MEPs Joseph Cuschieri and Roberta Metsola participated in a debate on campus earlier this afternoon, discussing the obstacles that need to be overcome to ensure that young people can make the most of the various opportunities available to study, work or volunteer in the EU.

The debate was organised by the European Parliament Information Office in Malta and the university students’ council (KSU), and was followed by the unveiling of a ceramic and mixed media wall sculpture by Gozitan artist Victor Agius illustrating the ongoing European project.

MEP Joseph Cuschieri mentioned the European Youth Guarantee, saying that the Party of European Socialists have long been fighting for this guarantee, which would ensure that every young person in Europe is offered a job, further education or work-focused training at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed.

5.7 million young people are currently unemployed in Europe and an additional 1.5 million are forced into precarious jobs. In some countries as many as one young person out of two cannot find a job.

MEP Roberta Metsola also spoke about youth unemployment, pointing out that the percentage of young people who are unemployed increased from 15% in February 2008 to 21% at the beginning of 2010, and the situation has not yet improved.

Dr Metsola also mentioned the Professional Qualifications Directive, the ‘Your first EURES job’ initiative, as well as the new ‘Erasmus for All’ programme, whose main objective will remain to facilitate mobility, improve employability skills, and modernise European higher education.

She explained that the organisation of the Erasmus programme has improved significantly over the years, but more needs to be done to reduce bureaucracy that students often have to face. She herself had encountered a number of problems when she joined the programme to study in France about 10 years ago.

Talking about the fact that Malta has just six MEPs, Dr Metsola said, “We are certainly a small team, considering that there are currently 754 MEPs, but like Luxembourg, we can make a difference. We need to cover as many subjects as possible; I have joined four committees, but this wasn’t easy and I had to fight for it.”

Mr Cuschieri added that it is difficult for the six MEPs to cover all the committees of the European Parliament due to the amount of work involved, but stressed that small nations can bring about big change.

Replying to a question about migration, Mr Cuschieri said Frontex and the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum are not enough, and an obligatory agreement needs to be in place to ensure better responsibility-sharing in the field of asylum.

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