No C 211/50 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 8. 83 
Whereas the necessary action to counter this 
increased divergence requires energetic, imaginative 
and flexible action by the Community and its Mem­
ber States, 
Whereas the Commission's proposals of 26 October 
1981 for the revision of the European Regional 
Development Fund Regulation, endorsed by the 
Committee, provide a basis for such action, in 
particular through: Whereas the whole revision process will have served 
only to underline the inability of the Council to 
reinforce regional development policy — with its 
important consequences for the Community as a 
whole — if the above five elements are significantly 
weakened or eliminated in the search for comprom­
ise, 
Whereas the decision concerning revision has been 
too long delayed, 
— coordination of national regional policies, 
— the replacement of project finance by pro­
gramme finance, 
— the greater concentration of ERDF interven­
tions, 
— the significant increase in the size of the quota-
free section, 
— the introduction of a legal basis for integrated 
operations, HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
The Committee re-affirms the importance it attaches 
to reform of the European Regional Development 
Fund as proposed by the Commission and endorsed 
by the Committee itself. It deplores the failure of the 
Council to reach agreement before now and calls on 
it to act without further delay. 
Done at Brussels, 2 June 1983. 
The Chairman of the 
Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
Opinion on youth employment 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the Euro­
pean Communities No C 149 of 8 June 1983, pages 3 and 14. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
At its 204th plenary session held on 26 and 27 January 1983 the Committee, acting on a 
proposal from its Bureau in accordance with Article 20, paragraph 4, of its Rules of 
Procedure, decided to deliver an opinion on the abovementioned subject on its own 
initiative. 
On 5 May 1983 the Council decided to exercise its option of consulting the Economic 
and Social Committee on the communication from the Commission concerning the 
promotion of employment for young people, including a draft Council resolution. 
8. 8. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC211/51 
Procedure 
The Section for Social Questions, which was instructed to prepare this opinion, 
appointed Mr Roger Burnel as rapporteur. 
The Section adopted its opinion with no votes against and four abstentions at its 
meeting on 18 May 1983. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Committee adopted its opinion on the abovementioned subject with no votes 
against and four abstentions, at its 208th plenary session of 1 and 2 June 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
Introduction 
The Economic and Social Committee's own-initia­
tive opinion on youth employment is wholly con­
sistent with many of its other opinions (')• It comes at a time when the Commission has sub­
mitted a draft resolution on youth unemployment 
and just after the European Parliament special 
session on the same subject. The timing is no coin­
cidence. 
(') — opinion on the draft Council resolution concern­
ing vocational training policies in the European 
Communities in the 1980s (rapporteur: Mr Nier-
haus) OJ No C 124, 9. 5. 1983, p. 9), 
— opinion on the revision of the European Social 
Fund (rapporteur: Mr Beretta) (OJ No 124, 9. 5. 
1983, p. 4), 
— opinion on vocational training and new informa­
tion technologies: new community initiatives 
during the period 1983 to 1987 (rapporteur: Mr 
Nierhaus) (OJ No C 77, 21. 3. 1983, p. 7), 
— opinion on the new Community programme of 
action (1982-1985) to promote equal opportuni­
ties for women (rapporteur: Mrs Weber) (OJ No 
C 178, 15.7. 1982, p. 22), 
— opinion on the coordination of employment 
policy instruments (rapporteur: Mr Vanni) (OJ 
NoC 112,3.5. 1982, p. 12), 
— information report on the implementation of 
environmental job-creating measures (rapporteur: 
Mr De Grave), 
— new opinion in progress on the implementation 
of environmental job-creating measures (rappor­
teur: Mr De Grave), 
— opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive 
concerning the approximation of the legislation 
of the Member States in order to combat illegal 
migration and illegal employment (rapporteur: 
Mr Kirschen) (OJ No C 269, 13. 11. 1978), 
— opinion on education and vocational training for 
young workers (own-initiative opinion) (rappor­
teur: MrSloman) (OJ No C 181, 31.7. 1978, 
p. 38). 
— opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive 
on the education of the children of migrant work­
ers (rapporteur: Mr Sloman) (OJ No C 45, 27. 2. 
1976), 
'— opinion on the main measures to be taken to help 
unemployed young people, women and elderly 
workers and women wishing to resume gainful Facts and figures show the seriousness of youth 
unemployment much better than long speeches 
1.1. There are now 12 million unemployed in the 
Community, including almost five million young 
people. 
In the past five years, the number of young people 
out of work has shot up by some 65 %. 
Unemployment among the young is twice that of 
other age groups. 
The number of long-term unemployed young people 
continues to rise (25 % up in three years; 1,5 million 
have been unemployed for more than a year). 
employment (own-initiative opinion) (rapporteur: 
Mr Carroll) (OJ No C 56, 7. 3. 1977, p. 1), 
opinion on the draft Commission recommenda­
tion on vocational preparation for young people 
who are unemployed or threatened by unemploy­
ment (rapporteur: Mr Carroll) (OJ No C 61, 10. 3. 
1977, p. 25), 
opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation 
concerning the creation of a new European social 
fund aid in favour of young people (rapporteur: 
Mr Laval) (OJ No C 283, 27. 11. 1978, p. 29). 
No C 211/52 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 8. 83 
1.2. Moreover, the risks and incidence of youth 
unemployment vary sharply from region to region 
and in the light of social, cultural and other factors. 
High-risk groups include young people who (a) are 
born into poor families and are socially and cultur­
ally deprived, (b) have done badly at school, (c) 
have to contend with a serious permanent physical 
or psychological handicap, or (d) are second-genera­
tion migrants. Young women are more vulnerable to 
unemployment than young men. 
Equality of opportunity and equal rights are far 
from guaranteed. 
Youth unemployment — and, indeed unemploy­
ment in general — cannot therefore be considered 
as a perfectly uniform phenomenon. Individual cir­
cumstances may sometimes be very different. 
1.3. As well as the general causes of unemploy­
ment, to which the Committee has repeatedly 
referred in the past, many young people have spe­
cific handicaps — factors connected with age, inex­
perience, lack of adjustment, inadequate training, 
social and cultural attitudes, and the structure of a 
jobs market which is ill-suited to the scale of the 
problem and to their expectations. Sometimes, sev­
eral of these factors are present at once. 
However, young people cannot directly influence 
the origins of the evils of which they are the victims. 
The whole situation, therefore, is infinitely complex, 
both in its origins and in its consequences, not all of 
which are yet apparent. 
1.4. Youth unemployment is a cancer gnawing 
away at each of the developed societies in turn. It 
paralyzes the driving force of our society by striking 
down those who directly personify its hopes and its 
capacity for economic, social and cultural progress. 
If youth unemployment remains at its current level 
— and especially if it gets worse — the foundations 
of democracy and society itself may be imperilled. 
Anything which contributes towards 'dropping out' 
is a de-stabilizing factor. 2. Big problems require big remedies 
2.1. All the Member States are trying to halt the 
rise in youth unemployment and provide financial 
and psychological help for the unemployed young. 
But their efforts are unsuccessful in most cases, for 
several reasons: 
2.1.1. Despite both overall and selective measures 
to help production, and efforts by firms to maintain 
or improve their technical and commercial competi­
tiveness, the number of jobs, particularly those open 
to young people, is stagnant, even declining in some 
areas. 
2.1.2. The measures taken usually aim more at 
alleviating the immediate material effects of unem­
ployment — which for young people is a question 
of survival — than at tackling the stuctural causes. 
2.1.3. The situation is so serious that real indivi­
dual and collective solidarity is required; policies 
must be adopted that break with those of the past, 
which were adapted to less serious situations and a 
fundamentally different national and international 
economic and social context. One can never dole 
out the same remedies for situations which bear no 
comparison with each other scale-wise. 
