EU commissioner on youth unemployment: "Then we will have a lost generation"

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EU Social and Labor Commissioner Nicolas Schmit

Photo: 

Metodi Popow / imago images

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Schmit, in July the Commission presented a 22 billion euro package of measures to give young people jobs despite the corona crisis.

Nevertheless, youth unemployment has risen rapidly.

Is the package a failure? 

Schmit:

It's still too early to judge that.

The Commission can initiate a lot, but the member states must also implement it.

The measures taken by a number of countries are going in the right direction, but unfortunately the corona crisis has intensified again in recent weeks - and we are noticing that the unemployment rate among young people is rising again.

And now the EU's Corona reconstruction package is also being delayed because Poland and Hungary want to prevent the mechanism to protect the rule of law.

It's catastrophic. 

SPIEGEL:

In the financial crisis of 2008, unemployment among young people not only rose to around 25 percent across the EU - it also grew three times as fast as among other employees.

Now exactly the same thing is happening again, in countries like Greece or Spain around 40 percent of those under 25 are unemployed.

Has the EU learned nothing? 

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