Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "White Paper: Youth Policy"
Date: 2000-11-29
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: action programme, education policy, social integration, young person, youth employment

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Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘White Paper: Youth Policy’

(2001/C 116/19)

On 13 July 2000 the Economic and Social Committee, acting under Rule 23(3) of its Rules of Procedure,
decided to draw up an opinion on ‘White Paper: Youth Policy’.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 14 November 2000. The rapporteur was
Mrs Hassett.

At its 377th plenary session (meeting of 29 November 2000), the Economic and Social Committee
adopted the following opinion by 113 in favour, no votes against and one abstention.

1.

Basis of the Opinion

of youth varies individually and throughout the Member
States, the Committee believes that youth policy should have
this general age range as its focus (3).

1.1
At the Council meeting of 23 November 1999, Com-
missioner Viviane Reding announced the plan of the European
Commission to develop a White Paper on Youth Policy. The
Commission subsequently started a broad consultation process
including young people themselves, youth organisations,
governments of member states, youth researchers and other
actors in the field of youth. Due to its keen interest in
youth policy and its promotion at Community level (1), the
Committee felt the need to present an own-initiative opinion
on the White Paper on Youth Policy in order to contribute to
the discussion at an early stage.

1.2.
Since the late 1980s Community action has rapidly
developed in the youth field. After the launch of a new
generation of ambitious youth and education programmes it
seems to be a timely moment to reflect on youth policy in the
European Union in a longer-term perspective. The Luxem-
bourg European Council and the Lisbon European Council
have opened new avenues of cooperation between Member
States in policy areas that affect young people, such as
employment, training and education. Progressing European
integration requires the substantiation of
the concept of
European citizenship introduced in the Treaty of Maastricht in
order to bridge the increasing gap between the European
Union and young people. The Committee therefore welcomes
the initiative of the European Commission to develop a White
Paper: Youth Policy, in order to promote clear perspectives
and a broad consensus for future Community action and
Member State co-operation.

The Community has targeted its action in the field of
1.3.
youth to the 15-25 age group (2). This age range encompasses
roughly the period between adolescence and independent
adulthood commonly described as youth. Though this period

(1) ESC Opinion on Community action programme European volun-
tary service for young people, 19 March 1997, OJ C 158,
26.5.1997.

(2) Decision No 1031/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 13 April 2000 establishing the ‘Youth’ Community
action programme, OJ L 117, 18.5.2000, p. 1.

2. Youth policy in the European Union

2.1.
Youth policy at the European Union level has sought
to ‘intensify ... co-operation in the field of youth, so as to
reinforce young people’s consciousness of belonging to Europe
and take account of their wish to play a positive role in the
building of the European Community’ (4). Articles 149 and
150 of the Treaty provide the legal basis for Community policy
in the field of education, vocational training and youth (5). The
Treaty confines youth policy measures to ‘encouraging the
development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-
instructors’ (6). Community action was able to
educational
successfully build upon the experiences and the values of
European youth work developed in the context of the Council
of Europe and successfully contributed to the consolidation
and dissemination of a European perspective in youth work.
European Union youth policy is embodied in a number of
programmes to support the mobility of young people, the
work of youth organisations and vocational training. Thanks
to the development of instruments like the Youth for Europe
programme and the European Voluntary Service for young
people, Community action reaches out to a high number of
young people, both individually and their organisations.
Stimulated through the decentralised nature of Community
action, the debate about youth policy in Europe has evolved
considerably.

(3) In Greece, Italy and Spain the unemployment rate of young
people with tertiary education in the 20-24 and 25-29 age
groups is higher than the percentage of young people with only
compulsory or upper-secondary level education. ‘Education at a
Glance’ OECD 2000, p. 271.

(4) Resolution of the Council and of the Ministers meeting within the
Council of 26 June 1991 on priority actions in the youth field OJ
C 208, 1991.

(5) Consolidated Treaty Establishing the European Community,

Articles 149 and 150.

(6) Consolidated Treaty Establishing the European Community,

Article 149.

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2.2.
Policies aimed at young people at Member State level
have contributed to improving the social situation of young
people in the second half of the twentieth century. Young
people in the European Union are more independent and they
have greater opportunities to fulfil their own expectations than
previous generations. Nevertheless, the society in which young
people have to establish themselves is not one that they have
had an opportunity to create. It is a society that is at the same
time an inheritance while also on loan from future generations.
The transitional character of youth is underlined by various
transitions that young people undergo: from childhood to
adulthood, from education to work, from dependency to
autonomy and becoming a full citizen. Any resources that are
used to enable young people to develop their abilities, to
participate and to contribute to society are an investment and
must be seen as such, allowing young people to take their full
responsibility towards society.

2.3.
The importance of youth policy has been highlighted
by recent political developments at European level. In prepar-
ing the Lisbon European Council, the Portuguese Presidency
stressed the commitment of the European Union to young
people by stating: ‘Europe’s population, and young people in
particular, must have access to basic skills, such as being able
to learn and resolve problems, develop scientific, culture and
technical skills, use information technologies, speak foreign
languages, develop a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship
and be active, free and responsible citizens.’ Integrated youth
policies at all levels for all young people with their broadest
possible participation, whether this participation be of insti-
tutional, associative or individual nature are essential to attain
these objectives.

