Accompanying the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - An EU Strategy for Youth : investing and empowering - A renewed open method of coordination to address youth challenges and opportunities : Impact Assessment {COM(2009) 200} {SEC(2009) 546} {SEC(2009) 548} {SEC(2009) 549}
Date: 2009-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, activity report, continuing education, education policy, employment policy, vocational training, young person, youth employment, youth policy

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.4.2009 
SEC(2009) 545 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Accompanying the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  

An EU Strategy for Youth – Investing and Empowering 

A renewed open method of coordination to address youth challenges and opportunities 

Impact Assessment 

{COM(2009) 200} 
{SEC(2009) 546} 
{SEC(2009) 548} 
{SEC(2009) 549} 

Disclaimer: This IA report commits only the Commission's services involved in its 
preparation. The text is prepared as a basis for discussion and does not prejudge the final form 
of any decision to be taken by the Commission

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Table of content 

Modifications following the Opinion of the Impact Assessment Board.................................... 5 

1. 

Procedural issues and context setting....................................................................... 5 

1.1. 

Historical background of the Youth Cooperation Framework..................................... 5 

1.1.1.  General context ............................................................................................................ 5 

1.1.2.  Specific context............................................................................................................ 7 

1.2. 

Consultation of interested parties................................................................................. 8 

1.2.1. 

Internal consultations ................................................................................................... 8 

1.2.2.  Consultation of Member States.................................................................................... 8 

1.2.3.  Consultation of young people and youth organisations ............................................... 9 

1.2.4.  Consultation of experts ................................................................................................ 9 

2. 

Problem definition.................................................................................................... 10 

2.1. 

Problems..................................................................................................................... 10 

2.1.1.  Global challenges ....................................................................................................... 10 

2.1.2.  Problems affecting the situation of young people...................................................... 11 

2.1.3.  Assessment of the current cooperation framework.................................................... 13 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

4. 

Affected groups.......................................................................................................... 16 

Baseline Scenario ....................................................................................................... 17 

Legal basis and subsidiarity ....................................................................................... 17 

Objectives.................................................................................................................. 18 

General objectives...................................................................................................... 18 

Specific objectives ..................................................................................................... 18 

Operational objectives................................................................................................ 18 

Consistency of these objectives with other EU policies ............................................ 19 

Policy options............................................................................................................ 20 

4.1. 

Global analysis ........................................................................................................... 20 

4.1.1.  Possible scope ............................................................................................................ 20 

4.1.2.  Possible instruments................................................................................................... 20 

4.2. 

Policy options not retained for analysis ..................................................................... 20 

4.2.1.  Ending the Cooperation.............................................................................................. 20 

4.2.2.  Specific approach (narrow scope).............................................................................. 21 

4.2.3.  Development of a set of more binding tools .............................................................. 21 

4.3. 

Options retained for analysis...................................................................................... 21 

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4.3.1.  Option 1: Status quo (baseline scenario).................................................................... 21 

4.3.2.  Option 2: a reinforced Youth open method of coordination ...................................... 22 

4.3.3.  Option 3: a developed cross-sectoral approach.......................................................... 22 

4.3.4.  Option 4: a global strategy ......................................................................................... 23 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

5.3. 

5.4. 

6. 

Analysis of impacts................................................................................................... 24 

Social impacts ............................................................................................................ 24 

Economic impacts ...................................................................................................... 24 

Environmental impacts............................................................................................... 24 

Impacts on fundamental rights ................................................................................... 25 

Comparing the options ............................................................................................ 25 

6.1. 

Option 1: status quo ................................................................................................... 27 

6.1.1.  General objectives...................................................................................................... 27 

6.1.2.  Specific objectives ..................................................................................................... 27 

6.1.3.  Feasibility /implementation........................................................................................ 27 

6.2. 

Option 2: a reinforced OMC ...................................................................................... 28 

6.2.1.  General objectives...................................................................................................... 28 

6.2.2.  Specific objectives ..................................................................................................... 28 

6.2.3.  Feasibility /implementation........................................................................................ 28 

6.3. 

Option 3: a developed cross-sectoral approach.......................................................... 28 

6.3.1.  General objectives...................................................................................................... 28 

6.3.2.  Specific objectives ..................................................................................................... 29 

6.3.3.  Feasibility /implementation........................................................................................ 29 

6.4. 

Option 4: a global strategy ......................................................................................... 30 

6.4.1.  General objectives...................................................................................................... 30 

6.4.2.  Specific objectives ..................................................................................................... 30 

6.4.3.  Feasibility /implementation........................................................................................ 30 

7. 

Monitoring and evaluation ...................................................................................... 30 

Annex 1 - List of documents linked with the current Cooperation Framework ...................... 32 

Annex 2 – Priorities and objectives of the current Open Method of Coordination in the field of 
Youth.......................................................................................................................... 36 

Annex 3 - Description of the current Cooperation Framework ............................................... 37 

Annex 4 - List of recent reference documents ......................................................................... 38 

Annex 5 - General observations on the results of the public consultation............................... 40 

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List of main abbreviations 

EU: European Union 

EKCYP: European Knowledge Centre on Youth Policy 

EuNYK: European Network of Youth Knowledge  

OMC: open method of coordination 

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Modifications following the Opinion of the Impact Assessment Board 

Following  the  opinion  of  the  Impact  Assessment  Board  several  changes  have  been  made  to 
the impact assessment. 

In particular, the problem definition and the baseline have been further developed in section 2. 
Operational  objectives  expressing  in  concrete  terms  expected  policy  outcomes  have  been 
developed  in  section  3.  Concrete  information  regarding  proposed  actions  has  been  added  in 
section  4.  Information  on  indicators  has  been  added  in  section  7.  An  annex  providing  a 
summary of the public consultation main outcomes has been added. 

1. 

1.1. 

PROCEDURAL ISSUES AND CONTEXT SETTING 

Historical background of the Youth Cooperation Framework 

1.1.1.  General context 
Youth  cooperation  is  a  developed  EU  policy  area1.  EU  programmes  for  youth  have  been  in 
place  since  1988;  the  policy  process  is  more  recent.  An  open  method  of  coordination  was 
developed on the basis of a 2001 European Commission White Paper2 and was complemented 
by the European Youth Pact in 2005.  

The Council of the European Union established a framework for European co-operation in the 
field  of  youth  (hereafter  the  Youth  Cooperation  Framework)  in  June  20023.  The  framework 
included the four priority themes for cooperation proposed in the White Paper:  

•  Encouraging young people's participation in the exercise of active citizenship and 

civil society 

•  Enhancing the information addressed to young people 

•  Promoting voluntary activities among young people 

•  Encouraging greater understanding and knowledge of youth. 

The  Member  States  decided  to  use  the  open  method  of  coordination  (OMC)  in  order  to 
implement  these  priorities.  They  agreed  on  common  objectives4  for  each  one  of  the  four 
priorities,  and  were  responsible  for  the  implementation  of  the  common  objectives.  They 
reported  regularly  on  what  they  have  done  to  implement  them,  and  on  the  basis  of  these 
reports, the Commission prepared progress reports which were presented to the Council. 

At  the  end  of  2004,  Heads  of  State  and  Government  from  France,  Germany,  Sweden  and 
Spain decided to launch the idea of a European Pact for Youth in the context of the Lisbon 
Strategy revision. The aim  of this  Pact, endorsed by the European Council in March 20055, 
was  to  improve  education,  training,  mobility,  employment  and  social  inclusion  of  young 
people,  while  helping  to  achieve  a  work-life  balance.  The  European  Youth  Pact  was  then 

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See Annex 1 listing main EU policy documents related to the cooperation framework. 
'A new Impetus for European Youth', COM (2001) 681, 21.11.2001 
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 cooperation in the youth field 
[2002/C 168] 
See Annex 2 for list of Common objectives 
Annex 1 of Presidency Conclusions of the European Council, Brussels, 22 and 23.3.2005 (7619/05) 

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integrated  in  the  Youth  Cooperation  Framework  through  a  November  2005  Council 
resolution6. 

This  same  Council  resolution  called  on  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  to  evaluate 
the framework for European cooperation in the youth field in 2009. Council conclusions of 25 
May 2007 on future  perspectives for European cooperation in the field of youth policy also 
contributed with a set of proposals on future thematic and structural perspectives7. 

The  White  Paper  on  Youth  also  proposed  a  mainstreaming  approach  for  “taking  better 
account of the ‘youth’ dimension in other policy initiatives”. Apart from the areas covered by 
the  European  Youth  Pact,  this  approach  has  been  developed  in  a  few  fields  such  as  anti-
discrimination and more recently health. 

The  September  2007  Commission  Communication  "Promoting  young  people's 
full 
participation  in  education,  employment  and  society"8  was  another  milestone  of  the  current 
cooperation  framework.  It  stressed  the  need  for  a  cross-cutting  approach  to  youth  issues  in 
order to enhance young people's active participation in education, employment and in society. 
The  Commission  proposed  to  reinforce  the  partnership  between  EU  institutions  and  youth 
representatives and to prepare every three years an EU report on youth. 

These  different  elements,  coming  one  after  another,  have  resulted  in  a  complex  structure, 
based on three pillars:  

The open method of coordination dedicated to active citizenship of young people,  

The  European  Youth  Pact  aiming  at  promoting  social  and  vocational  integration  of  young 
people, and  

The mainstreaming activities. 

Other  tools  have  been  progressively  developed  in  order  to  support  the  Youth  Cooperation 
Framework. 

