Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 14 December 2000 on the social inclusion of young people
Date: 2000-12-14
Institutions: Council of the European Union, Representatives of the Governments of the Member States
Subjects: EU programme, employment policy, marginalisation, social integration, young person, youth exchange scheme

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 374/5

the projections then made, with all

The Council welcomes the overall record of implementation of
the 1999 updated programme, although it noted that
the
improvement in the budget surplus actually achieved in 1999
and the reduction in government debt both fell some way short
three subsectors of
of
in the
general government contributing to the shortfall
overall surplus and with lower revenue than expected.
In
addition,
inflationary pressures have emerged. The rise in
domestically generated inflation appears linked to a corre-
sponding rise in inflation in the service sector.

The macroeconomic scenario presented in the latest updated
stability programme includes strong economic growth in 2000
internal and external demand.
due to continued robust
Thereafter, GDP is assumed to decelerate from 2001 for the
remainder of the projection period. The central characteristic of
a medium-term slowing down in the economy appears
plausible, taking into account the rapid recent growth of the
Finnish economy and the strains on capacity already evident in
certain areas. The risk remains that the economy may overheat
and that excessive demand may add to inflationary pressures.
The Council considers that moderate wage developments will
be crucial in this respect.

As already referred to in the 2000 broad economic policy
guidelines,
fiscal
stance in Finland is necessary to contain risks of overheating.

the Council also considers

that a tight

Subject to this, the Council commends the fiscal strategy of the
updated stability programme. This
consolidates previous
programmes and aims to maintain surpluses around 4,5 % of
GDP through a reduction in government expenditure in
relation to GDP but at the same time reduces the tax burden.

The underlying budgetary position corresponding to the 4,5 %
expected surplus for 2000 will allow Finland to continue to
fulfil the requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact. The
Council considers that continued fiscal restraint embodied in
the updated programme is justified in view of the future effects
of population ageing on pensions and health care costs, to
which Finland is particularly exposed.

the commitment

in the updated
The Council welcomes
programme to continued structural
reforms. Reforms are
particularly important in promoting the government’s central
objective of raising employment and at the same time safe-
guarding price stability. Fiscal reform, reducing the still heavy
overall taxation and social contribution burden on labour, can
reinforce this potential. Concerns remain that the structure of
the pension system contains disincentives for older workers to
remain in the labour market and that pension system funding
may need to be strengthened in the face of rapid ageing. The
reductions in government expenditure and revenue relative to
GDP anticipated in the programme and continued structural
reforms should both help to increase employment.

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF
THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

of 14 December 2000

on the social inclusion of young people

(2000/C 374/04)

COUNCIL

THE
THE
GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE
COUNCIL

REPRESENTATIVES OF

AND

THE

Whereas:

(1) Article 2 of

the Treaty

the European
Community gave the Community the task of promoting
throughout the Community a harmonious, balanced and
sustainable development of economic activities and a

establishing

high level of employment and of social protection and the
raising of the standard of living and quality of life.

(2) Article 136 of the said Treaty assigned to the Community
and the Member States the particular objectives of
the
promotion of employment,
improved living and working
conditions and the combating of exclusion.

(3) Article 149 of the said Treaty provides for action by the
Community to be aimed in particular at encouraging the
development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of
socio-educational instructors.

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(4) The Lisbon declaration on youth policies and programmes
defined guidelines for developing youth policy, in particular
in the areas of education, employment, participation and
health (1).

(5) The European Parliament and the Council, in their Decision
No 253/2000/EC of 24 January 2000 establishing the
the Community action programme in
second phase of
the field of education (cid:145)Socrates(cid:146) (2) and their Decision No
1031/2000/EC of 13 April 2000 establishing the (cid:145)Youth(cid:146)
Community action programme (3), and the Council in its
Decision 1999/382/EC of 26 April 1999 establishing the
second phase of the Community vocational training action
programme (cid:145)Leonardo da Vinci(cid:146) (4), established Community
action programmes contributing to the construction of a
Europe of knowledge open to all.

AFFIRM that, with their wealth of experience, capabilities and
critical acumen, young people must be more closely associated
with the policies which concern them. Similarly, social and
institutional players dealing with young people should have
an opportunity to give their views and make their contribution
to a policy of cooperation in the youth field.

CONSIDER that exchanges of young people in Europe help, on
the one hand, to make young people more aware of what is at
stake in Europe by making Europe more real for them, and, on
the other, to encourage a better understanding among them of
Europe’s cultural diversity, as well as of its common funda-
mental values, based on the endeavour to ensure respect for
human rights and to combat racism, anti-semitism, xenophobia
and other forms of discrimination, to increase a sense of soli-
darity and to develop their spirit of initiative.

(6) On 8 February 1999 the Council and the Ministers
responsible for Youth adopted a resolution on youth
participation, which emphasises the importance of young
people taking an active part in social, political, cultural and
economic life.