2.4.
Youth policy must embody the spirit of the commit-
ments made at Community level to young people over recent
years, value them as a resource to society and provide them
with opportunities to become ‘active, free and responsible
citizens’ (1). Youth policy is in an integrated cross-sectoral
policy aimed at young people, with young people and starting
from the needs of young people. Its aim is to improve and
develop the living conditions and participation of young

(1) Resolution on a youth policy for Europe adopted by the European
Parliament A4-0100/99, OJ C 42, 1999; Resolution of the Council
and the Ministers of Youth meeting within the Council on
8 February 1999, OJ C 42, 17.2.1999; Contribution to the
Presidency report on the European Employment Pact — Memor-
andum of the German Presidency ‘Youth and Europe — Our
Future’. Vienna European Council, Conclusions of the Presidency,
point 46 (11 December 1998).

people, encompassing the whole range of social, cultural and
political issues affecting them and other groups in society.
Youth policy is by definition a horizontal policy where
coherent and co-ordinated efforts across different policy and
administrative sectors are ensured through integrated actions.
At all levels, youth policy co-ordinates measures to serve the
interests of youth, and integrates young people to shape social,
economic, political and cultural life. Young people are at the
heart of youth policy, not as clients, but as actors and
contributors to this dynamic process.

For a youth policy in the European Union, a link needs
2.5.
to be established between youth policy as such and sectoral
policies of the European Union. However the development of
youth policy cannot be limited to mainstreaming youth aspects
into employment, social integration and other policies. Specific
action for young people is needed at European level in order
to respect the values of youth work and services, in particular
their participatory nature, thus making them more than an
instrument of social policy, but rather a key to the successful
renewal of European democracies (2). Apart from the specific
action programmes in the fields of youth and education,
the Community supports measures aimed at young people
through structural fund programmes (3) Youth policy guide-
lines would not only assist the European Commission in
planning and evaluation, but also Member States authorities in
developing coherent programmes.

2.6.
Young people have rights and responsibilities just like
any other group in society. Young people must have the same
rights as other citizens, regardless of any discrimination
experienced in accordance with the definition given in
Article 13 of the Treaty. Active equal opportunity policies

(2) In a comparative European study of the Council of Europe
Steering Committee for Intergovernmental Co-operation in the
Youth Field, eight areas constituting youth policy were considered
(CDEJ (96) 11 rev. 2 — revised text as of 15 October 1998).
These areas are: (1) bodies responsible for co-ordinating govern-
ment policy in youth affairs, (2) government policy in the youth
sector, (3) parliamentary committees on youth, (4) constitutional
and legislative provisions relating to youth affairs, (5) laws relating
specifically to young people, (6) associative life of young people,
(7) international co-operation in the youth field, (8) criteria and
arrangements for recognising funding youth organisations and
projects.

(3) In the 2000-2006 programming period, the European Social
Fund and the EQUAL Community Initiative in particular will
promote training and employability measures for young people.
The implementation of the Structural Funds has largely been
decentralised to the Member State level, so programmes are
decided in accordance with national priorities.

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must be an integral part of youth policy. In order to realise
their full rights and responsibilities, young people must be
income, to participation in
offered access to a sufficient
shaping the decisions that affect their lives, to information, to
the employment market, to decent housing, to health care, to
proper educational opportunities, to a non-polluted environ-
ment, to freedom of movement and to leisure. The United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes a
unique legal reference to promote child and youth rights. The
European Social Charter addresses rights that are of particular
relevance to young people, while on the European Union level
the outcome of the debate on a Charter of Fundamental Rights
will have an impact on them.

2.7.
There are currently 46,9 million young people aged
between 15-24 in the European Union (1). The youth popu-
lation in the ten pre-accession countries in Central and Eastern
Europe stood at 16,9 million in 1999 (2). Young people
constitute an ever-diminishing proportion of the population
of the European Union due to declining birth rates and as a
result of increasing life expectancy. This demographic trend is
set to become even more pronounced over the next decade
and the generational imbalance will be exacerbated by the
increasing number of people over 65. This will have a
significant impact on the future of democracy and our society.
It is predicted that by 2015 the number of people in the
15-29 age group, will have declined by 13 million (3). Young
people will thus become an even more vital resource for the
renewal and innovation of European societies and economies
in the early twenty-first century. Their full and democratic
participation in society will be crucial. Moreover, young people
are also becoming autonomous at a later age, mostly because
of the increasing time spent in education but also due to the
high cost of living in many countries, the need to finance
studying, the lack of social protection and problems in entering
the labour market. Thus, many young people are still not
financially independent in their mid-twenties. This has both
social and economic implications. Young people cannot fully
take on their rights or responsibilities, nor can they be
financially self-sufficient.

initiated important debates on key areas, such as youth
unemployment, education and youth programmes, the NGOs,
including youth organisations, and civil society in Europe (4).
In this opinion, the Committee shall focus on youth employ-
ment and social integration, education and mobility, partici-
pation and civil society.

3. Youth employment and social integration

3.1.
Although youth unemployment has declined in the
last two decades it has remained high in comparison to the
levels among other age groups. Currently, the unemployment
rate among the 15-24 age group in the European Union
is almost double the rate for those aged 25-65, making
approximately five million young people unemployed. This
hides significant variations between countries, within countries
and between young men and women. Youth unemployment
has been particularly high in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and
Finland, and young female unemployment levels are a severe
problem in Greece, Italy and Spain. Existing evidence also
indicates that employment rates among ethnic minorities and
the disabled are lower than the average. It is estimated that
45 % of young people become unemployed at least once, and
that 20 % are unemployed two or three times (5).

is one of

Though unemployment

the key causes
3.2.
of social exclusion, social exclusion is frequently multi-
dimensional. A number of factors combining to effectively
exclude an individual from participating in society, including
limited
low levels of skills and education,
access to social security benefits, poor housing, high crime
environments, bad health, poverty during childhood, family
breakdown, lack of access to information, mobility and justice.
The transition from childhood and education to adulthood

low income,

2.8.
In acknowledgement of the multitude of challenges for
young people in today’s society, and the scope of youth policy,
the Committee has regularly contributed to the youth policy
development at Community level during the last decade. It has

(1) European Social Statistics — Labour Force survey results 1999,

p. 34.

