarantee is a political commitment that all young people under 25 get an offer – within four months of leaving education or becoming unemployed – for employment, a traineeship, an apprenticeship or continued education.

Delivery on the objectives of a Youth Guarantee require strategic reforms to achieve more successful transitions from school to the labour market. Progress has been carefully monitored within the European Semester and has resulted in country-specific recommendations where appropriate. Notably, in 2015, country—specific recommendations for Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Romania specifically pointed to the need for action on youth employment.

The Commission has mobilised a range of instruments to support implementation. Policy support and mutual learning help Member States put in place the right infrastructure and measures. The Youth Guarantee’s implementation is still in an early stage, and additional efforts are needed to accelerate and broaden its implementation. While progress has been facilitated so far by an unprecedented political backing and support from EU financial instruments, a key challenge is to ensure sustainable implementation. This requires fundamental structural reforms in most Member States in order to create the necessary conditions to help young generations enter the labour market.

The Commission will continue to monitor the Youth Guarantee. In order to take stock of the success achieved and lessons learned from the Youth Guarantee, let me inform you that the report on its implementation and the operation of the Youth Employment Initiative is due by the end of 2016. This will also address the quality and framework of traineeship implementation. It will include a qualitative assessment of the actions and the use of the funding devoted to supporting young people.

The forthcoming Skills Agenda is complementary to the Youth Guarantee. Indeed, we need to make sure that everybody – not only the young – has the skills needed to keep pace with a fast-changing labour market. Europe’s economic success is, to a very large extent, based on the skills of our people. Our future competitiveness and growth depend on skills, and the pace of change in the labour market makes this especially challenging. The digital revolution continues to reshape jobs. The new Skills Agenda will focus on skills as an elevator to the employability of all people. It will also focus on creating the right environment for all skills to drive competitiveness and fair and balanced growth. Moreover, it will set out actions for a reinforced engagement with businesses for a shared commitment to deliver skills to Europe.

However, we should not forget that the main responsibility for defining their employment and social policies and for pursuing structural reforms lies, of course, with the Member States. The Commission is working closely with them to support and complement their actions.

IN THE CHAIR: MAIREAD McGUINNESS
Vice-President

  Françoise Grossetête, au nom du groupe PPE.– Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, d'abord, je me félicite que le groupe PPE ait insisté pour lier ce débat sur l'emploi des jeunes à la question de la croissance, car les sujets de l'emploi et de la croissance sont vraiment liés.

Il ne faut pas s'y tromper, la première des précarités pour les jeunes, en particulier, c'est le chômage. Un jeune sans emploi ou sans formation ne trouve pas sa place dans la société. Il ne peut pas prendre son autonomie, il n'a pas de logement, pas de voiture, parfois même, pas de permis de conduire. Cela veut dire qu'un jeune sans emploi peut très vite se retrouver marginalisé et, aussi, que le travail est un vrai facteur d'intégration sociale.

Aujourd'hui, en Europe, la croissance est encore faible, très faible dans certains États membres, et l'entrée des jeunes sur le marché du travail est devenue très difficile. Le sujet est très grave. Près de 20 % des jeunes Européens sont aujourd'hui à la recherche d'un emploi.

Alors, quelles perspectives offrir à notre jeunesse? Comment l'inciter à entreprendre, à innover en Europe, plutôt que de la pousser à faire carrière sur d'autres continents? Comment ne pas nourrir ce sentiment de trahison qui la pousse parfois dans les bras des populistes? C'est à ces questions que l'Europe doit répondre, et ce n'est pas à coups de subventions, d'emplois aidés ou de mesures d'urgence que nous apporterons des réponses durables.

Les jeunes ont des idées, du talent, de l'énergie. Ils veulent prouver ce qu'ils valent. Ils n'attendent pas de leurs responsables politiques qu'ils leur fassent l'aumône, mais qu'ils créent les conditions d'un retour à la croissance et à la création d'emplois. La Commission a publié la semaine passée ses prévisions économiques, mais elle a bien montré, justement, les divergences et les différences qu'il y a d'un État membre à l'autre. Alors, certains États membres ont déjà fait un certain nombre de réformes. L'Irlande, le Portugal, l'Italie sont dans cette situation et ont vu le taux de chômage baisser.

Je voudrais souligner aussi les bons chiffres de l'Espagne où se préparent de nouvelles élections et où les courageux efforts de réforme entrepris commencent à porter leurs fruits. Ce n'est malheureusement pas le cas dans tous les États membres. Ce n'est d'ailleurs pas le cas en France malgré les assertions réitérées de François Hollande et du commissaire Pierre Moscovici, dont l'optimisme paraît bien crédule. Le discours du "tout va mieux en France" ne résiste pas une minute à un examen sérieux.

Alors, la lutte contre le chômage des jeunes passe d'abord et avant tout par plus de flexibilité sur le marché du travail, une meilleure formation des jeunes, mieux adaptée au marché de l'emploi, une fiscalité allégée pour les entreprises et, surtout, de vraies réformes structurelles pour lever les freins qui bloquent notre économie.

  Maria João Rodrigues, on behalf of the S&D Group.– Madam President, we know very well there is no future for the European Union if the European Union is not able to provide a future for its young people. Yes, of course the European Union can create a lot of good jobs for young people in the activities of the future, in the energy transition, in the digital revolution, in health and in creative industries.

We have a young generation with a lot of potential for creativity and innovation. Yes, we have made some progress on reducing youth unemployment, but the youth unemployment rate remains too high – above 20%. Moreover, we have huge divergences: 45% in Spain, 30% in Portugal. We have not mentioned Greece – which is above 50% – in Italy it is also very high, as it is in Slovakia and Croatia. So something is badly wrong in the way the European Union is working and this has huge implications, not only in social and economic terms, but also in political terms, as we can see.

So my plea is to adapt all the tools we have to go to the heart of the problem: very high employment and also very deep divergences. This means to reshape the way we are using the Youth Initiative, the structural funds and the investment plan, which should tackle economic and social cohesion. But more than that, in the eurozone, we need to have a fiscal capacity to deal with these divergences.

  Anthea McIntyre, on behalf of the ECR Group.– Madam President, the key challenge we face is to help Member States create the right environment for businesses to grow and create new jobs. They can only do this if the market allows for it, if they can find qualified workers, if labour markets are sufficiently flexible and if they are not over burdened with regulation. I welcome the recent agreement on the IIA on better law—making. Legislation which is simpler and easier to understand and implement will help Member States create an environment that will encourage companies to hire and manage staff, while protecting basic workers’ rights.

Europe’s strength lies in its diversity, and we must use this diversity to learn from one another. There is no one-size-fits-all template. Many Member States, including my own, have already put in place successful structural reforms. This has enabled Britain to attract investment, to grow its economy and to create more and better jobs. Our employment rate is now over 74%, while the unemployed claimant count is at its lowest for 40 years. There have been over two million apprenticeships giving people the chance to learn skills and get on in life. Ultimately, Europe’s greatest need is for growth – growth that will allow our businesses, especially SMEs, to thrive, to create new jobs and to provide a good future for all of Europe’s young people.

  Marian Harkin, on behalf of the ALDE Group.– Madam President, I want to concentrate on the Youth Guarantee, which is our flagship project, and I want to ask the Commissioner – or, even more importantly, I want to ask the Council – what progress has been made by Member States on the Youth Guarantee? We voted in this Parliament for increased pre-financing for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). How much has been spent? The deadline is this year. Is it likely that some – even a significant amount – of that money may come back unspent? What are we doing to ensure that this does not happen and the Youth Guarantee delivers?

One of the issues I have come across is that it can be challenging to incentivise young people to access the Youth Guarantee. There are different reasons for this and often it is because they know – and the authorities know – that it is only for a few months. It is not sustainable. Many of these young people are already very disillusioned. So what are we doing to reach them? What are we doing to incentivise them? Crucially, we have to understand that this includes the demand side as well as the supply side.

One final, and very important, issue I want to raise is about my own country, Ireland, and the fact that the vast majority of young people with disabilities cannot access the Youth Guarantee Scheme. Only those on the live register can access the Youth Guarantee Scheme and most young people with disabilities are not on the live register. So we have a situation in which European moneys are being used to exclude young people with disabilities in the context of employment opportunities. This runs counter to our anti-discrimination legislation and our commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  Werner Kuhn (PPE), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“.– Frau Präsidentin! Frau Kollegin Harkin, Sie haben über Jugendgarantien gesprochen. Diesbezüglich wollte ich anmerken, dass wir eine Milliarde Euro im Haushalt zur Verfügung gestellt haben, um die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit zu bekämpfen. Es gibt Länder in Europa, wo Arbeitskräfte und Auszubildende gesucht werden – in Deutschland zum Beispiel. Und wir haben ein Programm, portugiesische, spanische und griechische junge Leute dorthin zu bringen. Ist das nicht – bis wir sozusagen die Wirtschaftskraft in den Ländern verbessert haben – eine Interimslösung, wo eine Perspektive für junge Leute möglich ist?