For this reason, there is an urgent need for the polit­
ical authorities and the two sides of industry in the 
European Community to think long and hard about 
the kind of society they want and about the effec­
tiveness of the Community's efforts to combat 
unemployment in general and youth unemployment 
in particular. 
2.2. The stakes are much too high to consider 
youth unemployment fatalistically as an inevitable 
rite of passage between school and work. 
On the contrary, full employment for, and solidarity 
with, the young must be the focus of everyone's 
thoughts and energies. No one can duck his or her 
responsibilities. We cannot continue to tolerate a 
situation where hundreds of thousands of young 
8. 8. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 211/53 
people can go for months, or even years, before they 
get their first job. 
2.3. The fight against youth unemployment cannot 
be successful unless it is really coordinated on all 
fronts. Both the effects and the causes must be tack­
led. This is the drift of the first two recommend­
ations in the draft resolution proposed by the Com­
mission. 
3. The attitude of young people to work 
3.1. Generally speaking, young people are posi­
tively disposed to work. For them, the resources 
which it provides represent independence. 
3.2. The vast majority of young people do not live 
for work in the way the vast majority of their elders 
do. Accordingly, they wish their job to fit into, 
rather than encroach upon, their family or personal 
lives. 
3.3. Young people and their elders sometimes do 
not understand each other, and this leads to con­
flicts which young people interpret as rejection. This 
communications breakdown must be studied. We 
must attempt to reduce it by encouraging dialogue 
between generations, in the family and at work. 
3.4. Young people prefer some types of work to 
others. 
The service sector, for example, enjoys a better 
social image on the whole. Some young people want 
to set up their own business. Others try to minimize 
the risk of unemployment and go in for civil ser­
vice-type jobs. Others are attracted by certain types 
of farming activity. Still others are attracted to work 
in cooperatives or want to help in the development 
of the third world. 
3.5. Young people have always seen life in a dif­
ferent way, and there is nothing wrong in that. 
Nowadays, for example, under the influence of the 
media, reactions tend to be uniform. The economic 
crisis is closely related to social, geo-political and 
cultural change. Nevertheless, the media must try harder to reflect 
reality, rather than depict idealized and unusual cir­
cumstances which may disorientate young people or 
kill their enthusiasm. 
3.6. At all events, young people cannot agree to 
being a reserve labour pool, called upon intermit­
tently when the needs of production require. 
4. The Committee recalls some of the principles and 
remarks which it has already formulated 
4.1. In principle, work should be regarded as a 
right. Maximum solidarity is therefore necessary at 
every level in order to translate this right into reality. 
This is the aim of all measures to promote youth 
employment and of several Economic and Social 
Committee opinions, such as that on the handi­
capped. 
4.2. Technological progress is an important condi­
tion for economic development, improvements in 
working conditions, and a better response to consu­
mers' expectations. To ensure that technological 
progress, notably in the area of automated produc­
tion, should not jeopardize employment, the Econo­
mic and Social Committee has recommended that 
all studies on new technology should include a 
social and education section. The Economic and 
Social Committee has also, on a number of occa­
sions, called for a stepping-up of efforts at Com­
munity level to study and develop new technology, 
so as to guarantee the independence of companies 
and help them improve their competitiveness. This 
is the case, for instance, of the machine-tool, data 
processing and electronic components sectors. 
4.3. The broad-based solidarity which must be 
expressed towards young people must not lead to 
increased friction between the generations or call 
into question fundamental social and cultural 
achievements, since putting off a problem or trans­
ferring it to another area does not solve it. 
