Brussels, 27/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - The first conciliation meeting between the European Parliament and the Council on the "Youth" Programme, held in Brussels on Thursday and co-chaired by the Vice-President of the committee on Culture, Education and Youth of the European Parliament, Renzo Imbeni and Portuguese State Secretary for Youth Miguel Fontes, with the participation of the European Commissioner responsible for this issue, Viviane Reding, led to no positive results. Positions remain entrenched on both issues: the budget and the legal and administrative obstacles. A second meeting is expected, probably for 10 February. As a reminder, the EP was proposing a budget of 980 million euro, the Council 490 million euro, and the Commission had proposed 765 million euro as a compromise, the duration being 7 years (see EUROPE of 24/25 January, p.13). It seems, following this first meeting, that Parliament could rally around the Commission's compromise. But the Council seems to remain inflexible on its stance, some Member States not being willing to budge. The legal and administrative obstacles (guarantee of health-insurance for the young people travelling abroad, guarantee of unemployment benefit for the young unemployed that want to train abroad) come under the EP's recommendation to the Council on the mobility of the young, which is still being discussed within these bodies (see EUROPE of 13/14 December, p.14).