  Marian Harkin (ALDE), blue-card answer.–Mr Kuhn, I hear what you are saying, and we have the EURES programme, which is there of course to incentivise young people to move from one Member State to another to access a job. But equally, we have to understand that for many young people – at least for some – they want to access employment in their own Member State as well. So I think we need to find a balance.

In our committee we talk about fair mobility, and that means that young people have a choice. Yes, the EURES programme is important, but it is just one part of what we need to do.

  Thomas Händel, im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion.– Frau Präsidentin, Frau Ministerin, Herr Kommissar! Was Sie hier verkünden, klingt zwischen Pfeifen im finsteren Wald und Schönfärberei. Wir haben eine Menge Programme aufgelegt, um diese Misere zu beenden. Die Wirkung ist beschämend, fast nicht vorhanden. Wir sind immer noch auf dem Weg, eine ganze Generation zu verlieren, und eine ganze Generation verliert den Glauben an Europa. Ich glaube, es ist angebracht, jetzt mehr zu tun seitens Kommission und Rat.

Erstens: Die Mittel müssen erhöht werden. Sie reichen auch nach renommierten Studien keinesfalls aus, um Jugendarbeitslosigkeit zu beseitigen.

Zweitens: Wir müssen qualifizierte Ausbildung schaffen. Das, was wir mit Prekarität, mit prekären Arbeitsplätzen, mit Kurzzeitbeschäftigung, mit Teilzeitbeschäftigung und mit Praktika schaffen, ist keine wirklich sinnvolle Qualifizierung für die jungen Menschen, von der sie dann auch dauerhaft leben können.

Drittens: Wir müssen bei den EU-Fördermitteln die Vorfinanzierung und die Kofinanzierungsbedingungen drastisch reduzieren.

Und viertens: Ja, wir können – Herr Kuhn – die Zusammenarbeit der Mitgliedstaaten besser fördern zur Nutzung von unbesetzten Ausbildungsstellen in prosperierenden Ländern, zur Verbesserung der Qualität von Berufsschulen und zum Aufbau von Ausbildungszentren in den berufsbildungsschwachen Ländern.

All das ist dringend notwendig. Aber es wird nichts nützen, wenn wir uns nicht gleichzeitig ökonomisch darauf konzentrieren, gute, nachhaltige Arbeit zu schaffen, von der die Menschen eigenständig leben können. Dazu braucht es ein europäisches Zukunftsinvestitionsprogramm der Mitgliedstaaten und der europäischen Ebene, damit wir endlich neue Arbeit schaffen. Wir müssen schlicht und einfach die Sparpolitik beenden und endlich dafür sorgen, dass es nach vorne geht und nicht weiter kaputtgespart wird.

(Der Redner ist damit einverstanden, eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“ gemäß Artikel 162 Absatz 8 der Geschäftsordnung zu beantworten.)

  Andi Cristea (S&D), întrebare adresată în conformitate cu procedura „cartonașului albastru”.– Întrebarea mea este: care este calea de urmat pentru Europa? Să aleagă Realpolitik-ul sau să respecte valorile și principiile pe care această Uniune se bazează?

  Thomas Händel (GUE/NGL), Antwort auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“.– Die Antwort ist ganz einfach: Eine Realpolitik setzt an den Problemen der Menschen an. Und da sind die Werte der Europäischen Union sehr gut investiert, wenn wir sie tatsächlich im Auge haben und nicht ständig durch Sparpolitik und Austeritätspolitik verletzen.

  Terry Reintke, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group.– Madam President, when I open the newspaper in Germany, I could very easily get the impression that everything is fine now: that the crisis is over, that European economies are recovering and that everyone should live happily ever after. But when I look at the situation of young people – for example, in Spain or in Greece – I am on the contrary very easily convinced that this picture is utterly wrong. Alarmingly high levels of youth unemployment still, millions of young people without prospects. In fact, the situation is still so very bad that even the Pope mentioned the problem of youth unemployment in his speech last weekend.

At the same time, we have European heads of state who seem to be getting used to this situation, who accept this situation as the new normal in the European Union, and especially as long as the wrong image prevails – not only in the media, but sometimes even in Commission documents – that the crisis is actually over, that austerity has worked and that we will simply have to get on with it now.

All these things are wrong. The crisis is not yet over, austerity has not – and will not – solve the huge problem of youth unemployment in the European Union and we will have to be the ones to fight for political change, for bringing back hope to young people in Europe. The first change should be the realisation that without massive public investment the Youth Employment Initiative and the Youth Guarantee – as good as they could be and as good as they are – will not show the desired effect. Let us not accept that half of Europe’s youth has no prospects, accepting this as the new normal. Let us do something about it. More investment would be a first step.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  Marju Lauristin (S&D), blue-card question.– You mentioned that there are differences between the countries in youth unemployment. You mentioned Spain and Greece, for example. Could you perhaps specify what could be the reason? Are there differences, for example, in digital skills, in the type of education, or other things that could be concrete reasons for that?

  Terry Reintke (Verts/ALE), blue-card answer.– Well, very obviously we see that in countries where the overall unemployment rate is very high, youth unemployment is also very high, and countries like Spain and Greece have been disproportionately hit by the crisis. But yes, I would agree with you that it is also a question of the educational systems, and indeed digital skills are key in order to overcome this. But this cannot be the only answer that we have. At the same time, we also need to invest in the economy to create good work and to create good jobs, because if there are no jobs, young people – even with the best digital skills – will not have the possibility to get into employment.

  Rolandas Paksas, EFDD frakcijos vardu.– Pone Pirmininke, komisare, jaunimo nedarbas yra rykštė, skaudžiausiai tvojanti į Europos ateičiai. Neturėdama darbo Sąjungos jaunuomenė praranda viltį dėl ateities. Ir ne pirmi metai bandoma įvairiomis programomis, milijonus eurų, sumažinti jaunimo nedarbą. Jeigu vertinti keletą metų statistiką, kuomet jaunimo nedarbas anaiptol ne mažėja, bet išlieka stabiliai didelis, reikėtų konstatuoti, kad visos nedarbą turinčios mažinti priemonės yra nepakankamos ir labiau deklaratyvios. Piniginės paskatos darbdaviams yra pernelyg mažos, įsipareigojimų laikotarpis pernelyg trumpas. Perkvalifikavimui išleidžiami pinigai rezultato tokio, kokio norim, neduoda. Manau, kad reikėtų visai kitokių sprendimų ir jie turėtų apimti ne tik nedarbo problemas. Jaunam žmogui ne ką mažiau negu darbas svarbu būstas. Statykime ir leiskime jaunuoliams juo disponuoti lengvatinėmis sąlygomis. Būstas ir darbas jaunai, vaikus auginančiai šeimai turėtų būt svarbiausias kiekvienos Europos Sąjungos valstybės ir kiekvieno municipaliteto uždavinys. Dar viena paskata jaunimui – sukurkime tokios teisės aktus, kad jaunimas šeimos verslu visoje Europos Sąjungoje galėtų užsiimti lengvatinėmis sąlygomis. Taigi, mažesnis darbo jėgos apmokestinimas, lengvatiniai mokesčiai ir mokesčių tarifai darbdaviams bei pačiam jaunimui iki trisdešimties metų amžiaus bent iš dalies galėtų spręsti jaunimo nedarbo problemas.

  Ελευθέριος Συναδινός ( NI).– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, οι νέοι αναμφισβήτητα αποτελούν την καλύτερη εγγύηση για το μέλλον της πατρίδος τους. Όταν όμως αναγκάζονται να μεταναστεύσουν εξαιτίας της επέμβασης εξωτερικών παραγόντων που οδηγούν στην καταστροφή της, τότε το μέλλον είναι σκοτεινό. Με τις κακόβουλες επεμβατικές πολιτικές των ισχυρών της Ευρώπης στις χώρες της Αφρικής και της Μέσης Ανατολής έχει επιβληθεί η απρόθυμη μετεγκατάσταση εκατομμυρίων νέων ανθρώπων στις χώρες της Ένωσης. Και τώρα αυτό που σχεδιάζεται και επιδιώκεται είναι η τεχνική τους κατάρτιση και η απασχόλησή τους για την ολοκλήρωση των επιδιώξεων της Γερμανίας και των λοιπών ισχυρών. Δεν λάβατε υπόψη σας όμως ότι οι άνθρωποι από διαφορετικούς πολιτισμούς μπορούν να συνυπάρξουν με προβλήματα αλλά όχι να αφομοιωθούν, ιδίως όταν μεταναστεύουν στις χώρες που είναι υπεύθυνες για τον ξεριζωμό τους. Αντί να βοηθήσετε τους νέους των χωρών μελών της Ένωσης και να πετύχετε οικονομική ανάπτυξη, δημιουργείτε εισαγόμενους τρομοκράτες. Σταματήστε λοιπόν αυτή την πολιτική όσο είναι καιρός. Εκπαιδεύστε τους νέους και μην αναπτύσσετε μόνο τις δεξιότητές τους. Δώστε τους εργασία, όχι απασχόληση. Δώστε τους κίνητρα να δημιουργήσουν ένα δικό τους καλύτερο μέλλον κι όχι αφορμές και αιτίες να καταστρέψουν το δικό σας.

