Comment on European Parliament Facebook page: [ Ссылка ]
Looking for jobs: they're in good company.
By the end of last year 7.5 million people
aged between 15 and 24
were without jobs, education or training.
For under-30s, it rises to 14 million,
that's 15% of the EU's young,
including those with science degrees.
I have friends now living in the States,
in China, in Africa, in South America...
I have a lot of friends scattered
all over the world,
who have the possibility to find decent jobs,
but I have a lot without the skills, like
languages, or who've never been abroad.
That's what this meeting was about,
at least partly:
Members of the EP and national
parliaments discussing the need
to address the problem of 'the lost
generation' -- no jobs, no hope.
I think this is one of the most
under-estimated urgencies in Europe:
youth unemployment
and the risks of exclusion.
We could lose an entire generation
in countries like Spain and Greece.
The economic cost of this
and the social cost is huge.
The economic cost has been estimated
by the European Dublin Foundation
to be in excess of €150 billion a year.
For organisations like the European
Youth Forum, this is the urgent topic.
They want children
to be taught the skills for work
with high quality traineeships
and jobs that are secure.
The politicians are acting --
but only now that things have got so bad.
It took the numbers to grow so incredibly
in order to get something done,
at least at the rhetorical level,
at the level of the decision-makers.
Politicians know: dealing with
unemployment on this scale won't be cheap
but doing nothing will cost more.
Even the EU's Youth Guarantee Scheme --
a job, further education or training for
youngsters out of work for four months --
requires Member States
to agree the EU's next budget.
Sometimes we see Member States
leave youth and education behind,
especially in the Multiannual Financial
Framework negotiations,
but this time there is a need for states
to really invest
and really to take this problem seriously and
to invest in creating jobs for young people.
The problem is so vast
it won't be solved overnight.
Meanwhile, Europe's young go on
scouring the 'jobs vacant' columns.
EuroparlTV video ID: 3d8049d1-6c9a-45f8-a648-a1550109c772
