Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Mobility of Young Volunteers across Europe
Date: 2008-11-26
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, education policy, free movement of persons, international voluntary worker, research, student mobility, vocational training, young person, youth policy

31.3.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 76/23

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Proposal for a Council Recommendation on
Mobility of Young Volunteers across Europe’

(2009/C 76/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— notes that there are at present considerable differences between Member States regarding the way in
which volunteering is organised and that there is a lack of statistical data and thorough research into
volunteering.

— calls upon the European Commission to support the promotion of cooperation between voluntary
organisations by developing not only a European Youth Volunteer Portal, but also a database of best
practices, projects, opportunities and detailed information. The European Commission should make
use of and refer to national, regional and local information, so that the information is made more
easily available to young people.

— wholeheartedly supports the initiative of the European Parliament and others to declare 2011 the
European Year of Volunteering, and is ready to participate actively in its implementation. Throughout
this year particular attention should be paid to young people and inclusion.

— calls upon the Commission, the Member States and the local and regional authorities to strongly
support volunteering within the education system, so that young people come into contact with
voluntary activities at an early stage and come to see it as a normal contribution to community life.
Such voluntary activities could become part of the curriculum.

— believes that volunteering constitutes a particularly valuable possibility of mobility for young people.
In view of this, disadvantaged young people who would like to volunteer and who would otherwise
benefit less, or not at all, from opportunities for mobility, require various forms of support. Support
to the training and mobility of socio-educational instructors specialised in youth and youth leaders
will be very useful in this context. Moreover, the opportunities which local and regional authorities
have to reach this target group more effectively should be utilised.

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Official Journal of the European Union

31.3.2009

Rapporteur: Rinda DEN BESTEN (NL/PES), Executive Member of Utrecht Council

Reference document

Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the Mobility of Young Volunteers across Europe

COM(2008) 424 final

I. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1.
notes that there are at present considerable differences
between Member States regarding the way in which volunteering
is organised and that there is a lack of statistical data and thor-
ough research into volunteering. Because harmonisation of laws
and regulations is neither possible nor desirable, the Committee
of the Regions proposes that a phased approach be adopted.
The first phase would consist of a detailed study of the different
systems and laws and regulations which exist in the various
Member States with regard to volunteering,
the wishes of
(potential) young volunteers and the obstacles which they
encounter when they want to volunteer abroad, and the benefit
of volunteering for the young volunteer as well as the region of
origin and host region. This information could contribute to the
discussion and generate a new policy which fits in well with the
reality of youth volunteering in Europe.

welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to

2.
promote the mobility of young volunteers across Europe.

3.
appreciates the European Commission's creativity in its
search for a way to facilitate youth volunteering in another EU
country, but is afraid that making national schemes for volun-
tary activities interoperable is not the solution because of the
different ways of organising volunteering in the various Euro-
pean countries. For these reasons we advocate the promotion of
cooperation between voluntary organisations (be they social
organisations or authorities) in different EU countries and we
encourage Member States to promote cross-border voluntary
projects.

4.
the
calls upon the European Commission to support
promotion of cooperation between voluntary organisations by
developing not only a European Youth Volunteer Portal, but
also a database of best practices, projects, opportunities and
detailed information. The European Commission should make
use of and refer to national, regional and local information, so
that the information is made more easily available to young
people.

are directly responsible for youth policy and possess a great deal
of knowledge and experience on the subject, this is the level
where innovative and creative solutions are usually found and
where important partnerships are entered into. In addition, local
and regional authorities play an important role in encouraging
young people since they are close to the organisations which
receive volunteers and can motivate them to exchange young
volunteers.

calls upon the Member States to allocate adequate funds to
6.
local and regional authorities
the implementation of
for
common objectives for voluntary activities by young people and
encourages Member States to make use of EU funds and
programmes (such as the European Social Fund and the Youth
in Action Programme) to enhance the quality of international
voluntary projects by offering support and guidance to national,
regional and local voluntary organisations. This support
is
intended to help organisations
to build up international
contacts, develop specific competences which are necessary in
order to support young people from other countries and to set
up international projects.

recommends that the local and regional authorities should
7.
strongly support
the development of an infrastructure to
support volunteering, whilst at the same time, of course, leaving
the autonomy of volunteering intact. For example, the establish-
local and regional volunteer centres can help to
ment of
promote volunteering,
supply information, motivate young
people to do cross-border volunteering and assess the quality
and effectiveness of volunteering.

deplores the fact that there are still socio-economic and
8.
administrative obstacles which hinder the mobility of young
volunteers. It therefore proposes to take the lead by drawing up
a list of these obstacles in the context of a broad review of
volunteering (as described in point 1 of this opinion). Because
the
the lack of data on volunteering, the Committee of
of
Regions also requests the Member States to submit the findings
of the broad review by 2011, so that volunteering policy can be
adjusted.

5.
emphasises the role of local and regional authorities with
regard to volunteering and in particular the involvement of
young people with fewer opportunities. Volunteering can open
up a way to inclusion for youth with fewer opportunities, and
since in many Member States the local and regional authorities

wholeheartedly supports the initiative of

9.
the European
Parliament and others to declare 2011 the European Year of
Volunteering, and is ready to participate actively in its imple-
mentation. Throughout this year particular attention should be
paid to young people and inclusion.

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would stress

10.
reducing linguistic
the importance of
barriers in Europe by encouraging language learning by volun-
teers.

11.
points out that volunteering needs a broader definition
than the one used in the proposal. Volunteering can be done on
either a full-time or a part-time basis, for a short or long term,
unpaid or with pocket money and/or coverage of expenses, with
or without a contribution from the volunteer depending on the
target group and circumstances.

12.
emphasises the importance of recognising skills acquired,
so that they may be used later in the volunteer's career (work or
study). Volunteering is after all an important form of informal
learning and contributes to the development and accessibility of
youth education. For these reasons schools, as well as social
organisations and the business community should be able to
play a (greater) role in recognising skills acquired through volun-
teering and in implementing the existing instruments for this
purpose, Europass and Youthpass.

13.
calls upon the Commission, the Member States and the
local and regional authorities to strongly support volunteering
within the education system, so that young people come into
contact with voluntary activities at an early stage and come to
see it as a normal contribution to community life. Such volun-
tary activities could become part of the curriculum.

considers it extremely important

to ensure a proper
14.
balance regarding the added value that volunteering can bring
for young people and for society (in all its aspects). The interests
and the development of young people always come first and the
interests of society follow on from that through the more active
commitment and involvement of young people in society.

15.
expresses its appreciation for the European Voluntary
Service (EVS) and hopes to see it further developed in the future
so that as many young people as possible have the opportunity
to engage in volunteering abroad.

II. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AMENDMENTS

Amendment 1

Recital 7

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

7. There exists a large variety of voluntary activities
throughout Europe organised by civil society or public
authorities and these activities should be preserved,
developed further and made interoperable.

7. There exists a large variety of voluntary activities
throughout Europe organised by civil society or public
authorities and these activities should be preserved,
and developed further, and made interoperable coop-
eration between voluntary organisations should be
encouraged.

Reason

The concept of interoperability requires too much explanation and is difficult to apply to volunteer systems
in some countries. Harmonisation and centralisation of volunteering is not the purpose of the European
Commission's proposal, but making voluntary activities interoperable could well be interpreted in that way.
What is desirable is that young people — if they so wish — should be able to do voluntary work in another
EU country. This should be made easier than at present by encouraging cooperation between voluntary orga-
nisations.

Amendment 2

Recital 13

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

13. Despite these efforts, there are still obstacles to the
cross-border mobility of young volunteers across
Europe and this Recommendation therefore aims
primarily at providing a framework for Member States
to intensify their cooperation, without prejudice to the
diversity of their national schemes.

13. Despite these efforts, there are still obstacles to the
cross-border mobility of young volunteers across
Europe and this Recommendation therefore aims
primarily at providing a framework for Member States
to intensify their cooperation, without prejudice to the
diversity of their national schemes voluntary activities.

