The EU Youth Guarantee Programme

9.6.2017

Question for oral answer O-000051/2017
to the Commission
Rule 128
Nicola Caputo, Thomas Händel, Isabelle Thomas, Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz, Gérard Deprez, Robert Rochefort, Ivan Štefanec, Nikolay Barekov, Heinz K. Becker, Lara Comi, Margrete Auken, Victor Negrescu, Lynn Boylan, Jordi Solé, Julie Ward, Damiano Zoffoli, Fabio De Masi, Momchil Nekov, Evelyn Regner, Sergei Stanishev, Jean-Paul Denanot, Enrico Gasbarra, Dietmar Köster, Nikolaos Chountis, Miroslav Poche, Doru-Claudian Frunzulică, Michela Giuffrida, Ramón Jáuregui Atondo, Younous Omarjee, Costas Mavrides, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Viorica Dăncilă, Peter Kouroumbashev, Eric Andrieu, Renata Briano, Pina Picierno, Clara Eugenia Aguilera García, Luke Ming Flanagan, Romana Tomc, Sofia Sakorafa, Barbara Kappel, Laurenţiu Rebega, Georgios Epitideios, Tania González Peñas

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has recently highlighted the fact that the EU Youth Guarantee Programme, which was intended to slash youth unemployment, has fallen short of expectations.

A total of EUR 6.4 billion in EU funding was set aside for the programme for the period 2014-2020, but a report by the ECA points to an estimate that calls for a budget of EUR 21 billion in order to help every unemployed person in Europe under the age of 25.

The Commission stresses that there has been a slight decrease in youth unemployment, but the harsh reality is that long-term youth unemployment is on the rise. Traineeships that lead nowhere and temporary contracts have produced youth unemployment figures that mask the true scale of the problem.

In view of the above, does the Commission intend to:

– boost the funding of the EU Youth Guarantee Programme with additional financial assistance from the EU budget and the European Social Fund (ESF)?

– clarify the definition of a ‘high quality’ job offer in order to ensure that companies do not take advantage of the scheme to use young people as a source of cheap labour?

– improve data collection and the monitoring and reporting system for the programme, by carrying out an impact assessment that specifies its expected costs and benefits?