PES calls for genuine EU youth welfare guarantee

[Politics.be]

Not the empty rhetoric of the ‘Merkozy proposal’ The Party of European Socialists (PES) has called for genuine European action on the youth unemployment crisis to be one of the main conclusions of the EU summit on Monday (30th January). The party has also heavily criticised the ‘empty proposals’ on the topic by German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy.

PES President, Sergei Stanishev said that, after a year of high-level political consultation, the PES has a detailed plan to tackle youth unemployment. “Youth unemployment costs the European Union 2 billion euros per week” said the PES President, “A Europe-wide youth guarantee should be introduced, ensuring that every young person in Europe must be offered a job, further education or work-focused training, at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed. The EU must invest the necessary funds to lift at least 2 million young people out of unemployment by the end of 2014.”

He contrasted this sharply with the proposals by Merkel and Sarkozy which he said made “vague and non-committal references to youth unemployment”. Mr. Stanishev said that; “European people are not stupid. They have seen French and German leaders expend enormous political capital to create a harsh “austerity” treaty. No one is fooled by this last minute, hastily drafted, “Merkozy” paper on youth unemployment, which neither foresees investments into young people, nor concrete legislation. This paper is just ‘mood music’ designed to distract people from their harsh agenda of cuts, deregulation and liberalisation”.

In contrast, the detailed PES proposal, formulated by the PES high level working group on youth unemployment, calls for the introduction of the Youth guarantee no later than end 2013. In recent years, the social democratic parties of Austria and Finland implemented such a youth guarantee, with great success. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Finish Vice-Prime Minister Jutta Urpilainen have been championing the idea at European level. Werner Faymann called on the European Council and the European Commission to invest 10 billion Euros from unspent European Social Fund resources to create 2 million new jobs for young people in Europe.

The social democratic principles of this scheme is echoed in a pre-Christmas Commission communication, initiated by EU social affairs Commissioner, Lazlo Andor. In the 21 December paper, entitled Youth opportunities initiative, the Hungarian social democrat outlines the need for concrete actions.

The Party of European socialists are set to discuss the youth guarantee in their pre-summit meeting at 11h00 on Monday. The meeting will take place in the PES headquarters on 98 rue du trone, Brussels.

-ends-

Background note
PES Youth Employment Campaign

At the moment, around 5,6 million young people in the EU are unemployed – a figure equal to the entire population of Denmark. The crisis has hit young people disproportionally high, increasing their unemployment twice as much as the adult rate (22% compared with 9.8%). In countries like Spain and Greece the situation is even worse, with nearly half of the young people out of work. Moreover, many of those who are in employment work in low-quality jobs and barely have social security. Tackling youth unemployment is a precondition for re-launching growth, for balancing budgets and for avoiding a social catastrophe.

In order to achieve real progress and prevent the loss of an entire generation, the PES will launch a youth employment campaign. The campaign intends to raise awareness of the Youth guarantee and implement political solutions in coordination with member parties and civil society. The PES will work closely with its partners in all EU institutions, trade unions, social and youth NGOs, to improve the conditions for reducing youth unemployment in Europe. The PES will also encourage its member parties to organise national round tables in order to develop solutions tailored to their countries, bringing the results together in a major conference in November this year.

The main PES proposals for fighting youth unemployment:

• As first of 20 concrete measures, the PES proposes the introduction of a Europe-wide youth guarantee, ensuring that every young person in Europe must be offered a job, further education or work-focused training, at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed.

• In order to achieve it, the PES demands to redirect at least €10 billion of unused European Social Funds to a special “youth employment strategy”. This way, 2 million new jobs and apprenticeship places for young people could be created. Another measure is the use of the 6% of all national and European budgets to be spent on high-quality education and to introduce the dual education system in all Member States.

• The investments needed to implement a youth guarantee are much lower than the costs of youth unemployment and a poorly skilled workforce. The European Foundation for Living and Working Conditions estimates that the consequences of millions of young people being neither employed nor receiving education or training causes costs of at least € 2 billion per week – the equivalent of 1.1% of GDP in total. The reintegration of 10% of these young people into the labour market would achieve a yearly saving of more than € 10 billion.

• High-quality jobs are another of the keystones of the campaign: a public and private investment programme of € 210 billion annually in order to create new jobs and decarbonise Europe’s economy, especially in those countries more affected by the crisis.

• The PES demands to revise European and national legislation to ensure a high quality of work for all young people and to end discrimination of disadvantaged groups of young people, such as young migrants and young people with disabilities. A concrete action plan is needed to overcome the gender pay gap of young employees. In addition, childcare and the mobility of young employees must be supported.



Article in EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/socialeurope...is-news-510454



Bron: politics.be

[eno2]

[quote]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Politics.be

Not the empty rhetoric of the ‘Merkozy proposal’ The Party of European Socialists (PES) has called for genuine European action on the youth unemployment crisis to be one of the main conclusions of the EU summit on Monday (30th January). The party has also heavily criticised the ‘empty proposals’ on the topic by German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy.

De jeugdwerkloosheid lijkt me een revolutionaire factor in de huidige kapitalistische conjunctuur. Er zijn dus revolutionaire maatregelen nodig.

PES President, Sergei Stanishev said that, after a year of high-level political consultation, the PES has a detailed plan to tackle youth unemployment. “Youth unemployment costs the European Union 2 billion euros per week” said the PES President, “A Europe-wide youth guarantee should be introduced, ensuring that every young person in Europe must be offered a job, further education or work-focused training, at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed. The EU must invest the necessary funds to lift at least 2 million young people out of unemployment by the end of 2014.”