No C 211/54 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 8. 83 
4.4. No country can seriously hope to bring about, 
singlehanded, a return to full employment for 'its' 
young people. Community institutions and policies 
have a crucial role to play in conducting an effective 
campaign against youth unemployment. Conse­
quently, the Economic and Social Committee, 
which has been following recent Commission and 
Parliament initiatives with great interest, urges the 
Commission to initiate concrete measures. It also 
wishes to see greater commitment and vigour, and a 
more accurate translation into reality of the Com­
mission's intentions, so that the Member States 
really will establish the very close ties necessary for 
the success of new measures, since the old policies 
did not create the conditions and resources for a sig­
nificant improvement in youth employment. 
4.5. The public impact of the Community needs to 
be reinforced. The best way to carry conviction is to 
prove the Community's ability to help solve the real 
problems which have been around for years. A very 
recent draft Committee opinion is highly relevant 
here, and directly reflects the views expressed in this 
opinion. 
5. Proposals 
5.1. The Commission must compile statistics 
which enable it: 
5.1.1. — To identify the short- and medium-term 
employment trends in the different sec­
tors. Such data would improve the fore­
casting of job trends and, as a result, ena­
ble training for young people to be 
directed more effectively. 
5.1.2. — To analyze unemployment and, in parti­
cular, youth unemployment. 
In each case, the Member States should be asked to 
use the same terminology and the same statistical 
methods. 
5.2. Among the immediate measures, allowances 
paid to the young unemployed represent a duty to 
show solidarity with them and their families. How­
ever, so that young people do not take refuge in social welfare or become introverted, they must also 
be encouraged to further their training if necessary 
and to look for employment. Hence the importance 
of accessible information and mobility grants. 
Financial support must go hand-in-hand with psy­
chological back-up provided by counsellors — who 
should be young wherever possible — who are prop­
erly trained to 'listen' and dispense practical advice. 
This is a positive point in the Commission's fifth 
recommendation. 
5.3. Young job seekers must have access to medi­
cal care and public sector accommodation aids. 
However, the laws in some countries make social 
security benefits conditional on past or present 
employment. Naturally, families do support their 
out-of-work children, but some do not always have 
the money to pay for their children's basic needs. 
5.4. Young, permanently handicapped people who 
are excluded more than others from working life 
must be able to have access to special facilities, such 
as training courses and jobs reserved for people with 
sensory or mental handicaps in open or sheltered 
employment. 
The authorities, businesses and associations taking 
part in these schemes should receive compensation. 
5.5. Young women are particularly hard hit by 
unemployment. It is vital that training methods be 
improved and that they be given access to all jobs. 
More often than not, they still have to make do with 
what, by tradition, are regarded as 'women's' jobs 
(although such ideas are out of date). Equal rights 
must become a reality, and certain Member States 
will have to bring their legislation into line. 
5.6. The Economic and Social Committee has sev­
eral times dealt with the black ecomomy in its work. 
It is essential to stamp out — or at least curb — 
moonlighting and the drawing of unemployment 
benefit while working. 
8. 8. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 211/55 
Though it would seem in practice that some young 
people turn to the black economy under contraint, 
out of necessity our out of choice, this practice dis­
rupts the labour market and has adverse economic 
and social side-effects. 
It is particularly necessary to combart, with extreme 
vigour, black economy work which involves the 
exploitation of young people. 
5.7. In view of the rise in recurrent and long-term 
unemployment, everything must be done to enable 
young people to find sustained employment and to 
make it easier for them to adapt to the work envi­
ronment. 
The Committee would therefore urge the Commis­
sion to expand point 4 in its resolution. It suggests 
that wide use be made of youth counselling, job 
experience schemes, day release courses, and sand­
wich courses. 
5.8. It is very important to increase the number of 
apprentices, and improve apprenticeship schemes, 
methods and funding. 
Apprenticeships help ease the transition from school 
to working life and keep down recurrent unemploy­
ment. They are beneficial to both young people and 
firms. 
5.9. The work of public authorities involved in 
youth training and counselling must be coordinated 
with that of the employment authorities. School and 
vocational guidance services have a key role to play, 
because they help young people to get to know more 
about their own capabilities and thus to direct and 
have more control over their lives. 
