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Prime Minister Katainen and Minister of Labour Ihalainen to EU meeting in Paris

statsrådets kommunikationsavdelning
Publication date 5.11.2013 10.29
Press release 468/2013

On Tuesday 12 November, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Minister of Labour Lauri Ihalainen will attend an EU conference on youth employment in Paris. All EU employment ministers and Heads of State or Government have been invited to the meeting. This is the second EU leaders' meeting that will focus on ways to tackle youth unemployment. The first meeting took place in Berlin in July. "Five and a half million young people are currently unemployed in Europe. The unemployed young people are being hit hardest by the situation. The EU Member States have the main responsibility for efforts to remedy the situation but it is also important to give thought to EU-level solutions. The main thing is that the Member States create preconditions for economic growth and entrepreneurship, provide the young with opportunities for good-quality education and ensure smooth transfer from education to employment, Prime Minister Katainen said.

Minister of Labour Ihalainen stresses the importance of the EU youth guarantee.

"I am pleased that the other EU countries are interested in the work that we are doing on the youth guarantee. The high rate of youth unemployment gives cause for serious concern and, as decision-makers, we must take joint action to address the issue and other forms of young people's non-participation. An EU-level meeting offers excellent opportunities for an exchange of experiences and best practices on how to promote youth employment. It is also a question of intergenerational justice," said Minister Ihalainen.

According to the EU youth guarantee, Member States must ensure all young people under 25 a good-quality, concrete offer within four months of them leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.
Under the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework, an appropriation of EUR 6 billion is earmarked for youth employment in regions where youth unemployment is over 25%. Such countries are to draw up a plan for the implementation of the youth guarantee by the end of 2013.

Inquiries: Pasi Rajala, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (EU Affairs), tel. +358 400 464 393 and Olli-Pekka Koljonen, Special Adviser to Minister Ihalainen, tel. +358 50 337 4651

Jyrki Katainen Lauri Ihalainen
 
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