A  structured  dialogue  with  young  people  has  been  set  up  since  2005.  Structured  dialogue 
means  that  governments  and  administrations,  including  EU  institutions,  discuss  chosen 
themes  with  young  people,  in  order  to  obtain  results  which  are  useful  for  policy-making. 
Structured dialogue cycles around different themes have already been organised. The dialogue 
is structured in terms of themes within a specific timeframe. Debates are organised at local, 
regional  and  national  levels.  Events  where  young  people  can  discuss  the  agreed  themes 
amongst  themselves  and  also  with  EU  politicians  are  also  organised  on  a  regular  basis  (in 
particular 'Youth Events' twice a year, and a European Youth Week every 18 months).  

In order to acquire a greater understanding and knowledge of young people (which is both a 
priority of the Youth OMC and a base of the whole cooperation framework), some tools have 
also been set up at European level. A European Knowledge Centre on Youth Policy (EKCYP) 
has  been  developed  jointly  by  the  European  Commission  and  the  Council  of  Europe.  The 
EKCYP is a knowledge management system that aims at providing youth policy-makers and 
other interested stakeholders with a single entry point to retrieve information on the realities 
of youth across Europe. A European Network of Youth Knowledge (EuNYK) was set up by 

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Resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member  States, 
meeting within the Council, on addressing the concerns of young people in Europe — implementing the 
European Pact for Youth and promoting active citizenship [2005/C 292/03] 
[Official Journal C 314/24 of 22 December 2007] 
Commission  Communication  'Promoting  young  people's  full  participation  in  education,  employment 
and society', COM (2007) 498, September 2007. 

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the Commission in 2006 to exchange good practice on developing national youth knowledge 
networks  between  policy-makers,  young  people  and  researchers  and  thereby  facilitate  the 
implementation of the common objectives for a better knowledge and understanding of youth. 

The Commission also tried to facilitate peer learning exercises. A specific peer-learning cycle 
about  participation  of  young  people  with  fewer  opportunities  has  been  carried  out  in  2007-
2008 with various experts meetings taking place as well as a conference where policy makers 
met youth workers and NGOs to discuss and share experiences on this issue9. 

During  all  the  period,  Youth  Programmes  have  been  acting  beyond  their  financial  role  as 
policy  laboratories  where  concrete  ways  to  mobilise  young  people  through  international 
projects  have  been  experienced.  The  current  Programme  (Youth  in  Action  –  2007-2013) 
includes a whole strand dedicated to supporting European cooperation in the Youth field. 

1.1.2. 

Specific context 

A  number  of  important  policy  documents  have  recently  highlighted  the  need  for  a  renewed 
youth strategy. 

In the November 2007 Social Vision Communication, the Commission provided an overview 
of the social realities on the basis of the then ongoing Social Reality Stocktaking exercise. It 
noted  that  European  societies  are  undergoing  fast-moving,  profound  changes  in  both  the 
economic  and  social  spheres,  and  that  these  changes  are  directly  affecting  the  chances  of 
young people in life10. 

This  vision  was  supported  by  the  Bureau  of  European  Policy  Advisers  report  "Investing  in 
Youth – an empowerment strategy"11 which drew attention to the need for early investment in 
human  and  social  capital.  The  conclusions  of  this  report  underline  that  "An  EU  consensus 
now exists on the need to take action to back up young people with education, employment 
and  civic  participation.  (…)  An  across-the-board  policy  vision  and  investment  strategy  in 
youth is needed to fully develop the potential contribution of young people to growth, jobs, 
and the future of Europe.(…) The EU can help to improve this policy approach on investment 
in youth by highlighting the issues, mobilising knowledge and actors on the question of youth 
across Europe." 

Following this, the Renewed Social Agenda has been adopted in July 2008. It aims to create 
more  opportunities  for  EU  citizens,  improve  access  to  quality  services  and  demonstrate 
solidarity with those who are affected negatively by change. A mix of different policy tools is 
presented to achieve the objectives set out in the Agenda. 

A main priority among seven priority areas is youth and children: "Europe's future depends on 
its youth. Yet, life chances of many young people are blighted- they lack the opportunities and 
the access to education and training to realise their full potential."  
The Social Agenda Communication12 mentions that "later in 2008/2009 the Commission will 
issue  a  Communication  on  developing  the  open  method  of  coordination  on  youth,  with  a 
particular focus on young people with fewer opportunities".  

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practices 

identified 

Good 
to 
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/pdf/doc1084_en.pdf. 
Commission Communication 'Opportunities, Access and Solidarity: Towards a New Social Vision for 
21st Century Europe', COM (2007) 726, November 2007. 
Bureau of European Policy advisers, April 2007 
COM (2008) 412 final 

peer-learning 

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exercise 

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The Lisbon Treaty has added to political expectations, as its legal entry into force would give 
a  new  youth  dimension  to  the  EU  action  as  well  as  more  visibility  to  youth  at  EU  level— 
under  a  newly  modified  Article  149,  Community  action  shall  be  aimed  among  others  at 
"encouraging the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe".  

1.2. 

Consultation of interested parties 

The  consultation  requirements  have  been  met,  throughout  various  consultation  exercises 
conducted since April 2008. 

1.2.1. 

Internal consultations 

The existing Youth Inter-service Group has met twice in order to discuss main orientations of 
the  future  Cooperation  Framework  as  well  as  this  impact  assessment.  All  relevant 
Commission  services  have  been  invited  to  these  meetings  and  representatives  from  the 
following Directorate-Generals participated: Secretariat General, Bureau of European Policy 
Advisers,  Employment,  Social  Affairs  and  Equal  Opportunities  DG,  Justice,  Freedom  and 
Security DG, Health and Consumers DG, Research DG, Development DG, External relations 
DG,  Europeaid  DG,  Humanitarian  Aid  DG,  Information  Society  and  Media  DG  and 
Communication  DG.  Complementary  bilateral  contacts  have  also  taken  place  with  some 
Directorate-Generals 
like  Secretariat  General,  Employment,  Health  and  Consumers, 
Enterprise and Industry, External relations or Bureau of European Policy advisers. 

1.2.2.  Consultation of Member States 

Member  States  have  been  asked  to  report  by  mid  October  2008  on  their  evaluation  of  the 
current  cooperation  framework  and  their  ideas for  the  future  cooperation.  Directors  General 
for  Youth  of  the  Member  States  have  also  had  the  opportunity  to  discuss  these  issues  in 
several meetings which took place in 2008 and early 2009. Member States have highlighted 
achievements as well as a range of difficulties in the cooperation cycle13, as developed under 
section  2.1.2.  Among  the  achievements,  it  has  often  been  mentioned  that  the  cooperation 
framework increased the visibility of ‘Youth’ in Europe and allowed for a better incorporation 
of ‘Youth’ in EU policy. At national level, it has had influence on the development of many 
Youth  strategies.  The  role  of  the  cooperation  framework  as  a  platform  for  exchange  of 
practices and for dialogue has also been often underlined. 

However, EU youth cooperation has also shown some limits according to the Member States 
assessment: the framework is not clear and coherent enough, and is not enough delivering in 
some  areas,  for  instance,  the  implementation  of  the  European  Youth  Pact.  The  structured 
dialogue  with  young  people  needs  to  be  revised  and  more  inclusive,  and  the  cross-sector 
nature  of  youth  policy  needs  more  recognition  at  EU  and  national  level.  Several  Member 
States  have  stressed  the  particular  importance  of  having  coherent  policies  regarding  youth, 
family and children. 

A  common  letter  from  5  countries  (France,  Czech  Republic,  Sweden,  Spain,  and  Germany) 
has also been sent in October 2008 to all Youth Ministers and European Commission in order 
to present a common position of these five countries. This document underlines the need for a 
single  youth  policy  framework  merging  mainstreaming  efforts,  in  particular  related  to  the 
Youth  Pact  and  the  open  method  of  coordination,  which  embodies  all  of  the  youth  policy 
priorities. 

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Ecotec-Ecorys  summary  of  national  reports,  January 2009,  under  the Framework  contract  EAC/03/06 
on Evaluation, Impact assessment and related services. 

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Even  before  the  consultation  phase,  the  Council  conclusions  on  future  perspectives  for 
European cooperation in the field of youth policy adopted in May 200714 pointed out the need 
to  adapt  the  strategies  in  view  of  the  demographic  changes  (ageing  of  population,  need  for 
inter-generational solidarity). 

1.2.3.  Consultation of young people and youth organisations 

In  the  framework  of  the  structured  dialogue  with  young  people,  a  whole  cycle  dedicated  to 
future  challenges  for  young  people  has  been  launched  in  April  2008.  Youth  organisations 
have been invited to organise conferences on this topic to contribute to the definition of the 
new  Youth  Cooperation  Framework  of  the  next  decade  and  Commission  has  received  feed-
back  from  these  debates.  The  debates  culminated  during  the  European  Youth  Week  in 
November 2008, with the adoption of Conclusions which underlined among others the need 
for  a  clear  structure  for  dialogue  between  youth  and  decision  makers,  as  well  as  a 
comprehensive cross sector policy for youth.  

A  specific  and  regular  consultation  of  the  European  Youth  Forum  (EU  main  stakeholder  in 
the youth field, representing around 100 umbrella organisations) has also been organised via 
several meetings. 

A  public  consultation  called  'Strategic  Choices  for  Young  Europeans'  which  adhered  to  the 
Commission's  minimum  standards  has  been  launched  on-line  from  22nd  of  September  until 
25th  of  November  200815.  5426  responses  have  been  provided,  covering  both  individuals 
(88.5%)  including  half  of  youth  or  social  workers,  and  organisations  (11.5%  that  is  to  say 
over 600). 

When asked about the key challenges for young people in the coming decade, the respondents 
have  mainly  indicated  youth  unemployment,  reform  of  education  systems,  environment  and 
sustainable development, social integration and active participation in society. A majority of 
the  respondents  would  like  to  see  more  done  by  the  EU  to  help  young  people  play  a  more 
active  role  in  society,  to  develop  opportunities  or  young  people  to  live,  work  and  travel 
throughout Europe, and to help young people find a job.  

