Brussels, 04/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Youth Forum is delighted with the European Commission's initiative to help young people find or re-find jobs, or to benefit from an apprenticeship, or further training if they have been without work for a period of 4 years (“Youth Guarantee”). The Commission's preparatory action will finance a minimum of 15 projects designed to implement youth guarantees in different parts of Europe. According to the Youth Forum, this is a chance for local and national administrations and for youth organisations to develop examples of good practice on how a youth guarantee and other early labour market intervention measures can address youth unemployment. “Investing €10 billion in a youth guarantee could bring 2 million young people off the unemployment register by 2014” said Peter Matjasic, the president of the Forum. “As the current levels of youth unemployment cost us over €100 billion a year, implementing youth guarantees is an urgent action to be taken”, he continues. The Youth Forum says that it has been advocating this guarantee for several years but that the member states have been slow to react. Today Youth Guarantee policies are already effective in Austria, Denmark and Sweden, while Luxembourg and Finland are in the process of putting them in place. (IL/transl.fl)