Redelijke voorstellen. Die misschien niet ver genoeg gaan qua aantal

He contrasted this sharply with the proposals by Merkel and Sarkozy which he said made “vague and non-committal references to youth unemployment”. Mr. Stanishev said that; “European people are not stupid. They have seen French and German leaders expend enormous political capital to create a harsh “austerity” treaty. No one is fooled by this last minute, hastily drafted, “Merkozy” paper on youth unemployment, which neither foresees investments into young people, nor concrete legislation. This paper is just ‘mood music’ designed to distract people from their harsh agenda of cuts, deregulation and liberalisation”.

Een link naar, of een saamenvatting van die mood music zou welkom zijn

In contrast, the detailed PES proposal, formulated by the PES high level working group on youth unemployment, calls for the introduction of the Youth guarantee no later than end 2013

Zo snel mogelijk is beter

. In recent years, the social democratic parties of Austria and Finland implemented such a youth guarantee, with great success. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Finish Vice-Prime Minister Jutta Urpilainen have been championing the idea at European level. Werner Faymann called on the European Council and the European Commission to invest 10 billion Euros from unspent European Social Fund resources to create 2 million new jobs for young people in Europe.

Mooi voorbeeld van hoe het beste van lidstaten andere lidstaten zou kunnen inspireren

The social democratic principles of this scheme is echoed in a pre-Christmas Commission communication, initiated by EU social affairs Commissioner, Lazlo Andor. In the 21 December paper, entitled Youth opportunities initiative, the Hungarian social democrat outlines the need for concrete actions.

Vijf na twaalf


Background note
PES Youth Employment Campaign

At the moment, around 5,6 million young people in the EU are unemployed – a figure equal to the entire population of Denmark. The crisis has hit young people disproportionally high, increasing their unemployment twice as much as the adult rate (22% compared with 9.8%). In countries like Spain and Greece the situation is even worse, with nearly half of the young people out of work. Moreover, many of those who are in employment work in low-quality jobs and barely have social security. Tackling youth unemployment is a precondition for re-launching growth, for balancing budgets and for avoiding a social catastrophe.

Toch heeft bijna nog niemand bij de elite goed begrepen dat het evnagelie van de groei apocrief geworden is. En nog minder hebben ze begrepen dat dit een goeie zaak is en vele kansen geeft op een volledige duurzame reorganisatie van de samenleving op halflange termijn..

In order to achieve real progress and prevent the loss of an entire generation, the PES will launch a youth employment campaign. The campaign intends to raise awareness of the Youth guarantee and implement political solutions in coordination with member parties and civil society. The PES will work closely with its partners in all EU institutions, trade unions, social and youth NGOs, to improve the conditions for reducing youth unemployment in Europe. The PES will also encourage its member parties to organise national round tables in order to develop solutions tailored to their countries, bringing the results together in a major conference in November this year.

Jaja, praat maar hard en snel door. In Spanje hebben de socialisten daarvoor 8 jaar gehad en ze hebben er niets van gebakken.

[eno2]

• High-quality jobs are another of the keystones of the campaign: a public and private investment programme of € 210 billion annually in order to create new jobs and decarbonise Europe’s economy, especially in those countries more affected by the crisis.

To decarbonise the world economy is the main solution for all problems caused by lack of growth

[roger verhiest]

Beste Eno den tweeden ;

je merkt volkomen terecht op dat diverse nationale (en sub nationale)sociaal democraten er eigenlijk niet veel van bakken; zie Tony Blair's "derde weg" en Harz IV van de toenmalige
SPD regering...

Het is derhalve absoluut toe te juichen dat de S&D/PES zich profileert als een werkelijk transnationale europese partij, wat een nieuw en fris geluid brengt. De verschillen bij de
diverse ALDE en EVP politieke formaties (om van de groene regionalisten helemaal te zwijgen) vormen eigenlijk de kern van het probleem van de Europese Democratie:
ze zijn de kern van de machteloosheid van het EP die qua macht moeiteloos opzijgeschoven kan worden door de Europese Raad.

Inderdaad : meer eenheid kan volgen uit de bereidheid om van elkaar te leren : als er bepaalde problemen inj "andere landen" oplossingen krijgen, waarom niet kopieëren ?

[Sjaax]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door roger verhiest

Het is derhalve absoluut toe te juichen dat de S&D/PES zich profileert als een werkelijk transnationale Europese partij, wat een nieuw en fris geluid brengt. De verschillen bij de diverse ALDE en EVP politieke formaties (om van de groene regionalisten helemaal te zwijgen) vormen eigenlijk de kern van het probleem van de Europese Democratie:
ze zijn de kern van de machteloosheid van het EP die qua macht moeiteloos opzijgeschoven kan worden door de Europese Raad.

Inderdaad : meer eenheid kan volgen uit de bereidheid om van elkaar te leren: als er bepaalde problemen in "andere landen" oplossingen krijgen, waarom niet kopiëren ?

Imo is die transnationale Europese partij nog ver af. Ik ben het eerder met eno2 eens. Mijn kritiek had ik elders verwoord.

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Sjaax

De PES heeft weer eens de weg naar Rome ontdekt.

Ze presenteert een banenplan. (De redactie van politics.be besteedt er zelfs aandacht aan.)

Heeft ze nou nog niet door na het zoveelste debacle met zulke artificieel gecreëerde jobs dat banenplannen slechts een pleister op een etterende wond zijn? De economie in de EU moet worden hervormd, daar verandert een banenideetje niets aan. En om de EU te hervormen, moet links zich verenigen en met een economisch plan voor de gehele EU komen.