An EU budget in support of efficient youth policies

Strasbourg, 15 September 2016

In his speech on the state of the European Union Jean-Claude Juncker expressed the European Commission’s commitment to a continued fight against youth unemployment. A key means of achieving this is by implementing the Youth Employment Initiative, which will be boosted with an additional € 1 Billion, as foreseen by the mid-term review of the EU budget. The Youth Intergroup in the European Parliament welcomes the additional funding and calls for securing the necessary funds until the end of the financial framework.

With youth unemployment still at 18.8% in July 2016, stronger action on EU level is needed to combat youth unemployment, ensuring economic recovery, prosperity and enhanced levels of trust by Europe’s young generation. The Youth Guarantee is showing promising results according to key stakeholders and as established by the first evaluation of the European Commission. The decrease in youth unemployment should be an encouragement to continue on this path and do more, whilst also improving the implementation of the Youth Guarantee.

MEP Terry Reintke, Chair of the Youth Intergroup, commented:

“The European Parliament Youth Intergroup will continue to work for higher investment in youth throughout the EU budget. We believe it’s crucial to invest in young people and to involve youth in budgetary discussions. We will work to keep the investment level in the Youth Guarantee at least at the same level. The additional funding for the Erasmus+ programme is a good step that provides opportunities for mobility for millions of young Europeans. We also believe that a focus on youth in the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and in the European Fund for External Investment (EFSD) can provide an opportunity to mainstream youth in the EU budget.”