EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL : YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT: A MATTER OF TRAINING.

The alarming unemployment situation in the European Union (the eurozone average rose above 10% in December 2009), particularly youth unemployment, was the focus of the informal Employment and Social Affairs Council, on 28-29 January in Barcelona. The 27 ministers agreed that more practical short-term strategies have to be developed to deal with the problem, without neglecting analysis of the root of the problem and the long-term aspect, said Spanish Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho after the meeting. There was no magic solution proposed in Barcelona to remedy youth unemployment speedily, however. In December, unemployment among the under-25s climbed to 21.4% in the EU.

The outgoing EU Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla said that the Commission...