Resolution of the Council of the European Union and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on a framework for European cooperation in the youth field:

The European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027

(2018/C 456/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

ACKNOWLEDGING the EU youth policy cooperation up to 2019. The EU has been running a dedicated EU Youth Policy cooperation based on the principles of active participation and equal access to opportunities since 2002 (1), in synergy with other policies targeting young people, such as education, training and employment. The cooperation prompted policy and legislative changes in the Member States and contributed to capacity-building of youth organisations.

RECALLING that since the objective of this Resolution is to set up an EU Youth Strategy able to address the challenges that young people are facing all over Europe, provide a common and coherent EU response to them, and complement the efforts and initiatives by Member States in this regard, such objective can be better achieved at EU level than by the Member States alone. The Council may therefore adopt initiatives, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union, in order to reach such objective. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Resolution does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

RECOGNISE that

1. Young people have a specific role in society and face specific challenges

Young people are keen to take control of their lives and engage with and support others. When taking control, they experience several typical transitions in their personal life and environment, from education to work, living on their own, partnerships or starting a family life. Many face uncertainties about their future, as a result of globalisation and climate change, technological change, demographic and socioeconomic trends, populism, discrimination, social exclusion and fake news with yet unknown effects on jobs, skills or the way our democracies work.

Special attention should be given to youth risking marginalisation based on potential sources of discrimination, such as their ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion, belief or political opinion.

Socioeconomic exclusion and democratic exclusion go hand in hand (2). Youth struggling with disadvantages are generally less active citizens and have less trust in institutions. Europe cannot afford wasted talent, social exclusion or disengagement among its youth. Young people should not only be architects of their own lives, but also contribute to positive change in society. For young people to reap the full benefits of EU actions, these need to reflect their aspirations, creativity and talents, and respond to their needs. In turn, young people enrich the EU's ambitions: according to the EU Youth Report (3) this generation is the best educated ever and especially skilled in using Information and Communication Technologies and social media.

2. A European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 is needed

Building on the experiences and decisions of the cooperation in the youth field in the past years (4), the European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 aims at tackling existing and upcoming challenges young people are facing all over Europe. The EU Youth Strategy provides a framework of objectives, principles, priorities, core areas and measures for youth policy cooperation for all relevant stakeholders with due regard for their respective competences and the principle of subsidiarity.

Relevant stakeholders are, amongst others, the EU Member States, the relevant European Union institutions and other international organisations, such as the Council of Europe, local and regional authorities, youth councils, youth organisations, organisations working with young people, youth workers, youth researchers and civil society actors as well as structures of the programmes Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps and their successor programmes.

By involving and empowering all young people, youth policy can contribute to successfully meeting the vision of a continent where young people can seize opportunities and relate to European values.

3. The European Youth Goals provide a vision for Europe

In the course of the 6th cycle of the Structured Dialogue under the title ‘Youth in Europe: What's next?’ decision-makers, young people and researchers jointly collected topics that were relevant for young people through an EU-wide consultation and clustered them in 11 areas. As a result of this participatory process which involved young people from all over Europe, the 11 European Youth Goals were developed. They reflect the views of European youth and represent the vision of those active in the Structured Dialogue.

They are a testimony to the eagerness of many young Europeans to participate in defining the direction in which European cooperation in the youth field should go. The EU Youth Strategy should contribute to realising this vision of young people by mobilising EU-level policy instruments as well as actions at national, regional and local level by all stakeholders.

As an unedited voice from the participants, the European Youth Goals are presented in their full length in Annex 3 to serve — with due respect for the principle of subsidiarity, national competence and the freedom of association — as inspiration and provide an orientation for the EU, its Member States and their relevant stakeholders and authorities.

WELCOME

The Commission Communication ‘Engaging, Connecting and Empowering young people: a new EU Youth Strategy’ of 22 May 2018 (5).

