Public services represent an important dimension of quality of society, as they create the contextual conditions for people to further their quality of life. Romanian public administration reform has brought about a constant institutional transformation, which has influenced both the specific features and the quality of the services. This article aims to analyse trends regarding the perceived quality of public services in Romania, in European comparative perspective, using the data of the European Quality of Life Survey (2003–2016). The article aims to understand the low satisfaction with public services in Romania against the background of the public service reform measures taken by government in this period. The article describes the context of Romanian public administration and public service reform, the most important public policy measures adopted and the most important challenges. The lack of vision in the public service reform, the partial introduction of reform elements, the permanent and, sometimes, conflicting changes are issues that may have influenced the way in which the population perceives the quality of public services. The decentralisation process of public services and the insufficient allocation of public funds for delivering such services at local level might have an impact on their quality and quantity perceived by the population. Keywords: public services; public administration reform; citizens’ satisfaction; New Public Management; New Weberianism.

In 2014, European countries began implementing the Youth Guarantee Programme (YGP), one of the European Commission’s most important initiatives designed to combat the issue of youth unemployment. This led to a decrease in the number of young NEETs over the subsequent 6 years. Based on data concerning the extent and size of the NEETs phenomenon at the European level, the number of NEETs who benefit from various measures, and data regarding programmes for NEETs financed by ESF, this paper presents an overview of the YGP implementation in Romania during the 2014−2020 period. It does so by identifying the main challenges and barriers that prevented the achievement of the proposed results. In that regard, the main barriers in the implementation of YGP in Romania are related to the lack of coordination of measures between institutions; a lack of flexibility in registering young NEETs; low levels of partnership with local authorities, companies, and NGOs; delays in funding measures; and a lack of centralised monitoring data in order to provide a picture of progress and thus necessary improvement measures. Keywords: NEETs; rural; youth; employment; education; Youth Guarantee. ······ În 2014, statele europene au început să implementeze programul Garanția pentru Tineret, una dintre cele mai importante inițiative ale Comisiei Europene în domeniul șomajului în rândul tinerilor, ceea ce a dus la scăderea numărului tinerilor NEETs în următorii șase ani. Pornind de la date privind amploarea fenomenului NEETS la nivel european, numărul tinerilor NEETs care beneficiază de diferite măsuri și programele pentru NEETs finanțate prin Fondul Social European, lucrarea prezintă o privire de ansamblu asupra implementării Garanției pentru Tineret în România în perioada 2014−2020 și identifică principalele bariere și provocări care au împiedicat atingerea rezultatelor propuse. Dintrea cestea, menționăm lipsa de coordonare inter-instituțională, lipsa flexibilității în ceea ce privește înregistrarea tinerilor NEETs, nivelul redus al parteneriatelor între autorități publice, companii, ONG-uri, întârzieri în primirea finanțărilor, lipsa monitorizării centralizate în vederea determinării progresului și a măsurilor de îmbunătățire necesare. Cuvinte-cheie: NEETs; rural; tineri; ocupare; educație; Garanția pentru Tineret.

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With the study, which is a collection of the overall literature, the aim is to explain the concept of peer helping and its content.