Most of the consultations conducted among young people and youth organisations indicate a 
will for a pursued and reinforced action in the citizenship related fields, together with a strong 
request  for  a  developed  youth  cross-cutting  policy.  These  expectations  can  be  found  in  the 
main  orientation  papers  of  the  European  Youth  Forum16,  in  the  conclusions  of  the  2008 
European Youth Week or in the results of the on-line consultation. 

1.2.4.  Consultation of experts 

A  special  meeting  of  researchers  of  the  European  Network  of  Youth  Knowledge  (EuNYK) 
has  been  organised  in  October  2008.  The  participants  stressed  the  need  to  reinforce  youth 
better knowledge tools in order to reinforce evidence-based policy making, not only for youth 
policies but also to provide other policies with a clearer youth perspective. 

The  national  agencies  of  the  Youth  in  Action  programme  also  provided  a  contribution 
underlining the need to develop a stronger linking of the national and the European level. This 
contribution also requested that youth cooperation act for the benefit of all young people (not 
only  specific  target  groups,  and  with  the  aim  of  reaching  out  young  people  who  are  not 

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16 

See reference in footnote 7. 
See annex 5 for a summary of main outcomes. The details of the on-line consultation outcomes will be 
published as a background document on http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm. 
Website of the European Youth Forum: http://www.youthforum.org/ 

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touched  enough  by  existing  measures),  as  well  as  a  stronger  support  of  youth  work.  The 
following issues have also been mentioned by the national agencies as particularly important 
for  young  people:  mobility,  innovation  and  entrepreneurship,  links  with  children  policy, 
health, culture, volunteering, participation and information.  

2. 

PROBLEM DEFINITION 

2.1. 

Problems  

The  problem  needs  to  be  defined  both  in  terms  of  the  challenges  directly  faced  by  young 
people, and of how to address these challenges via the Youth Cooperation Framework. 

All this takes place against a backdrop of new or persisting European-wide challenges, which 
directly or indirectly impact on young people.  

2.1.1.  Global challenges  

Globalisation brings new competitive forces on the world market: notwithstanding its positive 
effects  on  growth,  jobs  and  prosperity  and  the  need  to  enhance  European  competitiveness 
further through structural change, globalisation may also have negative consequences for the 
most vulnerable and least qualified workers such as the young people.  

Demographic  changes  are  also  a  major  challenge  for  the  European  countries  to  cope  with: 
Most Member States are experiencing a declining number of births and are among the most 
aged countries in the world17 with a shrinking workforce, and this has progressive effects on 
intergenerational  solidarity.  Youth  has  become  a  scarce  resource  in  Europe.  According  to 
Eurostat population projections, the percentage of people aged 15–29 in the total population 
will be 15.3 % in 2050, whereas they currently represent 19.3%. The Council conclusions on 
future perspectives for European cooperation in the field of youth policy adopted in May 2007 
point out the need to adapt the youth strategy in view of these demographic changes. 

Climate change is affecting the way we live and work, with a demand for new skills ('green 
jobs') as well as an increasing urge for sustainable behaviours and ways of life. 

Social  changes  impact  heavily  on  youth.  Europeans  are  living  longer  lives,  facing 
unprecedented  changes  in  family  patterns18,  making  progress  towards  gender  equality  and 
adjusting  to  new  patterns  of  mobility  and  diversity.  At  the  same  time,  evidence  shows  that 
individual  life  chances  are  often  set  by  the  time  a  child  reaches  school,  with  family 
background and neighbourhood environment playing a key role.  

Most  Member  States  are  now  experiencing  migratory  phenomena  and  are  confronted  with 
integration  challenges.  While  many  immigrants  in  the  European  Union  are  well  integrated, 
there  are,  nevertheless,  growing  concerns  in  a  number  of  countries  about  the  situation  of 
young  migrants  and  of  the  young  people  from  2nd  and  3rd  generation.  In  several  countries, 
over  10%  of  15  year-old  have  parents  who  were  born  abroad.  Children  and  youth  from 
migrant background tend to have lower school results than other pupils.19

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EU 2008 Demography Report 
Commission Communication 'Promoting solidarity between the generations' COM (2007) 244  
Third  Annual  Report  on  Migration  and  Integration,  COM  (2007)  512;  Green  Paper  "Migration  & 
Mobility: challenges and opportunities for EU education systems", COM (2008) 423. 

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The consequences of the current economic and financial crisis are not yet well known, but it is 
likely  to  affect  firstly  the  most  vulnerable  groups,  including  low-skilled  young  people20, 
especially when considering employability and initial access to the labour market. 
2.1.2.  Problems affecting the situation of young people21 

Beyond  global  challenges  affecting  European  societies,  other  challenges  more  specific  to 
youth  are  often  mentioned.  These  problems  have  also  direct  consequences  on  the 
implementation  of  the  core  objectives  of  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States  in  the 
already mentioned context of declining demographics. 

•  Lack of opportunities 

The Renewed Social Agenda stressed the fact that young people are not getting the best start 
in life: despite the fact that young people in the EU currently enjoy a wealth of opportunities, 
today's  young  generation  are  in  a  particularly  fragile  situation.  Too  many  young  people  are 
not  able  to  develop  their  full  potential  and  to  successfully  enter  the  job  market,  and  leave 
school without a formal qualification.  

While the educational attainment level of the working age population in the EU (15 to 64 year 
olds)  has  risen  during  the  last  decade,  almost  1/3  of  this  population  still  have  a  low 
educational  attainment  level  and  every  sixth  young  person  (18  to  24  years  old)  still  leaves 
school with only compulsory education attainment level or below22. The rate of early school 
leavers  stands  at  14.8%23,  and  is  even  more  severe  among  males  and  young  people  with 
migrant  backgrounds.  The  young  people  are  the  segment  of  the  European  population  that 
work mostly in low-quality jobs which require low qualifications and are poorly paid24. 

Another key challenge is linked to youth unemployment and poverty. Unemployment affects 
twice  as  many  young  people  as  adults  in  Europe.  Youth,  and  the  early  school  leavers  in 
particular,  find  it  difficult  to  get  access  to  the  labour  market,  with  fewer  unskilled  jobs 
available and very uneven access to lifelong learning. One-fifth of those aged between 16 and 
24 in Europe  were  at risk  of  poverty in 200625, against 14% for people aged 25-49. Such a 
situation is often combined with low social mobility, with young people coming from homes 
intergenerational 
with  multi-generational  unemployment  and/or  poverty,  as  well  as 
transmission of educational disadvantage. 

This  lack  of  opportunities  is  not  only  affecting  disadvantaged  young  people.  For  instance, 
even highly educated young people may well face difficulties of access to stable and quality 
jobs as well as a lack of financial autonomy vis-à-vis their family. By not always making the 
best  of  youth  potential,  European  societies  risk  creating  many  frustrations  and  lack  of 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Such  consequences  were  already  visible  in  many  countries  as  underlined  by  the  Commission  Lisbon 
strategy recommendations presented in January 2009, COM (2009) 34. 
The situation of young people in Europe will be described in detail in the future EU Report on youth, to 
be presented as a Staff Working Document at the same time as the Communication. 
Impact  assessment  accompanying  the  Commission  Communication  about  an  updated  strategic 
framework for European cooperation in Education and Training, December 2008 
2007 figure. Within the Education and Training Cooperation Framework, the benchmark set in 2003 – 
to  be  achieved  by 2010 –  was  to have  not more  than 10%  early  school  leavers.  The 2000  figure was 
17.3%. 
Young women experience even higher unemployment rates than men and are more often in low quality, 
part-time and fixed-term jobs. 
Being at risk of poverty meaning that the disposable income of the household in which these youngsters 
live, adjusted for household size, was below 60% of the national median income – 'Youth in the EU - 
figures', Eurostat, November 2008. 

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incentives among all categories of young people and increasing the gap between them and the 
main social institutions. 

•  Difficulties of access and participation in society  

All  young  people  are  not  always  adequately  equipped  to  deal  with  all  the  rapid  changes 
occurring in the European societies and some of them are particularly affected. Disadvantaged 
young people are often excluded from opportunities to participate fully in society and to enjoy 
the benefits of education, employment and social welfare. Without any of these opportunities, 
young people might sometimes face marginalisation or radicalisation, when placed in extreme 
situations from an economic or social point of view.  

In  addition,  there  is  a  growing  recognition  that  health  problems  among  young  people 
represent an increasing key challenge for public authorities: there are specificities of the youth 
population regarding issues such as obesity, life style, addictions and mental health. Injuries – 
often  in  link  with  risk-taking  behaviours  –  are  the  number  one  killer  of  young  people, 
claiming the lives of 20,000 young people aged 15-24 each year in the EU27. According to 
other  recent  estimates,  one  fifth  of  children  and  adolescents  in  the  EU  suffer  from 
developmental, emotional or behavioural problems and one in eight have a mental disorder. 
Improving  the  health  condition  of  young  people  and  promoting  a  healthy  lifestyle  and  a 
culture of prevention among them has thus become an important challenge26. 

The available information regarding the implementation of participation objectives (one of out 
of the four priorities in the current framework) shows that there is still room for improvement, 
particularly regarding specific objectives such as greater participation by young people in the 
mechanisms of representative democracy or learning to participate. Young people are still not 
involved enough in society and in civic life.  

•  Weakened solidarities 

As  explained  in  the  2007  Commission  Communication  'Promoting  solidarity  between  the 
generations'27,  inter-generational  solidarity  relationships  are  more  complex  than  in  the  past. 
Greater  life  expectancy,  population  ageing  and  increasing  geographical  mobility  impact  the 
relationships between the generations and the availability of family support networks28. While 
young adults live under their parents’ roof for longer, the parents have increasingly often to 
support dependent elderly people. And this is not always easy to reconcile with the weakening 
of family structures, combined with trends to individualisation29. 

