The starting point of the policy debate in Europe on youth, labour markets and citizenship is usually the existence of youth unemployment and the attendant risks of marginalisation for a sizable group of young people. That unemployment may endanger the integration of young people into the labour market and, by consequence, their transition to independent adulthood and full citizenship, is a disturbing thought for politicians and scientists alike. It is a reason for several policy initiatives addressed specifically at the reduction of youth unemployment in both the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Europe. It lies behind the recent efforts of the European Union (EU) to achieve some coordination of youth policies in the member states. It is also the motive for many research projects within single countries, and studies of a more comparative nature.

Youth unemployment is unevenly distributed among European countries. These differences are portrayed in Table 0.1, which presents the youth unemployment figures for 2003 and compares them with the situation in 1997. The table includes the 15 countries that constituted the EU up until 2004 and adds in Norway, Hungary and Slovenia (three countries that will be discussed in later chapters of this book).

Overall, youth unemployment declined during the period 1997-2003, in particular in those countries that had extremely high unemployment (>25%) in 1997. As a result, the differences between countries in 1997 and 2003 became smaller. However, there are still six countries in which 20-27% of the youth labour force are currently unemployed. Nine countries have a youth unemployment rate of 10-16%. Only in three countries is youth unemployment at present less than 10%. Still more significant is the proportion of unemployed youth whose unemployment is long term. According to OECD data for 2002, in the 15 EU countries 26.6% of all young unemployed people were out of work for more than a year. Exclusion is therefore looming large for more than a quarter of unemployed youth in Europe. However, there are again important differences between countries. Long-term youth unemployment varies from less than 10% in Austria and the Scandinavian countries to 46% in Greece and 55% in Italy.