WRITTEN QUESTION E-1944/02

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Council

(3 July 2002)

Subject: Youth unemployment and youth policy with reference to Greece

On 30 May 2002, the Council adopted a resolution on European cooperation on youth which quite rightly states that the interests of young people should be taken into account in all policies, e.g. employment. Five days later, Eurostat published figures which show that youth unemployment remains exceptionally high at 15,5 % for the Union as a whole and 16,6 % for the countries in the euro zone (April 2002), with Greece having the highest levels (the only available data are for 2001).

What commitments will the Council give towards tackling this problem? Does it consider that the guidelines on employment relating to youth unemployment are being implemented effectively? How does the Council explain the wide disparities in the situation of young people both between Member States and between countries inside and outside the euro zone? What measures will it take to achieve genuine convergence?

Reply

(19 December 2002)

Whilst the Council notes with concern the continuing high levels of youth unemployment in the Union and, in particular in Greece, it would draw the Honourable Parliamentarian's attention to the fact that the first Employment Guideline has, ever since the inception of the Luxembourg process, addressed the questions of youth unemployment and long-term unemployment. Furthermore, the memorandum entitled Youth and Europe Our future, approved by the Cologne European Council in 1999, has helped to ensure that action to tackle youth unemployment is a priority of the first rank for the European Employment Pact. Through its integrated approach, the memorandum aims to promote closer interaction between all actors in the three areas of youth, education and employment policy, and to coordinate action at national, international and European level. It facilitates the active participation of young people in society and their successful access to initial and continuing training and to working life.

The implementation of the Employment Guidelines is, in the first instance, the responsibility of the Member States, to which the Guidelines are addressed. However, the situation is monitored in particular by the Commission, the results of this monitoring being reflected each year in the Joint Employment Report adopted by the Council and the Commission.

Moreover, the Council has, each year since early 2000, addressed, on the basis of Article 128(4) of the Treaty and following a recommendation from the Commission, recommendations to the Member States on the implementation of their employment policies.

As far as Greece is concerned, the second recommendation for 2002, adopted by the Council on 18 February last, reads:

(Greece should therefore:) speed up the restructuring of the Public Employment Services and take decisive and coherent action to prevent young and adult unemployed people from drifting into long-term unemployment through inter alia swift implementation of the personalised approach; further upgrade the statistical system so that indicators on prevention and activation are available in good time and progress can be effectively monitored.

As far as disparities between the Member States are concerned, the recent Commission Communication Taking stock of five years of the European Employment Strategy(1) states on page 2 that there have been significant changes in national employment policies, with a clear convergence towards the common EU goals set out in the EEC policy guidelines. The Council is currently considering its response to the communication.

(1) COM(2002) 416 final).