Communication from the Commission to the Council on European policies concerning youth participation and information - Follow-up to the White paper on a New Impetus for European Youth : Implementing the common objectives for participation by and information for young people in view of promoting their active European citizenship {SEC(2006) 1006}
Date: 2006-07-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU publication, European citizenship, cooperation policy, dissemination of information, information network, youth policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.7.2006 
COM(2006) 417 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

on European policies concerning youth participation and information  

Follow-up to the White Paper on a New Impetus for European Youth :  
Implementing the common objectives for participation by and information for young 
people in view of promoting their active European citizenship 

{SEC(2006) 1006} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

1.1. 

A key moment 

Youth  policies  are  of  crucial  importance  to  the  objectives  of  the  European  Union 
(EU). They stand at the crossroads between the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs 
and citizenship policies, seeking to both facilitate young people’s transition into the 
labour market and develop their active citizenship.  

Young people are neither a static nor a homogeneous group and their demands and 
means of expression have evolved constantly. The proportion of young people in the 
European population is declining and entry into adulthood is occurring later. Young 
people’s  career  paths  have  become  increasingly  individualised  and  their  transition 
into the labour market can sometimes be difficult. Furthermore, the interest of young 
people in public affairs is declining, with the attendant risk of a citizenship deficit. 

The purpose of this document is to assess the follow up given by Member States to 
the common objectives on participation by and information for young people adopted 
by the Council in 2003 under the youth Open Method of Coordination and to make 
suggestions  for  further  improvements.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  staff  working 
document  providing  a  detailed  analysis  of  the  Member  States’  national  reports  for 
participation and information. 

This reporting exercise is however also part of a wider set of actions carried out by 
the European Union to connect Europe to its citizens and comes at a key moment of 
the debate on the future of the EU1. 

In  its  White  Paper  on  a  European  Communication  Policy2  and  in  its  Plan  D  for 
Democracy,  Dialogue  and  Debate3,  the  Commission  recently  restated  the  need  to 
give  citizens  -  in  particular  the  young  -  the  tools  to  actively  participate  in  the 
European decision shaping process and to reinforce their sense of ownership of the 
European project. This message was confirmed at the highest political level4 as well 
as by young people themselves who expressed their will to play a bigger role in the 
development  of  the  European  Union  and  thereby  develop  their  active  European 
citizenship5.  Their  call  should  be  answered  and  the  principle  of  involving  young 
people  in  European  affairs,  already  highlighted  in  the  White  Paper  for  youth6 
published by the Commission in 2001, should be further reinforced. 

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5 

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Communication on a citizens’ agenda (COM (2006) 211). 
COM  (2006)  35  final  of  1.2.2006,  White  Paper  on  a  European  Communication  Policy,  Debating 
Europe, Involving people.  
COM  (2005)  494  final  of  13.10.2005;  Communication  on  the  period  of  reflection  and  Plan  D  (COM 
(2006) 212). 
See Presidency Conclusions of 15-16 June 2006 European Council welcoming European Commission’s 
contribution to the refection period and encouraging the Commission to continue and strengthen efforts 
to foster dialogue with citizens. 
“Youth  takes  the  floor”  Young  Europeans’  concerns  and  expectations  as  to  the  development  of  the 
European Union, analysis from Standard Eurobarometer 63, publication December 2005 
14441/01 – COM (2001) 681 final 

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Several initiatives have been developed in the youth field since the adoption of the 
White  Paper  for  youth.  This  reflects  the  growing  importance  of  youth  policies  in 
Europe and in the Member States.  

The White paper notably lead to the adoption in 20027 of a framework of European 
cooperation in the youth field in which Member States agreed,  on  the one  hand, to 
mainstream  youth  in  certain  key  policies  for  young  people’s  social  inclusion  and 
professional  integration  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  develop  their  active  and 
responsible citizenship.  

As  for  the  active  citizenship  strand  of  the  framework  of  European  cooperation, 
Member States agreed to focus on four youth specific priorities to which they would 
apply  an  Open  Method  of  Coordination  (OMC),  namely  participation,  information, 
voluntary  activities  and  a  greater  knowledge  and  understanding  of  youth.  Common 
objectives  were  subsequently  adopted  by  Member  States  for  participation  and 
information8  in  2003  followed  by  voluntary  activities9  and  a  greater  knowledge  of 
youth10  in  2004.  As  part  of  the  youth  OMC,  Member  States  have  undertaken  to 
report on the implementation of the different priorities over a four year period. This 
is consequently a key moment for youth policies  as  this  Communication  marks  the 
first  time that  implementation  reports have been presented to the Commission. The 
experience  drawn  from  this  first  reporting  exercise  on  the  participation  and 
information  priorities  should  serve  as  useful  experience  for  the  reports  on  the  two 
remaining  priorities,  namely  voluntary  activities  (end  2006)  and  greater  knowledge 
and understanding of youth (end 2008). It will also feed into the general evaluation 
of the youth framework of European cooperation at the end of 2009. 

