What the European Union Youth Report Says: Nearly a Quarter Are at Risk of Poverty

Article by Annalisa Girardi – Journalist, Fanpage.it

What does it mean to be young in the European Union? This is the question the latestEU Youth Report , published a few weeks ago by the European Commission, seeks to answer. This document seeks to monitor how the EU Youth Strategy, the European strategy for young people, is being implemented. All of this has one goal: to make it clear that the voice of young people matters, that it is the voice that will shape the future of the Union of tomorrow, and that it must therefore be listened to seriously.

Younger generations of Europeans, for their part, appear highly interested in building this future together: the report highlights how 70% of young people participate in elections. However, there is one negative aspect: the 2024 figure is down compared to 2019. Considering how democratic voter turnout is declining across the continent, this is not an element to be underestimated: it is important to foster awareness of the impact European policies have on our daily lives. Challenges are not lacking.

First and foremost, demographics. Young people represent an increasingly smaller portion of the EU population, and this, the document states, “raises concerns about intergenerational equity and the sustainability of social security systems.” Then there is the issue of youth unemployment: approximately 10% of young people are unemployed, and many of them are classified as NEETs (young people neither in employment nor education).

The report certifies that nearly a quarter of young people in the EU are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, a condition that jeopardizes their access to education, housing, and quality healthcare. This also impacts mental health: “Nearly half of young people reported having suffered from emotional or psychosocial problems in the previous year.”

Finally, the report underlines the importance of education and training for new generations, as well as transnational mobility in this field.

In 2023, 4 in 10 young people completed tertiary education. Early dropout from education and training stood at 9.5% in 2023 and remains a concern, particularly among young men (11%). The PISA 2022 survey18 shows that 30% of 15-year-olds in the EU do not achieve minimum proficiency in mathematics, and around 25% do not achieve minimum proficiency in reading and science. The digital world is an integral part of young people’s lives, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Acquiring digital skills is significantly correlated with formal higher education. In 2023, 28% of young people lacked basic digital skills; this percentage rose to 38% among young people with a low level of education.