ACCORDINGLY AGREE on

1. Overall objectives

EU youth cooperation shall make the most of youth policy's potential. It fosters youth participation in democratic life, in line with Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. It also supports social and civic engagement and aims to ensure that all young people have the necessary resources to take part in society.

In the coming years, the strategy strives to:

— Enable young people to be architects of their own lives, support their personal development and growth to autonomy, build their resilience and equip them with life skills to cope with a changing world,

— Encourage and equip young people with the necessary resources to become active citizens, agents of solidarity and positive change inspired by EU values and a European identity,

— Improve policy decisions with regard to their impact on young people across all sectors, notably employment, education, health and social inclusion,

— Contribute to the eradication of youth poverty and all forms of discrimination and promote social inclusion of young people.

2. Guiding principles

European Youth Policy and all actions undertaken within the European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 should be firmly anchored in the international system of human rights. The following principles should be applied in all policies and activities concerning young people:

A. Equality and non-discrimination: combating all forms of discrimination and promoting gender equality, recognising that young people are at risk of facing multiple forms of discrimination, including age-based discrimination, and observing the principles recognised, inter alia, in Articles 21 and 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

B. Inclusion: acknowledging that young people are not a homogenous group, and thus have diverse needs, backgrounds, life situations and interests, the EU Youth Strategy should promote activities and policies that are inclusive for all young people, especially those with fewer opportunities and/or those whose voices may be overlooked.

C. Participation: recognising that all young people are a resource to society, all policies and activities concerning young people should uphold young people's right to participate in the development, implementation and follow-up of policies affecting them by means of meaningful participation of young people and youth organisations. In this context, policies should be built in recognition of the changes brought about by digital communication affecting democratic and civic participation.

D. Global, European, national, regional and local dimension: in order to ensure sustainable impact on young people, it is important that EU youth policy be implemented with the interlinkages with regional and local levels in mind and that activities are conducted to support youth policies at grass-roots level. At the same time, young people's voices should be taken into account whenever global issues are addressed.

E. Dual approach: Policies that strive to improve the lives of young people can never be limited to the field of youth itself. Therefore the dual approach agreed upon in the previous cooperation framework 2010-2018 is still indispensable as it aims to tackle youth-relevant issues on the one hand by mainstreaming initiatives across policy areas and on the other hand by specific initiatives in the youth sector.

FURTHER AGREE on

1. Working on effective, focused and joined-up implementation within and across sectors

The lives of young people are shaped by policies rooted in manifold policy areas and on different levels of implementation. Hence, only by mainstreaming youth as a priority amongst different policy areas it can be ensured that the specific needs or effects for young people in envisaged policies or programs are taken into account. To lead by example, at EU level a cross-sectoral approach should be further pursued as a fundamental basis. Furthermore, youth mainstreaming can only be effective when it also guarantees a say for young people in all possible policy areas that affect them.

Cross-sectoral cooperation should be reinforced at all levels of decision-making striving for synergies, complementarity between actions, and including greater youth involvement.

2. Tackling core areas of the youth sector: Engage. Connect. Empower.

a. Engage

Providing pathways of engagement for young people in their daily lives but also in democratic life is vital for a functioning democracy and for society at large. Focussing on the participation of young people is particularly important, since any decision taken today will have the longest impact on the current generation of young people. Moreover, the age group of young people is less represented in political bodies and has fewer opportunities to influence and take part in decision-making processes than other age groups. The EU Youth Strategy aims towards a meaningful civic, economic, social, cultural and political participation of young people.

Therefore, engaging young people has to be a cornerstone of the future EU youth policy cooperation. This also means that young people must have a say in the development, implementation and evaluation of policies that concern them, such as the EU Youth Strategy as well as national youth strategies. To be as inclusive as possible and adapt to existing and upcoming challenges, exploring new and alternative forms of participation is essential.