  Tom Vandenkendelaere (PPE). – Onze economie groeit, maar nog te traag, waardoor jongeren in vele regio's nog te veel uit de boot vallen. Dat moet anders. De sleutel voor de geloofwaardigheid van het Europees integratieproject ligt bij de jongeren. Een goede baan geeft jonge mensen zelfwaarde en hoop. De EU kan en moet hier het verschil maken. Dit kan onder meer door de intra-Europese arbeidsmobiliteit te verhogen. In mijn regio West-Vlaanderen bijvoorbeeld schreeuwen bedrijven om gekwalificeerd personeel. Nog geen 40 kilometer verderop in Noord-Frankrijk zit een leger jonge mensen zonder werk. Dit kan niet. Door deze jongeren mobieler te maken kunnen we hun kansen bieden over de grenzen heen. We moeten hen fysiek vertrouwd maken met de arbeidsmarkt van andere lidstaten, door bijvoorbeeld Erasmus+ meer op werk toe te spitsen. Tegelijk moeten vacatures digitaal, op efficiënte wijze en bijgewerkt met actuele informatie worden uitgewisseld via projecten als EURES.

Mijn tweede speerpunt is het verder uitbouwen van de jongerengarantieregeling. We mogen de aandacht hierbij niet enkel richten op activering, maar moeten meer inzetten op de overgang van het onderwijs naar de arbeidsmarkt. De Vlaamse aanpak om de domeinen welzijn, onderwijs, werk en ondernemen samen te brengen werpt vruchten af en kan door de EU als beproefde methode worden opgenomen. Mijn generatie zal sterke vaardigheden nodig hebben om de vele banen die door de vergrijzing van Europa zullen vrijkomen op te vullen. De oplossing kan ik simpel samenvatten: valoriseer de competenties, digitaliseer de informatie en maak de arbeidsmarkt mobieler.

  Jutta Steinruck (S&D). – Frau Präsidentin! Leider scheint die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit insgesamt von der europäischen und teilweise auch von der nationalen Agenda verschwunden zu sein. Dabei bedeutet Jugendarbeitslosigkeit finanzielle Einbußen – nicht nur heute, sondern auch langfristig. Ich denke da an den langfristigen Kaukraftverlust, aber beispielsweise auch an Altersarmut. Die Kommission, auch Frau Thyssen, redet die Zahlen ja schön: Es gäbe einen Riesenfortschritt, die Programme würden Früchte tragen. Aber die Realität sieht doch ganz anders aus – übrigens auch in Deutschland, Herr Kuhn. Wenn Sie sehen, wer in Arbeit ist und was das sehr häufig für Arbeitsverhältnisse sind, in denen junge Menschen sind, dann sind das prekäre Arbeitsverhältnisse oder unbezahlte Praktika. Und kein Mensch rechnet die jungen Leute in die Statistik ein, die nach dem Studium arbeitslos und in unbezahlten Praktika sind.

Was Europa tatsächlich braucht, ist, dass die, die Geld haben, dieses Geld auch in der Realwirtschaft investieren und Arbeitsplätze schaffen und dass sie auch Steuern zahlen! Denn auch so können diese Maßnahmen finanziert werden. Es muss mehr getan werden, wir brauchen eine bessere Koordinierung, und die Mittel zur Bekämpfung der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit dürfen nicht zurückgefahren werden, sie müssen ausgebaut werden!

  Ulrike Trebesius (ECR). – Frau Präsidentin! Die katastrophale Arbeitsmarktsituation einiger Länder ist immer noch Folge der ungelösten Eurokrise. Die Eurogruppe beklagt, wie sehr die Überschuldung privater Kreditnehmer zu einer Belastung der Banken in manchen Mitgliedsländern geworden ist und damit die Wirtschaft belastet. Die Analyse ist richtig, das Problem ist die angesprochene Lösung. Um das marode Bankensystem in Südeuropa neu aufzustellen, braucht man sehr viel Geld, welches Südeuropa nicht hat. Die Lösung der Eurogruppe und der Kommission ist also, neue nationale Insolvenzregeln zu schaffen und über die Bankenunion und die Einlagensicherungsfonds die notwendigen Gelder aus Nordeuropa zu beschaffen.

Wir sehen hier, dass ein inflexibles Währungssystem zu wirtschaftlichen Verwerfungen führt, die komplexe neue Transfermechanismen wie auch die Jugendinitiative erfordern. Die demokratische Kontrolle geht dabei verloren, und wer weiß schon, wer in zwei Jahren in Portugal, Spanien, Italien oder Österreich regiert und welche Politik dann gemacht wird.

Wir brauchen geordnete Insolvenzen von Banken und Staaten und eine Neuaufstellung der maroden Strukturen, aber wir brauchen auch eine währungspolitische Lösung, die solche Probleme in Zukunft gar nicht entstehen lässt. Damit meine ich flexible Wechselkurse, Eigenverantwortung und Subsidiarität.

  Enrique Calvet Chambon (ALDE). – Señora Presidenta, señores Comisarios, ayer celebramos el Día de Europa y hablamos del futuro de Europa. El futuro de Europa son los jóvenes de hoy. Eso es un hecho y no lo puede cambiar nadie. ¿Qué estamos haciendo con ellos? Bueno, aquí nos ocupamos de crecimiento con empleo. Los problemas del desempleo juvenil son distintos según las zonas de Europa. En algunas es una intolerable tasa de desempleo durante un tiempo prolongado; en otras es la calidad del trabajo; en otras puede ser la remuneración del trabajo. Pero todos llevan a la misma solución. La solución es que es una crisis europea y tiene que tener un enfoque europeo. Y para eso, si hablamos de crecimiento, pues el crecimiento debe permitir financiar educación, no solo formación; financiar muy particularmente formación profesional y movilidad de la formación profesional a nivel europeo; lanzar inversiones preferentemente en las zonas, no en los países, en las zonas de grandes bolsas de desempleo juvenil y, por supuesto, fortalecer la movilidad. No hay que buscar más.

(El orador acepta responder a una pregunta formulada con arreglo al procedimiento de la «tarjeta azul» (artículo 162, apartado 8, del Reglamento))

  Maria Grapini (S&D), întrebare adresată în conformitate cu procedura „cartonașului albastru”.– Stimate coleg, sunt întru totul de acord cu ceea ce ați spus dumneavoastră. Vreau să vă întreb însă: nu credeți că, pentru a crea noi locuri de muncă și o economie sustenabilă și, evident, locuri pentru tineri, ar trebui să avem o altă politică de inovare și cercetare? Nu credeți că tinerii sunt inovativi și ar avea nevoie de o susținere în acest domeniu?

  Enrique Calvet Chambon (ALDE), respuesta de «tarjeta azul».– Por supuesto, querida colega, es decir, todo ayuda. Uno de los aspectos en los que yo he querido resumirlo es el de la formación profesional, la educación y la potenciación de la inversión —las inversiones sociales también cuentan—, y por supuesto, un enfoque en la investigación y un enfoque prioritario hacia las zonas de futuro ayudarán sin duda. Pero no hay que olvidar tampoco a los jóvenes que no pueden tener acceso por miles de razones y son tan valiosos para Europa como los que no pueden tener acceso a la alta formación.

  Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL). – Senhora Presidente, Senhor Comissário, há demasiados anos que as instituições europeias vendem os mesmos pacotes de políticas e a desregulação como sendo o remédio para todos os males na Europa, incluindo para o problema do desemprego jovem.

O senhor ainda hoje veio aqui falar e continua a apresentar estágios. Mas estágios, Senhor Comissário, não são emprego — é outra coisa, mas não é emprego.

Estas políticas têm sido impostas aos Estados-Membros, muitas vezes, através de chantagem financeira, de pressão financeira e de ameaça, mas o problema continua a agravar—se e o crescimento é uma miragem. E não é apenas o desemprego, é também a precariedade e são os salários de miséria.

Nada disto, nenhuma destas medidas, Senhor Comissário, melhorou a economia e a Comissão Europeia multiplica-se em declarações piedosas, cada uma mais hipócrita do que a anterior. A receita continua a ser a mesma e não resolve os problemas.

Senhor Comissário, já ninguém espera nada da Comissão, mas pelo menos deixem que os Estados-Membros possam escolher algumas das suas opções, porque talvez fazer o contrário do que a Comissão recomenda seja mesmo a solução para o crescimento e para criar emprego.

(A oradora aceita responder a uma pergunta “cartão azul” (apresentada nos termos do artigo 162.º, n.º 8, do Regimento).)

