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Resolution 1885 (2012) Final version
The young generation sacrificed: social, economic and political implications of the financial crisis
1. Young people are a key asset for
Europe. Conditions must be created for them to participate fully
in decision making, democratic processes and the shaping of a more
cohesive, prosperous and just society. Yet the financial and economic
crises, together with underlying structural problems, threaten the
effective exercise of rights by the young generation, whose autonomy,
dignity and well-being are severely affected by growing economic
and social inequalities. In some countries, the enormous public
debt, financial speculation and the global economic crisis are forcing
the young generation to make painful sacrifices.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly is deeply concerned by the fact
that the young generation in Europe is disproportionally hit by
unemployment, underemployment, poverty and exclusion. This is nothing
less than a tragedy in the making. If no tangible improvements are
made, Europe risks not only producing a “lost generation” of disillusioned
young people, but also undermining its political stability and social
cohesion, justice and peace, as well as its long-term competitiveness
and development prospects in the global context.
3. Europe is ageing and needs the dynamism of young people to
advance and prosper. Therefore policy makers have a duty to act
rapidly and decisively to help deliver real opportunities for young
people – or face the backlash of rising extremism and alienation
in society. The Assembly is convinced that Europe needs to reactivate
intergenerational solidarity mechanisms and better share political,
social and economic power with the young generation. Adequately
supporting young people today, even in times of austerity, is the
best investment Europe can make for its future vitality and quality
growth.
4. Regarding the major youth employment challenge, the Assembly
reiterates the proposals contained in its Resolution 1828 (2011) on reversing
the sharp decline in youth employment, and urges national parliaments to
ensure due follow-up. It welcomes the job-creation strategy unveiled
by the European Union in April 2012 and strongly supports proposals
specifically relating to youth.
5. The Assembly refers to the valuable research work done by
its partner institutions regarding strategies and tools for improving
the integration of young people into labour markets and fostering
progress in society. It is in particular convinced of the utility
of putting into practice the proposals of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), as outlined in the OECD
Employment Outlook series, its review Jobs for Youth and the independent
study “Challenges Facing European Labour Markets: Is a Skill Upgrade
the Appropriate Instrument?”, and recommends their implementation.
6. Moreover, the Assembly urges the Council of Europe member
States:
6.1. regarding youth policies,
to:
6.1.1. focus youth strategies and action plans on better
integration of young people into society through active citizenship,
social dialogue and sustainable employment opportunities;
6.1.2. ensure that young people have full access to all their
human (including social) rights;
6.1.3. ensure adequate remuneration and working conditions for
young workers;
6.1.4. ensure that youth policies are put high on the political
agenda and receive adequate funding;
6.1.5. reallocate part of unspent budgetary balances and supplementary
resources generated through adjustments in taxation to youth-oriented
projects, programmes and organisations;
6.1.6. implement family-friendly policies in support of young
parents and the proposals contained in the Recommendation 1912 (2010) on investing
in family cohesion as a development factor in times of crisis, in
the reply from the Committee of Ministers (Doc. 12450) and in Resolution 1864 (2012) on
demographic trends in Europe: turning challenges into opportunities;
6.1.7. foster the implementation of proposals laid out in Resolution 1778 (2010) and Recommendation 1948 (2010) on
promoting volunteering in Europe and in Resolution 1800 (2011) on combating
poverty;
6.1.8. promote the emancipation of young people by developing
housing policies specifically addressed to this age group;
6.2. regarding youth employability and skills, as well as the
transition from studies to work and between jobs, to:
6.2.1. refocus
their macroeconomic policies on sustainable job creation and investment
in quality education, training and lifelong learning schemes;
6.2.2. adjust their educational systems towards equipping young
people with a wider array of skills and linguistic abilities to
better qualify for the evolving needs of labour markets and multiple vacant
jobs across Europe;
6.2.3. improve youth access to high-quality education, which
can be better achieved by greater competitiveness of schools in
both the public and private sectors;
6.2.4. remove administrative and tax obstacles to youth mobility
for studies, training and work, and stimulate this mobility;
6.2.5. give impetus to youth entrepreneurship through an enabling
environment, advisory services, tax facilities, grants and microcredits
especially designed for young people;
6.2.6. facilitate young people’s access to development programmes,
patentability and employment in the green economy, health, innovation
and information technology sectors;
6.2.7. use the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives
(2012) to encourage the creation and development of youth co-operative
enterprises;
6.2.8. improve the Europe-wide recognition of professional qualifications
and non-formal education;
6.2.9. offer tax incentives for employers who propose apprenticeships
to young people while retaining older workers, notably for the inter-generational
transmission of skills in the workplace;
6.2.10. subsidise employers’ contributions to social insurance
schemes or even grant a moratorium on them for a limited period
of time so as to stimulate the recruitment of young people;
6.2.11. endorse and promote the implementation of the European
Quality Charter on Internships and Apprenticeships in the national
context;
6.2.12. implement any programmes and databases for the exchange
of information between national public employment services with
a view to favouring the access of young people to all European job
vacancies;
6.2.13. address the exclusion of young people from the educational
system, as well as the risk of a digital divide due to the lack
of equal opportunities for access to the Internet;
6.3. regarding social protection, to:
6.3.1. support
the implementation of national “youth guarantee” schemes to ensure
that no young person is out of employment, education or training
for more than four months against their will;
6.3.2. ensure that young people with special needs, notably those
with disabilities, can access training and employment adapted to
their capacities, be adequately remunerated and become fully integrated
in society;
6.3.3. propose targeted programmes and means of integration in
order to help young people in precarious situations avoid the scourge
of delinquency, prostitution, self-destruction or self-exclusion
caused by addictions;
6.3.4. guarantee equal opportunities for young people to choose
freely and have effective access to quality education through a
systematic use of scholarships having regard to family resources;
6.3.5. enhance public social security coverage and encourage
a greater use of private pension schemes for young workers in temporary,
low-paid or otherwise precarious employment;
6.3.6. ensure that first-time jobseekers have access to social
benefits;
6.3.7. promote the establishment of a basic statute for young
trainees in all member States, defining a set of minimum guarantees
for working traineeships based on a written contract, social security
contributions and, at least, the national minimum wage for traineeships
of more than three months;
6.4. regarding the promotion of active citizenship and social
dialogue, to:
6.4.1. make better use of new means of communication,
consultation and institutional representation (including youth councils,
youth organisations and youth parliaments) to build more collaborative
social models that give voice to young people and adequately take
their input into account;
6.4.2. foster social dialogue to address youth problems by developing
public-private partnerships between educational institutions, enterprises,
local authorities, trade unions, employment agencies and social
services;
6.4.3. consider setting up multifunctional youth support funds
aimed at providing more scholarships for students, fostering the
creation of start-up enterprises and access to patents by young
entrepreneurs and promoting social inclusion projects for the young
generation.
7. The Assembly resolves to make regular use of its “state of
democracy and human rights” debates and other existing monitoring
mechanisms provided in the Council of Europe legal instruments in
order to assess progress made and the effectiveness of measures
taken by member States in improving access to social rights, notably
for the more vulnerable segments of the population such as young
people in general, and women, the disabled or the most marginalised
in particular. Moreover, the Assembly considers that it would be
useful to hold a follow-up debate in 2014.