Brussels, 14/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Young Europeans are facing unprecedented challenges. They are the section of society most severely affected by the economic and financial crisis. Youth unemployment has reached record levels in several member states, the school drop-out rate remains a problem and the involvement and representation of young people in the democratic process and in the societies in which they live remains low. On Friday 11 May, the Council adopted conclusions on “fostering the creative and innovative potential of young people” to provide fresh impetus to youth policy, building on what was accomplished by the various initiatives launched as part of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. In the conclusions, the Council suggests establishing a thematic group with the participation of experts from the member states and the European Commission which will seek to identify skills and abilities acquired through non-formal and informal learning that are relevant to employability. The conclusions also call on member states to make the best use of the Youth in Action programme and the new Erasmus for All scheme, which will include youth policy, assuming that the scheme is adopted in the form in which it is currently envisaged.
Youth ministers also held a debate on “engaging with young people to release their potential”, on the basis of a discussion paper drafted by the Danish Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Ministers were asked to present their proposals for tackling youth unemployment, outside the framework of formal learning. They also developed their ideas for making use of the skills acquired through non-formal and informal learning in order to encourage the creativity and innovation of the young people who do not have jobs and who are not in education or training, and to prevent them from being pushed to the margins of society. Ministers also highlighted the importance of giving young people better prospects for the future and the importance of finding innovative solutions. The situation gives great cause for concern: more than 20% of 15-24 year olds on the EU labour market are unemployed. This means that more than five million young people do not have a job. The situation varies widely from region to region and from one member state to another. In some countries, youth unemployment rates are as high as 50%. The renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018) has already flagged up the need to forge closer links between youth initiatives and initiatives in other relevant fields of action, such as education, employment and social policy. (IL/transl.rt)