Counselling and guidance services must be prov­
ided locally for the benefit of users. They must be 
improves and, in particular, have accurate and 
up-to-date knowledge about jobs. 
5.10. School education, which is compulsory up to 
the age of 16 and can be extended beyond that age 
by law or by choice, is a major achievement which 
cannot be disputed. In order to restore schools' full effectiveness, it is vital to get to grips with the 
causes of pupil failures. 
Every form of teaching must focus on social adap­
tation, an important facet of which is integration 
into working life. 
However, the education system must produce men 
and women who are able to play their parts and 
assume all their responsibilities; it should equip 
them to cope with changing circumstances and not 
simply with theoretical or current situations. 
Teachers should teach work-related skills and pro­
vide a general education. It is not possible to separ­
ate teaching from education. People who can see, 
listen and communicate have a major asset in life, 
and will not be shut out of society. 
Whenever a pupil discovers that school is divorced 
from reality, he or she will lose all interest. 
Schools must keep up with all technical advances at 
work and in everyday life. 
Active language teaching is now a must, not only for 
the development of personal contacts throughout 
the Community but also for the expansion of inter­
national commerce. 
Because of the growing pace of technological, social 
and economic change, teachers must be encouraged 
to take part in further training throughout their car­
eers. 
Teachers should give their pupils an up-to-date mas­
tery of practical life, as well as general education. 
They must therefore keep their own professional 
knowledge up-to-date. 
5.11. The Committee agrees with the Commission 
that nobody should leave school without being 
qualified for working life. 
The education system must take account of the job 
prospects in the various sectors, and of technologi­
cal and economic circumstances. 
5.12. An analysis should be carried out of all the 
possibilities for creating voluntary and paid com­
munity-service jobs calculated to give young people 
No C 211/56 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 8. 83 
both job experience and a feeling of being socially 
useful. 
5.13. Redistribution of work for the benefit of 
young people, both on a structural and a time basis, 
is a matter for negotiation by the two sides of indus­
try. The Commission's sixth recommendation is 
along these lines. 
In sectors of the economy where they are feasible 
work sharing and reorganization arrangements, for 
example part-time work, create jobs for young peo­
ple; those who opt for these arrangements should 
have their social-security rights guaranteed. The 
Economic and Social Committee, like the Commis­
sion encourages such arrangements. Generally 
speaking, working time should be reduced and work 
reorganized in various ways in order to share out 
work better. Collective labour agreements should 
provide young people and other newcomers on the 
labour markets with more job openings, and this 
should be linked to an expansion of (vocational) 
training. 
5.14. There are statutory or collective-bargaining 
provisions in most Member States for employees 
who opt for early retirement and thus free jobs. 
Such schemes must be negotiated and not be forced 
on employees. 
5.15. Some forms of manual work are held in low 
esteem; it is necessary to take steps (technological, 
social) to improve working conditions and to inform 
young people. 
5.16. Generally speaking, service jobs have a better 
social image. However it is possible that this image 
is idealized and that in the long run, the repetitive 
aspects of certain jobs may, due to lack of prior 
information, lead to disillusionment. 
There is considerable scope for creating jobs in 
several parts of the service sector — tourism, some 
areas of the distributive trades, hotels, recreation. 
These sectors of the economy should be provided 
with the resources they need to expand and to train 
recruits. 5.17. Environmental protection, nature conserva­
tion and community activities are all growth areas. 
It would be an economic and social error to dismiss 
such activities out of hand as unnecessary and too 
costly at the moment. 
However, people working in these areas need to be 
provided with proper training — which is far from 
the case at the moment. People are sometimes too 
quick to think that good will is an adequate substi­
tute for professional skills. 
5.18. Cooperative and 'self-help' organizations are 
attractive to some young people, because of their 
aims and the way they take decisions. They should 
be promoted, and the job scope they offer should be 
publicized. 
