‘Unemployment threatens Europe unity'

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned that Europe is in danger of being torn apart should it fail to defeat the growing unemployment among youth.

œWe need to be more successful in our fight against youth unemployment, otherwise we will lose the battle for Europe’s unity,” Schaeuble told a conference in Paris on Tuesday,

During the conference, the Europe™s powerhouse along with France, Spain and Italy, expressed support for urgent action in an effort to save a generation of young Europeans who fear they will not find jobs.

Figures show that in the crisis-hit European Union (EU) about one in four young people is out of work.

Meanwhile, Spain™s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged the eurozone to triple assistance to small businesses as well as to permit governments to subsidize the hiring of younger workers without sanctions for overspending.

He added that the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Central Bank (ECB) must increase their efforts to aid credit flow to small firms.

Youth unemployment in Spain, gripped by deep recession, has exceeded 57 percent – among the highest in Europe.

For his part, Italian Labor Minister Enrico Giovannini said, œWe have to rescue an entire generation of young people who are scared. We have the best-educated generation and we are putting them on hold. This is not acceptable.”

In March, there were 5.7 million young people without work in the EU, of whom 3.6 million were in the eurozone.

Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008 and most European governments have taken tough austerity measures to contain their debt crises.

MR/KA