GRO’'s journey to Qatar began at Web Summit Katar’, where the company first connected with local investors.
The initiative, founded by Mariia Shevchenko and a team of Ukrainian and German co-founders, later decided to establish its headquarters in Doha’.
Shevchenko Euronews’e said the company plans to move to Katar’a full-time as it enters the next phase of growth.
“We came here, met investors, and started building relationships, ” said.
This move will support the company's expansion in the Middle East’.
The investment in GRO’ was announced on Thursday with the launch of GrowthX Capital’, a new venture fund aimed at attracting international founders Qatar’a.
The fund's founder, Snoonu CEO, Hamad Al-Hajri, said he plans to invest QAR500 million (€119 million) in startups over the next five years.
The launch event was held at the Qatar Chamber’ and was attended by Qatar Financial Center (QFC) CEO ’ Mansoor Rashid Al-Khater and Dr. Olga Rivina, co-founder and president of the Ukrainian Business Forum’ in Qatar.
Artificial intelligence financial assistant
GRO is developing an AI-powered financial assistant that helps users manage spending, make financial decisions, and improve financial literacy while keeping personal financial data private.
The platform is aimed at both adults and families, and parental control features are also under development.
Privacy remains one of the company's priorities.
Shevchenko said “Must be special for your financial situation”. “We are working intensively on an architecture that will turn it into a closed system.”
He said members of the company's German team brought expertise in privacy and parental control systems.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Qatar Andrii Kuzmenko welcomed the investment, describing it as a sign of growing trade ties between the two countries.
Al-Hajri said he believes GRO’ has the potential to become a “tek unicorn” (a venture worth more than $1 billion (€866 million)) in the future.
French luxury store Galeries Lafayette, China, closed its first flagship store in ’ on Wednesday (May 27th), thirteen years after its opening. The retailer cited falling sales in recent years as the reason for its closure.
While the luxury market experienced strong growth in the middle of the 2010’s, especially thanks to the rise of the middle class, the Covid-19 pandemic and the real estate crisis in China’ became a turning point that suddenly stopped domestic consumption of China’, forcing the industry to adapt to new economic realities.
“ChinaWe have been seeing growth in the luxury industry in ’ for ten years. Over the years, the Chinese consumer has matured greatly. Now they understand luxury consumption and brands much better. They became familiar with this world, and their tastes became more refined and sophisticated.”Lisa Nan, editor of Jing Daily’, explains this.
“When we look at today's young consumers, we can now see that not only brands, but also immersive pop-up stores and many marketing initiatives in China’ can be of interest.He adds.
Lisa Nan said the French retailer has already announced its intention to reassess its entire real estate portfolio in China’. “So I think this decision is more about an internal selection because the positions of these areas were quite unfavourable.”Before adding it, he says: It is true that the retail industry faces a major challenge in China“, and this applies not only to Galeries Lafayette, but also to Lane Crawford.’
The presence in China’ remains strong
On Tuesday, the day before closing, a steady flow of customers took place to capitalize on the latest offerings as employees collected unsold products and mannequins.
Qian Linlin, who works in finance and whose office is only a few steps away from the flagship in Beijing’, said she was surprised to learn that the store she visited occasionally during lunch breaks closed. “ I realized there weren't a lot of customers, but I never thought it would suddenly close down one day.”He said it. “ was an iconic building when it first opened, and we young people used to come here for shopping. All we can do now is hold on to those memories. - ”
Located three kilometers west of the Forbidden City, this six-story 48,000-square-foot store was stripped of bags, clothes, shoes and children's toys before closing its doors indefinitely.
But Galeries Lafayette China does not permanently leave the capital of ’. “Don't worry, this isn't goodbye. See you soon Beijing”The French group wrote in a statement. On the contrary, the retailer now plans to offer more functional stores with a greater focus on brand and product selection.
“Consumers' expectations for the traditional department store model have changed significantly. Modern shoppers are increasingly choosing comfort, better quality service, more meaningful experiences, and a stronger sense of well-being.”The group also wrote in a statement.
Galeries Lafayette also emphasizes that this closure does not lead to questioning its presence in China’. Shops in the special administrative districts of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Macau will remain open.
French luxury store Galeries Lafayette, China, closed its first flagship store in ’ on Wednesday (May 27th), thirteen years after its opening. The retailer explains this move by pointing to falling sales in recent years.
