Opinion of the Committee of the Regions youth participation and information: Follow-up to the White Paper on a New Impetus for European Youth
Date: 2007-03-23
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: information, public awareness campaign, regional and local authorities, social participation, young person, youth policy

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions youth participation and information: Follow-up to the
White Paper on a New Impetus for European Youth

(2007/C 156/02)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— judges it essential, especially given the current debate on the future of Europe, to step up participation

by, and information for, young people in the communities where they live;

— stresses the need for youth issues to be addressed across the board by all councils, as young people

should be taken into account in all the EU's area of interest;

— recalls that young people represent a key factor for achieving the objectives of the new Lisbon strategy,
and considers it essential that they be provided with better education, training, mobility, entry into
employment;

— does not, however, underestimate the major challenges facing young people today, such as unemploy-
ment, late entry into the world of work, the insecure nature of work, difficulties in obtaining housing
and consequent difficulties in choosing one's path in life;

— advocates projects that encourage young people to take part in local and regional government and in
the management of their respective communities, as well as links between local authorities and
schools with a view to fostering a civic awareness and informed use of the right to vote;

— calls upon the Commission to support initiatives to disseminate European youth policies and the
provisions of the European Youth Pact at local level, using local authorities' networks and giving
young administrators an active role.

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THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

Having regard to the 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 and the appended Commission Staff Working Document containing a detailed analysis
of the Member States' national reports for participation and information (COM(2006) 417 final — SEC(2006)
1006);

Having regard to the decision of the Bureau of 13 June 2006 to instruct the Commission for Culture,
Education and Research to draw up an opinion on this subject;

Having regard to the European Commission White Paper A New Impetus for European Youth, COM(2001)
681 final;

Having regard to the Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the
Member States, meeting within the Council of 27 June 2002 regarding the framework of European coopera-
tion in the youth field;

Having regard to the Council Resolution of 25 November 2003 on common objectives for participation
by and information for young people;

Having regard to the European Youth Pact;

Having regard to the Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the
Member States meeting within the Council on implementing the common objectives for youth information;

Having regard to the Council Conclusions of 24 May 2005 on new indicators in education and training;

Having regard to the Resolutions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the
Member States meeting within the Council on the evaluation of activities conducted in the framework of
European cooperation in the youth field, and on implementing the common objective: to increase participa-
tion by young people in the system of representative democracy;

Having regard to the Communications from the Commission on the period of reflection and Plan-D (COM
(2005) 494 final and COM(2006) 212 final) and the European Commission White Paper on A European
Communication Policy — Debating Europe, involving people (COM(2006) 35 final);

Having regard to its opinion on the Communication from the Commission The Commission's contribution to
the period of reflection and beyond: Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate and the White Paper on a European
communication policy;

Having regard to its opinion on the Communication from the Commission on European policies
concerning youth Addressing the concerns of young people in Europe — implementing the European Youth Pact and
promoting active citizenship;

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission 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 their active European citizenship (COM(2006) 417 final);

Having regard to the recent Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of
the Member States meeting within the Council on implementing the common objective for participation by
and information for young people in view of their active European citizenship;

Having regard to the present draft opinion on the 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;

Having regard to the draft opinion adopted by the Commission for Culture, Education and Research on 30
November 2006, (CdR 334/2006 rev. 1) (Rapporteur: Mr Roberto Pella, Member of the Council of the
Province of Biella, vice-sindaco Valdengo (IT/EPP));

adopted the following opinion at its 69th plenary session, held on 23 March 2007:

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1. Introduction

The Committee of the Regions

1.1 welcomes the new Communication from the Commis-
sion, which assesses the follow-up given by the Member States
to the common objectives regarding participation by and informa-
tion for young people;

1.2
considers that since the publication of the White Paper
in 2001, the Member States have made progress towards a
greater focus on young people, but that much more remains to
be done, either through the Open Method of Coordination
(OMC)
in the youth field, or through further action under
related policies;

the Representatives of

takes note of the recent Resolution of the Council and
1.3
of
the Member
States meeting within the Council, which has identified new
measures designed to strengthen the application and implemen-
tation of the common objectives for participation by and infor-
mation for young people;

the Governments of

1.4
agrees with the Council that the four priority themes
proposed by the White Paper (participation, information, volun-
tary activities and greater knowledge and understanding of
youth) and the relevant common objectives remain highly
topical, and believes that they should guide the work of the
Member States and the European institutions in this particular
sector, and in all other policies concerning young people;

1.5
stresses the need for youth issues to be addressed across
the board by all Councils, as young people should be taken into
account in all the EU's areas of interest;

1.6
points out however that the Council could have given
greater weight to the importance of local and regional authori-
ties, especially in the sections outlining measures designed to
further the implementation of the common objectives, seeing
that local and regional authorities perform a crucial role in
education and in fostering civic awareness among young people;

