A high-ranking German officer has claimed that Greece has not yet received any funds from the emergency European Commission program (“Youth Guarantee”) introduced in early 2014 to tackle youth unemployment. The official explained that the Commission has rejected the proposals of the Greek Ministry of Labor, while other countries with a far smaller youth unemployment rate – such as Italy and France – have already collected significant amounts.
The coalition government in Greece has refuted the German officer’s claims, with Deputy Labor Minister Yannis Plakiotakis arguing that Greece has submitted a variety of program proposals, such as in shipping. Mr. Plakiotis added that by the end of the year Greece will have received 130 million euros – about a third of the 390 million euros that have been allocated to Greece.
The German officer made the allegation on the eve of the European Union summit in Milan, which will examine the program’s progress. Another German diplomat conceded that Berlin may have had poor information on the subject as it is not always well-informed on the actions of Greek ministries.
Meanwhile the GSEE secretary of youth Yannis Poupkos commented that while Greece has received funds from the program, the proposals were submitted on the final date of submission and complained that since Greece has the largest rate of youth unemployment (about 60%), it should have received more funds.