INVITE MEMBER STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS OF COMPETENCE, TO:

— Encourage and promote inclusive democratic participation of all young people in society and democratic processes,

— Actively engage young people, youth organisations and other organisers of youth work in the development, implementation and evaluation of policies affecting the lives of young people on local, regional, national and European level,

— Support the establishment and development of youth representations at local, regional and national level, recognising young people's right to participate and self-organise, the recognition of representative youth structures and their inclusion in the work of local, regional, national and European authorities,

— Support and convey the EU Youth Dialogue (6) in order to include diverse voices of young people in decision-making processes on all levels and foster the development of citizenship competencies, through citizenship education and learning strategies,

— Support and develop opportunities for ‘learning to participate’, raising interest in participatory actions and helping young people to prepare for participation,

— Explore and promote the use of innovative and alternative forms of democratic participation, e.g. digital democracy tools and facilitate access in order to support youth participation in democratic life and engage young people in an inclusive way, whilst being aware that some young people do not have access to the internet and digital technologies, or the skills to use them.

b. Connect

Young people in Europe are getting more and more connected. Connections, relations and exchange of experience are a pivotal asset for solidarity and the future development of the European Union. This connection is best fostered through different forms of mobility.

Therefore, opportunities for young people to experience exchanges, cooperation, cultural and civic action in a European context need to be accessible for all young people. This allows them to develop and strengthen personal, social and civic competencies, develop critical thinking and creativity, enhance employability and become active European citizens. Youth exchanges and projects within Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and their successor programmes are sources for intercultural learning and empowerment especially for young people with fewer opportunities.

The EU youth cooperation should underpin these opportunities for young people. It should benefit from EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps and their successor programmes, in order to enhance knowledge about young people and their aspirations, and to strengthen policy cooperation and community building.

The EU Youth Strategy should also foster the connectedness of young people in the EU and candidate countries, Eastern-Partnership and Western Balkan partners (7), as well as with other third countries with whom the EU has association or cooperation agreements, as appropriate, with the help of the EU through relevant EU funding programmes.

INVITE MEMBER STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS OF COMPETENCE, TO:

— Enable access for all young people, as well as for youth workers, to cross-border mobility opportunities, including volunteering in the civil society sector, by eliminating obstacles and implementing support measures with special attention to young people with fewer opportunities,

— Encourage young people's engagement in solidarity, promoting support schemes and seek complementarity and synergies between EU funding instruments and national, regional and local schemes,

— Actively engage young people and youth organisations in the design, implementation and evaluation of relevant EU funding programmes,

— Share best practices and further work on effective systems for validation and recognition of skills and competencies gained through non-formal and informal learning, including solidarity and volunteering activities, continuing the implementation of the Council Recommendation of 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning.

c. Empower

Empowerment of young people means encouraging them to take charge of their own lives. This requires the necessary resources, tools and an environment that is willing to pay proper attention to the voice of young people. Today, young people across Europe are facing diverse challenges, such as difficulties in accessing their social rights, social exclusion and discrimination, as well as threats arising from fake news and propaganda.

In order to address these challenges and therefore allow for the true empowerment of youth, it is necessary to work collaboratively on policies that tackle the specific situation of young people and consequently improve the lives of young people in the EU.

In this context, youth work in all its forms can serve as a catalyst for empowerment: Youth work brings unique benefits to young people in their transition to adulthood (8), providing a safe environment for them to gain self-confidence, and learn in a non-formal way. Youth work is known for equipping youth with key personal, professional and entrepreneurial competences and skills such as teamwork, leadership, intercultural competences, project management, problem solving and critical thinking. In some cases, youth work is the bridge into education, training or work, thus preventing exclusion.

To reap these benefits, there is a greater need for recognition of non-formal and informal learning through youth work, especially beneficial to those with little formal qualifications, as a way to improve employability. Recognition can be improved by a more systematic use of quality tools.