The mainstreaming  of  youth in certain key  policies for young people, advocated in 
the  White  Paper  for  Youth  as  a  second  pillar  for  developing  youth  policies,  was 
strongly  reinforced  in  2005  by  the  adoption  of  the  European  Youth  Pact11,  giving 
special  focus  on  integrating  young  people  in  professional  and  social  life  in  the 
revised Lisbon strategy. 

The  policy  framework  is  complemented  by  the  YOUTH  programme,  which  is 
recognised  as  a  valuable  resource  for  promoting  the  active  European  citizenship  of 
young  people  as  well  as  their  integration  in  society.  These  objectives  will  be 
reinforced in the future "Youth in action" programme. 

1.2. 

General assessment of the situation 

In their reports, Member States generally recognise the leverage effect which actions 
in favour of young people have on society as a whole. This confirms the importance 
of an intergenerational and life cycle approach to youth policies. 

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11 

O.J. C 168, 13.7.2002, p.2 
O.J. C 295, 5.12.2003, p.6 
Council doc. 13996/04, 15.11.2004, not published 
Council doc. 13997/04, 15.11.2004, not published 
Annex 1 of Presidency Conclusions of the European Council (7619/05) 

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They  acknowledge  that  the  European  priorities  for  participation  and  information 
have  imparted  an  impetus  to  national  youth  policies  and  remain  essential  for 
developing the active citizenship of young people.  

They however recognise that efforts still need to be made and that the process will be 
rewarding  provided  that  Member  States  -  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of 
subsidiarity  -  continue  to  cooperate  with  each  other  and  with  regional  and  local 
authorities on their own territory. 

Involving  young  people,  including  those  with  fewer  opportunities,  at  all  levels  in 
policy  development  and  implementation  is  fundamental  for  sustainable  policy 
making and participative democracy. The dialogue already being developed between 
young people and the European institutions should thus be further developed. 

2. 

INFORMATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE  

2.1. 

Implementation of the common objectives for information 

2.1.1.  Access for young people to information 

While  Member  States  have  developed  a  number  of  information  tools  for  young 
people, only around 12 have set up an information strategy addressing all questions 
of interest to young people and integrating the local, regional, national and European 
levels.  

Member  States  highlight  youth  information  web  sites  as  the  main  information 
dissemination  tools.  A  national  youth  portal  currently  exists  in  19  Member  States. 
The  creation  of  the  European  youth  portal  in  2003  and  the  links  it  builds  towards 
national  portals  has  proven  very  successful.  They  recognize  that  this  has  enhanced 
cross-ministerial cooperation and exchanges in the field of youth information. 

Member  States  also  show  a  clear  will  to  further  develop  personalised  information 
offices  and  to  address  the  issue  of  young  people  with  fewer  opportunities  being 
excluded  from  information  channels,  notably  by  helping  them  access  information 
society tools such as the internet. 

Content  wise,  action  mainly  concentrated  on  issues  such  as  free  time,  youth 
organisations  and  voluntary  activities,  sometimes  neglecting  information  on 
participation, education, employment and travelling in Europe.  

In  the  UK  (England),  Connexions  Direct  (CXD),  the  national  online  advice, 
information  and  support  service  for  young  people  offers  advice  by  telephone,  text 
message,  “on  line”  advisers  and  email.  In  Slovenia,  youth  information  and 
counselling  centres  pay  specific  attention  to  the  young  Romany  population.  In 
Cyprus  and  Spain,  mobile  units  were  created  for  informing  young  people  in  rural 
areas. 

2.1.2.  Quality information  

Most  Member  States  use  the  European  youth  information  charter  to  ensure  quality 
standards of information provided by youth information services.  

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The  role  of  networking  is  also  seen  as  essential  to  improve  the  skills  and 
information  workers.  The  European  networks  of 
qualifications  of  youth 
EURODESK, ERYICA and EYCA play a crucial role in the development of training 
courses for their members.  