  Tibor Szanyi (S&D), Kékkártyás kérdés.– Nagyon szépen köszönöm a lehetőséget, elnök asszony, és képviselő asszonynak is, hogy fogadja a kérdésemet. Ön azt mondta, hogy a Bizottság és más intézmények álláspontja minden évben évről évre ugyanaz. Én azért azt gondolom, hogy van itt egy új elem, és kérdezem Önt, hogy mit lát ebben potenciálként? Nevezetesen, körülbelül annyi adó megy el adóparadicsomokba Európában, mint az Európai Unió költségvetésének a fele. Nem inkább ezt kéne megfognunk, mintsem hogy állandóan a régi lemezeket játszani? Köszönöm szépen!

  Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL), resposta segundo o procedimento "cartão azul".– Caro Colega, se percebi a sua pergunta, estou de acordo com o comentário que faz. Mas diga—me, então, qual é a parte concreta da Comissão para lidar diretamente com os paraísos fiscais.

Ainda não vi nada e, de facto, controlar, ou melhor, eliminar os paraísos fiscais seria meio caminho andado para nós termos consolidação das contas públicas a nível europeu.

  Σωτήριος Ζαριανόπουλος ( NI).– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, στόχος της Ένωσης για τους νέους δεν είναι βέβαια η σταθερή, μόνιμη και με δικαιώματα εργασία τους - αυτό άλλωστε απάντησε γραπτά σε ερώτηση του ΚΚΕ - αλλά πώς αξιοποιώντας την ανεργία τους θα γίνουν πάμφθηνοι απασχολήσιμοι, με μισθούς πείνας, ελαστική εργασία, απλήρωτη μαθητεία, χωρίς δικαίωμα στην κοινωνική ασφάλιση. Βασική επιδίωξη η παραπέρα μόνιμη συμπίεση του γενικού επιπέδου μισθών και δικαιωμάτων, θυσία στα καπιταλιστικά κέρδη. Χαρακτηριστικό το τρίτο ελληνικό μνημόνιο, κουαρτέτο κυβέρνησης ΣΥΡΙΖΑ με στήριξη όλων των υπόλοιπων κομμάτων πλην του ΚΚΕ, και το ήδη συμφωνημένο τέταρτο ελληνικό μνημόνιο στο χθεσινό Εurogroup. Τις νέες βάρβαρες περικοπές συντάξεων βαρύτατα θα πληρώσουν και οι νέοι, που αποκλείονται ουσιαστικά απ̕ το δικαίωμα της σύνταξης, με άπιαστα όρια ηλικίας, καθώς περιπλανώνται μόνο ανάμεσα στην ανεργία και την προσωρινή απασχόληση, ενώ καλούνται να πληρώσουν αβάσταχτες ασφαλιστικές εισφορές. Να μη γίνουν οι νέοι δούλοι του 21ου αιώνα! Με μαζική δράση να δυναμώσουν τους αγώνες για ανατροπή της πολιτικής του κεφαλαίου της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και των κομμάτων της.

  Romana Tomc (PPE). – V strategiji Evropa 2020, ki smo jo sprejeli z namenom izboljšanja gospodarske situacije v Evropski uniji, smo sprejeli tudi vrsto ukrepov za pomoč mladim Evropejcem pri iskanju njihovih zaposlitev, pri vajeništvu, ali za nadaljevanje izobraževanja. V moji državi, v Sloveniji delodajalci novih iskalcev zaposlitev ne zaposlijo, ker nimajo delovnih izkušenj. Ampak sprašujem se, kako pa bodo pridobili te delovne izkušnje, če sploh nimajo možnosti, da bi se vključevali v delovni proces.

Seveda smo tudi na ravni Evropske unije stopili nekaj korakov naprej, stopnja brezposelnosti se je zmanjšala, vendar to seveda ni dovolj. Zato moramo pospešiti vse pobude za vključevanje mladih na trg dela, pobudo za zaposlovanje mladih in bolj sistemsko pristopiti k izvajanju programov. Zaposlitve moramo zagotoviti na dolgi rok, ne na kratek rok samo za čas trajanja programov. Kakovostno pripravništvo je zelo pomembno, vajeništvo, vse to bo omogočilo lažji prehod na trg dela.

Čeprav se zdi, da je mobilnost v okviru Evropske unije odlična, pa vendar vidimo, da temu v resnici ni tako. Zato se na eni strani srečujemo s preveč delovne sile, na drugi strani pa jo je premalo. V skladu z vsemi temi ukrepi, ki jih že sprejemamo, seveda moramo podpreti tudi večjo mobilnost.

  Carlos Zorrinho (S&D). – Senhora Presidente, Senhor Comissário, a União Europeia vive uma profunda crise de confiança. Dia a dia, debatemos ameaças e dissemina-se a perceção de que as respostas não estão à altura dos desafios.

No plano político, estamos numa espiral negativa e isso é aproveitado pelos populismos e pelos nacionalismos.

Chegou, por isso, o momento de lutarmos sem hesitações por este projeto de paz e de prosperidade, que fez da União Europeia a região do globo com maior qualidade média de vida e maior sustentabilidade para o planeta.

Muitos são os combates a travar, mas um dos mais importantes é o combate por esta geração: uma geração qualificada, cosmopolita, inovadora e empreendedora, que tem que ter oportunidades para resgatar o futuro — o seu futuro e o futuro do projeto europeu.

E se esta crise é uma crise de confiança, a resposta, Senhor Comissário, tem que ser credível.

Os programas de qualificação, de intercâmbio e de capacitação empreendedora dos jovens têm que ser dotados dos recursos necessários.

Não se trata de despesa. Trata-se de investimento no nosso capital mais reprodutivo — no capital humano, na esperança, no renascimento Europeu, um renascimento mais urgente do que nunca.

  Jean Arthuis (ALDE). – Madame la Présidente, le chômage des jeunes est une plaie honteuse pour l'Europe. En moyenne, un jeune sur quatre est au chômage et, dans certains pays, c'est un jeune sur deux – à l'exception d'États membres, tels que l'Allemagne, les Pays—Bas et l'Autriche, qui ont fait de l'apprentissage la passerelle entre l'enseignement général et la vie professionnelle.

Nous observons, par ailleurs, que les étudiants ayant bénéficié d'une mobilité dans un autre pays que celui où ils vivent sont mieux protégés contre le risque du chômage, d'où l'idée d'encourager les apprentis à la mobilité, en leur donnant accès aux bourses Erasmus au même titre que les étudiants.

La difficulté tient au fait que 28 pays donnent lieu à 28 statuts de l'apprentissage différents. Pour identifier et mesurer les obstacles à la mobilité des apprentis, il faut expérimenter. C'est l'objet du projet pilote que nous mettrons en œuvre dès septembre prochain.

Je tiens, Monsieur le Commissaire, à vous remercier très sincèrement pour l'appui et l'aide que vos services nous ont apportés. Je veux simplement exprimer le souhait, à l'heure de la simplification, que vous mettiez l'expérimentation à l'abri de la lourdeur des procédures habituelles qui peuvent tuer dans l'œuf les intentions les plus prometteuses. Confiance et pragmatisme pour faciliter l'expérimentation.

  Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης ( GUE/NGL).– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, αγαπητοί συνάδελφοι, σήμερα επαναλαμβάνονται τα ευχολόγια της Επιτροπής και των κυρίαρχων κύκλων της Ένωσης για οικονομική ανάπτυξη και απασχόληση των νέων, μέσω των ίδιων αποτυχημένων πολιτικών σκληρής λιτότητας και μνημονίου. Η Κύπρος, παρά τους πανηγυρισμούς για «success story» των μνημονίων και των πολιτικών λιτότητας, αποτελεί ακόμα ένα τραγικό παράδειγμα αυτής της αποτυχίας.

Η κυβέρνηση της δεξιάς στην Κύπρο και η τρόικα με τις μνημονιακές πολιτικές οδήγησαν σε ποσοστό 28,2% νεανικής ανεργίας. Ο αριθμός δε των εργαζομένων μειώθηκε κατά 30.000 τα τελευταία τρία χρόνια, ενώ χιλιάδες νέοι μεταναστεύουν στο εξωτερικό ή δεν επιστρέφουν πίσω στη χώρα τους μετά τις σπουδές τους. Η Κύπρος έχει τον μεγαλύτερο ρυθμό αύξησης των μακροχρόνια ανέργων στην Ένωση, ακόμα και μετά τη δήθεν έξοδο από το μνημόνιο. Η χώρα δε έλαβε την πέμπτη θέση στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση σε ποσοστά μερικής απασχόλησης, με μισθούς των 500 ευρώ και με το 94,3% των απασχολουμένων να δηλώνουν ότι το συμβόλαιο που υπέγραψαν δεν ήταν επιλογή τους. Οι νεοφιλελεύθερες πολιτικές λιτότητας απέτυχαν. Χρειαζόμαστε άμεσα δημόσιες επενδύσεις για κοινωνική ανάπτυξη και δημιουργία νέων ασφαλών και αξιοπρεπών θέσεων εργασίας.