(7) The (cid:145)Youth(cid:146) Council on 23 November 1999 established
guidelines including a cross-sectoral approach to youth
questions and a policy based on involving young people
which are to underpin the policy of cooperation regarding
youth.

NOTE that young people, particularly the most vulnerable, are
particularly
and cultural
exclusion.

to social, political

susceptible

STRESS the difficulties encountered by many young people in
gaining autonomy and attaining social and occupational
inclusion.

WELCOME what has been done under the Luxembourg process,
through the guidelines on employment and the initiative
launched by the Lisbon European Council for a Community
action programme to fight social exclusion, which have all, in
their own field, contributed to the social inclusion of young
people.

that goal

(8) The European Council meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24
March 2000 set a strategic goal for the European Union
linking economic progress with social progress. In pursuit
of
the European Council advocated an open
method of coordination and called for the setting of appro-
priate targets for
the fight against poverty and social
exclusion to be approved by the end of the year, while
emphasising
social
the best
exclusion is a job and that
the improvement of skills,
education and lifelong training, voluntary service activities
and universal access to knowledge, play an important part
in combating social exclusion.

safeguard

against

that

ENCOURAGE the Community institutions and Member States, in
line with the principle of subsidiarity and further to the Lisbon
European Council,
cooperation
launch
initiatives in conjunction with national and, as appropriate,
regional and local youth policies, and INVITE, in this context,
the Commission and the Member States, each within its own
sphere of competence, to:

Europe-wide

to

(i) make the improvement of the socioeconomic situation of
inclusion, as well as
a priority
exclusion,

young people and their
preventing
tackling
common to all relevant European Union policies;

social
their

and

(9) The Commission has adopted a communication on a social
policy agenda in preparation for the European Council in
Nice, based on recognition of
the interaction between
economic, employment and social policies,

(ii) promote broad access by a wide range of young people to
and programmes
their benefit, particularly with regard to

Community and national
designed for
mobility;

initiatives

TAKE THE VIEW that
cannot succeed without the involvement of young people.

the process of European construction

(iii) study common objectives directed at:

(1) Declaration adopted at

the World Conference of Ministers

Responsible for Youth, held in Lisbon in August 1998.

(2) OJ L 28, 3.2.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 117, 18.5.2000, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 146, 11.6.1999, p. 33.

(cid:151) developing for all young people residing legally in a
Member State conditions which enable them to play a
full part in economic and social life (standard of living,
quality of life, employment, training, education, housing,
healthcare, culture, sport and leisure),

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(cid:151) fighting discriminatory behaviour against young people,
whether based on sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or
beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation,

under the guidelines for employment, for young people
who drop out of the school system early;

(cid:151) preventing breakdowns in conditions of existence which
could lead to situations of marginalisation and the risk
of exclusion, particularly by developing capabilities for
occupational inclusion and by promoting policies aimed
at
excluded from the
information society,

ensuring that no one

is

(cid:151) assisting the mobilisation of

institutional, social and
economic players to help the social inclusion of young
people,

(cid:151) encouraging young people to participate in drawing up

the policies which concern them.

(iv) develop exchanges of information and good practice in the
field of combating the social exclusion of young people;

ENCOURAGE the Member States to:

(a) promote measures

to prevent

young people being
excluded, unemployed and leading a precarious existence,
and develop new training opportunities for young people
excluded from education and training systems;

(b)

foster access and return to work for those young people
having the greatest difficulty in entering the world of
work;

(c) develop accompanying measures suited to situations of job

and training rotation;

(d)

fight discrimination against young people in employment,
particularly as
to and conditions of
employment;

regards access

(e) promote access to quality education and initiate support
measures for young people in particular difficulty, and,

(f)

encourage access to information for young people and
take steps to ensure that young people are not excluded
from new information technologies, so that they can fully
utilise them;

(g) encourage young people to obtain and hold on to housing;

(h)

(i)

(j)

(k)

strengthen the shelter and support structures for young
people from broken homes who have been the victims
of or threatened with violence;

seek a high level of health protection for young people
and develop preventive health care and information,
particularly on contraception and sexuality,
taking into
account their specific needs and the requirement of confi-
dentiality, and on substance abuse;

develop leisure-time sporting, cultural and educational
young people, particularly by
activities directed at
encouraging incentive pricing policies;

support non-governmental youth organisations and youth
associations, both in the measures they take to help young
people and in the opportunities they offer young people of
playing an active role in civil society;

(l)

develop information suited to young people, particularly
by using qualified staff;

(m) create the conditions for young people to become involved

in the decisions taken concerning them.

WISH THIS RESOLUTION to contribute to the development of
the policy of cooperation in the youth field, in particular by
defining common objectives to work towards and to be taken
into consideration when targets for combating poverty and
social exclusion are being determined and implemented.