(2) The MONEE Project CEE/CIS/Baltic’s, UNICEF 2000, p. 127.
(3) Communication from the Commission ‘Towards a Europe for All

Ages’, COM(1999) 221 final, p. 7.

(4) ESC Opinions include; the European Dimension of Education:
its nature, content and prospects, Information Report; Youth
unemployment, OJ C 18, 22.1.1996; Community Youth Action
Programmes, OJ C 410, 30.12.1998.

(5) ‘Implementing the European Employment Strategy’, European
Commission 1999, p. 19. In recognition of these problems,
guideline 1 of the European Employment Guidelines for 2000
aims to ensure that: ‘every young person is offered a new start
before reaching six months of unemployment, in the form of
training, retraining, work practice, a job or other employability
measure with a view to effective integration into the labour
market’.

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and employment is a very vulnerable period for young people.
Those who drop out of school and do not succeed in finding
employment often have limited access to social protection.
Moreover, employment does not automatically end social
exclusion, as young people constitute a significant number of
the ‘working poor’ due to their low levels of income (1).

3.3

Youth employment

At the Lisbon European Council, the heads of State
3.3.1.
and government of the European Union committed to making
Europe the world’s most dynamic and competitive area, based
on innovation and knowledge, able to boost economic growth
levels with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion
by 2010. The realisation of the vision outlined in Lisbon will
require major progress in the economic and employment
sectors. Sustained annual growth of 3 %, combined with the
development of innovation and knowledge and the expansion
of the service sector will provide the conditions for increasing
employment levels to 70 % for men and 60 % for women. The
new knowledge economy will depend on a larger, better
educated and more highly trained workforce. Thus,
the
generation of young people making the transition from formal
education to the labour market in the next ten years will be
crucial to achieving this move towards the knowledge-based
economy.

3.3.2.
The Lisbon European Council also marked a signifi-
cant development in the methods used by the European Union
to achieve its aims, with the move away from legislation to
‘soft law’ as epitomised by the ‘open method of co-ordi-
nation’ (2). The Lisbon conclusions promote the extension of
the open-method of co-ordination to the fields of social
exclusion, e-Europe policies, policies relating to small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) and to Research and Innovation.
The adoption of the ‘open method of co-ordination’ in these
areas is designed to ensure that the objectives of the Lisbon
Summit are realised. This will be reinforced by the submission
of an annual report from the Commission to the Spring
European Council on progress in key areas. A White Paper on
youth policy must take these developments as both a starting
point and as the key to promoting a cross-sectoral youth
policy at the European level in order to unlock the potential of
young people as a source of economic development and
innovation.

Under the Employment Guidelines,

3.3.3.
the Member
States are to ensure by 2002 that all young people are offered
a new start in the form of ‘training, retraining, work practice,
a job or other employability measure with a view to effective
integration into the labour market’ (3).
It is vital that all
opportunities offered in accordance with the Guidelines pro-
vide high quality schemes in areas of interest to the young
people concerned, allowing them to determine their own
career paths. These measures should not merely be a means of
reducing the levels of youth employment, but should offer
young people a permanent pathway out of unemployment.
Employability measures linked to existing opportunities and
gaps in the employment market should be prioritised. The
provision of social protection should not be dependent on
participation in such measures.

All training for young people, especially for tra-
3.3.4.
ditional occupations, should include the development of skills
relevant to the growing knowledge economy. Training in
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is particu-
larly important to prevent the emergence of a group excluded
from certain occupations due to their lack of skills. Training in
ICT must begin in compulsory education and continue in
training and lifelong learning to ensure that a two-speed
Europe does not emerge.

3.3.5.
The Member States are encouraged to provide sup-
port to entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) under Pillar II of the Employment Guidelines. Measures
developed at the national level in response to the Guidelines
should not discriminate on the basis of age. Young entreprene-
urs can make a valuable contribution to the economy through
innovative ideas and by employing staff themselves. Fostering
young entrepreneurship by providing financial and technical
support and by minimising the bureaucracy involved in
establishing an enterprise should be encouraged (4).

3.3.6. Many young people who are in employment never-
theless face various forms of discrimination in the employment
market and in the work place. The principle of equal pay for

(1) Youth in the European Union — from Education to working life.

Eurostat 1997, p. 58.

(2) The ‘open method of co-ordination’ is defined in Lisbon European
Council, Conclusions of the Presidency, point 37 (24 March
2000).

(3) European Employment Guidelines for 2000, Guideline 1.
(4) In its ‘Opinion on the Proposal for a Council Decision on
guidelines for Member States’ employment policies for the year
2001’, the Economic and Social Committee stressed the need ‘to
remove the obstacles to company formation and development.’
CES 1188/2000, p. 6.

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equal work needs to be ensured, and the whole body of the
acquis communautaire as it relates to working conditions must
be properly implemented at the Member State level.

3.3.7.
The role of the third sector in the implementation of
the European Employment Strategy should be promoted at the
local, the Member State and the Community level. (1) Through
their direct experience with groups facing difficulties in
entering the labour market, NGOs and youth organisations
can provide innovative and high quality solutions (2). A deeper
involvement in developing policy would also ensure that the
interests of the people concerned by employability measures
would be represented.

entitled to unemployment benefit (4). Young school dropouts
and the homeless do not receive sufficient support (5). The
failing to deal with these
social and economic costs of
problems — as well as problems such as delinquency and
substance misuse — at an initial stage augment over the life-
course, supporting the argument that such problems should
be addressed as early as possible. Policies aimed at delinquent
and alienated young people must be prioritised and pay
specific attention to the social reintegration of this group. In
order for effective action to be taken to relieve this problem, a
range of actors must be involved, including not just govern-
ment but the business community as well as third sector
organisations working with young people. Lack of action and
complacency regarding socially excluded young people should
no longer be tolerated and all actors should accept responsi-
bility for introducing measures to redress this situation.

3.4

Social Integration

3.4.1.
Young people experienced a restriction in their
entitlement to social protection at the end of the twentieth
century (3). In some countries young people are not entitled to
unemployment benefit unless they have worked previously,
and the provision of social security benefits is often linked to
taking a training course or proving that they are involved in a
genuine job search. As a result of this, and the fact that more
young people are staying longer in education, the age at which
young people leave the parental home has become higher.
Young people are becoming independent at a later age and
therefore also establishing their own households and having
children when they are older. Social protection, financial
support in tertiary education and access to housing would
allow young people to be autonomous at an earlier age, and
make full use of their rights — as well as exercising their
responsibilities — as adults.

The support structures for young people are not
3.4.2.
sufficient to counterbalance the problems resulting from social
exclusion and from the multifarious risks in contemporary
society. In particular it is calculated that around 10 % of young
people in some European Union countries are in ‘status zero’,
that is they are not in education, training, employment or

3.4.3.
Discrimination ‘based on sex, racial or ethnic origin,
religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation’ (6) is also
strongly in evidence in relation to young people, especially in
the fields of education and employment. Unemployment
statistics indicate that young people experience discrimination
in the labour market, a fact that is commonly attributed to
their age and lack of experience (7). Young women, young
people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and the young
disabled are even more vulnerable to discrimination in the
employment market. More research on young people and
discrimination would assist in the development of policies
and programmes to address the problem and prevent early
exclusion continuing throughout the life-course. Young people
and their organisations should be supported to carry out work
to combat racism and discrimination. Young people can
be actors in promoting social integration and multicultural
societies. By addressing such issues at an early age, tolerance
and openness can be established.

3.4.4.
In many areas it is clear that there is not real gender
equality between young women and men in the European
Union. In the majority of Member States a higher percentage
of young men are in employment than young women. As
social security benefits have become increasingly linked to

(1) ESC Opinion on Social The Social Economy and the single market,

OJ C 117, 24.4.2000, p. 52.

(2) The ‘Get In!’ Youth Convention on Social Exclusion and Employ-
ment hosted by the Economic and Social Committee on 21 Febru-
ary 2000, provide first-hand examples of the contribution that
youth organisations could make in developing and running
projects for the young socially excluded and unemployed. See the
‘Get In!’ report published by the European Youth Forum, April
2000.

(3) Green, David: Taking Steps — Young People and Social Protection
in the European Union, a report published by the European Youth
Forum 1998.

(4) This is the case in Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United
Kingdom, see: ‘Education at a Glance’, OECD 2000, p. 287.

(5) The problems are examined in detail in: ‘Youth Homelessness in
the European Union’, European Federation of National Organis-
ations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) 1998.

(6) Consolidated Treaty Establishing the European Community,

Article 13.
(7) Opinion of

the Economic and Social Committee on Youth

Unemployment OJ C 18, 22.1.1996.

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previous employment, this means that young women are
disadvantaged in their access to social security benefits. Vertical
and horizontal segregation in education and the labour market
needs to be addressed to prevent young women suffering from
structural discrimination and being discouraged from pursuing
certain career choices. It is clear that all statistics and indicators
concerning young people should take into account the gender
factor as a first step to understanding the extent of discrimi-
nation. This will allow the mainstreaming of gender in relation
to young people to be more successful.

4.

Education and Mobility

Education is an important part of the lives of young
4.1.
people and in the last
two decades young people have
been staying longer in education (1). Education and access to
education are indispensable elements of
the socialisation
process and of a young person’s integration into society, and a
means for personal and social development and fulfilment (2).
In most countries, there is a clear correlation between edu-
cational achievement and successful
integration into the
employment market. The prospects of those with low edu-
cational attainment are more limited, while those who leave
education later fare better in the employment market (3). In
1997, the unemployment rate in the EU for young people
who had only completed compulsory education was 14 %, for
those who had finished upper secondary education it was
10 %, and it was only 6 % for those with a tertiary education
qualification (4). A further increase in the level of education
obtained must be combined with an improvement in the
quality of that education and the degree to which it is geared
to the needs of the modern employment market.

4.2.
The mobility of young people, in a group or individu-
ally, makes a vital contribution to intercultural understanding.
This is true primarily on the individual level, while the social
potential of mobility remains to be exhausted, as the total
number of young people taking part in exchanges, studying or
volunteering in another country still is marginal. Intercultural
skills are increasingly important in the globalised economies
and multicultural societies of Europe. Europe becoming an
educational area with citizens facing the challenges of drastic

(1) In OECD countries, a fifteen-year old could expect to be in
education for another 6 years of her or his life in 1998. This
figure had risen by over one and a half years since 1985, see:
‘Education at a Glance’, OECD 2000.

(2) ESC Opinion on European pathways for work-linked training,

including apprenticeship, OJ C 241, 10.7.1998.

(3) Italy and Spain are an exception as they have high graduate
unemployment levels in the 25-29 age group, see: ‘Employment
Outlook’, OECD 1999.

(4) ‘The Social Situation in the European Union 2000’, Eurostat,

2000, p. 14.

economic and societal change, both language skills and the
capacity to interact and co-operate with people from different
the centre of concern in European
cultures must be at
educational policies. Living in another country for some time,
intercultural exchanges and training, put young people in a
position where they can reflect on their cultural background
and come to a proper appreciation and respect of the diversity
of Europe. These skills are important for personal development,
tolerant attitudes towards others, and already today valued in
the employment market. The basis for these skills is most
effectively laid at an early age in life. The same applies to
language skills. The development of mobility in the European
Union will promote tolerance and sense of European citizen-
ship. The opportunity to participate in exchanges should
therefore cover all groups of young people, including school
and university students, young volunteers, young people in
in particular
training, young people in employment, but
also young people which are not in training, education or
employment (young people in ‘status zero’).

