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Youth unemployment and precarity have been expanding in the aftermath of the recent global recession. This article offers a theoretically informed empirical examination of the spatio-temporally uneven expansion of young people ‘Not in Employment, Education or Training’ (NEETs) between 2008 and 2018 in the European Union (EU) South, namely in Italy, Spain, Greece and Cyprus. This article contributes to the growing literature on youth inactivity and marginalization, by focusing on the spatial, rather than just the temporal dimension of youth which marks most relevant studies. The analysis engages with the concept of ‘youthspaces’ to critically analyse the economic, social and political spatialities that determine the dynamic relationship between youth and the labour market, and discuss the persistently high NEET rate in the EU South. Employing a mixed-methods approach, we highlight that gender, class, education and economic growth are key socio-spatial factors that determine the geographically uneven expansion of NEETs across the study regions.

Since the 1980s, the countries of the (then) European Community (EC) 1 engaged in joint policymaking in an area that was not initially an EC competence 2 : policies on various aspects of immigration by third-country nationals (i.e., nationals of states other than those of the European Union) and on granting asylum or, more generally, other forms of international protection. At the same time, Greece, where these two policy areas were of low priority, became a country of destination for immigrants, the vast majority of whom entered the country illegally, and a transit country for people who either wanted to move to another European Union (EU) member state or were in need of international protection. The gradual convergence of member states' domestic policies on immigration and asylum toward a common EU-wide legislative framework had a major effect on Greek policies and represents a significant case study of "Europeanization" in policymaking. This article examines the parallel development of policies and practices in these two areas at the Greek and EU levels, from both legislative and policymaking angles. It analyzes the particularities of Greek immigration and asylum realities and political priorities, compares developments in the country with those in the rest of Europe and inside the EU institutions, and draws conclusions as to the effects on Greek policies of the progressive framing of common EU policies in regard to the process of Europeanization.

The digital single market is one of the most important objectives and challenges for the European Union. However, given that digitalisation implies a borderless world it requires a different form of governance and has distinctive features from other aspects of the single market. In addition, it raises a number of practical and political issues for countries outside the EU, but which maintain close economic and trade relations with the latter. The article examines the regulatory implications of the digital world from the point of view of states involved in the European Neighbourhood Policy, in particular Georgia, and looks into the future challenges in this process.