At  the  same  time,  new  risks  of  generation  divide  are  emerging  between  younger  and  older 
generations – in a broader sense than solidarity within the family – in terms of pay, pensions, 
job security and access to housing for instance30.  

These various trends directly affect the situation of children and young people and their place 
in  society;  on  one  hand,  there  is  a  growing  focus  on  the  individual;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
young  people  tend  to  rely  more  on  new  solidarities  outside  family  or  other  traditional 
institutions (for instance, development of virtual communities such as Facebook, etc). This is 
not a problem in itself but might become such when the young people choose extreme forms 

26 

27 
28 
29 
30 

Commission  White  Paper  'Together  for  Health:  A  Strategic  Approach  for  the  EU  2008-2013', 
COM(2007) 630 
COM(2007) 244 final 
EU Demography Report 2008 - meeting social needs in an ageing society, SEC(2008) 2911 
Social reality stock taking exercise - Commission Communication COM(2007) 726. 
Communication COM (2007) 726 . 

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of  solidarity  in  order  to  find  identity  and  protection  (such  as  gangs  or  other  violent 
communities). 

In link with new family patterns,  many  children  now  grow  up  with  a single parent. Around 
one-third of these single parent families are at risk of poverty – twice the proportion for the 
population as a whole. This often leads to a vicious cycle of childhood deprivation, unhealthy 
lifestyles,  academic  under-achievement  and  social  exclusion.  Young  parents  themselves  can 
be particularly affected by these weakened solidarities. 
2.1.3.  Assessment of the current cooperation framework31  

The assessment of the results of the current cooperation cycle by the different actors involved 
in the process has shown some positive impacts. However, it has also highlighted a range of 
difficulties  or  limitations  in  the  cooperation  cycle,  particularly  when  tackling  the  above 
mentioned problems affecting young people. 

•  Assessment of the Youth open method of coordination 

Priorities32 

–  Encouraging young people's participation in the exercise of active citizenship and 

civil society 

Participation  was  the  first  priority  proposed  in  the  White  Paper.  Good  progress  has  been 
achieved  in  policies  at  national  level,  although  there  is  still  room  for  improvement.  Youth 
parliaments  or  youth  councils  are  established  in  the  majority  of  countries.  Most  countries 
provide  financial  support  for  greater  participation.  It  appears  that  the  downward  trend  in 
participation by young people in the mechanisms of representative democracy is continuing, 
although at the same time more efforts are taken to consult young people. Specific initiatives 
in terms of learning to participate still seem to be limited. 

At  European  level,  initiatives  have  also  been  successfully  taken.  For  instance,  the  Youth  in 
Action programme funds projects which are designed to encourage a sense of active European 
citizenship  in  young  people  and  encourage  young  people  to  become  more  involved  in  the 
democratic process at regional, national and European level. 

–  Enhancing the information addressed to young people 

Progress has been made on improving young people’s access to information in terms of the 
number  of  countries  having  an  information  strategy.  Together  with  the  European  Youth 
Portal, national youth portals have been established and many Member States started setting 
up  Youth  Information  Centres.  However,  most  countries  have  not  yet  developed  standard 
methods to assess the quality of the information. 

–  Promoting voluntary activities among young people 

National strategies for young volunteers still have to be developed, although there have been a 
number  of  recent  developments  in  several  Member  States  to  revise  legislation  in  order  to 
better support volunteering among young people.  

Real progress has been achieved at EU level. The Youth in Action programme offers several 
opportunities  for  volunteering.  One  of  them  is  the  ‘European  Voluntary  Service’,  through 

31 

32 

A more detailed assessment of the current cooperation framework by member States is published as a 
background document on http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm (Ecotec-Ecorys summary of national 
reports) 
See annex 2 for the list of current priorities and objectives of the open method of coordination 

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which  young  people  can  be  full-time  volunteers  for  up  to  one  year  in  another  country.  A 
Council  recommendation  on  the  mobility  of  young  volunteers  across  the  European  Union33 
has also been recently adopted in order to encourage youth cross-border volunteering. 

–  Encouraging greater understanding and knowledge of youth 

This  priority  is  characterised  by  weak  implementation  at  national  level.  While  progress  has 
been  made  since  the  adoption  of  the  common  objectives  in  2004  and  lots  of  good  practices 
exist, much is still to be done in this field. The major challenge for Member States seems to 
be how to develop a coordinated approach to youth research that brings all the actors in the 
field together in a joint effort to identify and streamline youth research34.  

Processes 
More generally, the public authorities for youth35 in many Member States have acknowledged 
that the EU cooperation framework in the field of youth has inspired youth-related legislation 
at national level and helped many Member States develop national strategies. National laws 
and  strategies  have  been  very  much  been  influenced  by  European  common  objectives  and 
priorities  either  in  the  "old"  Member  States36,  or  in  the  Member  States  that  have  joined  the 
European  Union  since  2004.  More  and  more  countries  involve  youth  organisations  in  their 
policy-making and the youth policy field is increasingly structured in a manner similar to or 
consistent with the EU framework at local and regional level37. 

While a majority of stakeholders feel that the main instruments of the cooperation framework 
remain appropriate, they also demand that the OMC tools should be further improved on and 
the quality of cooperation should be increased. 

Some Member States have for instance underlined that there is a lack of understanding of the 
diversity  of  ‘youth’  in  the  cooperation  cycle,  and  some  have  also  criticised  a  lack  of 
representativeness of the youngsters involved in the structured dialogue. 

It has also been suggested that the definition of ‘Youth’ – oriented towards the 15 to 25 age 
group – is too narrow in the past cooperation cycle, and that not enough attention is given to 
children (and children’s rights). 

Some stakeholders also highlighted the fact that there is a low awareness of EU youth policy. 
More  generally,  some  youth  organisations  consider  that  the  OMC  also  still  needs  to  be 
genuinely  implemented  in  all  Member  States.  In  this  sense,  the  current  cooperation 
framework has not always proved its efficiency and its capacity to deliver.  

It has often been underlined that youth work – a set of activities outside schools, developed by 
young  people,  youth  organisations  or  local  authorities  and  managed  by  youth  workers  or 
youth  leaders  –  has  not  been  recognised  and  supported  enough  by  the  current  cooperation 
framework. In particular, youth work has recently been evolving from activities traditionally 
focused  on  leisure  time  to  activities  dedicated  to  fight  unemployment,  educational  failure, 
marginalisation  and  social  exclusion;  these  last  ones  are  often  qualified  as  non  formal 
education activities in the youth field. So far, this shift has not been sufficiently analysed. 

33 
34 
35 
36 

37 

OJ C319/8, 13.12.2008 
'European Research on Youth' available at http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/library_en.html 
Summary of national reports prepared by Ecotec-Ecorys, January 2009 
For  example,  the  Finnish  Youth  Policy  Development  Programme  2007-2011  is  presented  in  official 
documents as a national implementation of the European Youth Cooperation Framework. 
Many Member States actively promote the creation of local/municipal youth councils: 850 in Greece, in 
200 out of 350 municipalities in Finland, half of the municipalities in France, Charter on participation 
of young people in local and regional life in Bulgaria, etc…) 

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The assessment of the past reporting cycle and of other documents also clearly indicates that 
there are important gaps in the information supplied by Member States, and more generally 
the  field  suffers  from  a  real  lack  of  data  at  European  level,  which  contradicts  the  need  for 
evidence based policies. 

•  Assessment of the European Youth Pact 

The  adoption  of  the  European  Youth  Pact  has  been  welcomed  and  its  three  strands 
(employment and social integration, education, training and mobility, as well as reconciliation 
of working and family life) are considered as very important areas for youth.  

Priorities 

–  Employment, integration and social advancement 

Some progress  has been achieved on youth employment and integration after  this became a 
priority  of  the  Lisbon  strategy  since  2005.  The  Pact  has  particularly  helped  to  develop  a 
transversal approach of youth issues regarding employment.  

The  implementation  of  the  European  Youth  Pact,  however,  still  needs  work  at  EU  and 
national  levels,  and  the  current  economic  crisis  brings  risks  of  relapse.  The  analysis  of  the 
National Reform Programmes for 2008 shows that youth unemployment is around 15.5%, that 
is to say 2 points less than in 2007, but remains however twice the global unemployment rate. 
It has not changed much since 2000, when the youth unemployment rate was 16.1% and the 
general  rate  8.4%.  Moreover,  young  people  are  likely  to  be  particularly  vulnerable  in  the 
deteriorating economic situation38. 

–  Education, training and mobility 

These  are  still  issues,  particularly  concerning  the  high  rate  of  drop-outs  from  the  school 
system  and  the  lack  of  recognition  of  non-formal  and  informal  education,  despite  some 
progress  achieved  at  EU  level  with  Youthpass  and  Europass.  Furthermore,  mobility  is  only 
possible for a limited part of the young people in Europe. 

–  Reconciliation of working life and family life 

This  priority  has  not  been  characterised  by  much  progress.  However,  there  is  a  growing 
awareness  of  how  crucial  child-friendly  policies  are  for  tackling  many  of  the  issues  arising 
among youth and for addressing demographic change. 

Processes 

At national level, the profile of youth as a priority area in employment policies has increased 
since  2005.  However,  youth  ministries  are  not  always  enough  involved  in  that  process,  and 
coordination on the youth issues between the relevant policies is insufficient in many Member 
States. Moreover, the involvement of youth organisations in the implementation of the Pact, 
as  foreseen  in  the  European  Council  conclusions  themselves,  varies  according  to  the 
countries. 

At EU level, the youth dimension is more visible in main reporting documents, and the Youth 
Council presents every year key messages to the Spring European Council.  

38 

Council  Key  messages  to  the  Spring  European  Council  on  the  European  Youth  Pact  and  European 
cooperation in the youth field, 16 February 2009. 