4.3. Education

Rapid and continuing structural change in the Euro-
4.3.1.
pean employment market has led to a mismatch between the
demand and supply for skills, resulting in what is commonly
termed the ‘skills gap’. Although there has been a significant
improvement in general levels of educational achievement,
there is still a notable problem of young people dropping out
of education, or leaving education early. In some Member
States, poor levels of literacy and numeracy impede employers
in recruiting staff to certain posts. Throughout Europe, the
growth of the Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) sector has outstripped the supply of appropriately
educated and trained employees (5). Globalisation and the
success of
the internal market has created an increasing
demand for mobile employees and employees with language
skills. Furthermore, with the rapid technological developments
in many sectors, the labour force needs to be able to adapt to
new needs through lifelong learning. The Lisbon European
Council agreed to reduce the number of 18-24 year-olds ‘with
only lower-secondary level education who are not in further
education and training’ by half by 2010, and also to improve
access to the Internet and training in the ICT sector. However,

(5) It is estimated that half a million jobs were vacant in this sector in
1998 and the figure expected to reach 1,6 million by 2002.
European Commission Communication ’Strategy for Jobs in the
Information Society’ European Commission, 2000, p. 7.

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it is clear that further measures need to be introduced at the
Member State level to ensure that future generations are
equipped with the skills that they need. For example, efforts
need to be made to increase the number of people completing
secondary education, to make sure that young people are
equipped with the skills required by the employment market,
and make the practice of lifelong learning an integral part of
active participation in the employment market and society.

4.3.2.
Lifelong learning has been broadly defined as ‘all
purposeful learning activity, whether formal or non-formal (1),
undertaken on an ongoing basis with the aim of personal
development and of improving knowledge, skills and com-
petence’ (2). For young people, initial vocational education and
training is the form of lifelong learning which is currently
most relevant to them. However, this rarely emphasises the
need to update the knowledge accumulated and the skills
acquired, as its primary aim is to promote first-entry into
employment. Lifelong learning strategies have too often been
exclusively focused on vocational training aspects and not
taken enough into account that lifelong learning is a process
that starts from early childhood. Non-formal education, which
is provided through youth and community work from an early
age and opening avenues into lifelong learning patterns, is
seldom recognised officially and the development of skills,
knowledge and self-confidence through participation in open
youth work and youth organisations is not sufficiently val-
ued (3). In lifelong learning strategies, little emphasis has been
placed on providing already the very young with information
and orientation for their professional development. Early
guidance is vital in order to ensure that young people can
realise a broad range of opportunities throughout their lives.
Already prior to the transition from education and employ-
ment, young people need to be equipped for this, as the
opportunities available throughout the life course are increas-
ingly determined at an ever-earlier age.

(1) ‘Non-formal education is organised educational activity outside
the established formal system that
is intended to serve an
identifiable learning clientele with identifiable learning objectives.’,
in: National Youth Policies, a working document produced by the
Chief Executive Officers of World Alliance of Young Men’s
Christian Associations, World Young Women’s Christian Associ-
ation, World Organisation of the Scout Movement, World associ-
ation of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The International Award
Association, Geneva/London 1998, p. 6.

(2) European Commission Directorate General for Education and
Culture working paper ‘Implementing Lifelong Learning for Active
Citizenship in a Europe of Knowledge’. Paper presented at the
Launch Conference for the new generation of education and
youth programmes, Lisbon March 2000.

(3) Sahlberg, Pasi: Building Bridges for Learning — the recognition
and value of non-formal education in youth activity, study
published by the European Youth Forum and the National Board
of Education Finland, 1999. Also: Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe Recommendation ‘Non-Formal Education’,
Recommendation 1437 (2000) 1.

4.3.3.
Lifelong learning, including non-formal education,
should be expanded so that it is accessible to young people
from an early age to allow them to continually update their
knowledge and skills so that they can adapt to the fast-
changing employment market. The interaction and mutual
recognition of non-formal education taking place in the
different learning environments has not yet been developed
sufficiently. In this respect, the role of non-formal learning and
training taking place at the work place need to be stronger
recognised. ‘Bridges’ and transitions between the various forms
of education and educational environments are still
the
exception in the European Union.

4.4. Mobility

4.4.1. Mobility is a right enshrined in Article 18 of the
Treaty. (4). The Community and the Member States have to
take the appropriate measures to ensure that the citizens have
an equal opportunity in making use of this right. Currently
this right remains theoretical for most young people. The
reasons can be found in the lack of opportunities and
resources, lack of recognition of the value of mobility as such
and the skills acquired through mobility, uneven distribution
of opportunities, social and cultural resistance to the idea of
mobility, legal and administrative barriers. Particular attention
should therefore be paid to administrative obstacles, which
exist
in the Member States in regard to social security
(unemployment insurance in particular), taxation, residence
rights and the recognition of skills acquired both formally as
well as through means of non-formal and informal edu-
cation. (5).

4.4.2. Within the Community programmes, the focus in
regard to long-term mobility (six months or longer) is primarily
on university student mobility. The Erasmus programme, even
though limited in numbers, is a great success. It is however
restricted to students in higher education. The potential of
medium and long-term mobility at an early age (below the age
of 21) should be promoted by the Community and supported
by the Member States. Too few young people leaving secondary
schools have spent a considerable period of time in another

(4) Consolidated Treaty Establishing the European Community,

Article 18

(5) As defined in the Appendix to the Information Report on
‘The European dimension of education: its nature, content and
prospects’, CES 1113/99 fin rev; Formal education: The hier-
archically structured, chronologically graded education system
running from primary through to tertiary instruction. Informal
education: The process whereby every individual acquires atti-
tudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, such as
family, friends, peer groups, the media and other influences and
factors in the person’s environment. Non-formal education:
Organised educational activity outside the established formal
system that is intended to serve an identifiable learning clientele
with identifiable learning objectives

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European country. For those that have, there is a high risk that
this period of education in another country is not fully
recognised by the country of origin as an integral and valuable
part of their secondary education. Resources available for the
support of young people’s mobility on all levels are not yet
adequate, as the demand for the mobility programmes has
shown. Given the limited public resources for supporting
increased mobility, it seems negligent not to have explored
more public-private partnerships.

