Source: RMIT University

The economic crisis has hit European youngsters disproportionately hard. Today, more than 5.5 million young Europeans under 25 are unemployed (21.4 %), which is twice as high as the overall unemployment rate.

Earlier this month the Commission launched its new economic “10 year plan”: the so called Europe 2020 strategy, which is based on three interconnected principles: smart growth (knowledge and innovation), sustainable growth (green and energy efficient) and inclusive growth (high employment).

A youth strategy for Europe

One of the strategy’s seven flagship initiatives is related to youth policy and education. In our topic group we are covering culture and education policies, so of course we follow closely what’s going on in this field. Youth policy falls under the subsidiary principle and member states cooperate only on a “voluntary basis”. Therefore it could seem a bit strange that youth policy is included as one of the corner stones in the strategy. But the thing is that young Europeans play an increasingly important role for European economy, as the population ages. The average age is increasing, which means more pensioners and fewer people of working age.

The challenges for the Youth on the Move initiative are as follows:

• A quarter of European pupils have poor reading skills
• One in seven students leave school too early
• Fewer than one person in three aged 24 – 35 has a university degree (compared to 40 % in the US and 50 % in Japan)
• Only two European Universities are in the World top 20

According to the strategy, by 2020:

• 75 % of Europe’s population aged 20-64 should be employed (the employment rate for this age group is today 69 %)
• 40% of young Europeans should have a university degree

The goal is to improve the global performance of European educations, strengthen cross national cooperation and student mobility, modernize universities and enhance employment prospects for young people.

Our group covered recently a hearing about cooperation between European businesses and universities. Rappoteur Pal Schmitt said that in many member states more than 50 % of university graduates stay unemployed for years before they find a job. He called for more mobility between businesses and universities and proposed that businesses should get more involved in the practical training of university lecturers.

Last week the Committee on Culture and Education adopted a resolution, which comes with a range of proposals on how to strengthen European Youth policy. The members want to “promote mobility of young people” by extending the special student visa regime for youth workers, and member states are urged to guarantee “total transferability” of acquired social benefits for youngsters who have opted for working in another European country. There should also be taken “special measures” targeting young people as part of all future economic recovery plans.

Even though youth and education policies remain within the competence of the member states there seems to be an increasing willingness to develop a shared European approach. The final proposal for the Youth on the Move initiative will be presented in June this year.