While the luxury market experienced strong growth in the mid-2010’s, especially thanks to the rise of the middle class, the Covid-19 pandemic and the severe real estate crisis marked a decisive turning point, abruptly halting China’'s domestic consumption and forcing the sector to adapt to new economic realities.
“ChinaWe have been seeing growth in the luxury industry in ’ for ten years. Over the years, the Chinese consumer has matured greatly. Now they understand luxury consumption and brands much better. They became familiar with this world, and their tastes became more refined and sophisticated.”Lisa Nan, editor of Jing Daily’, explains this.
“When we look at today's young consumers, we can now see that not only brands, but also immersive pop-up stores and many marketing initiatives in China’ can be of interest.He adds.
Lisa Nan said the French retailer has already announced its intention to reassess its entire real estate portfolio in China’. “So I think this decision is more about an internal selection because the positions of these areas were quite unfavourable.”Before adding it, he says: It is true that the retail industry faces a major challenge in China“, and this applies not only to Galeries Lafayette, but also to Lane Crawford.’
The presence in China’ remains strong
On Tuesday, the day before closing, a steady flow of customers took place to capitalize on the latest offerings as employees collected unsold products and mannequins.
Qian Linlin, who works in finance and whose office is only a few steps away from the flagship in Beijing’, said she was surprised to learn that the store she visited occasionally during lunch breaks closed. “ I realized there weren't a lot of customers, but I never thought it would suddenly close down one day.”He said it. “ was an iconic building when it first opened, and we young people used to come here for shopping. All we can do now is hold on to those memories. - ”
Located three kilometers west of the Forbidden City, this six-story, 48,000-square-kilometer store was stripped of bags, clothes, shoes and children's toys before closing its doors indefinitely.
But Galeries Lafayette China does not permanently leave the capital of ’. “Don't worry, this isn't goodbye. See you soon Beijing”The French group wrote in a statement. On the contrary, the retailer now plans to offer more functional stores with a greater focus on brand and product selection.
“Consumers' expectations for the traditional department store model have changed significantly. Modern shoppers are increasingly choosing comfort, better quality service, more meaningful experiences, and a stronger sense of well-being.”The group also wrote in a statement.
Galeries Lafayette also emphasizes that this closure does not lead to questioning its presence in China’. Shops in the special administrative districts of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Macau will remain open.
At the World Urban Forum’ in Baku, Colombia, Mexico and Ecuador, delegations from ’ pressed for new housing financing models that could support affordable, climate-resilient cities.
As urban populations continue to grow in ’, policymakers have warned that traditional state-led housing systems are struggling to keep up with rising demand, climate risks and expanding inequality.
Leading voices included Colombian Housing Minister Aydeé Marsiglia Bello, who said governments can no longer rely solely on public spending to solve the scale of the housing crisis.
Bello told Euronews Business’a: “Public investment continues to play a fundamental role, especially in guaranteeing equality and protecting vulnerable communities.” “But today housing problems are too big for governments alone to solve.”
Colombia said ’ is combining public subsidies, regional investments and multilateral cooperation to expand affordable housing and integrate climate change resilience into urban planning.
Through initiatives such as the “ Resistant and Inclusive Housing Project, we are integrating housing with climate cohesion, public space and social engagement, ” added.
Reforming global finance for an urban world
Delegates have repeatedly stressed how climate-related disasters are putting increasing pressure on fragile urban systems, especially in low-income communities that are vulnerable to displacement and unregistered housing.
Former Quito mayor Mauricio Rodas said the future of urban development will largely depend on reforming global financial systems to give cities better access to long-term capital.
Speaking to Euronews Business’a, Rodas said that “ is located in cities where more than half of the world's population lives. ’ will approach, he said. “Cities global GDP’ 's %It produces 80 ’ini, but it also produces CO2 emissions. %It produces more than 70’.”
Rodas argued that the current international financial architecture, largely designed around national governments, is no longer suited to the increasingly urbanized global economy.
"We need to reform the international financial system by providing new direct financial opportunities for cities," “ said, warning that municipalities often have difficulty providing funding for affordable housing and climate adaptation projects.
He added that as governments face increasing financial pressure, it will become increasingly important to attract private investment into affordable housing.
Rodas, “Housing is basically a matter of honor, but also a matter of providing opportunities for prosperity.” said.
He argued that one of the main obstacles was the lack of regulatory frameworks that could give investors long-term confidence in urban housing projects.