In France, 32 youth information centres funded by the national authorities have their 
own  staff  training  structure  to  ensure  that  quality  standards  are  met.  The  European 
youth  information  charter  is  applied  together  with  additional  national  quality 
standards. European youth information networks have put together a compendium of 
quality initiatives. 

2.1.3.  Participation by young people in information 

Virtually  no  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  Member  States  to  implement  this 
common objective. A limited number of national reports however indicate that young 
people  or  youth  organisations  can  be  consulted  on  information  strategies  or  on  the 
development of information material.  

In  Slovakia,  youth  information  centres  cooperate  with  volunteers  who  disseminate 
youth information in schools, universities and elsewhere.  

2.2. 

Obstacles encountered 

Difficulties encountered by Member States vary and can be classified as follows: 

1.  Methodology:  some  Member  States  find  it  particularly  difficult  to  define  a 
starting point as of which progress should be assessed and to identify indicators 
for evaluating progress made. 

2. 

Coordination  between  actors:  improving  coordination  between  different 
institutional  actors  with  competencies  for  youth  issues  at  different  levels  is  a 
major challenge. 

3. 

Lack of resources, particularly at local level.  

2.3.  Main issues singled out for continued cooperation 

Member States generally call for continued implementation of the adopted common 
objectives  and  action  lines.  The  key  challenges  for  the  near  future  would  be  to 
establish  a  coherent  national  information  strategy,  better  associate  national  youth 
councils, focus more on young people with fewer opportunities and disseminate the 
European youth information charter.  

3. 

PARTICIPATION BY YOUNG PEOPLE IN DEMOCRATIC LIFE 

3.1. 

Implementation of the common objectives for participation 

Analysis  of  the  reports  shows  a  certain  degree  of  convergence  between  national 
youth policies, since actions in favour of youth participation are now undertaken in a 
more coordinated way. 

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The  implementation  of  the  common  objectives  on  youth  participation  is  mainly 
achieved by the following means: 

3.1.1.  Reinforcement of frameworks 

The  legal  framework  in  the  field  of  youth  participation  has  been  improved.  Some 
Member  States  have  adopted  legislation  and  others  have  developed  strategic  action 
plans or agreed upon new obligations for consulting young people. 

Ireland has adopted a youth law, the Czech Republic a youth concept, Portugal a 
national youth reform program, Sweden a government bill – “The power to decide”, 
Estonia  and  Slovenia  a  strategic  plan,  Latvia  a  political  programme  for  youth, 
Slovakia a plan for youth participation, and Italy provided special funds to support 
youth policies. 

3.1.2. 

Support for participative and representative structures  

A number of actions have been implemented with the aim of supporting participative 
structures  and  promoting  dialogue  with  partners  in  the  youth  field.  National  youth 
councils now exist in most Member States, with an appreciable increase in regional 
and  local  branches.  Other  structures  such  as  youth  parliaments  or  specific  youth 
commissions  have  also  been  developed.  Better  interaction  between  the  local, 
regional, national and European levels is however needed.  

In  parallel,  regular  consultations,  meetings  and  hearings  have  been  organised  more 
frequently in the past two years between young people and decision makers. These 
spaces  for  dialogue  have  on  some  occasions  been  formalised  by  partnership 
contracts.  

Some countries have nominated an ombudsman or a correspondent devoted to youth 
affairs  in  ministries  holding  portfolios  with  youth  implications,  whilst  others  have 
chosen to develop more horizontal practices like inter-ministerial meetings.  

National reports show the need for greater efforts at the local level and on removing 
obstacles affecting participation of certain groups of young people.  

Special attention should also be given to consulting young people in a systematic and 
structured  manner  on  issues  that  concern  them.  This  is  true  not  only  for  OMC  or 
European  youth  pact  related  issues  but  applies  to  any  area  where  young  people’s 
input can make a difference. 

Some countries have nominated specific individuals in charge of youth related issues 
such as, in Finland, an ombudsman, in the UK, a national youth correspondent and 
in Lithuania, youth coordinators within municipalities. 

Others  have  set-up  consultative  structures  such  as  youth  commissions  and  local 
councils  in  Luxembourg  and  Belgium,  youth  parliaments  in  Cyprus  and  Malta, 
participative  structures  for  youth  in  Greece  and  Spain,  and  more  specifically  for 
disadvantaged  young  people  in  Germany  and  for  rural  areas  in  Poland,  youth 
projects supports in Austria. 

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As  for  young  people’s  participation  in  representative  democracy,  their  lack  of 
interest has intensified and needs to be addressed urgently. Only a limited number of 
Member States show they are reflecting upon this situation. 