Reason

Not all EU countries have national schemes for volunteering. This would mean that some countries would
have to introduce national schemes and this would contravene the subsidiarity principle. By replacing the
word ‘schemes’ by ‘voluntary activities’ or ‘opportunities’, the text would be applicable to all EU countries
and would conform with the subsidiarity principle without losing too much meaning.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Amendment 3

Recital 14

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

14. In

of

the

this

framework

Recommendation,
cross-border volunteering activities should be defined
as a voluntary engagement in which the young volun-
teer takes part in a non-profit making unpaid activity
to the benefit of the general public in a country other
than his or her country of residence. Such an activity
is characterised by the following aspects: open to all,
young people under 30 years of age, undertaken by
own free will, fixed period, with clear objectives, struc-
ture and framework, unpaid but pocket money and
coverage of expenses.

14. In

of

the

this

framework

Recommendation,
cross-border volunteering activities should be defined
as a voluntary engagement in which the young volun-
teer takes part in a non-profit making unpaid activity
to the benefit of the general public in a country other
than his or her country of residence. Such an activity is
characterised by the following aspects: open to all,
young people under 30 years of age, undertaken on a
voluntary basis, for afixed period, with clear objectives,
structure and framework, and are not subject to remu-
neration. but pocket money and coverage of expenses.

Reason

In some cases, young people do have the funds to contribute themselves to a voluntary project. Moreover,
making their own contribution (however much or little) creates a ‘commitment’ and makes young people
honour-bound to actually go and do volunteering abroad.

Amendment 4

Recital 15

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

15. Special attention should be paid to young people with
fewer opportunities as volunteering constitutes a parti-
cularly valuable possibility of mobility for those young
people who otherwise would benefit less, or not at all,
of mobility schemes. These young people have specific
training and mentoring needs that should be taken
into account. Support to the training and mobility of
socio-educational instructors specialised in youth and
youth leaders will be very useful in this context.

In view of

15. Volunteering constitutes a particularly valuable possibi-
lity of mobility for young people.
this,
disadvantaged young people who would like to volun-
teer and who would otherwise benefit less, or not at
from opportunities for mobility, require various
all,
forms of support. Support to the training and mobility
of socio-educational
instructors specialised in youth
and youth leaders will be very useful in this context.
Moreover, the opportunities which local and regional
authorities have to reach this target group more effec-
tively should be utilised.

Reason

In many Member States, youth policy is mainly shaped by local and regional authorities. Moreover, local and
regional authorities are the closest of all authorities to young citizens. This is therefore the most suitable
level to get through to young people with fewer opportunities.

Amendment 5

Recital 16

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

16. Better interoperability of national schemes and more
information
young
Europeans whatever their nationality to engage more
in volunteering in third countries.

sharing may

stimulate

all

16. Better interoperability of national schemes cooperation
between voluntary organisations in Europe and more
young
information
Europeans whatever their nationality to engage more
in volunteering in third countries.

sharing may

stimulate

all

Reason

See amendments 1 and 2.

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C 76/27

Amendment 6

Recital 17

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

17. Since the objectives of this Recommendation cannot
be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can
therefore, by reason of scale and effects of this Recom-
mendation, be better achieved at Community level, the
Community may adopt measures in order to promote
mobility of young volunteers through interoperability
cooperation
by
of national
between voluntary organisations,
in accordance with
the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of
the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of propor-
tionality, as set out in that article, the present Recom-
mendation does not go beyond what is necessary in
order to achieve those objectives.

enhancing

schemes

17. Since the objectives of this Recommendation cannot
be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can
therefore, by reason of scale and effects of this Recom-
mendation, be better achieved at Community level, the
Community may adopt measures in order to promote
mobility of young volunteers through interoperability
of national schemes, in accordance with the principle
of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In
accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set
out in that article, the present Recommendation does
not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve
those objectives.

Reason

See amendments 1 and 2.

