Speakers of EU parliaments in Vilnius determined to tackle youth unemployment
Vilnius, April 7 (AZERTAC). On Monday, for the first time in the history of the country, the Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments began at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
Lithuania's Parliament Speaker Loreta Grauziniene welcomed the participants of the conference and drew their attention to the fact that the historic event was taking place in the historic Hall of the Act of 11 March of the Seimas, where 24 years ago Lithuania's independence was restored. The head of the Lithuanian Parliament invited the guests to watch a video clip about the Hall of the Act of 11 March.
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission addressed the participants of the conference with a video message from Brussels. In his speech, Barroso noted that economy in Europe was emerging from a recession, yet there were still many challenges to deal with.
"Youth unemployment continues to remain an extremely urgent problem. The situation in some member states is very difficult (&). Yet together we will seek that European Youth Guarantees and youth employment initiatives as well as the new budget (&) would produce the desired result to help young job seekers," said the President of the European Commission.
At the Session I, the Speakers of European Union Parliaments discussed the role of parliaments in tackling the consequences of the economic and financial crisis.
The first one to deliver a speech was Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius, who shared his views on the role of national parliaments. "It is not a secret that the European integration determined that a share of legislative competences of national parliaments was transferred to the supranational EU institutions. The latest indicators of Eurobarometer are very upsetting: about 66 percent of EU citizens do not believe that their voice is the European Union is important. The EU institutions are said to be removed from citizens and barely accountable to them, while operating principles of these institutions are very complicated and difficult to understand," said Butkevicius.
The Lithuanian prime minister stressed that in a bid to promote active citizenship and to reduce the gap between the EU and national institutions, it was necessary that national parliaments would take a significant role.
"National parliaments know best about economic and social policies in their countries; therefore, it is necessary to promote a more active cooperation at the EU level. Active cooperation between national parliaments and supranational institutions may guarantee the effectiveness of mechanisms, which ensure the well-being of the European Union," said Prime Minister Butkevicius.
Miguel Angel Martinez, Vice-President of the European Parliament, who presented the speech of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, welcomed the discussions on enhancing the role of national parliaments in the EU legislation process.
"I believe that the best way for national parliaments to have influence on legislation process is to use their leaders, i.e. the representatives of their governments. The European Parliament and national parliaments are not rivals, they are partners, seeking to ensure a more democratic and lawful Europe," said Vice-President of the European Parliament Martinez.
In his speech, Mogens Lykketoft, Speaker of the Folketing of the Kingdom of Denmark, focused on unemployment situation in Europe and related issues.
"Irrespectively of certain signs of economic recovery, some EU member states still are facing many difficulties. There are 26 million of jobless people in Europe. One group of citizens has suffered and continue to suffer - they are young people. Therefore, the main issue is to involve increasingly more young people in the labour market. And it must be done immediately," said Speaker of the Folketing of the Kingdom of Denmark Lykketoft.
The Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments is the final and one of the largest parliamentary dimension events of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which is conducted by the national Parliament of the Member State holding the Presidency in the second semester of the year and organised by this Member State following the completion of its Presidency in the first semester of the next year.
Nigar Jafarly
Vilnius
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