Practices to increase participation of young people in elections can be singled out in: 

- the Netherlands: parallel vote for youngsters; 

- Finland: voting in local elections as of 16; 

- France: automatic registration on electors’ list; 

- Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK: use of internet. 

3.1.3. 

Support for projects 

Common  principles  underlying  public  action  are  that  i)  young  people  must  be  the 
main actors of their participative projects, ii) the most appreciated way of learning is 
learning  by  doing,  iii)  participative  involvement  of  young  people  has  to  be 
encouraged in all fields where projects are undertaken. 

A  number  of  Member  States  underline  the  efforts  made  to  open  up  activities  and 
projects  to  young  people  with  fewer  opportunities.  Support  for  projects  and 
structures, particularly youth organisations, is essential. The YOUTH programme has 
an important leverage effect in this area. 

In  France,  a  programme  "Envie  d'agir"  was  created  to  support  and  reward  first 
projects by and for young people, finance innovative and creative projects as well as 
voluntary  activities  and  entrepreneurial  projects.  Denmark,  in  cooperation  with 
various municipalities and youth organisations or clubs, has set-up the project “youth 
Policy in the Danish Municipalities” to stress the need to better involve young people 
in policy making. 

3.2. 

Obstacles encountered 

Difficulties encountered by Member States vary and can be classified as follows: 

1.  Methodology:  some  Member  States  find  it  particularly  difficult  to  define  a 
starting point as of which progress should be assessed and to identify indicators 
for evaluating progress made. 

2. 

3. 

Lack of direct or indirect support: in addition to the importance of allocating 
resources  to  structures  and  projects,  public  authorities  must  recognise  the 
importance  of  providing  stable  support,  whether  through  legislative  action, 
development  of  partnerships  with  young  people  or  by  elaborating  common 
tools such as guidelines for participation. 

Lack of involvement of young people themselves: young people have of course 
the  right  not  to  participate.  However,  more  can  be  done  to  encourage  youth 
involvement especially in representative democracy. The influence of peers as 
experience-sharing  “ambassadors”  could  be  explored.  Youth  participation 

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could also be boosted by better recognition and promotion of the individual and 
social benefits of involvement. 

4. 

Inertia of institutional actors – in youth and other fields: interaction between 
the local, regional and national levels needs to be improved. The development 
of  youth  participation  structures  should  be  further  supported  and  dialogue 
organised with young people on a broader range of issues. The mobilisation of 
local authorities is crucial for fostering the local participation of young people.  

3.3.  Main issues singled out for continued cooperation 

Member  States  support  the  continued  implementation  of  the  adopted  common 
objectives  and  lines  of  action.  They  confirm  the  importance  of  further  mobilizing 
local  authorities,  setting  up  adequate  mechanisms  for  consulting  widely  with  all 
young  people  on  a  broader  range  of  issues  also  using  information  society  tools  for 
interactive policy participation e.g. “policy blogging”, developing youth participation 
in elections as already discussed by Youth Ministers12, as well as promoting learning 
to participate and education in citizenship. Possibilities offered by schools could be 
better  exploited,  by  developing  civic  education  curricula  and  making  better  use  of 
schools’  resources  for  organising  activities  that  promote  “learning  to  participate  by 
participating”. 

4. 

ACTIVE  PARTICIPATION  BY  YOUNG  PEOPLE  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT 
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 

4.1. 

An improved structured dialogue with young people on the European Agenda 

The need to actively involve young people in policy shaping debates and dialogue is 
also essential in relation to the European agenda.  This has been frequently  stressed 
by the Commission and Member States.  

The consultation process for the 2001 White Paper for youth, regular encounters with 
youth  organisations,  European  youth  week,  European  youth  portal  consultations, 
Presidency  youth  events  and  other  conferences,  campaigns,  forums,  consultations 
held  in  Member  States  are  some  examples  of  efforts  undertaken  by  the  European 
Institutions  and  the  Member  States  to  put  these  principles  into  practice  and  better 
involve young people in the development of the EU. 

However,  the  Commission,  notably  on  the  basis  of  young  people’s  call  for 
continuous,  credible  and  constructive  spaces  for  dialogue  in  recent  European  fora, 
considers  that  these  existing  spaces  for  dialogue  with  young  people  on  European 
issues  could  be  better  developed  and  structured  at  European,  national,  regional  and 
local levels.  