4.4.3.
The European Union and the Member States should
promote mobility targeting young people themselves as well
as decision makers and multipliers (employers, educational
institutions, general media, etc.), highlighting the individual,
social and economic value of mobility. Many young people
face obstacles in finding information, since no one-stop
information system on opportunities for all sorts of mobility
(internships abroad, city partnerships, transnational volun-
teering, youth exchanges, mobility in secondary, higher and
vocational education, etc.) is available (1). An innovative input
is needed into developing new qualifications recognised
throughout the European Union, such as skills passports and
Europass. This would act as an incentive for young people to
participate in education, training, and mobility projects.

4.4.4.
In addition, young people’s mobility is likely to
increase if their educators, teachers and vocational trainers
have made experiences abroad. Though progress has been
the percentage of educators,
made over the last decade,
teachers and vocational
trainers with work and teaching
experiences in another Member State is still minimal. The
French Presidency of the Council
initiative to set up an
action plan on mobility should also be welcomed. It seems
appropriate that this action plan is implemented through an
open method of co-ordination including peer group review.
Social partners and non-governmental organisations in the
field of youth and education should be closely integrated in
the realisation of the plan.

(1) The ‘Contribution to the Presidency report on the European
Employment Pact — Memorandum of the German Presidency
“Youth and Europe — Our Future”’ suggested that Member States
should increase support for educational exchanges and cross-
border training both bilaterally and multilaterally. It also called
for a reduction in the barriers to the mutual recognition of
qualifications and for the promotion of language skills.

5.

Participation and Civil Society

5.1.
Any policy aimed at young people must be character-
ised by the fundamental principle of youth participation: a
principle that
is reiterated at European and international
level (2). The benefits of promoting, encouraging and support-
ing young people’s participation are evident from existing
practice in the Member States of the European Union. Through
participation various issues of concern and the often multiple
problems faced by young people in their lives come to the fore
and can be addressed pro-actively by the young people
themselves but also by decision-makers and administrations.
While youth participation in elections has been consistently
low throughout the Member States — and the levels in the
European Parliament elections in 1999 even lower — young
people feel strongly about a number of issues. Young people
can bring their unique experience of specific problems to the
process of finding solutions at all levels — local, regional,
national, European and global (3). Youth policy should seek to
involve young people at all stages in the decision-making
process in order both to benefit from their first-hand experi-
ence and to motivate them as active and responsible citizens.
There is also no limit
in
particular possibilities for participation in the decision-making
in the formal education sector and at the work place are not
responsive enough to the needs of young people.

to participation. Nevertheless,

5.2.
The next decade will also see the expansion of the
European Union with the accession of a number of countries
in Central and Eastern, as well Southern Europe. Through the
adoption of the acquis communautaire, these countries will
introduce legislation relating to a huge number of issues
relevant to young people. It is vital that young people and
their organisations in these countries should be aware of the
implications of their country’s entry into the European Union
and have a full and proper understanding of the impact that
membership will have in key policy areas affecting them.
The participation of civil society should be encouraged and
resources devoted to allowing them to participate in decision
making.

(2) Declaration of the United Nations on the International Year of
Youth 1985, ‘Peace, Participation, Development’; United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989; European Charter
on Participation of Young People in Municipal and Regional Life
of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe,
1992; Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe ‘On youth participation and the future of Civil
Society’, Recommendation No R (97) 3 of 4 February 1997;
Resolution of Council and Ministers for Youth meeting within the
Council of 8 February 1999 (OJ C 42, 17.2.1999, p. 1).

(3) See report of ‘Get In!’ Youth Convention on Social Exclusion and
Employment published by the European Youth Forum 2000.

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the needs and aspirations of

5.3.
Though young people from the candidate and pre-
accession countries are increasingly integrated in Community
action in the field of youth and education, they are not
participating on equal footing. For the development of youth
policy in the European Union it is important to take the
experiences from those countries into account. This will
enable the Community to pro-actively develop a thorough
its future
understanding of
citizens. The last years have also seen an increase of co-
operation with regions bordering the European Union and
beyond (1). To encourage a genuine feeling of European
citizenship and global responsibility, and to fill these co-
operation initiatives with life on a people-to-people as well as
civil society level, the Community needs to further develop
youth co-operation inside all regional agreements. Currently,
the youth dimension in the regional co-operation initiatives of
the Union is rather weak. More opening towards young people
is desirable to give a feeling of ownership to the young citizens.
Active participation in global and regional co-operation will
increase the awareness about the interdependence of the Union
in the world, and contribute to acceptance and understanding
of immigration from outside the Union.

Non-governmental organisations and their activities
5.4.
are the basis of any stable democracy. Non-governmental
organisations provide a safeguard for democracy, solidarity
and human rights through their complex networks and
democratic decision-making procedures. They also serve as the
vanguard in renewing society. Young people’s first experience
in taking on and sharing responsibility for society and others
takes places through in youth organisations in all expressions
of youth associative life. Reducing society to pure individualism
and the exercise of consumer choice should not and cannot
replace the role of youth organisations. Youth NGOs should
be adequately financially supported and given the necessary
recognition and means to be able to participate as real actors
in decision-making and society at all levels. Contributing to
change is a major motivation for young people to get involved.
It is important that young people are given the opportunity
and encouraged to engage themselves in a broad and diverse
range of structures, organisations and issues, in particular on
local level where special emphasis needs to be put on the
development of mechanisms for participation in decision-

making. Participation and ownership can be promoted through
involvement and partnership — whether in relation to youth
organisations, European institutions, the work place, schools
or universities. Only real influence leads to real responsibility.