Ο ομιλητής δέχεται να απαντήσει σε ερώτηση με «γαλάζια κάρτα» (άρθρο 162 παράγραφος 8 του Κανονισμού)

  Liisa Jaakonsaari (S&D), sinisen kortin kysymys. – Edellä puhunut edustaja toi esille ikävän tilanteen Kyprokselta, jossa nuorisotyöttömyys on kasvanut, vaikka monissa muissa Euroopan maissa se hiljalleen laskee.

Haluaisin kysyä puheenvuoron käyttäjältä, että oletteko Te yrittäneet tehdä esimerkiksi nuorisotakuun suhteen kaiken voitavan, jotta se myös Kyproksella auttaisi nuorisotyöttömyyteen. On nimittäin todellakin olemassa vaara, että nuorisotakuuseen käytettäviä määrärahoja jää jopa käyttämättä. Ettekö tekisi tästä kansallisen projektin?

  Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης ( GUE/NGL), απάντηση σε ερώτηση με «γαλάζια κάρτα».– Ευχαριστώ για την ερώτηση. Στην Κύπρο επιβλήθηκαν πολιτικές μέσω του μνημονίου. Πρώτα πρώτα επιβλήθηκε ένα απαράδεκτο κούρεμα των καταθέσεων που οδήγησε σε μια διάλυση της οικονομίας της Κύπρου. Από τη στιγμή που δεν αξιοποιούνται προγράμματα, δεν υπάρχουν δημόσιες δαπάνες, ακόμα και με αυτό το περιβόητο «Juncker plan» στην Κύπρο και στην Ελλάδα και σε άλλες χώρες δεν εφαρμόστηκε κανένα πρόγραμμα, γιατί η προϋπόθεση - που είναι λανθασμένη - είναι να υπάρχουν και ιδιωτικές επενδύσεις. Άρα, χωρίς στήριξη από την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση με προγράμματα, χωρίς δημόσιες επενδύσεις, δεν μπορούν να δημιουργηθούν θέσεις εργασίας.

  Claude Rolin (PPE). – Madame la Présidente, certes, on note quelques signes positifs, mais la réalité demeure brutale: plus d'un jeune sur cinq est au chômage – un jeune sur cinq sans perspective et sans avenir. C'est une génération que nous sommes est en train de sacrifier. Nous ne pouvons pas l'accepter et devons relever ce défi. Des outils existent, tels que l'initiative pour l'emploi des jeunes, qui doit perdurer et être financée au moins jusqu'en 2020.

Nous devons lutter contre l'exclusion scolaire et l'échec. Chaque jeune qui sort de la scolarité sans qualification et sans certification est un Mozart qu'on assassine. Il faut mettre en place un réel dispositif d'apprentissage européen, au même titre qu'Erasmus, mais d'apprentissage professionnel. Ce sont des systèmes qui marchent et qui fonctionnent. Nous devons les mettre en œuvre et, enfin, si nous voulons relever ce défi, nous devons placer l'enjeu de la lutte contre le chômage des jeunes au top one de la concertation sociale européenne. Cet enjeu le mérite.

  Brando Benifei (S&D). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, da parte mia faccio una riflessione semplice: abbiamo bisogno che l'iniziativa a favore dell'occupazione giovanile ("Youth Employment Initiative") sia rifinanziata per i prossimi anni. Si tratta di uno strumento essenziale, come già evidenziato dalla Commissione e da molti esperti con cui ho avuto modo di confrontarmi. Infatti fornisce liquidità alle regioni d'Europa con i più alti tassi di disoccupazione giovanile per lanciare programmi di garanzia per i giovani, che stanno progressivamente diventando un volano per migliorare le strutture pubbliche e private che si occupano di incontro domanda/offerta di lavoro e di servizi per il lavoro e per l'impiego in generale, settore bisognoso di investimenti e riforme in molti paesi.

Voglio infine sottolineare il ruolo centrale giocato dal Fondo sociale europeo nella battaglia contro la disoccupazione giovanile. Dopo aver subito un pesante taglio durante le ultime negoziazioni del quadro finanziario pluriennale, adesso abbiamo l'opportunità di porre rimedio a tale errore, all'interno dell'esercizio di revisione che ci apprestiamo a cominciare.

Sono convinto che su questo tema il Parlamento europeo eserciterà con forza le proprie prerogative.

  Sofia Ribeiro (PPE). – Senhora Presidente, a recuperação económica europeia ainda é frágil e lenta e tem-se revelado insuficiente para quebrar definitivamente com os terríveis números do desemprego jovem.

Assistimos à degradação de toda uma geração, com graves consequências num futuro próximo, colocando pressão na sustentabilidade dos nossos sistemas de segurança social.

Quase 20 % por cento dos jovens europeus no desemprego é ainda um número demasiadamente preocupante para que baixemos os braços.

Sendo natural dos Açores, uma região ultraperiférica, relembro que os jovens destas regiões, também eles europeus, continuam a debater-se com níveis de desemprego que ultrapassam os 50 %. Precisamos de outras políticas nestas regiões.

Para quebrarmos de forma sustentada este ciclo de desemprego jovem, temos de promover formas de cooperação entre governos, empresas, instituições de ensino e parceiros sociais, para que se adaptem os sistemas de educação e formação nacionais, adequando as competências às necessidades do mercado de trabalho e promovendo um desenvolvimento orientado e sustentado das nossas empresas, em especial das pequenas e médias empresas, que são fundamentais para gerar crescimento.

  Sergio Gutiérrez Prieto (S&D). – Señora Presidenta, señor Comisario, el programa de Garantía Juvenil es la gran decepción europea. Primero, porque ustedes la financiaron insuficientemente y, segundo, porque los Estados miembros, los que la están ejecutando, la están malgastando en programas que no ayudan a combatir el desempleo juvenil.

Pero aquí tenemos dos problemas: uno, de creación de empleo y, otro, de calidad del empleo. El paro juvenil es siempre el doble de la media del paro general y eso significa que tenemos que crecer el doble para absorber todo el paro juvenil, y para eso ustedes tienen que cambiar la política económica de la Unión Europea. Tiene que haber más inversiones. Si no hay crecimiento económico, no habrá creación de empleo y seguirá habiendo un desempleo juvenil creciente. Y lo segundo, la calidad del empleo, tiene que ver con las reformas estructurales que se han promovido también en el marco del Semestre Europeo. Los jóvenes hoy trabajan en puestos que no tiene nada que ver con su formación; bastantes están cobrando un 20 % menos de la media de los salarios que cobra la población general; viven con contratos parciales totalmente involuntarios.

Necesitamos cambiar, cambiar para crecer más y cambiar para integrar decentemente a una nueva generación de jóvenes en nuestros mercados laborales; si no, desenchufarán de la Unión Europea, y eso es lo que tenemos que evitar.

  Γεώργιος Κύρτσος ( PPE).– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, επειδή προέρχομαι από την Ελλάδα, μια χώρα όπου το ποσοστό ανεργίας των νέων είναι 50%, μπορώ να σας πω ότι η ανεργία των νέων αντιμετωπίζεται μόνο με την εφαρμογή μιας ολοκληρωμένης πολιτικής. Πρώτον, χρειάζεται καλύτερη σύνδεση των πανεπιστημίων με την αγορά εργασίας και ενίσχυση της τεχνικής εκπαίδευσης. Δεύτερον, χρειάζεται ένα σταθερό δημοσιονομικό και φορολογικό πλαίσιο για να υπάρξουν σημαντικές επενδύσεις στον ιδιωτικό τομέα της οικονομίας. Επιπλέον, χρειάζεται χρηματοδότηση των μικρομεσαίων επιχειρήσεων που αποτελούν όλες μαζί τον μεγαλύτερο συλλογικό εργοδότη. Τρίτον, επιβάλλεται διόρθωση σε ό τι αφορά τη σύνθεση των δημοσίων δαπανών ώστε να εξοικονομηθούν χρήματα για επενδύσεις σε έργα υποδομής και ανάπτυξης χωρίς να αυξηθούν οι δημόσιες δαπάνες. Τέταρτον, οι μεγαλύτεροι, οι άνθρωποι της γενιάς μου, πρέπει να σταματήσουμε να στέλνουμε τον λογαριασμό της κρίσης τους νεότερους προστατεύοντας τα δικά μας δικαιώματα και προνόμια σε βάρος της δικής τους προοπτικής.

  Pervenche Berès (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, ce débat est l'occasion de rappeler l'importance du combat pour l'emploi des jeunes et, sur ce chantier, il reste beaucoup à faire.

Dans ce Parlement, avec le Conseil et la Commission, nous avions mis en place la garantie jeunesse. Certains disent: "Mais elle n'est pas utilisée. Quels sont ces six milliards? Où sont-ils?"

Je vous le dis, dans un certain nombre de pays où cette affaire a été prise au sérieux, des efforts considérables ont été engagés, et nous voyons bien combien, aujourd'hui, il faut les prolonger. La garantie jeunesse, c'est presque une réforme structurelle, c'est la mise en place d'un mécanisme totalement innovant pour beaucoup de pays. Alors, bien sûr, il faut adapter les façons de faire pour accompagner les jeunes, et cela ne se fait pas en un jour.

