The EP calls for investments on young people and their innovative and entrepreneurial spirit

On 11 September 2013, the European Parliament (EP) has adopted the report on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy 2010-2012 (2013/2073(INI)). The report was an initiative taken by the Education and Culture Committee of the EP with the aim of evaluating the first circle of the EC Strategy on Youth which was focused on and gave priority in enhancing cooperation among Member States on youth issues and policies, boosting youth employability and the encouraging entrepreneurship among young people.

The Parliament gave a general support to the strategy but invited the EC and the Council of the European Union to increase investments and make more efforts in promoting this initiative. Furthermore the EP called the Member States to commit more and make a better use of the European instruments proposed by the EC. The EP also stressed the importance of the Structured Dialogue with the civil society.

Another aim of the report was to give recommendations concerning the next cycle of the strategy, which will continue to focus on youth employment and will target in particular youngsters who are not in employment, education or training.

Among other call for actions, the EP stressed that Member States and businesses should invest more in the right skills and diversify the types of training for jobs in demand, notably in technological sectors, by creating more flexible curricula, which should include entrepreneurship and transversal skills.

The report was initiated by Georgios PAPANIKOLAOU, Group of the European People's Party. One of his personal remarks was the necessity to provide more opportunities in education and in all forms of training by investing on young people and supporting the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, by bravely funding youth programs and by believing that every single euro spent for the young generation has multiplying effects on growth in Europe, as well as on its future social cohesion.