1.7
judges it essential, especially given the current debate
on the future of Europe, to step up participation by, and informa-
tion for, young people in the communities where they live, in
order to increase their feeling of belonging to the Union, to
ensure that they can exercise those rights set out in the Euro-
pean Union's charter of fundamental rights, and to help give
new impetus to the European venture by making the concept of
European citizenship a reality, emphasises that particular atten-
tion should be given in these respects to participation by, and
information for, young people living in island regions;

believes therefore that

1.9
the objectives of participation
and information for young people can be achieved more effec-
tively if the Member States and institutions make every effort to
offer them better prospects in life, guaranteeing full enjoyment
of
in the European Union's
charter of fundamental rights (which include the right to work,
the right to marry and found a family, and the right to reconcile
family and professional life);

the fundamental rights set out

recalls,

in this regard, that young people represent a
1.10
the new Lisbon
key factor for achieving the objectives of
strategy, and considers it essential that they be provided with
better education,
training, mobility, entry into employment,
social inclusion and services for young families:

a) better education and training, in order to optimise the value
of Europe's greatest resources — its young people. This
education should focus particularly on studying technology,
so as to boost European Research, development and innova-
tion, but care should also be taken to provide sufficient
training in humanities and values; it is important to give the
teaching of European history and culture the attention it
deserves within the education system;

b) mobility: young Europeans need to have real opportunities
for mobility throughout the EU, whether to work or study,
as such opportunities generally bring considerable cultural
enrichment and a greater sense of Europeanness;

c) entry into employment: young people are one of the groups
with the highest levels of unemployment. New measures
must be promoted in order to make it easier for them to
enter the labour market and thus become integrated into
society;

d) social inclusion: particular attention must be paid to young
people who have specific needs or suffer from social exclu-
sion. Migrants deserve specific mention in this context;

e) services for young families: young families face particular
problems that should also be addressed by the EU authori-
ties.
there must be measures to help
reconcile working and family life and facilitate the definitive
integration of women into the labour market;

In concrete terms,

1.11
considers therefore that local and regional authorities'
youth policies can take on a European dimension by means of
appropriate national policies and funds, together with specific
Community programmes that increase information and partici-
pation opportunities for young European citizens in local,
regional, national and European civic and political life;

1.8
does not, however, underestimate the major challenges
facing young people today, such as unemployment, late entry
into the world of work, the insecure nature of work, difficulties
in obtaining housing and consequent difficulties in choosing
one's path in life, the lack of appropriate means of acquiring the
right skills, poverty, premature school leaving and social exclu-
sion;

1.12
recalls that the Union is founded on the principles of
freedom and democracy and believes that for that reason more
practical steps must be taken without delay to ensure that all
European citizens, starting with the very youngest, are able to
participate in it, with due respect for the principle of subsi-
diarity.

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2. Concerning participation by young people

Participation in the life of the community

notes that the Council views the aim of ‘participation by
the community’ principally as

2.1
young people in the life of
promoting their involvement in participatory structures;

2.2
recalls that it is possible to take part in the life of the
local community without belonging to an organised structure;
believes therefore that this objective should be interpreted in a
broad way, encouraging initiatives which also seek the involve-
ment of young people who spontaneously decide to take part in
the life of their local community;

fully agrees that special attention should be focused on
2.3
the most disadvantaged young people and considers that they
should be identified more accurately in each local area; pays
tribute to the initiatives taken by Poland and Lithuania geared
to young people living in rural areas;

2.4
urges the Commission and the Member States to set up
and make budgetary provision for measures designed to boost
the involvement in European civic life of young people from the
outermost regions of the EU, as their remoteness makes it parti-
cularly difficult for them to become integrated and involved;

also appreciates all

2.5
those initiatives undertaken by
public authorities to support participatory structures by means
of financial contributions or by providing equipment, technical
assistance, human resources, premises or help with setting up
Internet sites.

Participation in the system of representative democracy

views this objective as of fundamental

2.6
importance if
active citizenship is to be put into practice: allowing young
people to hold more sway in local, regional and national bodies
and even ministries and political parties, and ensuring that
young men and women enjoy equal opportunities;

highlights the importance of harnessing new technology
2.7
in order to bring the EU closer to young people. It is therefore
essential for the European institutions to encourage the various
innovative measures that the European social players and,
in
particular,
in this
context, considers that exchanges of best practices would be
particularly beneficial and,
the
Commission promote the organisation of an Annual Youth
Forum where young people and public institutions could
exchange ideas and encourage new initiatives;

local and regional authorities could offer;

specifically, proposes

that

all Member State

2.8 welcomes
to sustain
dialogue with young people: local, national and regional coun-
cils,
commissions,
ombudsmen or correspondents, and inter-ministerial meetings;
and hopes that these will be further developed;

parliaments,

initiatives

specific

youth

youth

reports that

2.9
in Italy, a consultative body for young
administrators has been set up within the framework of the
National Association of Italian Local Authorities, one of whose
many tasks is to monitor, encourage and enhance the involve-
ment of young people in local administrations;

