Last week the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a report on the “risks to the successful implementation of the EU Youth Guarantee”. The ECA review, while noting that according to the Commission the available funding for this much advertised EU project is estimated at €16.7 billion for the 2014-2020 period including national resources, it […]The 28 EU leaders care more about fiscal orthodoxy than effectively fighting youth unemployment
March 30, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last week the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a report on the “risks to the successful implementation of the EU Youth Guarantee”. The ECA review, while noting that according to the Commission the available funding for this much advertised EU project is estimated at €16.7 billion for the 2014-2020 period including national resources, it […]Education and Training: where do we stand in 2014?
December 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment
By Bogdan Pavel, guest writer at the European Sting The Directorate-General for Education and Culture – Unit A.2 issued on the 12th of November its “Education and Training Monitor 2014″, a support tool for the implementation of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020). Its opening states “The purpose of education […]
“C’est la vie”? French recession and unemployment to linger in Eurozone
December 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It was last Wednesday when the financial information services company Markit published the Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the month of November. This indicator revealed a weak growth outlook for the 18-country Eurozone while the disappointment of investors was apparent. November’s Eurozone economic growth The downslope of Eurozone’s growth continued in November […]European Youth Forum warns of a Peter Pan generation as a result of financial crisis and response to it
November 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Rome, 14th November 2014 // The policy responses to the economic crisis which began in 2008 have hit youth hardest, according to a new publication launched by the European Youth Forum today at a high-level event on youth employment in Rome. The publication “Youth in the Crisis: What Went Wrong?”, which examines in depth the […]
Is Germany yielding to pressures for more relaxed economic policies?
October 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Not surprisingly, European Commission’s quarterly review on ‘Employment and Social Situation’ and its “Annual Report on European SMEs 2013/2014” which were published last week, both conclude that economic recovery is still quite uncertain, while small and medium businesses are always in contraction, constituting the main impediment to growth. Despite all that, and as if economic […]Europe again the black sheep at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
September 25, 2014 by
Last weekend the much anticipated G20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ meeting happened in Cairns, Australia. It was very supportive and positive as far as the implementation of the necessary measures to boost the global economic growth in terms of GDP by an additional 1.8 per cent till 2018. This will be done through investments […]European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, who gets it and who pays the bill?
September 12, 2014 by
The Budgets Committee of the European Parliament (EP) announced yesterday that they approved financial aid to the Netherlands, Greece, Romania and Spain, whose workers were laid off as redundant due to globalisation or the financial crisis. It seems that the applications of the authorities of each country to the EU were fruitful, however it remains […]Mobile young people create the European labour market of tomorrow
September 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
European Youth Insights is a platform provided by the European Youth Forum and the European Sting, to allow young people to air their views on issues that matter to them. Written by Emanuel Alfranseder There are simply too many young people out of work, out of education and out of any kind of training (they call […]European Council: Choosing new leaders for the EU betrays efforts for a wider arrangement
September 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The special meeting of the European Council held last Saturday 30 August, despite or probably because of the alarming news about the new fall of inflation to the crisis level of 0.3% last month, was almost totally devoted to the Ukrainian crisis. Unfortunately, the new inflation coming close to zero means that the millions of […]The EU can afford to invest trillions in support of employment
July 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Eurostat, the EU statistical service, has recently released data showing that, while the government indebtedness increases, the industrial production retreats. Of course Eurozone doesn’t run any danger of losing its competitive edge in world markets. European goods and services exports usually leave a solid positive result, so the Union and more so the Eurozone don’t […]The Peoples are missing from EU’s monetary union
July 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The disenchantment of the 28 European Peoples with their Union stems from the special care the EU institutions clearly show for the financial sector aka the banks and not for the unemployed. To put it differently so as the Brussels bureaucrats and the decision makers in Berlin and Paris can understand; the European Economic and […]Is Europe misjudging its abilities to endure more austerity and unemployment?
July 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) worries about the “effectiveness of EU policies in bringing young generations back into the labour market”, and quite rightfully so. A steady stream of statistics confirms the assessment that the European economy has entered into a long-term stagnation and very low inflation period without visible exit from it, […]When will Eurozone’s unemployment rate stop being Europe’s worst nightmare?
July 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union estimated on Tuesday that the euro area unemployment rate was 11.6% in May; stable compared to April but reduced by 0.4% to last year’s measurements. The agency mentions that 18,552 million men and women were unemployed in May 2014; a decrease of 636.000 compared to May 2013. […]The EU slowly exits from “Excessive Deficit Procedure” and hopefully from ‘Excessive Austerity Procedure’ too
June 6, 2014 by 2 Comments
Earier this week, on the 2nd of June, the European Commission (EC) decided to recommend to the EU Council of Finance Ministers to close the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) for six countries. The reason why Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands and Slovakia must exit EDP is because these countries managed to lower their […]The EU Commission openly repudiates the austere economic policies
May 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion while delivering the opening address at the conference on Social policy innovation yesterday in Brussels, must have known that Eurostat, the EU statistical service, was to announce almost simultaneously that the rate of employment of people aged 20-64 fell to 68.3% in 2013, for a fifth […]How the EU crisis hit countries saved the German and French mega-banks from bankruptcy and still pay the costs
April 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor, speaking in a Conference on working conditions yesterday in Brussels, revealed that during the past few years the working conditions in the EU have greatly deteriorated, despite the ambitious targets set for the 2020 EU Strategy. According to Eurostat data: *Around 60% of temporary […]The true EU unemployment rate may have soared to 21.9%
April 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
On top of the 26.2 million of the unemployed, averaging at 12% of EU’s working age population, there is another 10 million of underemployed par-timers who want to work more but they don’t find employment, plus 11.5 million more of working age persons who are available to work but not seeking (9.3 million) or seeking […]Youth unemployment: No light at the end of the tunnel
April 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Last Friday the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a public hearing on the implementation of European Union policies to counter youth employment. EESC is a consultative body made up by representatives of Europe’s socio-occupational interest groups and others (employers, workers and various interest groups). It gives its members a platform to express their […]EU citizens disenchanted with Economic and Monetary Union over rising poverty and high unemployment
April 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
In a historic meeting, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner, László Andor, and local and regional European leaders elaborated yesterday on the shortcomings of Europe’s growth strategy and agreed that a reform is needed on the principles of Eurozone’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). They also took stock of the poor performance of the Youth […]EU Commission: a rise in wages and salaries may help create more jobs
April 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Eurozone unemployment rate in February remained stubbornly stuck at the high level of 11.9% since October 2013. According to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical service, the EU28 unemployment rate was 10.6% in February 2014, one decimal point lower than the 10.7% of January this year. Let’s dig a bit into unemployment. On an absolute number […]EU Commission says falling labour remuneration leads to deflation and damages growth prospects
April 1, 2014 by 1 Comment
The social situation in the European Union keeps degrading and in many countries it has compromised the social cohesion. Yesterday the EU Commission published its quarterly review on “Employment and Social Situation”, with the unbelievable conclusion that, “The recent economic recovery has not yet been able to create new jobs and the social situation […]How much more social deterioration can the EU people endure?
March 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Council of the European Union responsible for Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer affairs couldn’t avoid recognizing that the social scenery in the EU is deteriorating fast as 26.8 million jobseekers unable to find a job and 25% of the European population at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Mind you that more than […]High unemployment to continue haunting the EU
March 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Eurostat, the EU statistical service, revealed yesterday that the “euro area (EA18) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12% in January 2014, unchanged since October 2013”. The number of people without a job though increased in January 2014 to 19,175 from 19,158 thousand in December 2013. The rate of unemployment remains obstinately stuck to those very high […]The EU Commission predicts a decimated growth in the next years
February 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday, the European Commission after acknowledging that unemployment will continue ravaging more than half of Eurozone in the foreseeable future and predicting for this and next year a 0.1% ‘strengthening’ of the quite anemic growth rate, it found the courage to state that, “Recovery is gaining ground in Europe”. A lot of courage and probably […]Who really cares about the 26.2 million of EU jobless?
February 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday, Eurostat, the EU statistical service, published an update of unemployment statistics for the European Union covering the period up to December 2013. In that month 26.200 million men and women in the EU-28, of whom 19.010 million were in the euro area (EA-17), were unemployed. Eurostat estimates that “Compared with November 2013, the number […]Eurozone: In vicious cycle of disinflation and unemployment?
February 1, 2014 by 1 Comment
Eurostat, the EU statistical service, announced late yesterday evening that in December unemployment remained at the persistently high level of 12% since October, while inflation took a new downwards turn to 0.7% in January, from 0.8% in December. It’s difficult to say which one of the two developments is more alarming. On both accounts Eurozone […]Commission: Raising the social issues that can make or break the monetary union
January 22, 2014 by 1 Comment
For the first time the European Commission recognises that the severe austerity measures enforced in the crisis hit Eurozone countries in the south of Europe, in Ireland and elsewhere, have undermined not only the well-being and the level of social protection there, but undercut also the very ability of those member states to regain non-cost […]Eurostat: Real unemployment double than the official rate
January 21, 2014 by 4 Comments
Gender distribution in selected labour categories, age 15-74, EU-28, 2012 (Eurostat graph) Eurostat, the EU statistical service, revealed that the true unemployment rate in Eurozone during the third quarter of 2013 was much higher than the ‘officially’ recognised percentage of 11.5%, according to the definition of UN’s International Labour Organisation. Including the three forms of […]Eurozone: A Sluggish economy offers no extra jobs
January 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Eurostat, the EU statistical service, released yesterday some mixed data on Eurozone economic prospects. For one thing, euro area (EA17) unemployment rate was reported at 12.1% in November 2013, stubbornly stable at this high level since last April. The EU28 unemployment rate was 10.9%, stable since last May. However, retail sales marked a good upturn […]German and French bankers looted the Irish and Spanish unemployed
December 30, 2013 by 1 Comment
According to a Commission‘s new ‘on-line state aid to banks benchmarking tool’ published on 20 December, between October 2008 and December 2012 the EU member states provided €591.9 billion (4.6 % of EU 2012 GDP) of capital support (recapitalisation and asset relief measures) to the financial sector (banks). It was not only that. The same […]Commission facilitates the activities of ‘merchants of labour’
December 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
With unemployment skyrocketing in all but few countries of the European Union, the Commission found that the timing is right to facilitate the internal mobility of labour in the Union, in a clear cut attempt to exploit the EU’s unemployed of the south and the east and squeeze the wage levels in the north and […]Is poverty and exclusion the necessary price for EU’s recovery?
December 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
At least one out of every four EU citizens is at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The relevant percentage was 24.8% in 2012. However, given that this variable has been increasing steadily since 2008 by some decimal points every year, the measurement must have exceeded the 25% benchmark in 2013. These figures were published […]Commission: Gifts of €6 billion and free trainees to ‘help’ poor employers
December 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This newspaper feels fully vindicated after yesterday’s announcement issued by the European Commission, stating that the EU’s executive arm is proposing a Council recommendation which will institutionalise a Quality Framework for Traineeships. This was a badly needed decision in view of the upcoming application of the widely advertised €6 billion Youth Guarantee scheme, which promises […]