Advantage  should  be  taken  of  the  impetus  given  by  the  above  events  and  recent 
initiatives  such  as  Plan  D,  in  order  to  seek  to  nurture  people’s  sense  of  European 
citizenship  by  supporting  a  democratic  infrastructure  contributing  to  establishing  a 
“human bridge” and a “Europe of faces”.  

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O.J. C 141, 10.6.2005, p.3 

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4.2. 

Commission outline of an improved structured dialogue  

To be continuous, credible and constructive, spaces for dialogue should be: 

–  structured  in  line  with  the  European  youth  political  agenda  up  until  2009,  i.e.  a 
general  theme  per  Presidency,  European  Youth  Pact  priorities  addressed  during 
the first presidency of each year and OMC priorities addressed during the second , 
as well as other horizontal youth priorities; 

and 

–  structured in space and time: i.e. from the local to the European level in order to 
make a timely and  effective  contribution to policy developments in the EU, e.g. 
prior  to  Presidency  youth  events,  European  youth  week,  reporting  within  the 
OMC or the Lisbon Strategy, treaty ratifications and European elections. 

Debates involving young people should also be as inclusive and diverse as possible 
in  order  to  maximise  their  legitimacy.  They  must  therefore  encourage  the 
participation  of  disadvantaged  young  people  and  those  who  do  not  belong  to  any 
structures.  Inclusion  and  diversity  should  be  basic  principles  for  youth  NGOs  and 
representative bodies. 

These  debates  should  furthermore  bring  together  actors  that  deal  with  youth  issues 
both  directly  or  indirectly  in  order  to  enable  a  more  coherent  and  cross  sectoral 
approach.  The  role  of  municipalities  and  schools  in  setting  up  such  spaces  for 
dialogue in cooperation with youth organisations (especially youth councils) should 
be explored.  

The  “Youth  in  action”  programme  2007  –  2013  could  support  structures  such  as 
youth  councils  for  the  purpose  of  setting  up  these  spaces  for  debate  but  also  cross 
border networks of young people and high profile cross border events contributing to 
the visibility and efficiency of the structured dialogue  

5. 

GOVERNANCE OF THE OMC 

The success of the OMC depends on the effective involvement of young people in its 
implementation.  Young  people  and  their  organisations  should,  for  instance,  be 
consulted  in  the  preparation  of  the  national  reports.  The  first  reporting  exercise 
shows that this has been done to a varying extent depending on the Member State.  

Member  States  have  furthermore  highlighted  the  difficulty  of  evaluating  progress 
made  in  the  implementation  of  the  common  objectives  as  well  as  the  efficient 
exchange of good practices.  

Finally, sustainable and credible youth policies can only be further developed on the 
basis  of  sound  knowledge  of  the  youth  field.  Concomitant  implementation  of  the 
“greater  knowledge  and  understanding  of  youth”  common  objectives  thus  remains 
vital.  

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To respond to these expectations and follow up on the Resolution of 24 May 2005 on 
the evaluation of activities conducted in the framework of European cooperation in 
the  youth  field13,  the  Commission  makes  certain  proposals  to  reinforce  the  OMC 
implementation and evaluation mechanisms (see point 6). 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The analysis of the national reports for participation and information occurs at a key 
moment  for  the  EU,  when  young  people  want  to  be  seen  as  partners  of  those  who 
shape the policies that concern them.  

On the basis of this analysis the Commission proposes to confirm the relevance and 
validity of the common objectives for participation and information and to slightly 
adapt and improve the adopted lines of action in the following ways: 

For information: 

Improve access for young people to information services 

•  Establish,  notably  through  a  better  coordination  of  information  services  on  their 
territory,  coherent,  overarching  information  strategies,  addressing  all  issues 
relevant to young people;  

•  promote 

information  society 

in  youth 
information,  including  those  aiming  at  enabling  young  people  with  fewer 
opportunities to access information; 

innovative  approaches 

tools  and 

Quality information 

•  further develop individual counselling services; 

•  use the European youth information charter systematically to ensure good quality 

information; 

Participation by young people in information 

•  enhance  participation  of  young  people  in  public  information  strategies  and 
reinforce the role of youth organisations in the promotion of youth information. 