Au moment où la Commission est tellement à la recherche de propositions utiles à la fois pour servir l'intérêt des Européens et pour faire valoir la puissance des initiatives qu'elle peut porter, il est temps de relancer cette proposition pour une garantie jeunesse, de la doter d'un montant significatif – nous proposons les vingt milliards tels qu'ils avaient été identifiés par l'OIT –, de se préoccuper de la qualité des travaux qui sont ainsi proposés aux jeunes et aussi de s'inquiéter de savoir s'il ne faut pas étendre la période au cours de laquelle les jeunes peuvent bénéficier d'une telle garantie, qui est un moyen de leur mettre le pied à l'étrier, ce qui est notre devoir.

  Michaela Šojdrová (PPE). – Kolegyně a kolegové, jak jsme slyšeli, máme zde pozitivní čísla, protože nezaměstnanost obecně v eurozóně i zejména v celé Evropské unii se snižuje. Ale to neznamená, že nevidíme rizika. Protože každý mladý nezaměstnaný je promarněná šance a je zde riziko frustrace. Evropská unie si to uvědomuje, proto zde také dnes hovoříme o tom, že musíme dále usilovat o zlepšení kvality vzdělání, o podpoře mladých v jejich startu na pracovním trhu. Evropská unie k tomu vytváří programy, finanční nástroje a já vyzývám Evropskou komisi, aby tyto nástroje, ať už je to Erasmus plus nebo Garance za mladé, byly flexibilnější a administrativně jednodušší. Ukazuje se, že tyto nástroje sice fungují, ale jejich potenciál je daleko vyšší jak pro mobilitu studentů, tak pro mobilitu učitelů a tento obrovský potenciál, který Evropská unie má, nevyužíváme dostatečně.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar (PPE). – Senhora Presidente, neste debate, todos apontaram como fator principal e causador do elevado número de desempregados, de jovens desempregados, a crise económica e financeira que a Europa atravessa.

De facto, e infelizmente, por toda a Europa são mais de 20 milhões de jovens que continuam sem uma oportunidade de emprego. Se é uma realidade que o programa “Garantia Jovem” permitiu em vários países — e Portugal foi um exemplo disso — reduzir uma parte do número de desemprego jovem, dando oportunidades aos jovens e também permitindo às empresas investir no capital humano, se esta foi uma realidade, facto é que, chegado o final deste programa, é urgente planear a próxima fase.

Senhor Comissário, deixo aqui um apelo para que se preparem futuros programas de emprego jovem, com medidas concretas para melhorar a transição para o mercado de trabalho, e para que se preparem programas com medidas concretas para facilitar a criação de start-ups e projetos tecnológicos.

Senhor Comissário, que se criem verdadeiros programas para apoiar concretamente o empreendedorismo. Há toda uma geração de jovens que anseiam por respostas e por que a Europa lhes dê estas oportunidades.

  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, è fondamentale per l'Unione europea incentivare una crescita economica duratura, inclusiva e sostenibile che trovi effettivo e naturale sbocco nella creazione delle condizioni per favorire l'occupazione giovanile. In un momento congiunturale difficile e complesso per il sistema produttivo, lo sviluppo di reti tra sistema formativo e imprenditoriale risulta essere strategico per lo sviluppo di competenze coerenti con i processi di innovazione.

Va agevolata una programmazione formativa in sinergia con quella produttiva mediante lo sviluppo di specifici poli settoriali organizzati secondo una logica di network, istruzione e lavoro in grado di promuovere una formazione dinamica e continua. È triste dirlo, ma i giovani europei non riscontrano le condizioni per la valorizzazione del loro patrimonio di conoscenze e dalla loro capacità di innovazione.

Se l'Europa vuole essere credibile, deve innanzitutto recuperare l'entusiasmo dei suoi giovani, attuando politiche orientate alle loro esigenze e creando le condizioni per assicurare loro le competenze necessarie per affermarsi sul mercato del lavoro.

  Νότης Μαριάς ( ECR).– Κύρια Πρόεδρε, η μερκελική λιτότητα έχει εκτινάξει στα ύψη το ποσοστό της ανεργίας στην Ευρώπη. Συγκεκριμένα, αυτή τη στιγμή στην Ευρώπη οι μακροχρόνια άνεργοι υπερβαίνουν τα 12.000.000 άτομα, ενώ το ποσοστό ανεργίας των νέων ξεπερνά το 20% σε ορισμένα κράτη μέλη της Ένωσης. Βέβαια, σε χώρες όπως η Ελλάδα, που πλέον είναι πρωταθλήτρια ανεργίας στην Ευρώπη λόγω των μνημονίων, η ανεργία των νέων φτάνει στο 48,9% ως αποτέλεσμα της βίαιης δημοσιονομικής προσαρμογής που έχει επιβληθεί από την τρόικα στην Ελλάδα. Παράλληλα, στα πλαίσια του στόχου της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης για την ανάκτηση του «κοινωνικού τριπλού Α» και την τόνωση της ανάπτυξης για το 2016, αναμένεται να δοθούν μόνο 19 δισ. ευρώ. Φυσικά το ποσοστό αυτό δεν αρκεί ώστε να μειωθούν τα ποσοστά ανεργίας και φτώχειας στις χώρες του ευρωπαϊκού Νότου. Αντίθετα, η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση θα πρέπει να λάβει άμεσα μέτρα να καθιερώσει το ευρωπαϊκό ελάχιστο εισόδημα, τον ευρωπαϊκό ελάχιστο μισθό και το ευρωπαϊκό επίδομα ανεργίας, ώστε να καταπολεμήσει τη φτώχεια στην Ευρώπη και την τεράστια ανεργία των νέων.

  Κώστας Χρυσόγονος ( GUE/NGL).– Κυρία Πρόεδρε, συζητούμε για την οικονομική κατάσταση χωρίς να τη συσχετίζουμε με την πραγματική κατάσταση των ευρωπαϊκών κοινωνιών. Από δημογραφική άποψη, η Ευρώπη βρίσκεται σε πολύ χειρότερο σημείο από ό,τι από οικονομική άποψη, αφού είναι η πιο γερασμένη ήπειρος στον πλανήτη. Αυτό οφείλεται στο ότι ακολουθούνται λάθος οικονομικές και κοινωνικές πολιτικές, με αποτέλεσμα να μην υπάρχει επαρκής στήριξη για οικογένειες με ανήλικα παιδιά, ενώ συμμετοχή στο πρόβλημα έχει ασφαλώς και η υψηλή ανεργία των νέων, υπερδιπλάσια από ό,τι του γενικού πληθυσμού. Μακροπρόθεσμα, εγκλωβιζόμαστε σε φαύλο κύκλο, αφού η καινοτομία από την οποία περιμένουμε να έρθει η οικονομική ανάπτυξη και η δημιουργία θέσεων εργασίας προϋποθέτει την ύπαρξη ικανού αριθμού νέων ανθρώπων με νέες ιδέες. Χρειάζονται αποφασιστικές παρεμβάσεις από την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και τα κράτη μέλη συλλογικά και συντονισμένα, αλλιώς η μακροπρόθεσμη προοπτική της Ευρώπης είναι η κοινωνική και οικονομική κατάρρευση.

  Igor Šoltes (Verts/ALE). – Torej jamstvo za mlade je čudovit inštrument, ki seveda bo deloval, ko bodo tudi države članice na ustrezne načine prilagodile tako svojo davčno, kot finančno zakonodajo, ki bo stimulativna tako za mlade, kot seveda tudi za delodajalce. In to je pravzaprav smer, v katero moramo iti, če želimo doseči trajnostna delovna mesta, če želimo zmanjšati število prekernih zaposlitev, ki se na žalost tudi v celi Evropi povečujejo in spravljajo mlade v neugoden položaj, zlasti načrtovanja njihove prihodnosti in seveda tudi bivanjskih pogojev.

Mislim da, ko govorimo o mladih, moramo to povezati tudi z odnosom do cirkularnega gospodarstva – krožne ekonomije in pa seveda tudi do sistema ustreznega izobraževanja, ki mora biti kvalitetno in se torej odzvati na potrebe trga.

  Ivana Maletić (PPE). – Gospođo predsjednice, nezaposlenost mladih u Republici Hrvatskoj iz koje dolazim je 43 %. To me potaknulo da u posljednje dvije godine provedem i organiziram veliki broj susreta s mladima, konferencija, okruglih stolova. Cilj mi je bio čuti kako oni vide i osjećaju naše politike za mlade, osjećaju li u svakodnevnom životu garanciju za mlade i je li im ona pomogla.

Ono što su mi rekli je pomalo i poražavajuće. Mali broj je onih koji su zaista osjetili ove mjere, a oni koji jesu kažu sljedeće: otišli smo na dodatne edukacije preko Erasmusa, stručno smo se osposobljavali zahvaljujući garanciji za mlade, a na kraju smo i dalje bez posla i tražimo našu budućnost negdje izvan i Republike Hrvatske i Europe.

