The Youth Guarantee Recommendation was adopted in April 2013 and is part of the Youth Employment Package; it is aimed at contributing to reduce critical levels of youth unemployment in Europe by making sure that young people under 25 cannot stay more than four months after finishing education or becoming unemployed without being proposed a job, an internship, a training, etc. Member States with regions of youth unemployment above 25% are also eligible for additional EU funding through the European Social Fund. 6 billion Euros of funding will be provided for the initiative – 3 billion from ESF funds and another 3 billion from a dedicated budget line for two years (2014 and 2015). Member States have been asked to submit national Youth Guarantee implementation plans; 19 plans have already been submitted. The majority of the implementation plans do not touch on the topic of validation at all. EUCIS-LLL would like to stress that there should be a strong link between validation and youth employment initiatives. See EUCIS-LLL press release. Read also the outcomes of a Twitter tchat with Commissioner Andor on the youth guarantee and two new publications from the Commission: “The Youth Guarantee: making it happen” and “EU measures to tackle youth unemployment”.