INVITE MEMBER STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS OF COMPETENCE, TO:

— Develop and implement a European Youth Work Agenda for quality, innovation and recognition of youth work. In order to unleash the full potential, it is necessary to integrate the expertise of youth representations, youth organisations, youth workers and researchers. Further synergies with the work carried out by the Council of Europe in this area should be encouraged,

— Support quality youth work development on local, regional, national and European level, including policy development in the field, training for youth workers, the establishment of legal frameworks and sufficient allocation of resources,

— Support youth work activities on all levels, including grassroots, and recognise youth organisations as providers of competences development and social inclusion through youth work and non-formal education activities, while respecting national, regional and local activities in this field,

— Create and further develop, when and where possible, easily accessible youth contact points that deliver a wide range of services and/or provide information, including financial guidance, guidance and support on career, health and relationships and educational, cultural and employment opportunities.

ACCORDINGLY INVITE MEMBER STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS OF COMPETENCE, TO:

3. Cooperate on the Basis of Instruments and Governance

To effectively implement the EU Youth Strategy across the EU and in the Member States, concrete instruments are needed. The following measures will be used to achieve the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy where appropriate on a local, regional, national, European and global level:

a. Evidence-based youth policy-making and knowledge building: EU Youth Policy should be evidence-based and anchored in the real needs and situations of young people. That requires continuous research, knowledge development and outreach to young people and youth organisations. The collection of disaggregated data on young people is of particular importance to foster understanding of the needs of different groups of young people, particularly those with fewer opportunities. Evidence based policy-making should be carried out with the support of the Youth Wiki, youth research networks, cooperation with international organisations such as the Council of Europe, the OECD and other bodies, including youth organisations.

b. Mutual learning and dissemination: Mutual learning between Member States, the European Commission and relevant stakeholders should be a tool for the advancement of youth policy with regard to both core and cross-sectoral areas. Expert groups will continue to develop policy guidance, practical tools and share good practices; this strategy will offer new tools for mutual learning, such as peer reviews and peer counselling, high-level forums, analysis and studies, following the priorities of the EU Youth Strategy at large, and within the triennial Work Plans. It will pursue a more systematic approach to quality youth information, outreach and dissemination, building on its existing networks.

c. Participatory governance: In order to acknowledge young people as experts of their own lives, it is crucial to ensure that young people and their representative organisations are involved in the different phases of implementation of the EU Youth Strategy. Participation increases visibility for young people and their concerns, but it also raises the visibility of decision-makers in youth policy in the eyes of young people. Participation also aims at increasing legitimacy and acknowledgement of youth policies. In order to build a basis for a regular civic dialogue, give stakeholders a greater role in coordinating the implementation of the strategy, offer opportunities to exchange information on activities and results, an EU Youth Strategy Platform will aim to facilitate participatory governance and coordination of the implementation of the Strategy. The Commission is invited to organise dedicated meetings to bring together, as appropriate, representatives of EU institutions, Member States, National Agencies of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders as well as local and regional authorities.

d. Mobilising EU programmes and funds: The strategy will promote effective use of EU programmes and funds, such as Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps, European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020, including the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Creative Europe, and their successors. Member States are invited to explore synergies between funding sources at EU, national, regional and local levels.

e. Monitoring of EU funding: Transparency on EU action for young people, should include monitoring of EU spending on youth, using existing mechanisms as appropriate.

f. Communicating the EU Youth Strategy: Keeping in mind the different stakeholders involved in policy-making for young people, it is important to communicate the purpose and the content of the EU Youth Strategy in a comprehensive way and youth-friendly language. The EU Youth Strategy together with the European Youth Goals can provide orientation for people closely involved in shaping youth policy as well as to actors outside of that field, creating a new and positive narrative on EU youth policy and Youth Work in Europe.

g. Future National Activities Planner (9): The Future National Activities Planner (FNAP) intend to allow Member States on a voluntary basis to share their priorities in line with the EU Youth Strategy. Their aim is to increase transparency in the implementation of youth policies at regional, national and EU level. This should help identify appropriate partners for mutual learning activities, responding to individual needs of Member States. In order to avoid additional administrative burden, the FNAPs should build on existing national youth policy frameworks/national youth strategies.