2.10
trusts that both the Member States and local and
regional authorities will mainstream programmes for learning to
participate democratically in institutions into the official educa-
they will encourage interactive links
tion system and that
between formal and non-formal education;

2.11
points out that links between schools and local autho-
rities can be an effective means of encouraging student partici-
pation in the life of their own communities, and calls on local
administrators — especially young administrators — to serve as
ambassadors, organising public debates on matters of
local
interests which would also be open to young people who have
left school;

2.12
is convinced that opening up local government to
young people entails as an objective a real understanding of
responsibility in managing one's own area, helps to generate
civic awareness, and helps to foster informed exercise of the
right to vote, which to date has been of little interest to all too
many young people;

2.13
hails the Finnish initiative in extending voting rights for
local elections to young people over the age of 16, and the
German initiative on youth projects for urban regeneration, and
welcomes the Council's call to envisage a debate on lowering
the voting age;

expresses its appreciation of the city of Stockholm's

2.14
case of a young woman as deputy mayor;

2.15
holds the Council of Europe's Revised European Charter
on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life to be
a highly valuable instrument, and hopes that it will be dissemi-
nated among the local and regional authorities of the Union,
together with closer cooperation in this sphere between the
Committee of
the Regions and the Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities.

Participation in the development of the European Union

2.16
the Council, on how to reach this objective;

agrees with the Commission's proposals, confirmed by

2.17
is pleased to note that the European Commission has
taken into consideration the CoR's previous comments (1)
concerning a sustained policy of debate and consultation with
young people and strongly supports the idea of
improved
dialogue on the European Agenda. However, reiterates that this
must involve in particular local and regional authorities;

2.18 welcomes the new ‘Youth in Action’ programme and
the other youth education and training programmes, which
have allowed many young people to gain practical experience of
Europe, and urges ever broader access and wider dissemination
of them, with a special focus on the most disadvantaged young
people, encourages the Commission and Member States to
further decentralise the management of
in
order to ensure subsidiarity in its management by regional
authorities, and regrets the discontinuation of the Young Entre-
preneurs programme, which supported many young people in
starting up businesses and gaining important experiences;

this programme,

(1) CdR 253/2005 fin.

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2.19
proposes that European local and regional authorities
provide a forum for young people from their respective commu-
nities who work in the institutions, in European offices or are
involved in European programmes, and that they recruit them
as ambassadors in debates on Europe, thereby strengthening the
dual participation approach and giving value to work and to
educational and vocational experience abroad;

2.20
calls upon the Commission to support initiatives to
disseminate European youth policies and the provisions of the
European Youth Pact at
level, using local authorities'
networks and giving young administrators an active role.

local

3. Concerning information for young people

Access for young people to information

3.1
recalls that the right to information lies at the heart of
the youth information work undertaken by the European
Union; considers it in consequence the duty of the Member
States and, where appropriate, local and regional authorities, to
implement policies as part of the educational process ensuring
effective exercise of this right by young people, putting special
focus on promoting clarity and ease of access to information;

3.2
strongly welcomes the fact that the European Commis-
sion took on board the CoR's comments on the importance of
local and regional dimension in youth policy, recognising that
the mobilisation of local authorities is crucial for fostering the
local participation of young people. Reiterates in this respect
the importance of the local and regional dimension since it is at
this level that the first direct contact with politics is made and
that active citizenship becomes a reality;

3.3
notes with satisfaction that Internet sites providing infor-
mation for young people have been set up in almost all the
Member States, but urges that an effective information strategy
covering questions and subjects of interest to young people be
set up in various fields;

agrees with the Council that the European youth portal
3.4
is a highly useful tool that should be developed and dissemi-
locally-provided instruments and those at
nated, and that
national and European level must be better coordinated,
in
order to circulate information more rapidly and easily;

believes that networks of young people's associations
3.5
operating at local
level should be involved in the process of
consulting and involving young people, to avoid the danger of
only major national networks participating, and calls for the
development of channels for the involvement and consultation
of young people who do not belong to associations. To this
end, direct involvement of municipalities which can develop
their own models for young people to take part in the consulta-
tion and cooperation processes will be welcomed.

