Brussels, 15/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - At the Council of Ministers on 16 May, youth ministers published a conclusions document to boost inter-sectoral and inter-institutional cooperation in favour of young people along with synergies between existing instruments and initiatives for young people, particularly the youth employment measure, in order to achieve the objectives of the EUROPE 2020 Strategy (tackling youth unemployment, reducing school drop-out rates and increasing the number of higher education graduates). The conclusions document talks about improving access to EU funding programmes for boosting mobility, exchanges and skills development.
The catastrophic youth unemployment situation has a direct economic impact in terms of unemployment benefit, loss of potential tax income and loss of earnings for the unemployed person, not to mention the human cost for young people, explains the Council. Measures taken under the EU youth policy, like formal and informal training and social and educational activities, can help improve matters and are crucial for helping young people gain the experience they need to find work later on. (IL/transl.fl)