Spain could follow Scandinavian procedures to get young adults back to work

SPAIN, Greece and other countries with high youth unemployment may be obliged to set up a scheme which guarantees that the under-26s are placed in formal study, training, paid work experience or a 'proper' job within a maximum of four months of either finishing their education or being left unemployed.

Similar schemes have been set up in Finland and Sweden, whereby 83 and 68 per cent respectively were working within just 90 days.

Head of employment for the European Commission, Láslő Andor, says it will be up to each country involved to work out how they will put the programme into action and to finance it, although cash from the European Social Fund (FSE) will normally be available.

Whilst the move will be supervised at all times by the EU, the individual governments will be responsible for the details since 'Sweden does not have the same needs and industrial makeup as Portugal', as Andor recalls.

He says the level of unemployment in the European Union is 'intolerable', with Spain and Greece being the worst offenders at 25 per cent jobless and rising to 55 per cent among young adults.

Current rates of unemployment in the 27 member States is costing the EU – and therefore the countries within it – a total of 153 billion euros a year, both in loss of tax and social security income and in having to pay out dole money.