Youth Employment Initiative: additional initial prefinancing amount paid to operational programmes

2015/0026(COD)

The European Parliament adopted by 632 votes to 30, with 31 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council on the European Social Fund, as regards an increase of the initial pre-financing amount paid to operational programmes supported by the Youth Employment Initiative.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure taking over the Commission proposal.

To attenuate the budgetary constraints faced by Member states and the lack of available funding at the initial stage of the programming period have caused significant delays in the implementation of the YEI and to take account of the urgency to deal with youth unemployment, the proposed Regulation seeks to raise the initial pre-financing amount paid to operational programmes supported by the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) from 1% to 30% of the envelope which is allocated to it for 2015.

In light of the persistent high levels of youth unemployment in the Union, a Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) was established to provide support to young Europeans not in employment, education or training in the most affected regions. The YEI is integrated in the programming of the European Social Fund (ESF).