'New Deal' to tackle Europe's mass youth unemployment German TV commentators have even speculated that the eurozone's troubles are to blame for the country's dismal performance in last weekend's Eurovision song contest, in which the German entry came 21st out of 26. Wolfgang Schaeuble, the finance minister, and Ursula von der Leyen, the labour minister, will unveil the "New Deal for Europe" alongside their French counterparts in Paris on Tuesday. Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Group in Brussels, said: "Merkel and Schaeuble know very well that the future of the euro is not just decided in Brussels or Berlin, but on the streets of Madrid, Athens and so on. High youth unemployment combined with hatred for Germany can turn into populism and nationalism quite quickly and, in the extreme case, lead to an end of the currency union. Under the plans, finance from the European Investment Bank will be made available to encourage job creation at small and medium sized businesses. The eurozone debt crisis has left many small businesses struggling to borrow money from banks. Officials in Berlin gave the example of Spain's nanotechnology industry as a highly competitive sector which is struggling to expand because of lack of credit. Job seekers will be encouraged to move around the continent in search of opportunity. German officials say the plans will include funding for flights and language courses. Other countries will be urged to emulate the successful German apprenticeship model, while thousands of young people from crisis-hit countries are expected to take up apprenticeship places in Germany over the next few years. Finance for the plans will come from existing government funds including 6 billion euros (£5.1 billion) earmarked to deal with youth unemployment in the EU's latest budget. German officials say the initiative will be targeted first at countries with the highest levels of youth unemployment. Mrs Merkel has invited employment ministers from all 27 EU countries to talks in Berlin in July, aimed at laying out further practical steps.