Amendment 7

Article A

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

A. Promote the mobility of young volunteers across
Europe by enhancing the interoperability of national
schemes for volunteering whether organised by civil
so that every young
society or public authorities,
person shall have the opportunity to volunteer
in
Europe if she or he wishes to do so.

A. Promote the mobility of young volunteers across
Europe by enhancing the interoperability of national
schemes for volunteering cooperation between volun-
tary organisations whether organised by they be civil
society or public authorities, so that every young person
shall have the opportunity to volunteer in Europe if she
or he wishes to do so.

Reason

See amendments 1 and 2.

Amendment 8

Article B(1)

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

B(1) improve the level of knowledge of volunteering
schemes within their national territories and transfer
this information to the European Commission for
further dissemination;

B(1) improve the level of knowledge of volunteering
schemes opportunities within their national territories
and transfer
information to the European
Commission for further dissemination, inter alia, via a
European Youth Volunteer Portal and a database of
voluntary work;

this

Reason

See amendment 2.

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Amendment 9

Article B(4)

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

B(4) share the information on opportunities for volun-
teering with other Member States and simplify as far
as possible the application process in order to make it
easier for young volunteers of a Member State to
access and apply to the national schemes of other
Member States;

B(4) share the information on opportunities for volun-
teering with other Member States and simplify as far
as possible the application process in order to make it
easier for young volunteers of a Member State to
access and apply to the national schemes voluntary
activities of other Member States;

Reason

See amendment 2.

Amendment 10

Article B(7)

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

B(7) develop basic quality standards in order to promote a
reasonable level of quality assurance to reassure and
protect volunteers going cross-border and to build
confidence and encourage participation in cross-
border schemes; these could relate to the level of
training of volunteers and staff, activity preparation,
mentoring, tracking and follow-up;

B(7) develop basic quality standards in order to promote a
reasonable level of quality assurance to reassure and
protect volunteers going cross-border and to build
confidence and encourage participation in cross-
border schemes activities carried out in particular by
young people with fewer
social and educational
these could relate to the level of
opportunities;
training of volunteers and staff, activity preparation,
mentoring, tracking and follow-up;

Reason

See amendment 2.

Volunteering can open up a way to inclusion for young people with fewer opportunities. They especially
need extra encouragement to do cross-border volunteering.

Amendment 11

Article B(14)

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

B(14) give particular

attention and provide

tailored
approaches to young people with fewer opportu-
nities in order to enhance their access to voluntary
activities and especially to trans-European types of
volunteering, and take the specific training and
support needs of these young people into account;

B(14) give particular

attention and provide

tailored
approaches to young people with fewer social and
educational opportunities, or who are disadvantaged
on account of their geographical situation, in order
to enhance their access to voluntary activities and
especially to trans-European types of volunteering,
and take the specific training and support needs of
these young people into account;

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Amendment 12

Article 2

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

encourage and organise,

2.
in liaison with Member
States, a systematic exchange of information and experi-
ences about the interoperability of national volunteering
schemes organised by civil society or public authorities;

encourage and organise,

2.
in liaison with Member
States, a systematic exchange of information and experi-
ences about the interoperability of national promotion of
European cooperation on volunteering schemes organised
by civil society or public authorities;

Reason

See amendments 1 and 2.

Amendment 13

Article 4

Text proposed by the Commission

CoR amendment

4.
report to the Council four years after the adoption of
this Recommendation to determine whether the measures
proposed are working effectively and to assess the need for
further actions.

4.
report to the Council four years after the adoption of
this Recommendation by 2011 to determine whether the
measures proposed are working effectively and to assess the
need for further actions.

Reason

In the European Parliament an initiative to declare 2011 the European Year of Volunteering has been signed
by 454 MEPs. The Committee of the Regions also supports this initiative. In 2011, moreover, it will have
been ten years since the International Year of Volunteers was held. Thus, an excellent moment, just before-
hand, for the European Commission to publish a report on volunteering.

Brussels, 26 November 2008.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Luc VAN DEN BRANDE