The crisis in Europe resulted in a large-scale unemployment. It affected mainly the young people-the European Union’s future. Youth unemployment in some EU member states including Bulgaria is twice higher that the average in the EU which is nearly 11%, although the Union has already come out of the long economic recession, said EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor. In his words, the current unemployment levels are unacceptable and the EU should act promptly, make the necessary reforms and adopt new measures aimed at reducing the number of the jobless people. László Andor is paying a two-day official visit to Sofia and youth unemployment was in the focus of his meetings with Bulgaria’s Premier Plamen Oresharski, MPs, experts and young Bulgarians.

“Youth unemployment is a key priority in the European strategy for the new 2014-2020 programming period”, commented for Radio Bulgaria László Andor. “This was proved by the Youth Guarantee common European plan initiated by the European Commission. The latter is a good instrument to fight youth unemployment. It guarantees that all young Europeans aged twenty five or under will receive a four-month job offer after their graduation, or when they become unemployed. Practically, this instrument gives young Europeans including the Bulgarians the opportunity to enter the labor market and start a job career”, Commissioner Andor further pointed out. In the audio file you can hear more from Commissioner Andor.

Bulgaria is to receive 20% more money from the European Social Fund in the period 2014-2020, as compared to the former programming period, EU Commissioner for Employment Andor also pointed out. However, Bulgaria faces a very specific problem-many young Bulgarians neither study, nor work, László Andor said. He is convinced that the Youth Guarantee instrument is the best one for this country. László Andor agreed that the refugee issue is another huge problem for Bulgaria. In his words, it may be solved through a stronger European solidarity and the European Commission will surely provide assistance to the Bulgarian government.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov