EMPLOYMENT : YOUTH GUARANTEE IN ALL MEMBER STATES.

The European Commission is diversifying its efforts to tackle unemployment in the EU: it has proposed a new set of measures to improve young people's skills and help them get a foothold on the job market. The Commission's Youth employment package' is based on four key initiatives: 1. proposing a Council recommendation establishing a youth guarantee; 2. launching the second stage of a consultation with social partners on a quality framework for traineeships; 3. creating a European alliance for apprenticeships; and 4. developing an intregrated mobility set for young people (EURES).

Presenting the initiative on 5 December, Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor pointed to catastrophic youth employment statistics: in 2011, unemployment rates among young people reached 25% in 13 member states, while in Greece and Spain they climbed to more than 55%, and to 30% or more in Italy, Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary and Slovakia.

The only concrete legislative measure in the package provides for the introduction of a youth guarantee' in all member states, as proposed by Finland and...