S&D Euro MPs today welcomed the European Commission's proposal to boost the financing of the Youth Employment Initiative. The initiative provides funding which helps EU member states ensure that every young person gets a job, an apprenticeship, traineeship or professional training within four months of becoming unemployed. 

S&D Group vice-president responsible for social affairs Maria João Rodrigues MEP said:

"This is good news from the Commission. Increasing the pre-financing rate for the Youth Employment Initiative will help member states kick-start the implementation of the programs, ensuring that every young person gets a chance and nobody is left out.

"The S&D Group has advocated it for a long time and we have also insisted on greater EU funding for it. We urge the Council to promptly agree on the Commission's proposal.

"The Youth Guarantee has brought excellent results in the countries and regions where it has been implemented. We need to see it put in place quickly right across Europe, especially in the countries still dealing with social emergencies."  

S&D Group spokeswoman on social affairs Jutta Steinruck MEP added:

"We fully support the European Commission's proposal to increase the initial pre-financing from around 1% to 30% for the allocation of the Youth Employment Initiative.

"This will help EU countries, some of whom are still facing difficulties, to start implementing the Youth Employment Initiative. This is not new money in addition to the €3.2 billion earmarked for the initiative – it is just more cash up-front and less to be reimbursed later. But it will help.

"It is a good and important signal that Europe is serious about investing in its people, ending the harsh austerity of recent years."

The Youth Guarantee ensures young people under 25 can get a good-quality job, further education and training or an apprenticeship within four months of leaving formal education. It does so by financing training, subsidising recruitment, apprenticeship grants, etc. Today, 7.5 million young Europeans between 15 and 24 are not in employment, education or training (NEETs).