5.19. Some young people are drawn to certain 
types of farming. Others are keen to set up on their 
own. They should be encouraged by financial sup­
port, provision of information and training (notably 
in management and marketing). 
Young farmers, who sometimes find it difficult to 
obtain land, should be helped by schemes to 
encourage the retirement of elderly farmers and by 
improvements in rural housing and living condi­
tions. 
5.20. Some young people want to help developing 
countries in the third world. They should be encour­
aged by being given vocational training and qualifi­
cations which are adapted to developing countries' 
needs and are backed up by adequate social infor­
mation. Thus, without filling jobs normally reserved 
for young people in the developing countries, they 
will be contributing to their training. 
Young people who help the developing countries in 
this way must be helped to find a job in their home 
countries when they return. 
In this area, as in others, relations with the develop­
ing countries and policies on these countries must 
be the subject of a new approach. 
8. 8. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 211/57 
5.21. Everything which is helpful to employment 
in general helps youth employment. 
This applies to developing the penetration of for­
eign markets. 
The development of technological research, together 
with the production of new products which results, 
ensures the independence of firms and enables them 
to become more competitive, and provide more 
jobs. 
Europe has long been a source of scientific and 
technological advance. Its inhabitants have lost 
none of their intelligence and creativeness, as many 
examples show. But individual firms should be 
backed up by an increased Community research 
drive. 
The Commission is therefore urged to frame all 
research projects initiated or sponsored in the future 
in such a way as to ensure that their implementation 
allows for the possibility of creating jobs for young 
people. 
In line with the recommendations of the FAST pro­
gramme, it should encourage the application of new 
technologies to daily life and prepare for the tech­
nologies of the coming generation. This would help 
create a large number of skilled and useful jobs 
which are attractive to the young. 
5.22. Smaller firms, craft firms and cooperatives, 
because of their structure and the markets they 
serve, are less directly exposed to external competi­
tion. They have held their ground, and often created 
jobs. Greater resources — suitably adapted to 
national conditions — should be devoted to this 
sector, to encourage it to recruit young people. 
Young people must be informed objectively about 
the opportunities here. 
5.23. The Community authorities must, without 
further delay, make the fight against youth unem­
ployment their absolute number one priority. Fail­
ure would compromise the future of Europe because 
the young would become profoundly disillusioned. 
The Committee approves without reservation 
point 7 of the draft resolution submitted by the 
Commission on the European Social Fund. This Fund should — as the ESC has already urged 
— be given more resources so that it can step up its 
role in helping expand training facilities for the 
young, while at the same time taking into account 
certain work-related factors, such as mobility and 
geographical remoteness. 
The economic difficulties hampering any increase in 
Community or national budgets necessitate choices. 
If we really want to do something about employ­
ment for young people, the decisions taken must put 
the emphasis firmly on the fight against unemploy­
ment. This should be a fundamental criterion for 
action by the Social Fund. 
5.24. While approving the measures recommended 
by the Commission in point 8 of its draft resolution, 
the ESC asks that the meeting of Employment Min­
isters be the lynchpin of the initiatives to be taken to 
combat unemployment. The Education and Family 
Affairs Ministers should join together with their 
employment counterparts in the evaluation and 
monitoring of policies drawn up to check unem­
ployment among the young. 
By way of example, the Committee urges that the 
equivalence of diplomas within the Community 
should at last be recognized and young people from 
different countries encouraged to meet together. 
5.25. It must be realized that young people should 
participate effectively in the evaluation of measures 
which concern them. They should really be gen­
uinely involved in studies and negotiations which, 
directly or indirectly, affect them. Otherwise, they 
may think what is done without them is done 
against them. 
The Community authorities and national govern­
ments must help to ensure that all representative 
organizations which, in whatever capacity, could 
assist young people to integrate into the working 
world and society are listened to and encouraged to 
play an active role. 
5.26. Youth employment is going to be a priority 
concern for a long time. The ESC is fully prepared 
to cooperate with all the other European institutions 
on drawing up and regularly updating programmes 
aimed at full employment for the young: 
No C 211/58 Official Journal of the European Communities 8.8.83 
5.26.1.— In the field of training/further training 
and the fight against academic failure. 
5.26.2.— For the creation of the jobs needed for 
young people to enter working life. 
The Commission points to the need to 
create 2 500 000 jobs over the next five 
years. This goal would constitute a first 
step but is not enough. The Commis­
sion's objective, which deserves encour­
agement, should be spelled out in more 
detail, and funds should be provided. 
5.26.3.— A return to high growth can guarantee 
employment for the young. But this goal 
can only be attained very gradually. Act­
ion must be taken at economic, social, 
educational, technological and research 
level with the 'youth employment' aspect 
being taken fully into account each time. 
5.26.4.— Unemployment among the young is an 
emotive issue because families are 
becoming more and more afraid. Hence 
the need for objective information from 
the media, eschewing ideological analy­
ses which could prove counter-produc­
tive since everyone's cooperation is 
needed. 
5.27. The Committee should enter into a dialogue 
with youth organizations representing workers, 
farmers, the self-employed, students, etc.; and with the youth organizations of the unions and trade 
associations. The ESC should rapidly promote a 
meeting of all those concerned, in one way or 
another, with youth employment. 
This meeting would inaugurate — or conclude — 
meetings of a similar type at national or regional 
level. 
Obviously, young people must have a determining 
role in such meetings. 
In this way, a vast groundswell of opinion having a 
concrete mobilizing effect would be created. 
This process should help to launch a 'European 
Year of Employment' which would involve activi­
ties by all the EC institutions and the two sides of 
industry at both Community and national level. 
In conclusion, the ESC insists that the Community 
authorities implement a real common policy for 
combating unemployment, including special mea­
sures for helping the young. This policy, which 
should be inspired by a genuine spirit of Com­
munity solidarity, would be the forerunner of a set 
of overall, Community measures covering all the 
issues connected with the future of the young. 
The future of Europe and the future of the young 
are inextricably linked. 
Done at Brussels, 1 June 1983. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
APPENDIX 
to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
Amendments or changes made to the text during discussions: 
The following passages of the Section opinion were replaced by amendments: 
8. 8. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 211 /59 
Page 15, 5.13, second paragraph 
'Wherever possible, and until such time as the employment situation improves, collective 
labour agreements concluded at sector and firm level should, provisionally, encourage forms 
of half-time working backed up by appropriate training. In this way, two young people 
instead of one could occupy a vacancy, where such a move is feasible.' 
Voting 
For: 80, against: 32, abstentions: 10. 
Page 22, point 5.27, first sentence 
'The Section urges the Economic and Social Committee to instigate a two-way exchange of views 
with the organizations representing young people.' 
Voting: 
Unanimously in favour. 
Page 22, 5.27, Final paragraph 
"The final step in this process should be a European Youth Employment Year.' 
Voting: 
Unanimous. 
The following passage was deleted in accordance with an amendment: 
Page 21,5.26.2, second paragraph 
'... if young people are to have the same chance of employment as their elders'. 
Voting: 
Unanimous. 
The following passages of the Section opinion were amended: 
No C 211/60 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 8. 83 
Point 5.13, second paragraph 
'In sectors of the economy where they are feasible, work sharing and reorganization arrange­
ments (such as part-time work or flexible working hours) can create jobs for young people; 
those who opt for these arrangements should have their social security rights guaranteed' 
(rest unchanged). 
Voting: 
For: majority, against: 7, abstentions: 11. 
Page 20, 5.23, final sentence 
'This should be the fundamental criterion for action by the Social Fund'. 
Voting: 
For: majority, against: 0, abstentions: 6.