The group of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament (ALDE) welcomes the political agreement reached today in Council on the Youth Guarantee proposal.

Nadja Hirsch (FDP, Germany), ALDE Vice-Chair of the Employment Committee commented:

"Too may young Europeans are drifting away from the labour market. Across Europe, 7.5 % of young people are in neither employment nor education nor training. Investment in Youth Guarantee schemes is one of the key measures to avoid us literally losing an entire generation. The economic cost of youth unemployment for EU Member States is estimated at 1.2 % of EU GDP. The success or failure of the Youth Guarantee therefore has both a socio-political component and directly impacts on Member States' budget deficits through social security payments..

"The implementation of Youth Guarantee schemes, however, must be managed locally. Member States can use European funds to match their investments in youth training or apprenticeship schemes that will help young people into the job market."

Under the Youth Guarantee Scheme, young people up to the age of 25 should receive either an offer of employment , further education or work-focused training at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed. The Youth Guarantee is part of the Youth Employment Initiative, funded with €6 billion for the period 2014-2020, to be allocated to regions where youth employment exceeds 25 %.