Are they asking too much?

Employment is a crucial theme of ongoing debates in Brussels, while in a few days the "employment package" will be presented in Strasbourg by Commissioner László Andor. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Youth Forum organized a joint conference titled: “Quality Jobs for Youth: Are we asking too much?” held on April 20th?" The president of the European Youth Forum Peter Matjašiè, replied: "Absolute not"."It’s time to act". As Matjašiè said in the opening speech of the international conference, "stepping up job guarantees for the youth means a better society for all". While acknowledging the current critical economic situation in Europe, Staffan Nilsson, EESC president, said: "We can’t continue referring to the crisis like a mantra, waiting to see what will happen. This is the right moment to act: there’s no time to waste". Is flexibility the solution to unemployment? – Nillson asked. "If that’s the case, then it should go hand in hand with job security, namely, with the assurance of continuity, against precariousness and irregular employment contracts". The "employment package" launched by the Commission on April 18 comes at the right moment. "The proposal aims at giving a serious contribution to economic recovery: by introducing decent wage floors, reducing taxes on labour, enhancing the recognition of professional qualifications, achieving full mobility and supporting business start ups", Employment Commissioner László Andor pointed out during the meeting. Moreover, the proposal identifies "the EU’s biggest job potentials for the future:" namely, eco-compatible economy, health services and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Finally, stepping up the involvement of social partners is an objective of the proposal by the EU Executive. School-work transition. Peter Matjašiè called for the participation of young people and said: "Rather than being the victims of the ongoing economic downturn, our youth could represent its resource". The leader of the Youth Forum pointed out, "the young generation tends to achieve higher qualifications than the previous ones. Nonetheless in many countries unemployment rates are alarming". In order to counter this situation and promote the potential of the young generation, the European Commission has asked Businesseurope (representing European enterprises in Brussels) to create a task force. "Our objective – explained the president of the project Robert Mahler – is to seek ways to fight unemployment (which according to recent figures involves one on five young people) by increasing the number of internships, and by making better use of Community funding".NEET Phenomenon. What most worries is the quality of work and most of all, the quality of education. In this perspective, creating a synergic relationship between the working and school environments is considered a priority. The objective is to review the concept of formation, with a view to drawing it closer to the "lifelong learning" concept promoted by the European Commission. Also in the light of demographic changes, which are currently transforming the face of European societies, it’s important to promote a lifelong learning process for all ages. Massimiliano Mascherini, research manager of the European Foundation for the Improvement of living and working conditions, highlighted another phenomenon: "An increasing number of young Europeans dropped out of school, they’re unemployed and they don’t attend formation courses. They appear de-motivated, uninterested to the external world and lack faith in society as a whole". They’re the so-called NEET: "Not in Employment, Education or Training", a phenomenon that came to the fore in England in the 1980s and which is present across Europe (Eurostat indicates 13% of NEET among youth under 25, some 7 million young people), which worsened with the crisis. "I don’t want to speak of a ‘lost generation’, but it’s a fact that today a large amount of young people are politically disillusioned, they need to be supported also because disaffection for the public good risks jeopardizing democratic legitimization". As all the speakers reminded, it’s time for Europe to take innovative decisions since the matter at stake is the economic as well as the social system, that is the true force and the true potential of the EU.