Youth Unemployment and EU: A Love-Hate Relationship

Youth unemployment remains a key concern for the European Union’s member-states, especially the weakest, for at least 10 years. Although the European Union has taken initiatives in the past, young citizens throughout the European Union are still facing the serious problem of unemployment every day. And statistical findings do not look promising of a better or more steady future, even though EU is aiming to invest even more money in the field of youth employment. Therefore, the dynamic of youth unemployment is having a major socioeconomic consequence. This is the reason why realistic measures and initiatives need to be taken in order to avoid the repeat of 2008. Youth unemployment in the European Union as well as the measures and the initiatives that have been taken both during the Economic Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are being analysed in the current policy brief.


Introduction
Young people are often looking for work so that they can contribute to family income, maintain their student housing, prepare for their future profession, or simply have extra pocket money. But what is the harsh reality? Opportunities in the labor market were already limited and uncertainty prevailed before the COVID19 pandemic which did not come to make things easier. Youth unemployment in 2020 has skyrocketed. In particular, before the pandemic, youth unemployment in the EU stood at 14.9%, down from the highest level of 24.4% in 2013. In August 2020 it stood at 17.6% and further growth is expected. We, therefore, understand that before 2020, measures of EU seemed to be paying off, measures that will be analysed subsequently. But the pandemic came to reverse and further delay their performance (Amadeo & Anderson, 2020).
It is crucial to understand this urgent situation, given that young Europeans must be ready to be the European workforce of the near future. They need immediate support from the European Commission. The special characteristics of youth unemployment 3 make the intervention of the

1.
The youth unemployment rate 4 remained always double or higher than general unemployment (Allen, 2010).

2.
The integration of a stable labor market started to take longer, due to job-to-job transitions and fears of precarious work (Allen, 2010 shown to have longer-term effects known as "scarring effects".
The time has come for young people to play a major role in the European economy and society.
Having realized the seriousness of the situation, it is time to focus on what the EU has done and what can be done in the future in order to avoid an unemployed "lockdown generation".

Current situation
To tackle the problem, we must first accept that it exists. The figures are the most graphic means of capturing how youth unemployment affects the daily lives of millions of our fellow human beings. . Therefore, every day around 4 million young Europeans live without work or seek salvation in undeclared work. And the problem is becoming increasingly acute in young people who have mobility, mental or psychological problems. Therefore, bearing in mind that the Covid-19 pandemic will not subside quickly, but also that youth unemployment tends to be twice as high as unemployment in general, Europe must act immediately, in a coordinated and above all united way to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.
The EU had become aware of the problem and in the past has taken several valuable measures, initiatives, and set up programs ready to tackle youth unemployment. For example, the first program Youth Guarantees (2013)  In 2020 EU commission pathed again the way and set the standards for the future. Τhe recovery plan that was proposed "Next Generation EU" has young people at its heart (Europa, n.d. 2) Along the line of offsetting the impact on youth employment, on the 1st of July 2020 the European Commission, also, proposed the initiative "Supporting youth employment-Α Bridge to employment for the next generation". The Bridge to Employment will be more inclusive to avoid all forms of discrimination, and will cover more broadly the most vulnerable groups, such as young people from racial and ethnic minority groups and will provide personalized advice and guidance (Europa, n.d.f).
3) The European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) unites governments and key stakeholders intending to strengthen the quality, supply, and overall image of apprenticeships across Εurope, while also promoting the mobility of apprentices (Europa, n.d.g).
4) Modernization of vocational education and training to make the transition from school to work smoother. Over the next five years Commission is aiming to see more than four out of five graduates from vocational education and training employed (Europa, n.d.h).

5) European Network of Public Employment Services and the Action Plan for the Social
Economy are aiming to deal with the unemployment of youngsters. Additional measures to support youth employment include, in the short term, incentives for employment and the startup of new activities, and, in the medium term, capacity building, networks of young entrepreneurs, and inter-operational training centers (Europa, n.d.i.).

6) Erasmus Young Entrepreneurs is a cross-border exchange programme that offers young or
ambitious entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who run small businesses in one of the participating countries (Erasmus, n.d).
All the above are intended to be financed through the Next Generation EU and the long-term EU budget. At least €22 billion should be spent on youth employment support. The Commission urges Member States to step up and support youth employment.
However, it is crucial to understand the urgency of the situation, given that EU competitors are gaining in labour-intensive products, the EU needs to invest in employment. The solutions that the EU proposed are set to be implemented in the following years. The important question that arises, is: Is this enough?

Recommendations
From the previous analysis, then, we became aware of the influence of unemployment on Europe's economic and social life, but at the same time we browsed into the useful tools used or about to be used by the EU to combat youth unemployment. So, it is time for suggestions. Let us take a realistic and creative look at what more can be done in areas that have been neglected. European Commission needs to turn her attention to seven (7) important measures/investments: 1) Encourage entrepreneurship in young people (Talend Rise, 2017). The ambitious who start businesses play a major role in the economy. Therefore, from an early age, entrepreneurship should be promoted. This can cover a range of things, from knowledge in how to start and run a business effectively, to soft skills such as creativity and problem solving or even how to deal with bureaucracies and legal obligations. All highly necessary attributes when it comes to starting a business that the majority of young people are unaware of should be accessible. Moreover, it would be wise if the EU could give a generous monetary amount to enterprises supported or staffed by young entrepreneurs in order to cope with the first difficulties caused by the crisis of COVID-19.
2) Decision-makers and stakeholders of the EU need to cooperate with lawmakers to give motives to businesses to hire young people. These motives could be given:

Conclusions
From the present Policy brief we induce that the road is long, given that the rate of youth unemployment will certainly show an increase due to COVID19, but fortunately the first steps have been taken. All that is required right now is to increase the speed of these steps. The European Union has indeed been dealing with the problem of youth unemployment for years, sometimes with tangible and concrete results, but other times with unproductive results. The important next step should be to take the necessary measures and initiatives. So young people, who today make up a small percentage of our Union, will be able to make up the100% of the future. The European Union will not fail if it aims too high and does not reach it, but if it aims too low and content itself on it. Let us work hard and collectively so that young people can bring hope to the post-COVID19 era.
"I think that no idea is so outlandish that it should not be considered and viewed with a searching, but at the same time, I hope, with a steady eye" (Winston Churchill).