Bello reiterated this view, noting that limited funding capacity in vulnerable municipalities is one of ’'s biggest hurdles.
One of the main bottlenecks remains the financial ceiling and limited long-term financing capacity for vulnerable regions, “ said.
The problem of private equity and affordability
The discussions in Baku’ also focused on the increasing role of private capital in urban development; Governments were looking for ways to attract corporate investment into affordable housing without undermining social protections.
Bello, “Private capital is essential to scale flexible infrastructure, sustainable urban development and climate-compliant housing solutions.
He added that governments should create “ stable regulatory frameworks to attract institutional investors, improve regional planning and reduce uncertainty through clearer risk management systems.
Mexico City looks ahead to 2030’
Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada said the forum helped shape the next phase of the global urban agenda ahead of the 2030 sustainable development goals.
Describing Baku’ as an important moment to review how cities can realistically achieve their future urban development goals, “ said this forum means building the foundations for 2030.
Brugada also confirmed that the next World Urban Forum’ will take place in Mexico City’, placing the Mexican capital at the center of upcoming international urban policy debates.
On housing, Brugada said Mexico City’ has increased public investments to combat both housing shortages and deteriorating living conditions. He said he doubled his housing budget after taking office, describing it as one of the city's top priorities.
Brugada also warned of the growing impact of gentrification in the Mexican capital of ’, describing it as part of a broader global trend that is driving low-income residents away from central areas. As the city expands its social housing programs and tenant protections, “adil is drafting new legislation on affordable and reasonable rents.
Mexico City has committed to carry out 200,000 housing actions by 2030 as part of broader efforts to strengthen housing access and affordability.
Discussions at WUF13’ highlighted how Latin American countries are increasingly positioning cities not only as engines of economic growth, but also as testing grounds for new urban finance models that can shape housing policy around the world.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, in an interview with Euronews during an official visit to Astana’ya, Japan, Europe and Kazakhstan, urged start-up’s, SME’s and local governments in ’ to cooperate on green hydrogen technology and share best practices.
Koike, “I hope that sharing information on forums like this will further boost innovation and accelerate the implementation of hydrogen in various regions, ” said.
With the goal of halving emissions by 2030 and achieving zero emissions by 2050, Tokyo is advancing a wide range of initiatives.
Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy (usually wind or solar energy) to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through a process called electrolysis.
Because it contains no fossil fuels, “gri”, which is made from natural gas and makes up the vast majority of the hydrogen produced today, does not generate carbon emissions, unlike hydrogen.
A major challenge for climate-conscious cities
Generating green hydrogen at scale remains expensive and significant investments in infrastructure such as pipelines, storage and transport terminals are still needed.
It is precisely this challenge that Koike’ refers to as the problem of cross-border cooperation and the pooling of knowledge and capital.
With this information gained, Tokyo will further increase efforts to develop hydrogen in the real world, “ continued.
He also discussed how the energy transition is pushing big cities and how they will play a role in accelerating the green transition.
During the meetings with the mayors of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Koike exchanged views on incorporating green hydrogen into urban infrastructure, supporting start-up ’s in the sector, increasing the resilience of the city and developing integrated port management and hydrogen applications.
Koike, “[We] have confirmed the importance of big cities collaborating to overcome common challenges.” said.
Green hydrogen is still an emerging and expensive technology, and scaling it up requires a significant amount of government support as well as private investment.
Governments, particularly in the EU, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Gulf countries, are the main driving forces funneling money into national hydrogen strategies, subsidies and infrastructure through pipelines, storage and transport terminals.
New start-ups and SME ’s play a vital supporting role, especially in driving electrolyzer efficiency, fuel cell design and niche applications such as urban transport and local energy storage forward.
Strengthened ties with Kazakhstan
Astana’da Koike met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to discuss future cooperation between Kazakhstan and Japan. President Tokayev celebrated the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
Tokayev, “Here, KazakhstanIn ’, we know you as a proven friend, partner and dedicated statesman who adds a lot to Kazakh-Japanese relations. For more than 25 years, your initiatives towards the history and culture of Kazakhstan have played a unique role in bringing our peoples closer together.
In an interview with Euronews’e, Koike stated that Tokyo and Astana’ signed a memorandum of understanding on digital development and urban resilience at ’ in December 2025, which formed the basis of various discussions during the visit.
“President Tokayev and I have a long-standing relationship in promoting exchanges and cooperation between our countries and cities,” she said, adding that energy security amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East was among the issues discussed.
President Tokayev awarded Governor Koike’yi with the Order of First Degree Dostyk (Friendship) for his contributions to strengthening ties between countries.
In a statement to Euronews’e, Koike discussed Tokyo’'s green transformation start-up ’s and SME ’s, and “'s global expansion opportunities and future business partnerships.
In turn, Astana also visited AlemAI’, the leading Artificial Intelligence center of Kazakhstan’, located in the EXPO ecosystem in ’.
Designed as a massive 20,000-square-foot technology and education hub, it combines scientific research, startups and intelligent management to accelerate the country's digital transformation.
Koike, who received information about sturgeon cultivation and caviar production initiatives in ’, the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, drew attention to the similarities with the projects carried out on the island of Kozushima of Tokyo’.
“Our discussions have strengthened the foundation of potential future cooperation, ” concluded.
Russia’ UkraineTwo years after ’'s large-scale invasion of , how are millions of Ukrainian women and children adjusting to life in their new host country? Are they getting the support they need?
Access to childcare is a crucial step in the integration process. In this latest episode of Real Economy’, Euronews correspondent Fanny Gauret traveled to ’, Poland, to hear the words of the women who supported and benefited from these childcare facilities.
Learning a new language, looking for a job or recognizing their qualifications are just some of the challenges Ukrainian refugees face when trying to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
Ukrainian conscription laws prevent men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country; Therefore, women who run away with their families are often the sole caregivers of young children, making it almost impossible to find a job without childcare in host countries.
the Comenius Foundation2000Founded in the early years of ’ to provide better conditions for children in their first year, the company has 37 kindergartens in Warsaw’.
Not just these’ The spynkas are‘ created safe spaces for refugee children to learn and play, and also gave Ukrainian mothers time to find work in ’, Poland.
Child psychologist Maria Odinets Euronews’e said: “When we came here, my child barely spoke due to stress, but I see changes in my youngest son, he started talking and communicating with other children for the first time… made friends here; You can say you're happy. - ”
Odinets, together with his wife and three children, fled Ukraine ’ six months ago and hopes that his diploma will soon be recognized in Poland ’ in order to find a job.
“This helps me because I now have free time between 09:00 and 15:00. During this time, I can learn Polish, look for work, or help my older children and pick them up from school, ” added.
Monika Woźniak, director of the Comenius Foundation, told Euronews’e that support is vital: “A very large percentage of our children experience trauma, so our attention needed to be strongly focused on helping children who couldn't and couldn't cope in normal primary schools and kindergartens.”
Monika wants to open more nurseries and register them in the official education system.
Woźniak, “We hope to launch EU-funded programs that will help integrate Ukrainian children and their parents into the Polish early education system. We are talking about children who, if they have a good foundation, will eventually begin to live well, ” explained.
Monika Woźniak, Director of the Comenius Foundation, chats with children at ‘spynka’.
This ‘spynka is funded by the ’s UNICEFThey also receive support from the Polish government and some European funds.
Most of the staff working in these centers are Ukrainian refugees, such as Yuliana.
When former decorator Euronews’e first arrived, she said she had trouble finding a job that would give her time to pick up her children after kindergarten or school and take care of them at night. Today this ‘spynka works as an educator in one of the ’s and says that the most important thing she can do is work.
“If it wasn't for this job, I don't know… I could have been a cleaner at first, then maybe I could have found something else … but this spynka really helped me adapt” said.
What other support is being offered to Ukrainian women and children?
To date, almost two-thirds of Ukrainian refugees have found work in ’, Poland, according to government figures.
By the way, the European Social Fund Plus(ESF+) has allocated €8.9 billion to tackle child poverty in AB’. Some of this money can be used to fund and increase the number of official ‘spynka’s, as well as improve the quality of places in kindergartens.
Ministry of Family, Labour and Social PolicyEwa Flaszynska, head of ’'s labor market department, co-authored the Euronews report with Fanny Gauret.
Ewa FlaszynskaThe head of ’'s labor market department, the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, said more Ukrainian women had found time to look for work as the number of children given to a single educator increased.
Almost 70 percent of Polish women are “i active, and statistics show that Ukrainian women who join us are also active in the labor market, ’ said.
While some Ukrainian women have already returned or hope to return in the near future, the expansion of childcare services has proven to play a key role for Ukrainian refugee families trying to find stability abroad.
Click on the video in the media player above to watch Fanny’'s full report.
The Brussels Economic Forum (BEF) is the most important economic event of the EU’, which is held annually at the European Commission’.
BEF is where senior decision-makers, academics, civil society and business leaders meet to discuss the most pressing economic problems of the European Union. The event, normally attended by over a thousand people, was broadcast live from the studio at the European Commission ’ this year.
The 2021 edition comes as the latest economic forecasts show that AB’'s recovery continues and European economies are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022.
The main topic of discussion was how Europe’ would build its new economy as it emerged from the pandemic.
Small business owners, in particular, are concerned about this situation, and many are concerned about what to do when government support ends.
We interviewed some of these types of business owners to discuss the challenges they face, and talked to some of the names on BEF’ to find out what solutions they have.
Difficulties finding staff
Greg Yurkovich runs two pizza restaurants in Ljubljana’, the capital of Slovenia. He was getting government subsidies to keep his staff on the job. He says that the current problem for him is the shortage of employees all over the “otelcilik sector.
At the same time, “ worries about how to motivate people to take action again and maintain the motivation to grow economies.
European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni confirmed ’ that small businesses have been severely affected by the crisis. But he says there are two important tools for small and medium-sized businesses to combat this. One is the European Investment Bank program, and the other is the “ program, which we call Invest EU.
European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni
The same rules for everyone
Dovile Ambrazeviciute’nin VilniusThere are two flower shops in ’. Like Greg, he was getting government help to make things work. He tells us that his biggest concern is that his company, “, has huge debts and the economy is quite slow at the moment, and he will not survive for ”. The European Union wants ’ to use similar rules for all businesses in all countries and wherever they are located.
According to Paolo Gentiloni’, “kriz was not a stabilizer”. The Commission, “, knows that differences between different incomes in different countries have increased. But the Next Generation AB expects ’ to solve this problem and create “, a more inclusive and less unjust society.
Climate change and small businesses
After Laura Cardenas Corrales lost her job, she decided to move her graphic design work to the internet. He's fine, but he's worried about the environment. He wants to know if AB’ will give incentives to small businesses or help them make their systems more environmentally friendly.
European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis says funding for research and innovation will be provided. He also adds that the carbon limit regulation mechanism will ensure that imports from countries that are less ambitious about “emission reduction are subject to this mechanism and do not affect the equal playing field.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President of the European Commission
I look closer to home
Bengt Westerholm, Finland’ is the CEO’ of Beweship’in, one of 's largest privately owned shipping companies. In December, the company left most of its cargo stranded in China’.
Bengt’'s concerns are slightly different from those of small business owners. He explains that most air transport is still closed even now. Also Far East’ to EuropeSome sea freight prices from ’ to are actually five times more expensive. “ tells us that many Finnish companies are now looking for opportunities to actually own their suppliers and source resources closer to Avrupa’ or Avrupa’, because now we all see the risk.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also spoke about BEF’te Europe’'s role in international trade. “ tells us that when the ” outbreak began, there were disruptions in international trade.
But he also adds: “What we see, for example, is a diversification towards other countries in Asia’, rather than a big move to bring things back home. He doesn't expect a huge change in sourcing and supply.
Economic inequalities around the world
Europe’'s economic forecast looks positive, but other emerging and developing economies are in a more difficult position.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization
According to Okonjo-Iweala’, “ is one of the main reasons we see that this difference is due to the inequality in access to vaccines. He explains that to fix this, we need to deliver vaccines to countries that don't have access to vaccines. “AB became one of the largest exporters of vaccines. However, there was an export restriction. EuropeI hope ’ will lift the restriction, ” adds.
Valdis Dombrovskis sees it differently. AB’ has an export control authorization and monitoring system. However, “ says there is no question of restricting vaccine exports in general terms. AB’ exports about 385 million vaccines to more than 100 ’ countries, which accounts for half of “AB’'s vaccine production.
The EU is the world's largest exporter of vaccines
Valdis Dombrovskis
Executive Vice President of the European Commission
The challenges ahead
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala fears the emergence of inflationary pressures due to the size of the stimulus implemented by many developing countries. Dombrovskis agrees that this should be followed. The WTO Director-General also believes that the participation of women and unemployed in particular and the recovery of the Afrika’ are issues that AB’ should focus on.
Dombrovskis confirmed that women's participation in the workplace and women's long-standing priority within “AB is ”, and Africa is a priority region in ’'s new trade policy strategy.
COVID-19 has caused countless problems not only in the field of health, but throughout the world. Europe’'s expectations are starting to look more positive, but efforts still need to be made to build a new economy as it emerges from the pandemic.
As Europe's economy shrinks following the coronavirus pandemic, youth unemployment is on the rise. There are currently 3.1 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who cannot find a job.
The number of NEET’s (not in education, employment and teaching) aged 15-29, including those who are not actively looking for work, is 9.6 million.
Nicolas Schmit, EU ’'s Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, said they were determined to prevent the same impact on young people in the wake of the financial crisis.
“We are just coming out of an era where we are experiencing a lost generation due to the financial and subsequent economic crisis, ” says: We must get ahead of the new lost generation. - “
Solutions in Europe
The European Commission has adopted the Programme for Supporting Young Employment, with an investment of at least 22 billion euros over the next seven years. This follows an investment of 22 billion euros over the past seven years to recruit young people through vocational training and apprenticeships.
Tremplin is a programme funded by the European Social Fund in the Brussels region. The fund has a budget of 18 million Euro’, 10,000 people aged 18-25 benefited from this fund for 7 years.
The case of Baggio’
25-year-old Baggio used to be an electrician. But now he has completed Tremplin training to become a roofer. He has an employment contract for young people and hopes that this new profession will increase his income. Roofing is in demand in his area, so he says he's sure to get a job.
A 25-year-old former electrician is training to become a roofer
In addition to Baggio’'s new positive employment opportunities, he also enjoys work. He called us “, a really meticulous and frankly enjoyable job.
The trial of Gamze ’nin
One of the winners of the Tremplin program is 19-year-old Gamze. After 4 months of training, he is currently doing an internship in a store he bought. He says he graduated from middle school last year and doesn't know what to do. That caused him a lot of anxiety.
E-commerce intern
After the pandemic emerged, more stores began to digitize and e-commerce grew. He says that's what pushed him into this area. During her internship, online learns how to manage sales, manage stocks, orders, and social media. He even arranged a job interview.
The number of job seekers under the age of 25 in the Brussels region increased by almost 8 percent compared to last year, while the youth unemployment rate reached 25 ’ percent. But Gamze and Baggio say they still have new hopes that their professional dreams can come true.
EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights
The Young Employment Support package (YES), funded by the European Social Fund+ and other EU funds, includes a guarantee that everyone enrolled will receive a job, apprenticeship, education or training offer within four months.
“This crisis is different, the response to the crisis is very different. This time we have a big program to invest, recover, create jobs and accompany these transitions in the green economy, ”.
Nicolas Schmit
AB’'s Commissioner for Labour and Social Rights
Financial investment in education
The EU plans to invest at least 22 billion euros to support youth employment, but some say that's not enough. Guntram Wolff is an economist and director of the Bruegel think tank. He says he wants to see more done. According to him, “You also need national support for the younger generation. The sad truth is that youth unemployment doesn't go down that quickly, ”.
Economist and director of the Bruegel think tank
It compares the pandemic to the recent financial crisis, in which it took 5 to 10 years to return to levels of youth unemployment in 2009’. For him, “, the issue of how youth was affected by the pandemic is something that policymakers should keep in mind.
“I have a lot of friends who are having a hard time finding work right now, ”.
Baggio Lorenzino
Newly trained roofer
Nicolas Schmit explains that 22 billion is a “ indicator figure. He tells us that it's not just 22 billion and that's it, “We currently have a lot of other funds through the Healing and Resilience Facility, so we should use most of that money to create jobs and also bring young people into those jobs, ”.
AB’'s Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights states that there is work to be done at AB’, but sometimes “ education profiles do not match the requirements of these jobs and therefore we need to react quickly. Maybe we should give these young people a little extra education, extra training, re-adjust to existing jobs, “ says.
The pandemic in Europe has exacerbated youth unemployment problems in ’. There are fewer job opportunities and young people are competing with the unemployed who have more experience. There's pressure not to leave an entire generation behind.
If you are a woman working in Europe’, you are usually on average from a man for the same job. %You earn 15 less. This means that for every euro a man earns, the woman earns an average of 86 cents.
At the top, women in management earn almost a quarter less than men. CEOs of large companies in Europe’ only ’u is a woman. All of these ’ contributes to an even wider retirement deficit.
What makes the difference in pay between the sexes?
Women still take on most of the childcare, which means they often reduce their working hours. One-third of women and one-third of men in AB’ %8’i works part-time. This makes it difficult for women to move forward in their careers. There are also more women in low-wage sectors such as care and education.
The quarantines showed how deep-rooted these gender inequalities are; Most of the free child care is provided by women. They are also the ones most at risk of losing their jobs during the pandemic.
The European Pillar of Social Rights outlines the need for gender equality. To help close the gender pay gap, the European Commission is introducing wage transparency so companies will legally have to publish how much they pay their employees.
Esther Lynch is Deputy Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation ’ (ETUC). He gave us his insight into this wage transparency directive. She says this is a really important measure because women often assume that they have worked with their colleagues for decades and have the same pay, equal pay. Later, sometimes when you retire, or sometimes because of a news story, you find out that the person you think is doing the same job as you, receiving the same salary as you, is actually getting a lot more salary, ”.
At the end of the day, Esther says, what's needed is “, better laws about work of equal value.
AB’'s Pillar of Social Rights will help because it also calls for a Work-Life Balance with fair sharing of parental leave and the right to more flexible work. This has been adopted into EU law, and member states need to make it their own national law by 2022.
“One of the most important features we want to see in this directive is the provision that will end salary secrecy”.
Esther Lynch
ETUC Deputy Secretary General
One of the biggest factors holding women back in the workplace is the constant balance between work and home life. The data shows that Germany’ has one of the biggest pay gaps in Europe’. Despite having a female head of state for the past 15 years, she lags behind her European neighbors in terms of gender equality at work compared to countries where the rate of female employment is similar.
Women in the German labour market
Nadine Epplen is a lawyer and represents women in the hotel and restaurant industry. He himself says: “The problem is that even if employment contracts are arranged on a 40-hour per week basis, the employer can allocate the hours at any time. Of course, women with children cannot guarantee their availability.” In his job, he meets women who are fired and demoted because their working hours are not flexible enough.
Nadine Epple
The pandemic also aggravated problems with the sharing of family duties. Like Nadine and many of her clients, Germany is home to almost all of the women in the ’. ’si works part-time to take care of their families. This is well above the European average.
Nadine’in herself has two children and wants to work full-time, but this is not possible for her because “ nursery hours and school hours do not always correspond to working hours”.
To improve women's representation in the labour market, Germany, like other European countries, ’ needs to implement the European directive on work-life balance by 2022, which includes better access to parental leave and greater flexibility in the workplace.
Katharina Wrolich
According to economist Katharina Wrolich’e, joint income taxes need to be improved and access to career opportunities for both parents. Germany says ’ is transitioning from a single-income family model to a single-income family model. In his professional opinion, “Germany’ still needs to put a lot of effort into improving access to child care and quality, as well as working hours”.
GermanyOne of the areas where ’ performs well in terms of equality is the number of women who are members of the board of directors of publicly traded companies. Here it is %There are 36 women involved. However, in order to increase equality in this area, the country is also in the process of implementing quotas.
Hiltrud Werner
Hiltrud Werner is the only female board member of Volkswagen’. He told us that he personally welcomes quotas because he believes it will help employers stop missing people with high qualifications due to “ biases.
However, “ thinks that achieving one's career goals will not be free of charge. He admits he must make concessions to get to where he is today.
What about countries across the EU when it comes to exceeding the glass ceiling?
With the current rate of change, it will not be seen that the wage gap in Germany ’ will close until the next century; In ’, France, this could take more than 1,000 years. Some countries have been set for equal pay in this decade. Belgium is one of the pioneers in this regard.
Esther Lynch told us why she thinks ’ is better at this score than any other European country. Belgium says there are more union workers in ’. He believes this makes them confident when they ask “ questions, complain that they will not be charged, victimized and removed from the company, that they will not be expelled from the company as troublemakers.
Esther Lynch
But it tells us about a case where two equivalent jobs he recently encountered were significant pay gaps. He blamed it on gender inequality at work. He tells us that a large part of the “ wage gap is related to the work women do, and that this alone is seen as the justification for the lower wage.
The wage transparency initiative will go a long way to helping improve the gender pay gap, but European countries still have a long way to go. The hope for the future is that women don't have to compromise to get to the top.