Quality information

3.6
is informed by the Commission that only a few Member
States focus on training for those working in the sphere of

information for young people; calls for more attention in this
regard, with specific study programmes;

considers that

3.7
the Commission should place greater
emphasis on the connection between information and counsel-
ling, with a view to helping young people to developing skills in
obtaining, selecting and assessing information,
to
become informed users. The Member States are urged to use all
existing channels to disseminate information to young people
(Internet, mobile phones, video, cinema).

in order

Participation by young people in information

3.8
is pleased to note the new focus given to local youth
councils, with systematic involvement of young people in local
decision-making bodies, involving the support of regional and
local authorities. Calls on the Commission to encourage the
drafting of precise criteria regarding the objective of participa-
tion of young people in order to support local participation and
active citizenship;

highlights the importance of involving young people in
3.9
fine-tuning
information
products, disseminating information and in counselling activ-
ities;

information

strategies,

devising

3.10
considers that the contributions of individual young
people or youth organisations in this regard represent a valuable
resource that should be harnessed as effectively as possible, and
calls on the Commission to urge the Member States to identify
new forms of participation.

4. Concerning the Open Method of Coordination

4.1
is well aware that the youth sector is an area for which
the Member States are responsible, and therefore calls for joint
commitment on the part of the Commission and the Member
States, in collaboration with local and regional authorities;

4.2
considers moreover that the Commission could high-
light the achievements, and more specifically the best practices
of the Member States.

5. The Committee of the Regions' conclusions

Concerning participation

recommends that the Member States guarantee equal
5.1
opportunities between all citizens but especially between juve-
niles and young men and women;

5.2
trusts that resources will be allocated fairly between
projects for youth associations and those targeting individual
young people, while not overlooking programmes for the most
disadvantaged groups;

also hopes that the Member States will encourage young
5.3
people to become involved in local, regional and national
bodies, ministries and political parties, and that they will consult
them through youth councils and other participatory structures;

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5.4
advocates projects on the part of the Member States
that encourage young people to take part in local and regional
government and in the management of their respective commu-
nities, as well as links between local authorities and schools
with a view to fostering a civic awareness and informed use of
the right to vote;

5.5
calls upon local, regional and national authorities to
bring young people into the debates on the future of Europe, in
order to boost their participation in the development of the
European Union, giving an active role to those who work in the
institutions or European offices or are involved in European
programmes.

Concerning information

5.6
deems it essential that the Member States uphold the
right to information by means of specific strategies, reflecting
young people's needs and with a special focus on the most
vulnerable groups, at the same time providing proper training
courses for all those involved in educating and bringing up
young people;

5.7
restates that the creation of a citizens' Europe and the
integration into society of young people is one of the Commit-
tee's main political priorities, and wishes to make a contribution
by undertaking to organise structured and systematic dialogues,
meetings with representatives of local and regional youth asso-
ciations and councils, and envisages setting up a working group
to monitor and promote the real commitments of local and
regional authorities, checking on local and regional best practice
with the support of the relevant national associations; will aim
to be instrumental to assist Member States in implementing the
recommendations concerning youth participation and informa-
tion;

undertakes to disseminate information on European
5.8
issues more widely to feed debates at local and regional level,
and on European events organised for young people, in order to
step up the participation of the broadest possible;

to encourage participation in the European Union's
5.9
development, calls upon the Commission to provide for an ad
hoc information campaign to disseminate all European youth
programmes.

Rome, 23 March 2007.

On the open method of coordination

5.10
appreciates the Council's stated intention of adapting
and improving the lines of action and to take on board the
measures outlined in the recent Resolution, and therefore asks
that the comments and proposals made in the present opinion
be taken into account;

urges the Member States, as part of existing routine
5.11
reporting, to continue providing the Commission with informa-
tion on their own youth policies, thus supporting the OMC and
enabling best practice to be more accurately identified and disse-
minated;

5.12
agrees that the lines of action on which the Member
States intend to concentrate with regard to participation and
information, in order to identify the relevant action plans and in
particular to disseminate best practices more widely, should be
established by March 2007 at the latest;

5.13
asks the Commission to identify the best means of
ensuring effective analysis of the progress made by the Member
States by means of efficient statistical methods and qualitative
research;

5.14
advocates setting up a working group responsible for
defining instruments to assess the implementation of measures
to strengthen the common objectives, and calls for representa-
tives of local and regional authorities to be involved through
the Committee;

5.15
reaffirms that the common objectives regarding youth
will best be attained by providing young people with better
living conditions. Hopes that, under the European Youth Pact,
the Commission will devise an action plan which can better
guide and uphold individual Member State initiatives, providing
funding to this end, possibly tied to innovative actions and
exchanges of best practice;

calls on Member States to allocate appropriate funding
5.16
to local and regional authorities to carry out the implementation
of the common objectives;

5.17
hopes ultimately that in order to better achieve the
the issue of unstable employment
objectives of youth,
among young people should be tackled by the Member States
and also in the context of the discussion on the Commission's
new Green Paper on labour law.

that

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE