Youth unemployment and liberalisation of public services are topics that are rocking Swedish society. At the beginning of July, the European Parliament Information Office in Sweden kicked off the debate during an annual political event in Almedalen, Gotland. My name is Dennis Bryntse. I'm 23 years old. I've had a three-year secondary school education at Donnergymnasiet in Klintehamn, here in Gotland. After that I've been unemployed for about three years, since 2009. Now I'm applying for work and education. I have been accepted for training in the field of photography, beginning this autumn, in September 2012. Dennis belongs to the 25% of young people that are unemployed in Sweden where the average unemployment rate is 7%. Lack of specific training, personal problems and a shortage of jobs are the main causes. What's more, Gotland is a tourist destination where jobs are often seasonal. On a positive note, Dennis follows a course in photography, partly funded by the EU. It’s great they want to invest in programmes such as Hansa Utbildning. Because if they hadn’t been here, I don’t know where I'd have been now. But for now, Dennis still hasn’t received any job offers. Youth unemployment worries Swedish policy makers. The topic made for a lively debate during Sweden's political event of the year, the Almedalen Week. Dozens of Swedish politicians, NGOs, lobbies and media gathered in the capital of the island, Visby. This debate was organised by the European Parliament Information Office. Getting into the labour market is difficult for many young people. That's also because many jobs that they normally could do are now gone. We reduce taxes all the time, and now it's in manufacture or in private services, where it can be more difficult to get started than in the public sector. For Ms Corazza Bildt, the solution could come from the European internal market where hundreds of thousands of jobs could be created. Sweden is a country that founds its welfare on the fact that we are exporting a lot of the goods and services produced in Sweden. And with only 9 million people, it is obvious that a well-functioning internal market is giving our companies a possibility to grow and to export, and therefore to continue to give jobs. A particularity of Sweden is that it has completely liberalised public services. But has that created or destroyed jobs? We were interested in the service sector, more particularly in care for the elderly. This liberalisation has involved the creation of a multitude of small businesses. Established in 2004, this private nursing home employs 100 people and hosts 103 residents. Its director Agneta Pettersson explains how she manages the business. We are good at managing elderly care cost-efficiently, but the quality of care isn't lower. Usually it's better. I could imagine that it's largely because we have a quality department which is very thorough in controlling that we follow guidelines and policies, documentation that is extremely important. But privatisation has not been successful everywhere. In Gotland the authorities are backtracking. This nursing home will soon be a public service. For the employees, nothing will change. After 8 years of private management, its director however fears the return of local politicians’ influence in its affairs. Politicians don’t usually have detailed knowledge about elderly care, and that worries me. Lars Åkerlund is one of the local politicians who want to have their say in the management of this nursing home. We don’t think venture capital companies should be able to make money from the needs of the elderly. The trade unions agree: for them, the liberalisation of public services has failed. There are fewer people working in the postal services today, and there are more companies competing in the field. Here in town it works pretty well, but it has got worse in the countryside. Back to the political event of the week. Standing before a crowd, Swedish MEPs set out their visions for the service market. With all these liberalisations, also of energy, we have seen very strong price increases, higher than inflation, without improved service. They are competitive and give the best value for money. We are learning, we are adjusting. It's important to learn from mistakes. Young people may be victims of these mistakes. For Dennis there is still one solution: leaving Gotland and moving to another Swedish city or even to another EU country, a path taken by many others of his age. The next debate organised by the European Parliament Information Office in Stockholm is in Lycksele on 29-30 August 2012 and will include a regional forum on the EU's multiannual financial framework, the Common Agricultural Policy and regional funds. You can also contact the EP Information Office in your country.
EuroparlTV video ID: 97db3459-ab85-4bda-a7d5-a09101199acb
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