h. EU Youth Dialogue (10): Building on the achievements of the Structured Dialogue with young people and youth organisations, a new EU Youth Dialogue will be established, with the necessary tools, with the aim of including more decision-makers and young people, especially those not-listened-to and/or with fewer opportunities in decision-making processes and the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy, fostering their engagement and their political participation with the EU and society at large. In addition, a more regular exchange between EU Youth Dialogue National Working Groups and the European Commission should be facilitated.

i. The EU Youth Coordinator: The Council welcomes the intention to establish an EU Youth Coordinator within the European Commission, with the objective of enhancing cross-sectoral cooperation, as well as knowledge development and exchange on youth issues within the European Commission services. The EU Youth Coordinator should work hand in hand with various stakeholders to ensure a coherent communication towards young people.

j. Youth Information and Support: with the adequate provision of quality youth information services and platforms at all levels, including the European Youth Portal, and with the support of European-wide organisations, young people's equal access to quality information on their rights, opportunities, youth services and EU programmes for young people can be promoted;

k. EU Work Plans for Youth: The EU Youth Strategy will be following triennial working periods which spans two Presidency Trios. The priorities and actions for the respective working periods will be presented in the EU Work Plans for Youth. The Council will set these EU Work Plans together with the Commission, beginning with a work plan for 2019-2021 (11). These plans should draw on the guiding principles and priorities of this Strategy, addressing youth issues in other Council configurations and their preparatory bodies in relevant policy areas.

l. Monitoring, reporting, evaluation: In order to review and facilitate the progress of policy coordination, periodic monitoring of the progress achieved should be conducted. Good practices and their conditions for transferability should be identified to facilitate mutual learning between Member States. The Commission will report on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy every three years, based, inter alia, on information provided by Member States and the Youth Wiki. The Youth Wiki will continue to provide information on the development of national youth policies. At EU level, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders will be closely involved in monitoring progress through the EU Strategy Platform. The Dashboard of EU Youth Indicators can be used to monitor the overall situation of young people in Member States. The Member States and the European Commission are invited to review the Indicators' Dashboard in the first year after adoption of the EU Youth Strategy. Quantitative and qualitative indicators and benchmarks could be established, tailored to the needs of Member States and sectors involved, as a means for comparing best practices and monitoring the implementation of the strategy. A policy review of EU funded research projects should be conducted from 2019 on to extract relevant findings for the youth policy area.

m. Mid-term Review: The Council shall carry out a mid-term review of the EUYS on the basis of an evaluation report to be submitted by the Commission by 31 December 2023. It shall review as appropriate this Resolution in the year 2024, in order to adjust it to possible new developments and needs.

(1) Council Resolution on a renewed framework in the youth field (2010-2018).

Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the governments regarding the framework of European cooperation in the youth field (27 June 2002).

(2) Eurofound — section on NEETs: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/topic/NEETs

(3) Doc. 9264/18 ADD 2 — SWD(2018) 169 final part 1-7.

(4) Commission Communication on Investing in Europe's Youth (COM(2016)940), Council Conclusions on strategic perspectives for European cooperation in the youth field post-2018, May 2017.

(5) Doc. 9264/18 + ADD 1 to ADD 8 — COM(2018) 269 final.

(6) For further details see Annex 1 on the EU Youth Dialogue.

(7) https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/policy/eu-and-western-balkans_en

(8) Expert group on the ‘contribution of youth work and non-formal and informal learning to address the challenges young people are facing, in particular the transition from education to employment’. http://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/youth/library/reports/contribution-youth-work-summary_en.pdf

(9) For further details see Annex 2 on the Future National Activities Planners.

(10) For further details see Annex 1 on the EU Youth Dialogue.

(11) For further details see Annex 4 on the EU Work Plan for Youth 2019-2021.