Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 20 November 2008 on the health and well-being of young people
Date: 2008-12-13
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU Member State, economic growth, employment policy, health policy, quality of life, young person, youth policy

13.12.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 319/1

I

(Resolutions, recommendations and opinions)

RESOLUTIONS

COUNCIL

Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States,
meeting within the Council of 20 November 2008 on the health and well-being of young people

(2008/C 319/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTA-
TIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING
WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

urged Member States to prioritise the concerns of young
people in the policies which affect their quality of life, such
as health,

RECALL:

— that the European Commission White Paper of 21 November
2001 entitled ‘A new impetus for European youth’ (1),
approved by the Council in its conclusions of 14 February
2002, laid down that health should be regarded as a driver
for the social inclusion and empowerment of young people
and as indispensable to developing their active citizenship,

— in its resolution of 27 June 2002 (2) the Council laid down a
framework for European cooperation in the youth field; one
of its three areas is the inclusion of a ‘youth’ dimension in
other relevant European policies,

— the European Pact

for Youth, adopted by the European
Council on 22 and 23 March 2005, is one of the instru-
ments contributing to achievement of the Lisbon objectives
for growth and employment,

— in its November 2005 resolution on ‘addressing the
concerns of young people in Europe — implementing the
for Youth and promoting active citizen-
European Pact
ship’ (3), the Council agreed that whenever a ‘youth’ dimen-
sion was included in other
relevant European policies,
priority should in particular be given to a healthy lifestyle
for young people,

— in its resolution of May 2007 on equal opportunities and
the participation of young people in society (4), the Council

— in its communication of September 2007 ‘Promoting young
people's full participation in education, employment and
society’ (5), the Commission urged Member States to take
initiatives in the area of young people's health,

— in its conclusions of 16 November 2007 on a transversal
approach to youth policy (6),
the Council noted that
from 2009 the Commission would produce a European
Union progress report on youth every three years,

— in its conclusions of 6 December 2007 on the Commission
White Paper ‘Together for Health: A Strategic Approach for
the EU, 2008-2013’ (7), the Council highlighted the need to
address key health determinants such as nutrition, physical
activity, alcohol, drugs, tobacco consumption and environ-
mental risks, and take into account the role of gender and
stressed the need to promote health within the settings of
everyday life,
family, schools, workplace, and leisure
places,

i.e.

— in its resolution of 22 May 2008 on the participation of
young people with fewer opportunities (8),
the Council
emphasised that health problems were an obstacle to the
active participation of young people and urged the Member
States and the Commission to promote a healthy lifestyle for
young people via their health strategies.

(1) Doc. 14441/01 — COM(2001) 681 final.
(2) OJ C 168, 13.7.2002, p. 2.
(3) OJ C 292, 24.11.2005, p. 5.
(4) OJ C 314, 22.12.2007, p. 1.

(5) COM(2007) 498 final.
(6) OJ C 282, 24.11.2007, p. 16.
(7) Doc. 15611/07.
(8) OJ C 141, 7.6.2008, p. 1.

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Official Journal of the European Union

13.12.2008

NOTE THAT:

1. although on the whole the health of young people in Europe
is satisfactory, certain fields are of particular concern such as
nutrition, physical activity, alcohol abuse, sexual and mental
health;

2. particular attention should be paid to promoting a healthy
lifestyle and preventive measures, especially in the context of
sexual activity, alcohol abuse and drug use, smoking, eating
disorders, obesity, violence, gambling and addiction to infor-
mation and communication technologies;

3. a number of

factors linked to living conditions, such as
job insecurity, housing problems,
poverty, unemployment,
early school-leaving and discrimination can risk the health
and well-being of young people, as well as constitute an
obstacle to young people turning to or having full access to
preventive facilities and high-quality free healthcare systems
which in turn can affect their health and quality of life;

4. young men and women experience different challenges
concerning health and well-being and gender issues should
therefore be taken into consideration when dealing with the
health of young people;

5. a healthy physical and social environment is essential for
healthy development. Efforts should be made to improve the
quality of the settings in which young people live, work and
learn;

6. parents play a vital role in the well-being and healthy envir-
onment of young people and further measures should there-
fore be taken to support them.

EMPHASISE THAT:

1. there are strong links between the health and well-being of
young people and their social inclusion and level of educa-
tion;

2.

it is necessary to assist young people in becoming more
responsible for
their own health and in raising their
self-esteem and increasing their autonomy, in particular by
raising young people's awareness of the positive effects of a
healthy lifestyle and of the risks related to their health.

AGREE THAT:

1. precise knowledge of

the state of health,

the needs and
expectations of young women and men in terms of health,
as well as existing practice, experience and lessons learned in
this field, all duly assessed, is required both to contribute to
ensuring the efficacy and efficiency of youth health policy
and to aim to better take into account, within tailored strate-
gies, the specific nature of this group, with particular refer-

ence to potential differences within the group due, inter alia,
to age, sex, place of residence or socio-economic factors and
giving priority to young people with fewer opportunities;

2. the health and well-being of young people should be
addressed by a comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach
encompassing all appropriate areas, in particular the public
learning, employment
health system, formal and informal
inclusion, childhood and family, sport, cultural
and social
activities,
and
research,
consumer protection;

environment,

the media

the

3. the promotion of physical activity and a well-balanced diet is

necessary for adopting a healthy lifestyle;

4. special attention should be paid to young people's mental
health, particularly promoting good mental health especially
through schools and youth work, and to the prevention of
self-harm and suicide;

5. health policy in its youth dimension should involve the local,
regional, national and European levels of public policy and
be based on a broad partnership between those involved in
formal, non-formal and informal learning, healthcare profes-
sionals, economic and social partners, especially youth asso-
ciations, and the media.

INVITE THE MEMBER STATES TO:

1. promote the ‘youth’ dimension in health-related initiatives
and the implementation of measures for the health of young
people which are appropriate, cross-sectoral, duly coordi-
nated and systematically evaluated;

2.

involve young people and all the relevant youth policy stake-
and implementation of
holders
health-related initiatives, in particular via peer learning;

in the development

3. promote access to leisure-time activities, cultural and physical

activities of all young people;

4. take into account health and well-being of young people in
programmes and policies concerning information and the
media;

5. support the training of youth workers and NGOs in the area
of prevention and health and well-being of young people, in
basic counselling, early intervention, identification of difficul-
ties of young people and signposting to other services.

INVITE THE COMMISSION TO:

1. ensure that the ‘youth’ dimension is taken into account in its

health-related initiatives;

2.

involve young people and relevant youth policy stakeholders
at all levels of its action in this area.

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INVITE THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION TO:

1.

improve knowledge on and research into this topic with
regular updates thereon, taking into account differences in
the health and well-being of young people due, inter alia, to
sex, age, geographical and socio-economic factors, sexual
orientation or disability;

2. gradually integrate data on health and well-being, using
existing data sources into the report drawn up by the
Commission every three years on the situation of young
people in Europe;

3. raise awareness of the factors affecting young people's health;

4. foster the exchange of best practice on the issue of health
and well-being for young people, at local, regional, national

and European levels, particularly by relying on the existing
structures;

5. make the best use of the possibilities offered by the already
existing policies, programmes and other instruments of the
European Union, in particular the European Structural Funds
and the Youth in Action programme,
in order to develop
projects relating to the health and well-being of young
people;

6. strengthen the partnership with young people and their orga-
nisations, stakeholders in the youth field and civil society in
the area of young people's health.