Brussels, 12/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - Unemployment is by far the most severe challenge faced by the younger generation, youth ministers underlined in the public debate held at the Youth Council on Friday 12 December. Along with this challenge come others: social exclusion, poverty, health problems, drugs, lack of training, problems in gaining access to housing.
The topic of the debate was implementation of the new vision of youth policy focusing on a more cross-cutting approach impinging on other policy sectors (health, employment, social affairs, housing, education). Ministers said that greater recognition should be given to what informal education and voluntary work can do to give young people, and in particular the so-called NEETS (not in employment, education or training), the best chance of finding a job and having a vision for the future. The ministers all were in agreement that the strategies implemented had to provide tangible responses for young people and that, in this context, there must be regular evaluation of the effectiveness of the instruments used through constant dialogue with youth representatives. The youth guarantee is an instrument of the greatest importance that must be fully used, ministers said. (IL)