Ono što moramo napraviti je više slušati njih jer imaju dobre ideje koje mjere i aktivnosti provoditi i moramo prestati tražiti od mladih da se prilagođavaju našim mjerama te mjere prilagoditi potrebama mladih.

  Maria Grapini (S&D). – Vă mulțumesc, doamnă președintă, și mulțumiri speciale că ne dați posibilitatea să vorbim toți. Domnule comisar, am apreciat ceea ce ați spus și faptul că ați fost astăzi alături de noi. Aș fi preferat să fie și doamna comisar care răspunde de piața internă.

Pentru creșterea economică și locurile de muncă pentru tineri avem nevoie de o Europă bogată în competențe. Avem nevoie de dezvoltare economică și de o strategie de reindustrializare, pentru crearea de locuri de muncă de calitate. Mă bucură faptul că azi dezbatem deodată două teme extrem de importante. Măsurile de apărare comercială discutate la primul punct azi pot crea facilități de noi locuri de muncă pentru tineri. Este nevoie de o politică educațională, o educație vocațională, orientată spre nevoile economiei locale. Avem nevoie de o nouă politică de susținere a inovării și cercetării, unde tinerii pot excela, dar avem nevoie și de o nouă viziune a politicii fiscale pentru start-up-uri, pentru locuri sărace, unde investitorii au nevoie de susținere pentru crearea locurilor de muncă. Altfel, vom asista neputincioși la cum situația economică și viața tinerilor se degradează.

Trebuie să educăm tinerii să prefere munca în locul asistenței sociale și dorim stimulente pentru investitori.

  Milan Zver (PPE). – Najprej bi rad izrazil zadovoljstvo, da je do te razprave prišlo. Predvsem zaradi tega, ker lahko poudarjamo take bolj sladke probleme o zmanjševanju brezposelnosti mladih v zadnjih letih, ko se je zmajšalo resnično skoraj za milijon.

Prav tako sem vesel, da je Komisija pristopila k vmesnemu pregledu delovanja jamstvene sheme, ki bo na podlagi novih indikatorjev, ki bo zagotovo prispevalo ali pa vplivalo na izboljšanje delovanja te sheme tudi v drugi polovici finančne perspektive.

Vendar nisem pa najbolj zadovoljen z razpravami, z vsemi razpravami, ki sem jih tukaj slišal. Ne moremo graditi prihodnosti mladih in pa njihovo zaposljivost zgolj na gašenju požara, z regulacijo, s tem, da države in skupnosti odpirajo nova delovna mesta.

Mi jih moramo opremiti predvsem z ustreznimi kompetencami, ki jih bo gospodarstvo potem lahko sprejelo in s tem bomo največ naredili za mlade.

  Victor Negrescu (S&D). – Doamnă președintă, pregătisem inițial o intervenție clasică de un minut dar, auzind anumite discursuri, nu am putut rezista.

Consiliul dă vina pe Comisie, Comisia dă vina pe statele membre, iar noi, din păcate, în Parlamentul European, nu suntem suficient de bine auziți. Dragi colegi, vorbim de șapte milioane de tineri șomeri. Șapte milioane, în contextul în care avem nevoie de lucrători pe piața digitală.

Refuz ca generația mea să devină o nouă generație pierdută. Slabul management al fondurilor europene, cum este cazul în România, în prezent, sub actualul guvern, nu trebuie să devină un motiv pentru scăderea alocărilor bugetare pentru tineri. Garanția pentru tineret trebuie continuată, iar Comisia trebuie să se asigure că aceasta este implementată – să se asigure, nu să monitorizeze.

Tinerii europeni, tinerii din țara mea, România, au încredere în Europa și au așteptări legitime ca noi să le rezolvăm. Pentru a face acest lucru, este nevoie de toată lumea, pentru că sunt tinerii noștri. Avem nevoie de investiții suplimentare în educație, în dezvoltarea de competențe noi, în noua economie digitală. Avem nevoie de soluții acum, la nivel european.

  Csaba Sógor (PPE). – Madam President, unfortunately, despite the increase in employment rates across Europe, young people still experience difficulties in getting access to the labour market. Approximately 20% of young people under the age of 24 are currently not in education, employment or training – some of them for a long time. Today, young people represent the group most exposed to social exclusion in Europe; their long-term disengagement from the labour market could have severe consequences both for them and for the economy and society as a whole. We cannot stand idle when faced with this enormous challenge; we must make sure that our education systems adequately prepare them for professional life and offer them vocational support connected to the needs of the labour market, and that innovation and youth entrepreneurship are given the emphasis they deserve.

  Javi López (S&D). – Señora Presidenta, la crisis económica nos ha dejado tras de sí una sociedad más desigual, con más pobreza, menos protegida y con más precariedad en nuestros mercados laborales. Solo hay que ver el impacto diferente que ha tenido en la renta disponible entre Alemania y España: en los años de crisis ha aumentado un 20 % en Alemania y disminuido un 20 % en España. Y sobre todo, esta pobreza y exclusión, lo que ha provocado es que mucha gente hoy desconecte de las instituciones europeas y apoye a fuerzas euroescépticas o eurófobas.

Nosotros hemos impulsado algunos programas: la Garantía Juvenil, la Iniciativa de Empleo Juvenil; pero esto son programas, no es una política completa frente a un fenómeno que hoy acecha al conjunto de Europa. Por eso es necesaria una política de crecimiento económico, un crecimiento sostenible, inclusivo, que sea un verdadero pacto entre Estados; un verdadero pacto entre clases y un pacto entre generaciones. Porque una sociedad sin futuro está condenada al fracaso.

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

  Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, thank you for this interesting debate. I see that there is one point we all agree on. We must not have a lost generation. Making sure young people get a foot in the labour market remains therefore one of our highest priorities. This is first and foremost important for the young, to allow them to realise themselves through work, to have a decent wage that allows them to rent or buy accommodation and/or to start a family, that takes care of their professional development, but it is also important for society at large.

Young people tend to be better educated and computer literate. We need them to support productivity and growth in Europe. Delivering on the objectives of the Youth Guarantee requires strategic reforms to achieve more successful transitions from school to the labour market. It is a complex programme that requires time and effort in the Member States, but these efforts are starting to pay off. Progress has been carefully monitored within the European Semester, including those country-specific recommendations where appropriate.

In reply to some questions: to Marian Harkin: the majority of the Member States concerned have effectively used advance payment and today more than one million young people have benefited from the scheme directly. However a few Member States might not be in a position to have used up to 50% of the advance payment by 23 May. In that case, they will have to pay back the advance but they will not lose the money as that will stay in the Youth Employment Initiative envelope allocated to their regions.

In reply to Ms Pervenche Berès: at the end of the budgetary conciliation last year the three institutions agreed to assign to the Commission the task of assessing the progress made in the execution of the Youth Employment Initiative this year and, taking into account the available budgetary margins, of considering whether additional funding should be proposed after 2016. This assessment is ongoing and while a few Member States might be obliged to pay back the increased advance payments they received one year ago, the results obtained so far deserve to be taken into consideration in the final decisions.

On the calls for more growth and programmes, let me remind you that the Youth Employment Initiative is only a part of the solution. There are, for example, specific programmes for small and medium enterprises and there is also the investment plan. Moreover, the Commission has mobilised a range of instruments to support implementation, for example policy support, mutual learning between Member States, outreach campaigns. The Commission will report in October on the progress of the Youth Guarantee and the Youth Employment Initiative.

  Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, President-in-Office of the Council. – Madam President, let me take this opportunity to signal once again our full commitment to addressing youth unemployment and let me stress once more that the Council, obviously in close cooperation with the Commission, will pursue its efforts to address the challenges and closely monitor the progress made. Let us not forget the importance of structural reforms in the Member States. The Council, the Commission, and Parliament will not be able to provide the Member States with the one and only silver bullet. It is up to the Member States to act swiftly and in time.

Ms Marian Harkin asked for concrete numbers and the Commissioner has already replied. She also asked whether the Youth Guarantee could have been implemented faster; the answer is yes. It has taken time for Youth Guarantee measures to be put in place, and therefore a complete evaluation is not yet possible, but we are getting there, slowly but surely.

What struck me most in this debate were the words of Ms Rodrigues. Europe has no future if we cannot offer a future to our youth. I could not agree more, and therefore this is an important debate. I also agree with Ms McIntyre, who said that we need to create the right environment for businesses to grow so that they can hire young Europeans entering the labour market. But, as I have just said, this is not so much a matter of European funding programmes, it is first and foremost a task for Member States.

They need to implement the right structural policies in order to foster growth and jobs, and we need to keep using the European Semester and country-specific recommendations to push the Member States in the right direction and make them act accordingly.

  President. – As you say, this is an important debate and I am happy that so many visitors – young and old – are in the Chamber to listen to the debate, which is now closed.

