Friday

8th Dec 2023

EU's youth job scheme criticised on money and targets

  • The youth guarantee was launched in 2013 to fight unemployment in the EU (Photo: European commission)

The flagship European programme to get back young people to work is set to cost more than planned while it is not clear how many jobs it will result in, the EU's financial watchdog said Tuesday (24 March).

In a report on the youth guarantee programme - launched in June 2013 to help under-25s find a job, training or apprenticeship - the EU court of auditors warned that "there is a risk that total funding may not be adequate".

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • 7.5 million young European are unemployed or out of education. (Photo: fdecomite)

Some 7.5 million people in Europe are considered as "not in education, employment or training. Youth unemployment rates are at 50 percent in some countries, such as Greece.

These figures make the youth guarantee a highly sensitive political issue.

The EU commission estimated the total funding of the programme by the EU and member states at €16.7 billion for the period 2014-2020.

But according to the International labour organisation, quoted by the EU auditors, the cost could be considerably higher - as much as €21 billion a year.

The extra cost could be due to measures taken by member states to fight youth unemployment that were not taken into account when the guarantee was launched.

Such measures include structural reforms in education, training and job-seeking in order to improve young people’s chances on the job market.

The court of auditor notes that nine of the 28 member states have provided no information so far on what measures they will take and at what cost.

Those who did provided only partial information, making it more difficult to assess the need for money.

The court points out that the commission did not carry out an impact assessment of the youth guarantee, providing "insufficient information on the potential cost" of the plan.

It asks member states to "provide a clear and complete overview of the cost of all planned measures […] in order that the commission can assess the overall funding needs."

In reply to the report, the commission said that EU extra money will come on top of the planned €16.7 billion.

"Eleven billion euro will be invested in modernising labour market systems and 27 billion euro are expected to be invested in education systems," it wrote in a statement.

The court also said the commission should more precisely define the requirements for proper job offers, traineeships and apprenticeships.

When they launched the youth guarantee, the commission and member states said they wanted to provide "good-quality" jobs and training to young people.

 But in the absence of a precise definition, it is impossible to estimate how many jobs have been really created through the plan, as many find only precarious or low-qualified jobs.

The commission should also "put in place a comprehensive monitoring system for the youth guarantee scheme, covering both structural reforms and measures targeting individuals" to ensure a better control of the use of money.

The commission, for its part, notes that the "responsibility for implementation" lies with member states

Despite the auditors’ criticism, "the validity of the youth guarantee is absolutely not called into question," Elisabeth Morin-Chartier, a French center-right MEP from the committee on employment and social affairs, told EUobserver.

"The court is right to ask member states to invest more in the implementation of the plan because they are not doing enough. They have to move themselves," she said.

"The court is also right to insist on the quality of what is offered to young people. We should not be mistaken. The youth guarantee is not made to create immediate or short-term jobs. It is made to create the missing link between training and work and give young people long term professional abilities," Morin-Chartier added.

EU youth unemployment is 'social emergency'

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has put further pressure on governments to create a pan-European youth guarantee scheme to tackle record levels of youth unemployment.

Data hole in EU plan for youth jobs

EU commission wants to spend another €2 billion on creating jobs for young people, but lack of data on who gets what from the scheme poses questions.

Opinion

Tusk's difficult in-tray on Poland's judicial independence

What is obvious is that PiS put in place a set of interlocking safeguards for itself which, even after their political defeat in Poland, will render it very difficult for the new government to restore the rule of law.

Opinion

Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?

Six months ahead of the EU elections, knocking an 'elitist' climate agenda is looking like a vote-winner to some. Saving the Green Deal and the EU's climate ambitions starts with listening to Europeans who are struggling to make ends meet.

Latest News

  1. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  2. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  3. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  4. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?
  5. Crunch talks seek breakthrough on EU asylum overhaul
  6. Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies
  7. 'Green' banks lend most to polluters, reveals ECB
  8. Tense EU-China summit showdown unlikely to bear fruit

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us