According to a recent Eurobarometer
\nsurvey, most young people between 16 and 30 are feeling marginalised in their
\nown countries as a result of the economic crisis. The largest percentage is
\nfound in Greece, 93%, while the lowest is in Germany, with 27%. In Romania, the
\npercentage is 71%. The most frequently invoked cause is a lack of stable and
\ndecently paying jobs, according to Diana Filip, the coordinator of the
\nEuropeDirect office in Bucharest: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I believe that along with the
\nnegative effects of the economic crisis, which can still be felt, we can still
\ntalk about the old clich\u00e9: young graduates, fresh out of school, are required
\nfairly solid experience when they apply for a job. This happens in all EU
\nmember states, not just in Romania. The difference is that in other member states,
\nthe emphasis is on practical specialisations, such as those taught by
\nvocational schools, and not on theoretical education. In our experience,
\ninternships and volunteering have become essential in the training of youth, in
\nparallel with the theoretical aspects they learn in university. Which is why
\nthe law of volunteering has been issued, allowing these activities to be
\nrecognised as time on the job. Young people need more practical activities, in
\naddition to theoretical education, in order to integrate on the labour market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In spite of problems in the labour
\nmarket, the Eurobarometer indicates that half of young people in Romania do not
\nwant to study or work in another EU country. 85% have not even travelled to
\nanother country for those purposes. They are active on social networks, and
\nwould like to get involved in public debates. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For Mihai Dragos, the head of the
\nYouth Council of Romania, these two aspects, civic involvement and the wish to
\nstay in the country, are closely linked, and have to do with the wish to change
\nwhat happens here: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There exists an interest in the
\ndemocratic process and in influencing decisions, as shown by the Eurobarometer.
\nThere is also a large number of young people who believe that social networks
\nare positive for democracy, since they allow people to take part in various
\ncampaigns and acquire information first-hand, which sometimes can be hard to
\naccess through the traditional press. There might be a fear of going abroad,
\nrelated to a fear of marginalisation. We can see a rise in hate speech and
\nextremism in some European states. This may discourage some young people from
\nseeking a future in a different country. In addition, there are countries that
\nhave a much bigger problem with unemployment than Romania, a situation hard to
\nenvisage before the economic crisis. This may affect the decision to seek a
\nfuture in another country.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Although quite a few of Romania’s
\nyoung people decide to stay in their country, Romania has been delaying the
\nimplementation of the facilities for young people adopted in Brussels and
\nStrasbourg. This could also explain their feeling of marginalisation. Mihai
\nDragos tells us more:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There
\nis a European programme called Youth Guarantee, under which Romania should
\nspend over 560 million euros to achieve the social and economic integration of
\nyoung people, that is those who are not in education, employment or training.
\nWe have realised, however, that Romania has not yet begun to implement this
\nprogramme and that not a single cent has been spent of these European funds for
\ncounselling and training and other such activities that could have been
\ninitiated as early as the beginning of 2014. This delay is even bigger in the
\nprevious financial cycle covering the 2007 to 2013 period. While in 2009,
\nRomania was already spending the money earmarked for human resources training,
\nnow we’re halfway through 2016 and this has not happened yet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania
\nis not doing much better, either, when it comes to implementing its own
\nlegislation, says the president of the Youth Council: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We’re
\nnow working on amending the youth law. We found out that, although the current
\nlaw provides for specific programmes and funds for young people, including at
\nthe level of local authorities, the vast majority of public administration institutions
\nhave not used these funds. Also, there is no monitoring in place of how these
\nfunds should be spent. These funds should have been allocated to training and
\ncounselling programmes, as well as to public policy debates and programmes to
\nput employers in touch with potential employees. In 2015, youth unemployment in
\nRomania stood at more than 21%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Apart
\nfrom fear and a feeling of being marginalised, the Eurobarometer survey on
\nyoung people also showed some good aspects. 89% of Romania’s youth say it is
\nimportant to know more about European institutions. For many years, Romania had
\nsome of the lowest levels in Europe in terms of knowledge of the EU. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
However,
\nthings are beginning to change, all the more so as young people have realised
\nthat EU institutions can provide them with specific opportunities. The
\ncoordinator of the EuropeDirect Office in Bucharest, Diana Filip, explains: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s
\nyoung people start showing an interest in how EU institutions work as early as
\nhigh-school and are willing not only to understand their mechanisms, in case
\nthey might wish to work in one of these institutions in Brussels, but also to
\nunderstand the impact of EU policies at a national level, in particular on the
\nlabour market. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nEurobarometer survey, which was carried out between April 8 and 25, polled
\n10,294 young people across the 28 EU member states. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Even though the economic crisis is officially over in Europe, its consequences are still being felt by Europeans, especially by young people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":89174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[30666,43560],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-142000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-eurobarometer","tag-youth-employment"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n