Debate: Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee
Date: MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2020
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

Tackling youth unemployment is a pressing priority, given the hard impact also of the COVID-19 crisis on young generations. It is only with resolute, as the President of the Council has said, bold and swift action that we can turn things around before the situation aggravates further. Our youth employment support – YES, as we call it – package adopted in July provides a first step for such a resolute action. But the Commission cannot do it alone; we have to rely on Member States, but we also have to rely on the European Parliament. This is why I welcome Parliament’s resolution on the Youth Guarantee. I share your view that the fight against youth unemployment is a common political priority for Parliament. It is certainly a common priority for the Commission, and I’m sure also, as I heard now, it is a priority for the Member States, as it contributes to achieving the Union’s objective of sustainable and inclusive growth and social and economic resilience. Therefore I welcome what the President has just said, that the German Presidency is about to adopt the proposal of our strengthened Youth Guarantee. The European Parliament and its Members have a crucial role to play in the next chapter of our reinforced Youth Guarantee. You can fuel the national debates like no other institution. You can raise the bar in terms of our joint ambition for implementing the reinforced Youth Guarantee and improving it further in the years to come. First and foremost, the Commission counts on the European Parliament for ensuring adequate levels of EU funding, supporting the success story that is the Youth Guarantee. But as a response to your first question, certainly the Commission is never happy if the funding is reduced. But we need to maximize synergies between the Youth Guarantee, the European Social Fund Plus, REACT-EU and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as well as the many other relevant EU funds and instruments now available to the Member States. And I think we can pool a lot of funding, a lot of resources for the fight against youth employment and especially by creating jobs, and I think this is also one of your major concerns. Our ambition must be – and that has been clearly expressed by the Commission – that we invest at least 22 billion on youth employment, and I also call on the Member States to support this ambition. We need to create and save jobs – and, I insist, quality jobs – which also answers your question, and the recovery has to be focused on the creation of quality jobs, and that’s the meaning of the Next Generation EU. And when I say quality jobs, I mean not these precarious jobs that do not allow young people to plan their lives, to found a family and to afford decent housing. Too many young people, precisely those in precarious jobs, were the first to be fired, to lose their jobs, to lose their income, and I think that we have to draw the right lessons from that. I know the call to review the quality framework for traineeships concerning the obligation for remuneration of traineeships. I have some doubt if this is legally possible, but I’m sure that in the years to come we can further develop a joint understanding, and also a civil society and social partners would be able to contribute to such an understanding too. And paying young people who are at work, even in the context of a traineeship, should be part of the social responsibility of companies. And by the way, I think a lot of companies have this social responsibility. Finally, let me be clear about the monitoring. Supporting the quantitative monitoring of Youth Guarantee schemes based on the established indicative framework is crucial and remains a priority. We are looking into strengthening this process, and the Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs will be our partner in this endeavour. Before I close, allow me one word on vocational education and training. Vocational education, be it at the very start of a career or along the career, is not only the best transition between education and the labour market but it is also a truly effective way for re- and upskilling. The Commission has renewed the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to ensure a sustained offer of apprenticeships and to align it with the twin digital and green transitions. Moreover we propose the Council recommendation on vocational education and training to modernise and reform those systems, and under the German Presidency we had a very fruitful meeting in Osnabrück really to promote vocational training. In closing, let me reiterate our appreciation for the work of the European Parliament and its continued efforts to contribute to our common efforts to make the recovery just and fair for all, including also the young.