13.6.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 153/5 
Proposal for a Council Decision establishing a third joint programme to encourage the 
exchange of young workers within the Community 
COM(84) 265 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 18 May 1984) 
(84/C 153/07) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the Community is called upon to take 
concrete measures to help young workers; 
Whereas it is the responsiblity of the Member States, 
under Article 50 of the Treaty, to encourage, within 
the framework of a joint programme, the exchange of 
young workers; 
Whereas it is important to offer young workers 
greater opportunities to broaden their vocational 
training and their cultural, linguistic and human 
knowledge in a Member State other than that in 
which they reside; 
Whereas the exchange of young workers should be 
developed alongside measures taken to promote 
youth employment, while at the same time retaining 
its individual character by its objectives and the 
nature of the operations; 
Whereas the experience gained in the implementation 
of the second joint programme to encourage the 
exchange of young workers within the 
Community (*), proved positive and consequently the 
underlying principles shoud the reaffirmed in the 
context of a third programme; 
Whereas, in view of the present employment 
situation, the exchange programme should be 
extended to young job-seekers; 
Whereas, in addition to training periods of long 
duration of a predominantly vocational nature, provision should continue to be made and extended 
for study training periods of short duration which 
offer young workers the opportunity of establishing 
close contact with the working and living 
environment of the host country; 
Whereas the Community institutions must make a 
substantial contribution to the implementation of the 
third joint programme; 
Whereas the participation of bodies or groups 
operating at European level which, by virtue of their 
structure, type of activities and operational capacities, 
are able to make an effective contribution to 
implementing the programme should be ensured; 
Whereas the establishment of a third joint programme 
to encourage the exchange of young workers within 
the Community appears necessary to attain one of the 
objectives of the Community; whereas the Treaty has 
not provided the necessary specific powers for this 
purpose, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
1. For the purposes of this Decision, 'exchanges of 
young workers' means operations involving the 
organization of training periods for young workers 
and young job-seekers under the conditions laid 
down in Article 2, in a Member State other than the 
Member State in which they reside, aimed at: 
— developing their vocational knowledge and 
enriching their practical experience, 
— promoting their awareness of the problems of the 
working world, 
— bringing them into contact with the working 
environment of the host country, 
— improving their knowledge of living conditions 
and social relations in the host country, and 
— promoting adequate information on the 
Community's objectives and how it functions. 
O OJ No L 185, 21. 7. 1979, p. 24. 2. The training periods referred to in paragraph 1 
may be of long or short duration. 
No C 153/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 13. 6. 84 
Article 2 
1. Young workers and young job-seekers who are 
nationals of a Member State shall be eligible for 
exchanges if they: 
— are between 18 and 28 years of age, and 
— have received basic vacational training or have 
practical working experience. 
2. Following the consultations provided for in 
Article 9, the Commission may, by way of exception, 
make eligible for exchanges young workers and 
young job-seekers who do not fulfil the conditions set 
out in paragraph 1 but for whom exchanges are of 
particular interest. 
Article 3 
Without prejudice to the powers of the employment 
services of the Member States, the implementation of 
exchanges shall be entrusted to bodies or groups 
operating at European level by the Commission, 
having regard to their ability to carry out exchanges 
effectively. 
Article 4 
'Training periods of long duration' means training 
periods of a predominantly vocational nature lasting 
beween four and 16 months with an employer in the 
host country. These training periods shall be designed 
in particular to enable participants to develop their 
vocational knowledge by familiarizing themselves 
with life in an undertaking. 
Article 5 
Young workers participating in training periods 
provided for by this Decision shall benefit, within the 
framework of existing legislation, from a system as 
favourable as that introduced under Articles 58, 49 
and 51 of the Treaty to bring about freedom of 
movement for workers who are nationals of Member 
States. 
Participants not classified as 'young workers' shall, 
for the purpose of social protection, be treated as 
young people enrolled in a vocational or other 
training course in their country of origin. 
Article 6 
'Training periods of short duration' means study 
training periods designed in particular to enable parti­
cipants to establish close contact with the working and living environment of the host country. These 
training periods shall, in principle, last for between 
three weeks and three months. 
Article 7 
1. Within the framework of existing legislation, the 
Member States shall lend their support to the 
implementation of exchanges, particularly as regards 
social protection. 
2. The Member States shall designate the 
competent authority or authorities and, where appro­
priate, the coordination service which the bodies or 
groups referred to in Article 3 should contact to 
examine exchange projects and to obtain help in 
organizing and implementing the training periods. 
The Commission shall request the opinion of the 
Member States concerned before approving the 
exchange projects. 
Article 8 
To facilitate the development of exchanges, the 
Commission may, in so far as appropriations entered 
in the Communities' budget allow, grant aid 
comprising: 
— contribution, not exceeding 75 % of the expense 
incurred, towards the cost of the (return) journey 
between the place of residence and the place of 
training, of which the amount may vary 
depending on the distance, 
— a flat-rate weekly contribution per trainee or, in 
certain cases, a subvention for each exchange 
operation. 
A supplementary aid per trainee and per week of 
language training may be granted. 
Any aid granted by Member States, regional or local 
authorities or promoters shall be taken into 
consideration when establishing the Commission's 
contribution. 
Article 9 
The Commission shall consult, in the cases for which 
provision is made in this Decision and on all matters 
of importance concerning its application, the repres­
entatives of the Governments of the Member States, 
of employers' and workers' organizations as well 
as of European organizations with specific 
responsibilities for and direct experience of 
exchanges. 
13.6.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 153/7 
Article 10 
The Commission shall adopt the measures necessary 
to implement this Decision. 
Article 11 
The Commission shall submit to the Council every 
two years a report on the progress of the exchanges, 
including an overall assessment of their 
implementation. Article 12 
The Council, acting on a proposal from the 
Commission, shall review this Decision not later than 
30 June 1989. 
Article 13 
This Decision shall apply from 1 July 1984.