Brussels, 02/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - As Spain braces itself for further recession deeper than predicted - up to 1.5% of GDP instead of 0.5% - a delegation of the European Parliament has been to Madrid to propose a deal. Under that deal, the Spanish government would support MEPs in inter-institutional negotiations on the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Parliament would ensure that a kick-start is given to make youth guarantee funds available for Spain.
With the unemployment rate of young Spaniards soaring (55.9% in March), the highest in Europe after the unemployment rate for young Greek nationals (59.1% in January), Spain is struggling to find a way to rebalance its accounts, while offering incentives to promote job creation. Shock treatment was indeed adopted in March with €3.5 billion, of which €1 billion was from the ESF, in order to combat youth unemployment. Nonetheless, Pervenche Berès (S&D, France), who chaired the parliamentary delegation and who was in Madrid on 29 and 30 April, considers the quality of social dialogue in Spain is a “controversial issue”, and thus poses the problem of how effective the policies for combating unemployment, especially youth unemployment, are. “Spain must examine why the quality of its social dialogue is not allowing it to leave the crisis”, Berès states in a press release.
The programme set in place by Mariano Rajoy's government comprises around one hundred measures, including alleviation of social charges, longer term payment of unemployment benefits in the event of a young person setting up a business venture, and the controversial creation of “mini-jobs” after the fashion of what is being done in Germany, namely part-time work, with low remuneration (€450). Berès takes the view, however, that a youth guarantee mechanism (see EUROPE 10834) should take effect in member states from 2014 to effectively allow unemployment figures to be reduced. Spain may, moreover, benefit alongside seven other countries from the total envelope of €6 billion, of which €3 billion would come from the ESF, provided for this in the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020.
The Parliament delegation reached Madrid with a proposal: “Spain has to put pressure on the Council” (Ed.: Council of Ministers of the EU) so that, as MEPs advocate, a fixed one-fourth part of the budget for cohesion policy for 2014-2020 can be intended for the European Social Fund (see EUROPE 10836). In return, the Parliament would support emergency distribution of the guarantee's funding. Instead of having payments spread out over several years, Spain would receive most of European co-financing as soon as the youth guarantee is launched. “Otherwise, the aid will be too little and come too late”, Berès said. (JK/transl.jl)