For participation: 

Participation by young people in civic life 

•  ensure  structured  consultation  of  young  people  on  issues  that  are  of  concern  to 
them, this should particularly entail reinforcing the role of national youth councils 
in  the  consultation  process,  ensuring  they  also  represent  the  interests  of  young 
people who are not members of any organisation; 

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O.J. C 141, 10.6.2005, p. 1 

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•  develop  local  participative  structures  (e.g.  youth  councils),  with  systematic 
involvement  of  young  people  in  local  decision-making  bodies,  mobilising  the 
support of regional and local authorities; 

•  analyse obstacles to participation affecting certain groups of young people, to help 
youth  organisations  involve  more  young  people  more  effectively,  thus  ensuring 
their representative nature; 

•  develop  tools  to  promote  participation  such  as  guidelines  for  participatory 

mechanisms14 or interactive policy participation fora on Internet  

Greater participation by young people in the system of representative democracy 

•  develop concrete actions to ensure increased participation of young people in the 
institutions of representative democracy, such as promoting their involvement in 
political  parties,  encouraging  the  inclusion  of  young  people  on  party  lists  and 
improving their position on those lists, facilitating dialogue between young people 
and  political  leaders,  highlighting  the  commitment  of  those  participating  and 
encouraging  them  to  act  as  “ambassadors”  amongst  their  peers,  making  a  better 
use of information society tools to facilitate voting exercise; 

Support for various forms of learning to participate 

•  develop  synergies  with  actions  that  are  undertaken  in  the  education  field.  At 
European level this can be achieved through closer links with the education  and 
training  OMC.  At  national  level  this  can  be  achieved  by  developing  active 
citizenship initiatives within schools; 

•  better recognise the different forms of participation by young people. 

Participation in the development of the EU: 

In  close  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  and  youth  organisations,  the 
Commission intends to support a permanent and structured dialogue for a period 
of  three  years,  in  a  genuine  spirit  of  constructive  partnership.  In  this  respect  the 
Commission proposes the following concrete lines of action: 

At national, regional and local level 

•  Set  up  structured  spaces  for  dialogue  and  debate,  timed  in  accordance  with  the 
European political agenda, starting chronologically from the local level to ensure 
timely and effective input from young people to EU debates; 

At European level 

•  Agree  upon  priority  themes  to  be  discussed  at  EU  level  until  2009  i.e.  social 
inclusion and diversity in 2007, intercultural dialogue in 2008 and perspectives for 
continued  cooperation  in  the  youth  field  in  2009.  These  themes  should  be 
discussed together with priorities tackled under the OMC and the European Youth 

14 

Based on the Council of Europe’s Participation Charter. 

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Pact - following current practice - as well as with horizontal priorities agreed upon 
in the youth field such as antidiscrimination and health; 

•  The  Commission  supports  the  idea  of  an  informal  forum  between  youth 
representatives, presidencies , the European Parliament and the Commission that 
would  meet  regularly  –  in  particular  before  Education,  Youth  and  Culture 
Councils  in  the  autumn  and  spring  in  Brussels  -  in  order  to  improve  coherence, 
continuity and progress between Presidency agendas in the youth field; 

•  Regularly  organise  a  European  Youth  week  with 

the  participation  of 
Commissioners and representatives of other European institutions, preceded by a 
European  youth  portal  consultation  whenever  possible,  with  a  view  to  drawing 
conclusions  on  past  events,  identifying  perspectives  for  the  future  and  ensuring 
the visibility of the European youth programme; 

•  Arrange encounters with young people who do not usually have contacts with the 

European institutions; 

•  Organise a youth specific Eurobarometre (end 2006); 

•  Invite the European Youth Forum to make the best use of opportunities offered by 
public  consultations  regularly  launched  by  the  Commission,  notably  through  the 
internet, on policies relevant for young people; 

•  Mobilise European information networks to support structured dialogue15. 

The Youth  OMC  governance, while remaining adapted to the youth field, should 
also be reinforced. To this end the Commission makes the following proposals:  

•  Member States single out by the end of 2006 those lines of action for participation 

and information on which they wish to concentrate and define action plans; 

•  Member  States  set  up  a  follow  up  mechanism  involving  young  people  and  their 

organisations and prepare an evaluation report by the end of 2008; 

•  Member States be given the opportunity to take part, on a voluntary basis, in pilot 
“peer reviews” organised by the Commission, on information and participation; 

•  Member States promote the common objectives at national level amongst regional 

and local authorities, youth organisations and young people in general; 

•  the  Commission  will  systematically  consult  young  people  and  more  particularly 

the European Youth Forum for any proposal relating to the OMC; 

•  It  will  set  up  a  working  group  on  the  definition  of  indicators  for  the 

implementation of the common objectives on participation and information. 

The  Commission  calls  on  the  Council  to  endorse  the  proposals  made  in  its 
Communication. 

* * * 

15 

ERYICA, EURODESK and EYCA 

EN 

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