On 21 April, the European Council agreed to significantly increase advance payments for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), one of the programmes designed to tackle youth unemployment in Europe. If the Council’s decision is adopted, Member States will receive around EUR 1 billion –as opposed to EUR 67 million –in advance payments in 2015, allowing them to quickly roll out youth employment measures. Thus far, the lack of pre-financing has been one of the biggest hurdles preventing the effective mobilisation of resources. 

The Youth Guarantee schemes in eligible (i.e. most affected) regions. Under the Youth Guarantee, Members put in place measures to ensure that young people up to 25 years of age can opt for a quality job, traineeship, apprenticeship or continued education within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed. The exact form of Youth Guarantee schemes vary by Member State. 

The Council’s proposal to increase pre-financing for the Youth Employment Initiative will be discussed the European Parliament before it can take effect.  Press release