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The  already  mentioned  2007  Communication  about  "Promoting  young  people's  full 
participation  in  education,  employment  and  society"39  went  a  step  further  in  listing  many 
concrete actions in the field of youth education, employment, inclusion and participation. 

•  Assessment of mainstreaming activities 

Priorities 

Mainstreaming activities have been developed since 2002 in few areas like the fight against 
racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination or since 2008 health and well-being on 
which a Council resolution has recently been adopted40.  

Fight  against  discrimination  has  been  characterised  by  a  strong  youth  involvement  in 
European  campaigns  such  as  ‘For  Diversity-Against  Discrimination’  or  'All  different,  all 
equal'41. 

Although we are at the beginning of the EU level mainstreaming process regarding health, the 
growing youth dimension of health strategies is very promising42. 

Processes 

There  is  a  consensus  for  asking  more  recognition  of  the  cross-sector  nature  of  youth  policy 
and  a  broader  scope  for  this  cross-cutting  approach  as  already  illustrated  in  Council 
Conclusions  of  November  2007  on  a  transversal  approach  to  youth  policy43  and  in  the 
European Parliament Declaration on youth empowerment44. However, the current framework 
is not coordinated enough in order to tackle all the necessary issues. 

All in all, there is also a general feeling that the 'Youth' resource (youth organisations, youth 
networks,  youth  workers,  youth  leaders,  and  young  people  themselves)  could  be  better 
valorised and used in order to tackle main EU challenges.  

2.2. 

Affected groups 

This initiative will affect primarily the young people. The Europeans between 15 and 29 are 
around 20 % of the current EU population, that is to say 96 million people.  

Another  affected  group  will  be  Youth  non-governmental  organisations.  These  organisations 
are  present  at  every  level  of  decision  making,  from  the  local  level  to  the  European  Union. 
Youth organisations or councils are generally very structured and represent a whole range of 
youth groups.  

The initiative also concerns people working with young people such as youth/social workers. 
Youth  administrations  at  all  levels  will  also  be  affected  by  this  initiative,  as  they  would 
implement it. 

39 
40 
41 
42 
43 

44 

See full reference in footnote 8 
See for instance Council Resolution of 20 November 2008 on health and well-being of young people. 
See http://www.stop-discrimination.info/ and http://alldifferent-allequal.info/ 
See also footnote 27 
Conclusions  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member  States, 
meeting within the Council of 16 November 2007 on a transversal approach to youth policy with a view 
to enabling young people to fulfil their potential and participate actively in society, [2007/C 282/16] 
The  European  Parliament  adopted  in  September  2008  a  written  declaration  on  youth  empowerment, 
with 433 MEPs signing a text calling on the Commission and Member States to take into account the 
needs  of  young  people  when  developing  policies  that  affect  them  and  to  develop  a  more  horizontal 
youth policy. 

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2.3. 

Baseline Scenario 

As already explained in chapters 1.1.2 and 2.1.3, a framework for European co-operation in 
the field of youth (Youth Cooperation Framework) was established in June 2002 by way of an 
open  method  of  coordination  (OMC)  focusing  on  active  citizenship  of  young  people,  and 
complemented in 2005 by the European Youth Pact – an instrument dedicated to social and 
vocational  integration  of  young  people  within  the  Lisbon  strategy.  Other  elements,  such  as 
mainstreaming activities (taking account of the ‘youth’ dimension in other policy initiatives), 
knowledge  tools,  structured  dialogue  with  young  people  and  peer-learning,  have  been 
progressively developed within the Youth Cooperation Framework.  

The  current  Youth  Cooperation  Framework  has  three  pillars:  the  OMC  dedicated  to  active 
citizenship  of  young  people,  the  European  Youth  Pact  aiming  at  promoting  social  and 
vocational integration of young people, and mainstreaming activities. 

The  current  cycle  of  the  open  method  of  coordination  will  come  to  an  end  in  2009  with  an 
assessment  of  the  implementation  of  the  fourth  and  last  priority  (better  knowledge  of  the 
situation of young people) and with an evaluation of the whole cycle, as foreseen in Council 
resolutions.  

No  other  work  is  planned  under  this  current  framework,  which  means  that  the  cooperation 
between Member States would cease regarding citizenship of young people without specific 
action  being  taken:  extension  of  the  current  OMC  beyond  2009  would  hence  also  require  a 
specific proposal by the Commission and endorsement by Council. The possibility of ending 
the cooperation has not been retained for further analysis (as explained below in section 4.2), 
and this extension scenario has been chosen as a status quo option under section 4.  

2.4. 

Legal basis and subsidiarity 

The legal basis for this initiative can be found in Article 149 of the EC treaty.  

Member States have the main responsibility for the policy changes needed to respond to the 
challenges identified in Section 2, and most of the policies concerned are areas where the EU 
has only competence to carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of 
the  Member  States.  However,  a  more  pro-active  role  at  EU  level  is  necessary  in  order  to 
support  Member  State  cooperation.  Action  by  a  Member  State  alone  would  not  achieve  the 
same  results  as  described  in  the  assessment  of  the  current  cooperation  framework  such  as 
raising  visibility  of  Youth  and  youth  strategies,  defining  common  objectives,  developing 
mutual  learning,  exchange  of  practices  and  experience  as  well  as  structured  dialogue  with 
young people at a European level, , access to European wide data, etc.  

Moreover,  stakeholders  and  Member  States  have  found  that  the  current  OMC  has  provided 
added  value  (in  particular  by  acting  as  a  catalyst  in  relation  to  supporting  development  of 
national strategies) and have expressed keen interest in continued cooperation on key issues. 
As described in section 1.2, they see the need to strengthen the effectiveness of the OMC in 
certain  ways  to  achieve  better  outcomes.  The  added  value  of  the  EU  in  implementing 
interlinked policies has also been underlined.  

All  the  options  examined  below  fully  respect  the  principle  of  subsidiarity.  These  options 
envisage setting up common objectives and cooperation principles, but national competences 
as  well  as  diversity  of  national  situations  regarding  youth  and  youth  strategies  are  fully 
respected,  as  the  framework  will  leave  implementation  of  these  objectives  and  principles  in 

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the hands of the Member States45. Since the Youth Cooperation Framework is based on the 
voluntary  cooperation  of  the  various  stakeholders,  including  the  local  and  regional  levels  is 
also very important for achieving the common objectives. 

3. 

OBJECTIVES 

3.1. 

General objectives 

On the basis of the problem definition and challenges listed above, the next European Youth 
Cooperation Framework will aim to enhance the well-being of young people in Europe during 
the  next  decade,  by  investing  properly  in  youth  and  in  empowering  young  people  for 
contributing in a more competitive, cohesive and sustainable EU society. 

The  general  objectives  of  the  proposed  framework  are  in  line  with  its  strategic  orientations 
listed above and with the problems affecting young people themselves: 

•  Creating more opportunities for youth in education and employment – Helping 
young people to develop their potential, particularly in terms of formal and non-
formal  education,  employment  (employability,  flexicurity  and  work/life  balance) 
as well as creativity. 

•  Improving access and full participation of all young people in society – Ensuring 
access  to  social  and  civic  opportunities  for  all  young  people  in  their  diversity, 
particularly in terms of health and participation. 

•  Fostering mutual solidarity between society and young people – Promoting both 
solidarity of society towards youth and of young people towards other generations 
or  other  young  people,  in  particular  through  volunteering  or  solidarity  with  the 
rest of the world. 

3.2. 

Specific objectives  

•  The specific objectives of the proposed European Youth Cooperation Framework 
seek  to  improve  its  coherence  and  its  efficiency:  To  develop  a  transversal 
approach  of  issues  relating  to  youth,  in  order  to  address  these  issues  in  a 
comprehensive way; 

•  To improve efficiency of the cooperation, so as to answer the concerns expressed 

by most of the actors; 

•  To  mobilise  youth  organisations  and  young  people,  in  order  to  develop  youth 

empowerment. 

3.3. 

Operational objectives  

The operational objectives of the proposed European Youth Cooperation Framework should 
enable the revised framework to tackle the issues addressed in the assessment of the current 
cooperation. They are the following ones: 

•  To develop coordination mechanisms between policies; 

•  To reinforce structured dialogue with young people; 

45 

As  most  coordination  processes,  the  youth  framework  is  mainly  aimed  at  initiating  or  facilitating 
reforms to be conducted at the national level. 

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•  To  improve  implementation  of  cooperation  (particularly  via  simplified  reporting 

and peer-learning processes);  

•  To develop knowledge based policy making. 

3.4. 

Consistency of these objectives with other EU policies 

These objectives will help to meet the challenges mentioned in Section 2, as well as the core 
objectives of the European Union. 

They  will  contribute  to  implementing  the  Renewed  Social  Agenda,  as  already  outlined  in 
Section  1,  as  well  as  the  goals  of  the  Lisbon  Strategy  and  probably  the  future  post  Lisbon 
objectives.  Youth  strategies  have  a  key  role  to  play  for  social  cohesion,  access  to 
opportunities, inclusion, health or intergenerational dialogue.  

European  competitiveness  highly  depends  on  efforts  for  education,  training  and  youth 
employment (for instance, flexicurity). 

Participation and commitment are key words for youth strategies, in order to develop active 
citizenship of the young Europeans. 

There  is  also  a  strong  link  between  these  Youth  strategy  objectives  and  recent  actions 
undertaken by the European Union regarding children's rights46 and families. 

Youth strategy has also to do with integration policy, including actions aiming at facilitating 
access to employment, raising the educational attainments, promoting equal opportunities for 
all, fostering intercultural dialogue and increasing civil, cultural and political participation of 
immigrants.  Insofar  as  mobility  of  third  country  nationals  (students,  trainees,  volunteers)  is 
concerned, Youth and immigration policies are closely interconnected. 

