Brussels, 13/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - The flagship recommendation of the new youth employment package presented by the European Commission on 5 October (see EUROPE 10745) on the possibility of setting up a “youth guarantee” in member states, has given rise to contrasting reactions among social partners. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) looks favourably upon it while BusinessEurope, the association that defends the interests of large private firms, is more sceptical and fears this is a binding measure with potentially harmful impact.
Commissioner Laszlo Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) spoke again of the importance of the package when addressing the Committee of the Regions on Thursday 13 December, in Brussels. He reiterated the “dramatic situation of young people” in Europe. “I say 'dramatic' because there is simply no other way to put it”, he added. Although unemployment is the first challenge, it is not the only challenge. “Too many young people are neither in employment nor in education or training - we've even created a label for them, the 'NEETs'”, Andor said.
The Commission has therefore proposed a “youth guarantee” based on the example of Austria and Finland, which “is based on specific guidelines covering strong partnerships with all stakeholders, including local and regional authorities, early intervention and activation, and making full use of EU funding”. This Council recommendation aims to ensure that a young person under 25 will, upon leaving the world of education, be offered a course, training or a proposal of “quality employment” within four months, as a “trampoline” to the world of work.
Such a proposal makes Markus Beyrer, who recently became the new director general of BusinessEurope, afraid that the guarantee will change into a “guarantee of employment”. On Wednesday 12 December, Beyrer - who was previously the main economic adviser to the Austrian Chancellery and then director general of the Austrian Federation of Industry - told EUROPE that such a mechanism works in Austria today. This springs, in particular, from a well-anchored national tradition, thus suggesting that the attempt to export it to the other member states might prove impossible. Jürgen Thumann, BusinessEurope President, reacted in a similar fashion taking the view that the measure is perhaps discriminatory as it is also necessary to think of those who are still at work, albeit elderly. Just as one cannot guarantee growth, it would be “dangerous” to guarantee employment or training to the young, he said.
The ETUC considers the youth employment package offers good opportunities. It welcomes proposals such as the youth guarantee and, like the Commission, sees it as “a measure that should be continued and which should be considered as an investment”. Nonetheless, European trade union representatives underline that “this commitment should be backed by appropriate resources, in particular from the Social Fund and other structural funds”. This means that member states must not sacrifice funding intended for the “guarantee” on the altar of the tight negotiations for the next multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020. (JK/transl.jl)