Opinion on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting the 'Youth for Europe III' programme designed to promote the development of exchanges among young people and of youth activities in the Community

(94/C 217/08)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Whereas on 16 June 1988 the Council adopted Decision 88/38/EEC adopting an action programme for the promotion of youth exchanges in the Community - 'Youth for Europe' programme and, on 29 July 1991, Decision 91/395/EEC adopting the 'Youth for Europe II' programme (second phase) for the period running from 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1994;

Whereas Council Decision 87/569/EEC of 1 December 1987 concerning an action programme for the vocational training of young people and their preparation for adult and working life (Petra), as amended by Decision 91/387/EEC, sets out to encourage the development of entrepreneurial skills, creativity and initiative among young people;

Whereas in Council Decision 89/489/EEC of 28 July 1989 establishing an action programme to promote foreign language competence in the European Community (Lingua) it was stressed that the 'Youth for Europe' programme would not fully achieve its stated objectives without accompanying measures to promote training in foreign languages, and whereas the Lingua programme provided assistance only for projects organized by teaching and training establishments;

Whereas the Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers meeting within the Council of 26 June 1991 on priority actions in the youth field affirmed the wish, on the basis of experience acquired in the framework of the 'Youth for Europe' programme, to intensify their cooperation on exchanges and mobility of young people with the EFTA countries, with the Central and Eastern European countries and in the context of the north-south dialogue;

Whereas both the European Parliament and the European Council have repeatedly stressed the need for a permanent policy at Community level in the youth field;

Whereas the experience to date of similar programmes may be described as successful and valuable;

Whereas Community action in the youth field is developed in the context of the objectives set out in Article 126 of the Treaty, that is the promotion of youth exchanges and of youth workers, in conjunction with cooperation with non-member countries;

Whereas implementation of the 'Youth for Europe' programme must be based on decentralized structures set up by Member States for the purpose of reinforcing cooperation with the national authorities responsible for youth questions, whilst continuing to respect the principle of subsidiarity, as defined in Article 126 of the Treaty;

Whereas on 4 November 1993 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision adopting the 'Youth for Europe III' programme designed to promote the development of exchanges among young people and of youth activities in the Community - 'Youth for Europe' programme;

Whereas on 3 March 1994 the Council decided to consult the Committee of the Regions (COR), under Articles 130d and 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the Youth for Europe programme,

UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED

the following Opinion, prepared by the Rapporteur-General, Mr P. Koukoulopoulos, at its third Plenary Session held on 17 and 18 May 1994 (meeting of 17 May).

1. General comments

1.1. The Committee of the Regions (COR) approves the content of the programme and is pleased to note that it integrates many programmes, including Priority Actions in the youth field and the Petra and Tempus programmes.

1.2. The present proposal is a combination of general guidelines to be developed centrally and implemented on a decentralized level. This is a good example of the notion of subsidiarity correctly applied.

1.3. The 'Youth for Europe' programme was of great help to those regions and/or countries having no integrated youth policy for reasons of geography, language etc. The COR therefore endorses the specific reference to disadvantaged persons and groups, who should certainly be given priority.

1.4. However, it is not clear whether the appropriations made available (MECU 157) are adequate to achieve the programme's aims.

The COR feels that this figure should be increased, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve the stated objectives.

1.5. The COR endorses the breakdown of appropriations giving priority to exchanges. Progress towards European unification is impossible without systematic action to combat racism, xenophobia and mistrust between the citizens of Member States. In this respect it is obvious that exchanges of various kinds between young people in particular can bring a host of benefits.

1.6. The aim of the 'Youth for Europe' programme is intercultural learning for young people. Strong support should therefore be given to initiatives run by young people especially in regions where no such activities have been developed to date.

1.7. As mentioned in the Commission proposal, youth activities are mainly developed at local level. This means that the end result at Community level is the product of combined local, regional and national effort. In this respect, cooperation between Member States' structures is particularly important. The COR urges the Member States to reinforce collaboration between the three levels (local, regional and national). The Committee of the Regions recommends that the administrative implementation of the programme - at all events in respect of Actions A, B.1 and D - should as far as possible be carried out by decentral - national and regional - bodies. This should be explicitly stated in Article 6 of the programme.

1.8. The Committee of the Regions considers that it should be involved in the evaluation of the programme and consideration of a new orientation and further development (see second paragraph of Article 8).

2. Specific comments

2.1. In the Commission proposal, one third of the appropriations has been earmarked for disadvantaged people. No precise definition of the term 'disadvantaged' has been given.

The COR feels that this is appropriate. Each country has a different interpretation of the term depending on the specific circumstances.

In any event, as far as inclusion in the Programme is concerned, Member States should give priority to disadvantaged persons and groups irrespective of the criteria used locally to define such persons and groups.

2.2. Regardless of the criteria used in each country to define the disadvantaged, the fact remains that, in the present age, the prime form of disadvantage is the lack of access to information. This is why the COR feels that, in Article 3.2, the one third provision should also refer to Action E.

2.3. The COR particularly welcomes the Commission's attempts to develop a decentralized dimension within youth activities. However, it should be pointed out that local and regional authorities have been promoting a variety of actions in the field of cooperation and exchanges between them. This should be given serious consideration when implementing the programme (e.g. eligibility of proposals - inclusion of non-organized young people, etc.).

2.4. It is precisely this local and regional dimension which must be added to exchanges with third countries so that Community action in this field brings a wide range of benefits.

2.5. Owing to the continuing language problems of young people in many European countries, the majority of exchanges have concentrated to date on countries with the same language structure.

2.6. The age limit for exchanges of young people under the 'Youth for Europe III' programme should be extended so that the range is from 12 to 26.

Obvisously an action programme introducing an exchange programme such as the one in question cannot solve these problems. However, it would seem expedient to lay down certain criteria. For instance, priority could be given when selecting projects, to those where the young exchange partners come from countries of a different language 'family'.

Done at Brussels, 17 May 1994.

The Chairman

of the Committee of the Regions

Jacques BLANC