46 

Commission Communication 'Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child', COM(2006) 327 

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4. 

POLICY OPTIONS 

4.1. 

Global analysis 

In relation to the objectives identified, four policy options have been considered; they can be 
briefly differentiated according to the policy scope or to the instruments chosen. 

4.1.1.  Possible scope 

The scope could vary along two main scenarios. 

A  specific  approach  characterised  by  a  narrow  scope  would  be  focused  only  on  active 
citizenship  of  young  people,  participation  and  commitment  directly  connected  to  Youth 
policy, supporting traditional youth work. 

A transversal approach characterised by a holistic scope would encompass all policies which 
concern young people, namely education, employment, inclusion, health, justice, including a 
renewed youth policy regarding active citizenship as well as mobilisation of young people).  

4.1.2.  Possible instruments 

As far as the instruments are concerned: 

•  The  Youth  open  method  of  coordination  (citizenship  focused  scope)  could  be 
either  based  on  the  current  tools  or  an  improved  one,  with  new  mechanisms  for 
reporting, monitoring, knowledge and dialogue with the stakeholders. 

•  The necessary cross-sectoral coordination could also be either: 

–  based on light mechanisms (such as now, with some mainstreaming activities in a 

few policies)  

–  Or improved by stronger, more global and integrated mechanisms:  

– 

– 

– 

– 

Identifying  how  youth  policy  can  contribute  to  other  policies 
and with which tools; 

Checking if and how the current youth needs are considered in 
these policies at the right level (monitoring); 

Ensuring a certain level of cooperation-coordination; 

Mobilising  young  people  and  youth  organisations 
implementing the relevant policies. 

for 

•  Another way of action could be to develop a set of more binding tools in order to 

complement national policies. 

4.2. 

Policy options not retained for analysis 

4.2.1.  Ending the Cooperation  

Without any explicit extension of the OMC – which is the core of the current framework – the 
cooperation  would  cease  on  citizenship  priorities  beyond  2009.  In  this  area,  the  situation 
would be quite similar to the one before the 2001 White Paper: the main cooperation activities 
would be centred on the implementation of the Youth programmes.  

The  European  Youth  Pact  would  go  on  within the  Lisbon  strategy  framework,  at  least  until 
the  revision  planned  in  2010.  The  few  other  mainstreaming  activities  developed  under  the 
Youth Framework might be at risk as they will lose the leverage effect of the Youth OMC. 

EN 

20 

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Under  this  option,  most  of  the  'acquis'  obtained  through  the  cooperation  and  policy 
development  since  2001  would  thus  risk  being  lost  or  diminished.  It  would  send  a  negative 
message to the young people, at a particularly difficult moment for them from an economic 
point of view. 

4.2.2. 

Specific approach (narrow scope) 

Restricting the scope of the EU Youth Cooperation Framework to the citizenship area would 
be  in  contradiction  with  all  the  requests  for  more  cross–sectoral  approach  coming  from  the 
various stakeholders in the field, including the Member States themselves.  

It would also be counter-productive as it would compromise an important 'acquis' (European 
Youth  Pact,  mainstreaming).  With  all  the  limitations  described  under  section  2  above,  the 
European  framework  has  nevertheless  encouraged  the  development  of  cross-sectoral 
coordination  mechanisms,  which  are  particularly  relevant  for  better  taking  into  account  the 
youth dimension in other policy domains47. Since 2005, the European Youth Pact has become 
a key tool of European action for youth. In this context, the specific dimension of youth life-
transitions  is  more  taken  into  account  when  adopting  new  measures  related  to  the  labour 
market.  

Moreover,  a  narrow  approach  would  not  be  in  line  with  the  policy  line  advocated  in  the 
September 2007 Communication. 

4.2.3.  Development of a set of more binding tools  

Within  the  holistic  approach,  the  main  involved  policies  are  based  on  open  methods  of 
coordination  or  other  non-binding  instruments.  Although  the  use  of  'soft  law'  might  be 
appropriate  in  specific  cases  (such  as  recently  done  with  success  under  Article  149  EC  in 
order  to  adopt  a  Council  Recommendation  on  the  Mobility  of  Young  Volunteers  across 
European  Union),  wide  adoption  of  binding  tools  would  be  in  conflict  with  the  subsidiarity 
principle. Furthermore, it would only be possible to adopt such acts in areas expressly covered 
by Treaty provisions and would not make possible to achieve the objectives identified under 
section 3, particularly regarding the necessary development of a transversal approach. 

4.3. 

Options retained for analysis 

Option 1: Status quo 

Option 2: a reinforced youth OMC 

Option 3: a developed cross-sectoral approach 

Option 4: a global strategy 

These policy options can be briefly described as follows. 

4.3.1.  Option 1: Status quo (baseline scenario) 

Under  this  option,  continuation  of  the  current  OMC  beyond  2009  would  be  based  on  a 
specific proposal by the Commission and endorsement by the Council. The extended Youth 
Cooperation Framework would then function on the basis of the current tools and objectives, 
and the framework would remain divided in three pillars. 

47 

In  Latvia,  for  instance,  eight  ministries  are  involved  in  an  inter-ministerial  committee  headed  by  the 
Minister  of  Children,  Family  and  Youth  affairs.  These  ministries  have  to  report  on  how  they  include 
youth dimension in their activities. 

EN 

21 

   EN 

 
                                                 
The OMC would keep its four 'active citizenship' priorities. It should be noted that the current 
youth  OMC  does  not  foresee  the  adaptation  of  these  priorities.  Thus,  new  challenges  as 
mentioned  in  the  problem  definition  above  could  not  be  highlighted  as  specific  priorities 
under this extended framework. Every two years, one of the four priorities of the OMC would 
be reported about by the Member States. Tools such as peer-learning and structured dialogue 
could continue to evolve on an experimental basis. 

The  European  Youth  Pact  would  continue  to  exist  within  both  the  Youth  Cooperation 
Framework and the Lisbon Strategy at least until this process is revised in 2010. 

The  current  mainstreaming  activities  would  go  on  in  the  current  limited  way,  without  more 
cooperation instruments than ad hoc ones. 

4.3.2.  Option 2: a reinforced Youth open method of coordination 

In this option, the priority would be given to improving the active citizenship of young people 
in  Europe,  as  it  was  the  2001  Commission  White  Paper,  with  some  mechanisms  for 
mainstreaming of youth in other policies besides this. The Youth OMC should be reinforced 
while keeping its active citizenship orientation. Besides the reinforced OMC, other tools (such 
as mainstreaming) would remain the same than today.  

In order to implement the reinforced OMC, the following tools could be developed. 

It  is  proposed  to  keep  and  develop  peer-learning  processes,  possibly  via  clusters  between 
some  Member  States  (meetings  of  experts  at  technical  level)  or  high  level  seminars  when 
political cooperation is essential. 

Structured dialogue with young people should be reinforced, possibly complemented with ad 
hoc dialogue with social partners. 

In order to develop monitoring tools, the reinforced OMC could be based on indicators, to be 
decided later on the basis of the results of a special working group. 

The  current  tools  for  better  knowledge  of  young  people  (such  as  Eurostat  data,  national 
reports, the Knowledge Centre) would have to be complemented mainly regarding citizenship 
of young people. On this basis, one could probably reinforce the networking of researchers in 
order to support the analysis.  

Another  tool  of  the  reinforced  OMC  would  be  a  triennial  presentation  and  discussion  of 
Commission/Council  joint  reports,  on  the  basis  of  national  reports.  This  triennial  report  –
dealing also mainly with citizenship of young people – would also be the time for evaluating 
the  framework  and  if  necessary  updating  the  priorities  chosen  for  implementing  the 
objectives. 

Besides this reinforced OMC, the cooperation framework would not have stronger tools than 
today for mainstreaming youth in other policy fields. 

4.3.3.  Option 3: a developed cross-sectoral approach 

In this scenario, the main focus would be put on cross-sectoral approach in policies being of 
first importance for young people, such as employment, education, inclusion, health, etc. The 
OMC would keep its current tools and objectives without any reinforcement, considering that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  go  further  in  the  development  of  tools  for  active  citizenship  of  young 
people.  

The cross sectoral approach would be developed along the following lines: 

-  Through  developed  coordination  mechanisms  for  policies  with  a  strong  youth  dimension 
(such  as  employment,  inclusion  or  health  for  instance)  at  EU  and  national  level  whenever 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
possible,  in  order  to  ensure  a  priority  to  youth  in  other  policies  whenever  relevant;  the 
principle  of  a  cross-sectoral  approach  at  national  level  could  be  agreed,  and  the  way  to 
implement  it  should  be  left  to  the  Member  States  responsibility.  At  EU  level,  Commission 
should also devise coordination mechanisms such as developing Youth Interservice group and 
Council  could  envisage  setting  up  ad  hoc  cooperation  between  Council  formations  when 
dealing on transversal youth issues. 

-  Via  mobilisation  of  youth  as  a  resource  in  policies  where  youth  actors,  young  people  and 
youth  organisations  can  play  a  role  and/or  provide  expertise.  Young  people  and  especially 
youth organisations and youth leaders have a specific role and responsibilities in some areas 
such  as  environmental  awareness48,  creativity  and  innovation,  solidarity  (intergenerational, 
with young migrants, with young people with fewer opportunities, with rest of the world), the 
fight against discriminations, etc.. 

4.3.4.  Option 4: a global strategy 

This option would be characterised by a general evolution, both in the tools and in the issues 
covered  by  the  framework.  The  main  instruments  of  the  future  framework  would  be  a 
reinforced open method of coordination as well as a developed cross sectoral approach. Both 
tools have already been described above, in options 2 and 3.  

