Youth unemployment in Europe increased dramatically in recent years due to the economic crisis, and has remained a pressing problem today. The average youth unemployment rate in the EU as of 2013 was 23.2%, as opposed to 12.0% adult unemployment. Malta had 14.2% youth unemployment, and 6.7% overall unemployment. While a few Member States have managed to stabilize these numbers in the years following the crisis, some of them have reached figures above 50%.

Consequences of youth unemployment include migration, slower economic growth, restricted future opportunities for those affected, and a potential increase in criminal activity. It is therefore imperative to ensure that the tools that have been especially designed to address this problem are implemented effectively. Young people require greater support in finding employment in order to prevent them from becoming trapped in the poverty cycle.

The EPP believes that Europe's economic success rests on the shoulders of our youth. We know that there exists a need to use specific policies, economic incentives, social programmes, education and training to effectively engage young professionals in the labour market.

Firms tend to avoid hiring workers who have been unemployed for a long period of time. The greater the number of years that young professionals have been jobless, the harder it will be to solve this problem. If we do not prevent young Europeans from becoming long-term unemployed, we will not only experience the negative effects of unemployment now, but also those of an unemployed generation of workers in years to come. Leaving this problem unsolved will have severe consequences for the EU's economic future.

In an attempt to start working on this issue as soon as possible, the European Union has come up with various different programs to guarantee jobs for our young citizens.

These programs focus on providing solutions to address different parts of the problem, each prioritizing education and training, funding, and/or integrating young people into the labour market.

Perhaps the best known of these initiatives is the Youth Guarantee. With a focus on education and training, the Youth Guarantee "seeks to ensure that Member States offer all young people up to age 25 a quality job, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed."

The Youth Guarantee highlights early intervention and activation as key, and it requires not only improving vocational education and training systems, but strengthening cooperation between them as well.

The mismatch between labour force skills and the requirements of firms is a crucial obstacle that must be overcome. Several articles and news stories in recent months have commented on the inability of recent graduates to find employment. But additionally the inability of big firms to find entry-level employees with the skills set they require.

A recent report on youth unemployment in the European Union published by McKinsey&Company highlighted that "Counterintuitively, employers from countries where youth unemployment is highest reported the greatest problems." Firms that have found themselves unable to fill certain positions, and have thus left them unoccupied, have seen their profits hurt. These profit losses by several firms have a ripple effect that has consequences on the entire economy.

The youth guarantee will connect young people to potential employers at an early stage. By providing them with opportunities ranging from continued education to a job, this scheme will ensure young professionals are kept in touch with the labour market and provided with opportunities to further their education.

The Youth Guarantee promises to have a lasting impact on current youth unemployment levels in Europe. However, it is the responsibility of Member States to take action and implement long-term unemployment reduction strategies in order to minimize the risk of future generations to become unemployed or inactive.

On the 8th of April, the European Commission hosted a conference on the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in Brussels. The event sought to address criticism that the scheme will only serve to "store" young people out of unemployment statistics and is prioritizing quantity vs. quality of the offers.

At the conference, Commission President Barroso emphasized that the quality of the opportunities offered by the scheme is crucial to its success, and attendees focused on ways to ensure its immediate implementation.

The EPP Group has long-supported the Youth Employment Initiative and the Youth Guarantee. By working on simplifying a revision of the European Social Fund rules, the EPP sought to guarantee a better uptake by targeted groups. Today, with a budget of €6 billion from 2014 to 2020, the (ESF) will financially support national measures to implement the Youth Guarantee across the EU.