French President François Hollande meets with youth organisations at the “Youth Summit for Quality Jobs” conference at the Elysée

Paris, 12 November 2013 // Today François Hollande met with youth activists and youth organisations in the framework of the “Youth Summit for Quality Jobs” conference. The summit, taking place between 11-13 November in Paris, focuses on the need to promote and protect quality jobs for young Europeans, as well as the role played by young people in shaping and implementing the youth guarantee in Europe, a vital policy tool to increase youth employment.

"It is important that we as government and institutions are pressured by youth movements to act over the current situation" stressed the French president François Hollande during the meeting, "and it is important that you continue this process united" he concluded.

This Intergovernmental Conference comes at a crucial time, when Europe stands at an important juncture. "Recent austerity-only policies have further aggravated the crisis and are overwhelmingly discriminative against young people and preventing long-term solutions for quality jobs" stated Peter Matjašič, President of the European Youth Forum. "Governments must invest in young people and provide quality, stable employment and educational opportunities for its youth, as short-term and reactionary measures are not enough."

Recent EU-level initiatives to tackle youth unemployment and social exclusion have been welcome, but much more needs to be done in terms of economic investment in young people and the protection of young people’s labour and social rights.

The European Youth Forum has consistently highlighted that the recent economic crisis has had disastrous implications for young people in terms of their employment, social inclusion and ability to lead dignified and autonomous lives. A publication on Quality jobs has been launched for the occasion.

The Youth Summit for Quality Jobs is organised by the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), National Youth Councils and National Trade Unions Federations.