Young people in Brussels: “In Italy there is no meritocracy, for us leaving is an obligation”

The group wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Letta to ask for effective measures
Cofferati (S&D): “Because of emigration our country is wasting valuable resources”
Rinaldi (Alde): “Data is dramatic; the government needs to make concrete commitments”

 “The nightmare of youth unemployment is already a reality. Leaving is becoming an obligation, no longer a choice.” This is how the Giovani italiani a Bruxelles (Young Italians in Brussels) decided to address their letter to the Prime Minister and to all the Italian political powers to request concrete and quick action. Youth unemployment in Italy has already reached 38.4%; one out of three young people are unemployed, while youth emigration toward other countries increased by 30% in 2012 alone. At the European Parliament the group organized a debate with the Euro MEPs Sergio Cofferati (S&D) e Niccolò Rinaldi (Alde) on the proposal of a guarantee system designed by the EU. It concerns a fundamental measure for Francesca Minniti, co-founder of Young Italians in Brussels, and must also be applied on a national level to guarantee all youth under 25 the right to an adequate job offer, training or an internship within four months from the end of their studies.

 The youth complain above all about the lack of job opportunity and meritocracy which forces them to leave their own country. But also about the corruption and nepotism that taint the choices in competitions and in the job search. Minniti, who left Italy almost 4 years ago, affirmed: “I emigrated because in Italy my CV was not even read, while in Brussels I found a city open to meritocracy but I would like the opportunity to return home to live in my country.”

 They also complain about continuous cuts to research and education that, they claim, undermine belief in the possibility of creating a future in Italy, actually I-taglia (I-cuts as they re-baptized it). A long-term strategy for employment seems increasingly more urgent and the participants at the debate highlighted 5 key actions on which the politicians should concentrate: invest in education and research, promote training and access to the job market, favor the hiring of young people, simplify access to credit, and reform voting laws for Italians who are temporarily living abroad.

 According to Cofferati the Youth Guarantee proposal is culturally innovative, even if the funds appropriated are not sufficient and therefore must be accompanied by a policy for concrete growth and real social safety nets. “Youth unemployment, in Italy and in Europe, quickly transformed in a real social emergency. A sharp turnaround is necessary, above all because our country, due to youth emigration, is wasting valuable resources” the former mayor of Bologna affirmed. “The priority – continued Cofferati – must be above all to create jobs; facts demonstrated that increasing flexibility doesn’t create jobs but shatters rights both for parents and for children.”

 Rinaldi emphasized that new resources could also be found for young people through a real battle against tax evasion, which costs 165 billion Euro a year. Reiterating the pledge to support the Commission’s initiative he affirmed: “In light of, above all, the dramatic data in our country on levels of youth unemployment, we must ask the government again for a concrete commitment to seize this opportunity from the EU.”

 Irene Giuntella