In  this  scenario,  the  cross  sectoral  approach  would  furthermore  also  benefit  from  the  tools 
used  in  the  reinforced  OMC,  such  as  reporting,  structured  dialogue,  and  knowledge.  This 
option is the most ambitious one as it plans an upgrading in terms of priorities and tools. It 
would embrace the different aspects of the life of young people, whether at school, at work, at 
leisure time or outside these environments. 

Within  this  option,  synergies  between  youth  OMC  and  cross-sectoral  approach  could  be 
developed,  by  using  tools  developed  in  the  framework  of  the  OMC  such  as  structured 
dialogue  with  young  people,  better  knowledge  instruments,  peer-learning  and  mobilisation 
capacities in order to contribute to the implementation of other policies. 

In terms of structure, this option would favour an integrated approach rather than maintaining 
the  fragmented  three  pillar  one.  The  new  structure  would,  in  particular,  fully  integrate  the 
issues addressed by the European Youth Pact. 

48 

EN 

for 

See 
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/campaign/index_en.htm 

instance  Commission  campaigns  directed  at  children  and  young  people,  at 

23 

   EN 

 
                                                 
5. 

 ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS 

The  impact  of  the  current  Youth  Cooperation  Framework  is  not  easily  measured  in 
quantitative terms, and the same will also apply to other policy options in the field. Although 
the final aim of all the options is to improve policy outcomes for young people, it is difficult 
to assess the direct impact of the framework due to the multitude of contributing factors. The 
analysis  below  is  thus  more  an  assessment  of  potential  qualitative  impacts  of  the  various 
options, regarding social, economic and environmental outcomes, as well as impact on human 
rights. 

The  microeconomic  aspects  (such  as  administrative  costs  mainly)  are  duly  taken  into 
consideration when comparing the “feasibility” of the various options. 

5.1. 

Social impacts 

None  of  the  options  considered  would  have  a  negative  social  impact,  but  not  all  would  be 
equal as to potential consequences on social outcomes. 

Without  any  revision  of  the  cooperation  framework  as  planned  in  option  1  (status  quo),  the 
existing cycle would risk being out of touch with current and future needs of the young people 
as well as the main renewed Social Agenda orientations.  

All other options are in line with the renewed Social Agenda and would have a more positive 
social  impact.  Option  2  (a  reinforced  Youth  OMC)  would  put  an  emphasis  on  an  increased 
civic  participation  and  more  solidarity  of  young  people.  However,  options  3  (a  developed 
cross-sectoral  approach)  and  4  (a  global  strategy)  would  have  the  most  important  social 
impact,  by  setting  up  tools  in  order  to  develop  efficient  strategies  specifically  dedicated  to 
encourage  employment,  inclusion  and  general  well-being  of  young  people,  as  well  as 
reinforcing participation and solidarity for option 4. 

5.2. 

Economic impacts 

As  for  social  impacts,  none  of  the  options  considered  would  have  a  negative  economic 
impact, but not all would be equal as to potential consequences on economic outcomes.  

The  same  analysis  than  for  social  impacts  is  valid  regarding  option  1:  the  existing  cycle, 
characterised  by  a  limited  flexibility,  would  risk  being  quickly  (if  not  already)  out  of  touch 
with  the  everyday  problems  of  the  young  people,  such  as  the  high  unemployment  rate  of 
young people and its macro-economic consequences. This also goes for option 2 which would 
not change the efficiency and scope of the current transversal actions regarding other policies.  

Options  3  and  4  would  have  a  greater  positive  impact  on  competitiveness  and  would 
positively feed into the Growth and Jobs Strategy: the development of cross-sectoral approach 
which they foresee aims at reinforcing the positive consequences of the Youth cooperation on 
the employment and education levels of young people, and would also allow taking better into 
account the future needs of youth and of European societies in this area. 

For options 2 and 4, the impact on the administrative burden would be quite positive, as this 
scenarios include a triennial reporting obligation rather than a more frequent one as today.  

The various options have no impact on the EU budget. 

5.3. 

Environmental impacts 

None  of  the  assessed  option  would  have  direct  environmental  impacts.  In  the  long  run,  no 
option among those proposed would have a negative impact on the environment.  

Options 2 and 4 could have secondary positive environmental impacts.  

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
Option  2  (a  reinforced  Youth  OMC)  could  be  used  for  inviting  young  people  to  consider 
environmental issues as important.  

Option 4 (a global strategy) would combine youth work and citizenship focused strategy with 
cross-sectoral  approach.  Environment  is  one  of  the  areas  where  above  mentioned  synergies 
between the youth OMC and the cross-sectoral approach could be developed. By using tools 
developed  in  the  framework  of  the  OMC,  mobilisation  capacities  of  young  people  can 
contribute to the implementation of policies such as environment, energy or transport. 

5.4. 

Impacts on fundamental rights 

All the options are compatible with the obligation to respect fundamental rights as laid down 
in  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union.  The  rights  enshrined  in  the 
Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  that  have  a  particular  link  with  youth  issues  are  Article  24 
(Rights of the child) as well as Article 21 (Non-discrimination – including based on age) and 
Article 32 (Prohibition of child labour and protection of young people at work).  

Other  provisions  of  particular  interest  for  this  field  are  Article  7  (Respect  for  private  and 
family life), Article 14 (Right to education), Article 15 (Freedom to choose an occupation and 
right  to  engage  in  work),  Article 23  (Equality  between  women  and  men)  and  Article  33 
(Family and professional life). 

Generally  speaking,  all  options  would  have  a  positive  impact  on  the  rights  of  children  and 
young people. Options 3 and 4 would have more positive impacts on the fundamental rights 
connected with family and professional life, as they would offer the possibility to develop a 
transversal approach for youth in these areas. 

6. 

COMPARING THE OPTIONS 

The  four  options  have  been  compared  on  the  basis  of  their  impact  on  the  objectives  to  be 
achieved and on the basis of their feasibility. 
In this context the concept of feasibility refers mainly to political acceptance of the options, 
availability of human resources and financial means, and administrative burden. 

EN 

25 

   EN 

 
The ranking of impacts (compared with the baseline scenario) is defined in the table below: 

Table 1 – Ranking criteria 

++ 

+ 

0 

- 

-- 

Impact 
compared  with 
baseline 
scenario 

Positive 
impact 

Small positive 
impact 

Neutral 
impact 

Small 
negative 
impact 

Negative 
impact 

Feasibility/ 

feasible  more  or  less 

Implementation 

feasible 

feasibility 
difficult 
assess 

slightly 
difficult 

to 

difficult 

Table 2 – Comparing the options with regard to the impacts on the objectives 

Option  1  (status 
quo) 

2 

Option 
(A 
reinforced  Youth 
OMC) 

3 

Option 
(a 
developed  cross- 
sectoral 
approach) 

Option 
global strategy) 

4 

(a 

General objectives 

Objective 1 

0 

Creating  more 
opportunities 

Objective 2 

0 

Improving  youth 
access  

Objective 3 

0 

Fostering  mutual 
solidarity 

Specific objectives 

0 

+ 

+ 

+ 

- 

- 

+ 

++ 

++ 

Objective 4 

0 

- 

+ 

++ 

EN 

26 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transversal 
approach 
youth issues 

of 

Objective 5 

0 

+/0 

+/0 

+ 

Improve 
the 
efficiency  of  the 
framework 

Objective 6 

0 

+ 

+/0 

++ 

Mobilisation  of 
young people 

Table 3 – Comparing the options according to rating of feasibility/implementation 

Option  1  (status 
quo) 

2 

Option 
(a 
reinforced  Youth 
OMC) 

3 

Option 
(a 
developed  cross-
sectoral 
approach) 

Option 
global strategy) 

4 

(a 

Feasibility 
implementation 

/ 

++ 

+ 

+ 

+ 

Based on the description in table 2 and 3 regarding impacts on objectives and feasibility, the 
following conclusions can be drawn regarding the four options. 

6.1. 

Option 1: status quo 

6.1.1.  General objectives 

This  option  will  not  lead  to  creating  more  opportunities  and  improving  access  and 
participation than now, as this option only foresees an extension of the current approach. As 
already  discussed,  it  does  not  appear  as  an  appropriate  answer  to  tackle  challenges 
enumerated above under section 2. 

6.1.2. 

Specific objectives 

This option would suffer from a lack of interaction and in particular of coordination between 
policies.  It  would  also  be  difficult  to  mobilise  young  people  and  their  representatives  with 
such an option. 

6.1.3.  Feasibility /implementation 

This  option  would  be  straightforward  easy  to  implement  as  it  is  an  extension  of  the  current 
situation. However, political acceptance might be an issue as it would not provide a sufficient 
answer  to  the  message  both  of  Member  States  in  favor  of  a  more  efficient  OMC  and  of  a 
stronger transversal approach. It would not make administrative burden lighter, as the current 
reporting cycle would continue to apply. 

EN 

27 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
6.2. 

Option 2: a reinforced OMC 

6.2.1.  General objectives 

This option would reinforce mainly access to civic and volunteering opportunities, a limited 
even  if  important  part  of  the  specific  objectives,  and  would  not  have  more  positive  impacts 
than  with  the  current  cooperation  on  the  creation  of  opportunities  for  employment  and 
education.  The  general  effects  on  inclusion  of  young  people  would  be  quite  limited,  as  it 
would not include real developments in the cross-sectoral approach. 

6.2.2. 

Specific objectives 

This option could bring some improvements in the implementation of youth cooperation and 
youth  work  at  the  European  and  national  levels  (dialogue  with  young  people,  exchange  of 
practices, etc…), and allow greater participation and mobilisation of youth for society, in line 
with  the  modification  of  Article  149  proposed  by  the  Lisbon  Treaty  (as  mentioned  above, 
under modified Article 149, Community action shall be aimed among others at "encouraging 
the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe"). 

