The European Commission has lambasted a number of countries, including Malta for not presenting their proposals on the implementation of the Youth Guarantee scheme, the PN said this afternoon.

PN spokesman on Employment Stephen Spiteri said that, two days ago, EU Commissioner for Work, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor gave a telling off to the Labour government because it did not present its proposals on how it will implement the Youth Guarantee scheme. This scheme aims to ensure that all persons under 25 have a job or receive education or tranining.

The PN said that during the electoral campaign Joseph Muscat used to boast about the scheme, even though a similar scheme had already been introduced by the PN. Dr Muscat had given the impression that the PL’s scheme would be more advanced and he had spurred the Socialists to push for this policy on an EU level. But two days ago the Commission noted that Malta was among 11 member states that have not even presented their proposals. The other 17 countries have already submitted their final plans.

“Commissioner Andor warned these 11 member states that leaving youths without help will damage their prospects and the EU’s economic potential.  He urged governments to move fast and implement practical measures to ensure that youths are given the opportunities they deserve. Before the election Joseph Muscat promised that Malta would become the best in Europe. But once again the EU is warning the Prime Minister because he is trailing on what he promised. Joseph Muscat deceived our youths,” Dr Spiteri insisted.  

Government says it is giving youths ‘solid platform’

But the government today insisted that it is investing in youths and is providing them with a “solid platform. Speaking during the launch of the European Job fair, PS for EU Funds Ian Bort said: “in these past 10 months €6 million out of a total of €24 million in EU Funds committed to the Employment Aid Programme and the Training Aid Framework were reimbursed back to the beneficiaries.”

Dr. Borg said that these funds were used to overcome the challenges of unemployment by providing further possibilities of employment and training to our work force.

“As Europeans we can’t deny that employment is a major challenge facing EU Member States. The Parliamentary Secretary in this regard said that it is being estimated that across the EU, 24% of youths are jobless.   In some of the member states the figures are extremely worrying.   In Spain and Greece alone, it is estimated that around 60% of young people are unemployed. In contrast Malta, according to figures published by Eurostat, unemployment among Maltese youth stood at 13% which is well below the European average.”

Dr. Borg continued by saying that if we were to look at the bigger picture, Malta has the 4th lowest rate of unemployment and the third largest increase in job creation, while declaring that this government will not stop here.

The Parliamentary Secretary also stated that during the newly launched programming period 2014-2020 the government was committed to sustain and invest more in schemes such as the Employment Aid Programme and the Training Aid Framework whereby our labour force can empower itself through further training programmes so as to enhance their employability prospects.  These schemes will increase also the confidence in our local entrepreneurs so as to increase their investment in the Maltese economy.