5. Emphasises that, as a result of the economic and financial crisis, youth unemployment ­– the causes of which the ILO does not consider lie in income and non-wage labour cost levels, participatory rights and social protection standards – became a major challenge across the EU and has not so far been sufficiently addressed by the EU and Member States; stresses that unemployment at a young age puts the individual at a very high risk of poverty in the long term; emphasises the need for quality jobs in order to prevent young people from falling into the category of working poor; stresses that employment and traineeship contracts should ...[+++]provide social rights for all from day one of the contract; rejects any proposal to deviate from this principle; stresses that periods of notice must not be shortened, arrangements laid down in collective agreements and statutory provisions must apply as they do to regular employees, and participatory rights and freedom of association must be enjoyed without restriction from day one; calls for an EU framework laying down rights and protection arrangements for atypical and insecure jobs while respecting the principle of subsidiarity; emphasises that young people must be protected from discrimination in the workplace, especially on the grounds of age and professional experience through the effective implementation of Directive 2000/78/EC; calls for all Member States to set up a national strategy to tackle youth unemployment;

2. ICE shall draw up and maintain on its webpage a comprehensive and up-to-date list of exchange members or their clients that are eligible to facilitate access to SMEs and small emitters to the United Kingdom’s auctions on ICE together with readily comprehensible practical guidance informing SMEs and small emitters of the steps they need to take to access the auctions through such exchange members or their clients.

2. EEX shall draw up and maintain on its webpage a comprehensive and up-to-date list of members admitted to bid that are licensed to bid on behalf of SMEs and small emitters with readily comprehensible practical guidance informing SMEs and small emitters of the steps they need to take to access the auctions through such members.

7. Is alarmed at the persistence of high unemployment and the poor prospects for increasing employment, both in the eurozone and in the Union as a whole; urges that a special effort be made to provide advice and retraining for all those unemployed for more than six months; insists that small and medium-sized undertakings (SMEs) have a key role to play in job creation and is alarmed at the high number of SME bankruptcies in 2004, while at the same time deploring the fact that, unlike larger enterprises, SMEs have been incapable of taking full advantage of the favourable financial conditions of the last few years; stresses the need to c ...[+++]reate an environment which promotes the spirit of enterprise and a risk-taking culture which encourages the creation of new businesses by easing the administrative burden on small and medium-sized firms, by simplifying the regulatory environment, by reducing the general level of taxation in the European Union and by improving access for SMEs to sources of finance, particularly risk capital; proposes reforms designed to increase opportunities for SMEs; ; draws attention to the decisive role that micro-loans may play in assisting the creation of businesses and jobs; calls for a detailed examination of such instruments, and for them to be taken into account and promoted at Community level;

Continuing privatisation, mergers, adjustment to EMU, increased imports and more intense capitalist competition, thousands of small and medium-sized farms wiped out and the closure of small and medium-sized enterprises have created conditions for spiralling unemployment.

– (FR) Several days ago, a leading French newspaper ran a headline story on the efforts bring made to combat rising unemployment and it described the wave of near-panic sweeping through the announcements of poor unemployment figures.