The ways in which young people participate have
5.5.
evolved dynamically since the late 1960s as representative
democracy has been increasingly reinforced by participatory
elements. Young people in particular have contributed to this
change by the continual development of existing youth
organisations through new forms of participation, as well
as by creating new networks and organisations(2). Youth
organisations at all levels remain a key instrument for the
development of youth policy, thanks to internal democracy,
participatory approach and their establishment at the grass
root and local community level. The concept of open youth
work in informal groups, youth clubs, youth councils and
parliaments has opened avenues to participation and owner-
ship that have not only provided valuable experience but have
also produced tangible results in fostering the social integration
of young people, particularly the disadvantaged. Experience
has shown that these initiatives can only be made sustainable
if youth structures and organisations are available and appro-
priately funded to channel information, to provide exchange of
good practice and networking opportunities, and to advocate
efficiently for youth needs and interests.

5.6.
The European institutions and national governments
must actively facilitate youth information policies to provide
young people with as accurate information as possible on the
issues affecting them as well as the possibilities for partici-
pation. The governments and institutions have to invest in a
‘two way democracy’ by consulting and involving young
people on decisions. At the Community level, centralised
information about measures aimed at young people is hard to
come by, potentially leading to incoherence in their appli-
cations and a sub-optimal use of the scarce resources available.

6. Rural/peripheral areas

6.1.
Young people are often disadvantaged because of the
area they live in. In many rural areas and poor urban areas,
young people do not have access to high quality education,
training, mobility, health services, leisure facilities, employ-
ment opportunities or chances to participate in civil society.
Specific measures should be introduced to ensure that young
people in certain geographical areas could benefit fully from

(1) For instance co-operation within the Baltic Sea region,

the
Mediterranean, with South Eastern Europe, the countries of the
ACP agreement, the Barents Sea region, the Common Strategies
towards the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as well as others.

(2) Report of the round table ‘New forms of youth participation’,
Bienne (Switzerland), 4-6 May 2000, Council of Europe Steering
Committee for Intergovernmental Co-operation in the Youth
Field, RT-Part (2000) 3.

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opportunities and can make choices in their own lives. The
remoteness of many rural areas means that young people do
not have good access to information, especially on oppor-
tunities. Many rural areas are becoming depopulated, as young
people have to move in order to complete their education,
find employment, or have access to greater opportunities,
better health facilities and more extensive leisure. Support
needs to be extended so that young people can live in rural
areas without suffering social exclusion and without having to
compromise their dreams, wishes or ambitions. The particular
problems faced by young people in rural areas should be
taken into account in key policy areas such as employment,
education, training, and welfare, and solutions developed to
ensure their equal participation. Furthermore, young people
living in rural areas should be able to benefit from investment
and strategies to promote sustainable economic activity in
remote and rural areas.

7.1.3.
The Committee believes that the Commission should
bring together experts and senior civil servants from Member
State ministries responsible for the development of youth
policy in key areas such as employment, social integration,
education, mobility and participation. The European Com-
mission would be responsible for facilitating and co-ordinating
this work, and would submit an annual report on the progress
in youth policy to the Spring European Council.

The Committee supports the development of initiat-
7.1.4.
ives to bring together policy experts, practitioners and rep-
resentatives of young people, to collect and analyse infor-
mation on the situation of young people in the European
Union and make proposals for the further development of
youth policy and co-operation among Member States within
the framework set by the European Council and the Education
and Youth Affairs Council.

7. Recommendations

7.1. General recommendations

7.1.1.
The Committee believes that it is a basic principle
that young people and youth organisations should be involved
in the formulation of and decision-making on youth policy at
local, regional, national and Community level. Furthermore,
youth policy needs to be developed in public administrations
through the establishment of departments dealing with youth
issues at all levels and in all relevant sectors in Member States,
as well as in the institutions at the Community level.

7.1.2.
The Committee believes that in line with the guide-
lines set by the Helsinki European Council on ‘An effective
Council for an enlarged Union’, it is important to effectively
use the interaction between youth and education policies in
the newly created Council formation ‘Education and Youth
Affairs’ (1). To this end a proper system of back-to-back Council
session needs to be developed in order avoid youth policy
issues becoming a subsidiary item to education. The Com-
mittee believes that two distinct agendas need to be set up for
the Education and Youth Affairs Council, one for the Education
Ministers and one for the Youth Ministers. The Committee
believes that Youth Ministers should undertake a regular
review of the progress made in youth policy.

7.2. Youth Employment and Social Integration

7.2.1.
The Committee believes that Member States, with
the support of the Community, should make a quantitative
commitment to reducing youth unemployment. The commit-
ment should include the introduction of new measures to
encourage and support the improvement of employment levels
in the Member States with particularly low youth employment,
and among those groups who suffer discrimination in the
employment market.

The Committee believes that appropriate measures
7.2.2.
in the field of education and training must be developed to
meet the needs of the contemporary employment market
and the developing knowledge economy, particularly the
promotion of ICT skills and entrepreneurship. Young people
should be provided with early guidance and information on
educational pathways and the employment market, including
possibilities and requirements for being self-employed or
establishing an SME. In addition, young people should have
the opportunity to acquire communication and team skills
both in a formal and non-formal context.

7.2.3.
The Committee believes that Member States should
make a firm commitment to the provision of adequate social
protection for young people.

(1) Communication from the Council — Follow-up to the Helsinki
European Council Conclusions on 10 and 11 December 1999 —
Council formations OJ C 174, 2000.