Written statements (Rule 162)

  Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D), raštu. – Pastaruosius keletą metų ES ir šalyse narėse daug diskutuojame, kaip kovoti su jaunimo nedarbu, arba bent jau kaip sumažinti neigiamas jo pasekmes. Pats jaunimo nedarbas išsivysčiusioje, saugioje ir išsilavinusioje Europoje yra pakankamai keistas reiškinys – duomenys rodo, kad jauni žmonės niekada istorijoje negyveno geriau, nei dabar, jei vertinsime prieinamą mitybą, švietimą, žmogaus teisių ir laisvių apsaugos lygį, galimybę keliauti mokslo ir darbo tikslais ne tik Europos Sąjungoje, bet ir po visą pasaulį, jau neminint interneto teikiamų galimybių. Taigi, ar Komisija nemano, kad iki šiol per mažai ar nepakankamai aktyviai įtraukėme patį jaunimą į ES diskusiją apie šiandienos jaunimo problemas ir visų pirma nedarbo problemą? Mano manymu, iki šiol ES per mažai dėmesio buvo skirta jaunimo verslumo skatinimui, o ypač inovatyvaus verslumo skatinimui, kuriam būtent jaunoji mūsų karta yra geriausiai pasirengusi? Ar Komisija nemano, kad ES būtų verta pradėti didelio masto iniciatyvą, į kurią būtų aktyviai įtraukti jauni žmonės (tiek jauni verslininkai, tiek norintys jais tapti), kad kartu ieškotume konkrečių priemonių, kuriomis įgalintume jaunąją kartą ir išlaisvintume jos potencialą kurti darbo vietas ne tik sau, bet ir kitiems? Tokia iniciatyva galėtų būti viena iš Europos strateginių investicijų fondo remiamų iniciatyvų, kaip tikra investicija į ateitį?

  Andrea Bocskor (PPE), írásban. – Az utóbbi években 25%-kal csökkent az EU-ban a fiatalok munkanélkülisége, amely komoly eredmény, de további erőfeszítésekre van szükség. Egyrészt az egyes tagországok között jelentős eltérések vannak, másrészt a meglévő pénzügyi eszközök felhasználásán is lehet még javítani. A probléma bonyolultságát az adja, hogy egyszerre kell rövid és hosszú távú megoldásokban gondolkodni.

A most végzett fiataloknak azonnal munkahelyre lenne szükségük, ugyanakkor az oktatásra és továbbképzésre fordított jelentős összegek esetleg csak később hozzák meg az eredményt. Az ifjúsági garancia program jelenleg 6 milliárd eurós kerete hasznos kezdeményezés, a meglévő tapasztalatok alapján időszakos felülvizsgálat után ez esetleg emelhető lenne. Véleményem szerint el kell érni, hogy az EU-ban kiképzett fiatalok itt hasznosítsák tudásukat, valamint lehetőleg végzettségüknek megfelelő munkaköröket töltsenek be.

  Iratxe García Pérez (S&D), por escrito. – Desde finales de 2013, los datos económicos y laborales en la Unión Europea indican una cierta recuperación. Se trata de una recuperación lenta y desigual entre países y con registros aun excesivamente altos en términos de desempleo y pobreza.

El Consejo y la Comisión se esfuerzan por trasladar una visión optimista sobre los resultados conseguidos, insistiendo en que esto prueba que las medidas económicas, las reformas estructurales y la austeridad han funcionado.

La realidad es muy distinta para la mayoría social que hoy se encuentra en peores condiciones que hace diez años y sin perspectivas de futuro.

La Garantía Juvenil, por ejemplo, no ha dado los resultados esperados y necesita reformas que mejoren su financiación, su implementación y garanticen su uso por parte de los Estados y de los propios jóvenes.

Es necesario, como consecuencia, cambiar las políticas económicas de la Unión, las cuales han supuesto un fracaso en términos económicos, sociales y políticos. Si queremos preservar el futuro del proyecto europeo, debemos promover reformas estructurales de carácter progresista, empezando por un gran programa de inversión pública que incentive la demanda, genere crecimiento sostenible y cree empleo de calidad, especialmente con la vista puesta en los jóvenes.

  Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D), por escrito. – Desde finales de 2013 los datos económicos y laborales en la Unión Europea indican una cierta recuperación. Se trata de una recuperación lenta y desigual entre países y con registros aun excesivamente altos en términos de desempleo y pobreza. El Consejo y la Comisión se esfuerzan por trasladar una visión optimista sobre los resultados conseguidos, insistiendo en que esto prueba que las medidas económicas, las reformas estructurales y la austeridad han funcionado. La realidad es muy distinta para la mayoría social que hoy se encuentra en peores condiciones que hace diez años y sin perspectivas de futuro. La Garantía Juvenil, por ejemplo, no ha dado los resultados esperados y necesita reformas que mejoren su financiación, su implementación y garanticen su uso por parte de los Estados y de los propios jóvenes. Es necesario, por lo tanto, cambiar las política económicas de la Unión, que se han demostrado un fracaso en términos económicos, sociales y políticos y promover reformas estructurales de carácter progresistas, empezando por un gran programa de inversión pública, que incentive la demanda, generando crecimiento sostenible que cree empleo de calidad, especialmente con la vista puesta en los jóvenes, si queremos preservar el futuro del proyecto europeo.

  Enrique Guerrero Salom (S&D), por escrito. – Desde finales de 2013 los datos económicos y laborales en la Unión Europea indican una cierta recuperación. Se trata de una recuperación lenta y desigual entre países y con registros aun excesivamente altos en términos de desempleo y pobreza. El Consejo y la Comisión se esfuerzan por trasladar una visión optimista sobre los resultados conseguidos, insistiendo en que esto prueba que las medidas económicas, las reformas estructurales y la austeridad han funcionado. La realidad es muy distinta para la mayoría social que hoy se encuentra en peores condiciones que hace diez años y sin perspectivas de futuro. La Garantía Juvenil, por ejemplo, no ha dado los resultados esperados y necesita reformas que mejoren su financiación, su implementación y garanticen su uso por parte de los Estados y de los propios jóvenes. Es necesario, por lo tanto, cambiar las política económicas de la Unión, que se han demostrado un fracaso en términos económicos, sociales y políticos y promover reformas estructurales de carácter progresistas, empezando por un gran programa de inversión pública, que incentive la demanda, generando crecimiento sostenible que cree empleo de calidad, especialmente con la vista puesta en los jóvenes, si queremos preservar el futuro del proyecto europeo.

  Ева Паунова (PPE), в писмена форма. – Връзката между икономическия растеж и справянето с високите нива на безработица е безспорна. Но за да включим младите в работния пазар, не можем да разчитаме изцяло на европейските програми за младежка заетост и държавните програми. Кариерните перспективи са обусловени от стабилна и просперираща икономика от една страна, както и повишаване на квалификациите и мобилността на европейците от друга.

Европейската икономика расте с около 2% на година, но според скорошната икономическа прогноза на Европейската комисия, безработицата ще спадне едва с половината. Това означава, че трябва да променим нашия икономически модел, създавайки нови възможности за включването на младите хора. Насърчаването на младите предприемачи и предоставянето на стажове и професионални обучения са в сърцето на този нов модел, който не само повишава заетостта, но и дава тласък на икономиката.

Също така е важно да насърчим изграждането на търсените от бизнеса умения – в следващите четири години ще се изисква висока квалификация за още 16 млн. работни места. А за да бъдат достъпни тези кадри навсякъде в Европа, трябва да подобрим и професионалната мобилност. Правните предпоставки за свободното придвижване на работна ръка са налице, но сега е време да се преборим и с практическите и административните пречки, създавайки един истински прозрачен трудов пазар.

  Miguel Viegas (GUE/NGL), por escrito. – Mais de vinte milhões de pessoas estão desempregadas na UE, 22,8 % dos quais jovens. Alguns Estados-Membros têm uma taxa de desemprego dos jovens muito alta, nomeadamente a Grécia (57,7 %), a Espanha (54 %), a Itália (43 %), Chipre (36 %) e Portugal (34,8 %). 8,3 milhões de jovens com idade inferior a 25 anos não exercem uma atividade, 19 % das crianças estão em risco de pobreza, 8 % das pessoas são vítimas de graves privações materiais, 15 % das crianças abandonam a escola sem completar o ensino secundário, 24,2 % das pessoas estão em risco de pobreza, os trabalhadores pobres representam um terço dos adultos em idade ativa em risco de pobreza e o número de pessoas sem-abrigo na UE atinge os 410 000, por noite.

Este é o retrato de uma combinação catastrófica de políticas de austeridade da UE e de reformas estruturais neoliberais que contribuiu decisivamente para níveis sem precedentes de investimento na economia, ao mesmo tempo que o poder de compra e a procura interna diminuíram e a desigualdade de rendimentos e a pobreza aumentaram, como se verifica de forma muito dramática nos países sob tutela da troica.

(The sitting was suspended at 11.45 and resumed at 12.00)

IN THE CHAIR: ULRIKE LUNACEK
Vice-President