09/07/2020 (Agence Europe) – On the evening of Wednesday 8 July, the European Parliament approved by a large majority (695 votes in favour, 650 against, 26 abstentions) the 'Omarjee' report amending the umbrella regulation pertaining to structural and investment funds. MEPs therefore endorsed an increase of €28.3 million (current 2018 prices) for a specific allocation to the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), bringing its overall allocation to €145 million. Furthermore, they validated the continuation of the provision introduced in 2019 to plan additional resources for the YEI by means of transfers of up to 50% of additional resources to the European Social Fund (ESF) for the year 2020. The YEI supports young people who live in regions where the youth unemployment rate is above 25%. (PH)