7.2.4.
The Committee believes that all efforts should be
undertaken to initiate measures to promote the social inclusion
of young people, in particular to combat the problem of young
people who are not in education, training, employment or
registered as unemployed.

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The Committee believes

7.2.5.
that non-governmental
organisations in particular youth organisations should be more
strongly associated in the European Employment Strategy at
the European, Member State and local level.

7.4. Participation and Civil Society

7.3. Education and Mobility

that

The Committee believes

7.3.1.
lifelong learning
measure must be expanded to ensure that they are available
from a young age, that there are improved opportunities, and
that the value of non-formal education is recognised as an
important aspect of lifelong learning. These should include
measures to promote learning for active European citizenship.

7.3.2.
The Committee believes that governments, the busi-
ness community and the third sector should together develop
methods of official recognition for the value of non-formal
education, and the importance it can play in individual
development.

7.3.3.
The Committee believes that Member States should
commit to raising educational standards, in addition to the
implementation of the Lisbon European Council conclusions
to increase the number of young people completing secondary
education.

In the light of its Opinion on the proposal of the
7.3.4.
European Commission for a recommendation on mobility
within the Community for students, persons undergoing
training, young volunteers, teachers and trainers (1), the Com-
mittees welcomes the Action Plan on Mobility proposed by
the French Presidency and believes that support should be
given to all measures to increase mobility among young people
by developing opportunities for mobility in secondary school,
university, as a trainee, as a volunteer and in employment.
Obstacles to mobility should be removed by improving the
mutual recognition of qualifications (2).

The Committee believes that Member States should
7.3.5.
commit to fighting discrimination in education and reducing
school dropout rates.

(1) Opinion on Mobility for students, persons undergoing training,
young volunteers, teachers and trainers. OJ C 168, 16.6.2000,
p. 25.

(2) See Contribution to the Presidency report on the European
Employment Pact — Memorandum of the German Presidency
‘Youth and Europe — Our Future’? The Memorandum suggests
that Member States should increase support for educational
exchanges and cross-border training both bilaterally and multilat-
erally. It also called for the breaking down the barriers to the
mutual recognition of qualifications and for the promotion of
language skills.

7.4.1.
The Committee reaffirms the basic principle of
youth participation in the development, implementation and
evaluation of youth policy. Participation does not limit and
should reach from the immediate environments of young
people like schools and the work place to policy-making at
international level. In this respect, the White Paper must outline
measures to implement the recommendations contained in
the Resolution on youth participation of Council and Ministers
for Youth meeting within the Council. Furthermore,
the
European Charter on Participation of Youth People in Munici-
pal and Regional life offers a good basis to develop youth
participation at the local level (3). Community support should
be in line with the recommendations and guidelines included
therein.

7.4.2.
The Committee believes that representative struc-
tures of young people and youth organisations are a key
constituent of youth policy and a unique instrument for
levels (4). Appropriate
fostering youth participation at all
support and recognition should be given to youth organis-
ations as a vital part of civil society. At Community level, the
European Youth Forum fulfils this role. It should be given
formal recognition by all the institutions of the European
Union. The Committee believes that the work of the European
Youth Forum is vital to the representation and participation of
young people at the Community level (5). The Member States
and the Community, acting at the relevant level in accordance
with the principle of subsidiarity, must support and recognise
the establishment of representative national youth platforms
such as National Youth Councils, both in the Member States
and in the accession countries. International Non-Govern-
mental Youth Organisation play an important role in the
development of youth work and policies at all levels, and an
increase in the funding available to these organisations will
support the continuing development of their work (6). They

(3) European Charter on Participation of Young People in Municipal
and Regional Life of the Congress of Local and Regional Auth-
orities in Europe, 1992.

(4) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Com-
mission discussion paper ‘The Commission and non-govern-
mental organisations: building a stronger partnership’, Official
Journal of the European Communities (OJ C 268, 19.9.2000.
(5) The work of more sectoral organisations like European associ-
ations of faculty-based students and young entrepreneurs should
also given more recognition at Community level, and their
involvement and representative role are vital to the development
of specific policies in their areas of concern.

(6) The European Union supports the Youth Forum through budget
line A3023 and grants support to International Non-Govern-
mental Youth Organisations through budget line A3029 of the
General Budget of the European Communities.

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have an important function to involve young people directly
in the European construction and through their encounters
and exchanges they provide spaces for the development of
mutual understanding and conciliation throughout Europe,
not only the European Union.

7.4.3.
The Committee believes that national and European
youth structures should be consulted on policies and pro-
grammes affecting young people, including for example, the
Youth Community Action Programme (1) and the European
Social Fund.

7.4.4.
The Committee believes that Member States and
the Community should firmly commit to supporting equal
opportunities and combating the multiple discrimination
experienced by many young people in accordance with the
definition of Article 13 of the Treaty, and to promoting
tolerance.

7.4.5.
The Committee believes that youth information
policies need to be further developed on all levels, in particular
Member States should pro-actively inform young people more
about national and European policies that affect them. The
European Commission should provide an inventory of all
Community or Community supported measures that affect
young people, provided through an internet portal for young
people following the model of the CORDIS database (2).

7.4.6.
In order to contribute to the consultation process on
the White Paper on Youth Policy, the Committee will send its
own-initiative opinion to the various actors in the youth field,
in particular to the European Youth Forum, International
Non-Governmental Youth Organisations, the organised Civil
Society at European and national level in the youth sector, as
well as to the participants of the European youth meeting
organised by the European Commission and the French
Presidency of the Council in Paris 5-7 October 2000.

(1) Opinion of the ESC on the Proposal for a European Parliament and
Council Decision establishing the Community action programme
‘Youth’.

(2) http://www.cordis.lu

Brussels, 29 November 2000.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS