Historically the EU has developed a broad range of policy activities to engage and help its young people. Such activity is typified by the 2009 framework agreement which includes EU policy activity in areas such as youth culture, health and wellbeing, as well as more traditional areas of engagement such as education, training and employment. However, since the beginning of the financial crisis the plight of the EU’s young has grown increasingly unfavorable.  In some member states youth unemployment has reached a record high level. In response, the EU has narrowed its activities in the field of youth and has launched a number of initiatives, such as the Youth Guarantee Scheme, to increase education, training and employment for those under the age of 25. This panel brings together a number of papers from both academics and policy practitioners and interrogates the EU’s recent attempts to resolve one of the most pressing issues of a generation. They focus on EU activity aimed at reducing youth unemployment, the governance mechanisms, and their successes and failures.