ENDA KENNY will travel to Brussels today for two days of talks with other EU leaders on addressing youth unemployment.
The European Council meeting will aim to agree concrete measures to tackle youth unemployment, such as speeding up the Youth Employment Initiative and increase youth mobility.
The leaders are also being urged to agree a new ‘investment action plan’ to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
However, all of those measures may be overshadowed by the conclusion of the ‘European Semester’ – a process which will see leaders formally consider recommendations to each individual member state advising them on their Budget plans.
Ireland has not been given any such recommendation, as it is currently within a bailout programme which comes with its own separate terms and conditions.
Leaders are also expected to be updated on progress in talks on the EU’s seven-year budget, from 2014 to 2020, and on plans to cement a European banking union – a matter which is necessary before Ireland can hope to recoup any of its banking bailout costs from the Eurozone’s bailout funds.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say