However,  this  would  enable  developing  only  a  partial  knowledge  of  the  situation  of  young 
people  in  Europe.  Moreover,  no  improvement  would  be  obtained  regarding  interaction 
between policies.  

6.2.3.  Feasibility /implementation 

Based  on  the  experience  of  other  OMCs  (social,  education,  culture,  etc.),  proposed 
improvements  are  certainly  realistic.  This  option  would  be  appreciated  by  ministries 
responsible  for  youth  as  far  as  the  improvement  in  OMC  mechanisms  would  maintain  a 
reasonably  light  approach.  However,  it  does  not  fit  with  the  demand  for  more  coordination 
expressed by the same ministries for youth and by Member States in general. 

6.3. 

Option 3: a developed cross-sectoral approach 

6.3.1.  General objectives 

This option could provide a good answer to tackle some essential objectives very important 
for  young  people  in  terms  of  education,  employment,  social  inclusion,  health,  justice. 
However,  taking  on  board  more  policies  without  upgrading  instruments  would  limit  the 
potential impacts regarding these areas, as tools would not match the objectives. 

It  also  runs  the  risk  of  minimizing  within  the  cooperation  framework  the  role  of  policies 
which  have  been  developed  by  youth  ministries  in  supporting  youth  work  for  non-formal 
education, active citizenship, volunteering and creativity of young people. 

EN 

28 

   EN 

 
6.3.2. 

Specific objectives 

This option could provide a good interaction and coordination between policies.  

However, in this scenario, youth policy itself would suffer from a lack of efficiency due to the 
fact  that  the  OMC  tools  would  not  be  upgraded,  which  would  cause  disappointment  of 
stakeholders dealing with young people outside the formal infrastructures. This option would 
enable developing only a partial knowledge of the situation of young people in Europe, even 
if not the same knowledge than in option 2. 

This option would also include limited tools to mobilise young people themselves for dealing 
with other policies as planned under options 2 and 4 with a reinforcement of youth OMC. It 
would also have limited effects on solidarity purposes, as the cross-sectoral approach would 
not include a reinforcement of tools for youth volunteering. 

6.3.3.  Feasibility /implementation 

This option would be more difficult to implement particularly at the national level, due to the 
necessary  respect  of  the  subsidiarity  principle  and  the  diversity  of  national  situations,  with 
some Member States where coordination is not a strongly developed practice; at the European 
level  there  are  already  some  mechanisms  of  coordination like the European Youth Pact and 
regular  inter-services  consultations  in  all  domains  of  interest  for  youth.  All  in  all,  such  a 
development of the cross-sectoral approach seems absolutely necessary in order to achieve a 
quantum leap improvement of the situation. 

As mentioned for option 1, maintaining the current tools of the OMC might not be politically 
well accepted in particular by Member States.  

Focusing  the  strategy  on  developing  cross-cutting  activities  while  keeping  a  somehow  low 
profile  on  the  youth  policy  area  itself  might  also  be  a  challenge  for  public  authorities  in 
charge of youth, who generally have their main competences in the area of youth work and 
citizenship. 

EN 

29 

   EN 

 
 
6.4. 

Option 4: a global strategy 

6.4.1.  General objectives 

This  option  would  be  the  best  one  for  creating  opportunities  for  young  people  in  acting 
through  different  fields  and  policies:  education,  employment,  youth  work,  entrepreneurship, 
etc… 

This would also be the best one for working towards a better involvement of all young people 
in  the  society,  either  in  terms  of  social  inclusion  or  citizenship,  in  acting  through  different 
fields and policies: inclusion, health, and participation. 

Finally,  it  seems  also  the  best  option  to  capitalise  all  the  potential  of  the  framework  for 
solidarity  purposes,  and  to  mobilise  young  people  in  activities  such  as  volunteering.  In  this 
regard  the  synergy  effects  expected  from  using  some  OMC  tools  for  other  policies,  such  as 
development aid or environment for instance, could be very helpful. 

6.4.2. 

Specific objectives 

This  would  be  the  most  advanced  option  for  achieving  interaction  and  coordination  of  all 
policies able to properly invest in youth.  

In acting holistically (transversal approach), it would be the most efficient approach to create 
synergies between youth policies and other policies. 

Option  4  would  also  benefit  from  synergy  effects  due  to  global  impact  of  instruments 
(coordination  tools,  structured  dialogue,  exchange  of  practices,  better  knowledge  of  the 
situation of young people), which would allow for a better efficiency. 

This  would  also  be  the  best  option  to  empower  young  people,  while  illustrating  that  their 
concerns are taken into account in a global perspective, also in line with the modification of 
Article 149 proposed by the Lisbon Treaty of which it could make a more global use, based 
on the interconnection between policies affecting youth. 

6.4.3.  Feasibility /implementation 

This  option  would  globally  face  the  same  challenges  and  opportunities  as  the  option  3  (a 
developed cross-sectoral approach), regarding the development of cross-sectoral cooperation 
mechanisms. 

As for option 2, this option would be appreciated by ministries responsible for youth as far as 
the improvement in OMC mechanisms would maintain a reasonably light approach. It would 
also enhance the visibility of youth strategies.  

On the basis of the assessment above and in tables 2 and 3, the preferred option is Option 4. 

7. 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

Monitoring and evaluation of the Cooperation framework would take place via triennial joint 
progress reports and adaptations would be made on a regular basis. Emphasis on monitoring 
by the stakeholders (in particular via structured dialogue with young people) will also be put 
in the new framework.  

On the basis of results of evaluation, proposals for improvement would be done on a regular 
basis. 

EN 

30 

   EN 

 
 
A  possible  way  of  evaluating  success  of  the  Youth  Cooperation  Framework  could  be  by 
looking at: 

•  Successful consensus building on coordination between policies with an important 

youth dimension; 

•  Identification  of  policy  developments  in  Member  States  linked  with  the 

implementation of key priorities at EU level; 

•  Regular dialogue with European stakeholders; 

•  Involvement of the regional and local levels in youth strategies; 

•  Awareness of policy priorities by national stakeholders (National Youth Councils 

and other youth dedicated organisations); 

•  Triennial  reporting  about  implementation  of  priorities  and  situation  of  youth  in 

Europe; 

•  Dashboard of existing indicators or benchmarks from other policy areas relevant 
leaving  rate,  child  poverty,  or  youth 

for  youth  (such  as  early  school 
unemployment rate) in order to illustrate the level of knowledge of the field;  

•  Development of tools describing youth work activities; a working group to discuss 

possible descriptors could be set up. 

EN 

31 

   EN 

 
ANNEX 1 - LIST OF DOCUMENTS LINKED WITH THE CURRENT COOPERATION FRAMEWORK 

1. Open method of coordination 

European  Commission  White  Paper  of  21  November  2001  -  A  new  impetus  for  European 
youth [COM (2001) 681 final - Not published in the Official Journal]. 

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 
cooperation in the youth field [Official Journal C 168 of 13.07.2002]. 

Resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States of 24 May 2005 meeting within the Council on the evaluation of activities conducted in 
the  framework  of  European  cooperation  in  the  youth  field  [Official  Journal  C  141/01  of  10 
June 2005] 

1.1 Information and participation 

Communication from the Commission to the Council - Follow-up to the White Paper "A New 
Impetus  for  European  Youth"  -  Proposed  common  objectives  for  the  participation  and 
information of young people, in response to the Council Resolution of 27 June 2002 regarding 
the  framework  of  European  cooperation  in  the  youth  field  [COM(2003)  184  final  -  not 
published in the Official Journal].  

Commission  staff  working  paper  -  Analysis  of  Member  States'  replies  to  the  Commission 
questionnaires on youth participation and information [SEC/2003/0465 final - not published 
in the Official Journal].  

Council  resolution  of  25  November  2003  on  common  objectives  for  participation  by  and 
information for young people [Official Journal C 295 of 05.12.2003] 

Resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States  of  24  May  2005  meeting  within  the  Council  on  implementing  the  common  objective 
"to  increase  participation  by  young  people  in  the  system  of  representative  democracy" 
[Official Journal C 141/02 of 10 June 2005]  

Resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States of 24 May 2005 meeting within the Council on implementing the common objectives 
for youth information [Official Journal C 141/03 of 10 June 2005] 

Communication from the Commission to the Council on European policies concerning youth 
participation and information [COM(2006) 417 final - Not published in the Official Journal]. 

Resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States, meeting within the Council, on the recognition of the value of non-formal and informal 
learning within the European youth field [Official Journal C 168, 20.7.2006] 

Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, 
meeting within the Council, on implementing the common objectives for participation by and 

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information for young people in view of promoting their active European citizenship [Official 
Journal C 297 of 7 December 2006] 

Resolution  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States,  meeting  within  the  Council,  of  25  May  2007  on  creating  equal  opportunities  for  all 
young people — full participation in society [Official Journal C 314 of 22 December 2007]  

Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Government of the Member States 
meeting within the Council of 22 May 2008 on the participation of young people with fewer 
opportunities. http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st09/st09133.en08.pdf 

1.2 Volunteering 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council,  of  30  April  2004  -  Follow-up  to  the 
White  Paper  on  a  New  Impetus  for  European  Youth  -  Proposed  common  objectives  for 
voluntary  activities  among  young  people  in  response  to  the  Council  Resolution  of  27  June 
2002 regarding the framework of European cooperation in the youth field [COM(2004) 337 
final - not published in the Official Journal]. 

Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States 
meeting  within  the  Council  of  15  November  2004  on  common  objectives  for  voluntary 
activities of young people  

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/04/st13/st13996.en04.pdf 

Commission Staff Working Document accompanying document to the Communication from 
the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions "Promoting young people's full participation in 
education, employment and society"  

Analysis of national reports from the Member States of the European Union concerning the 
implementation  of  the  common  objectives  for  voluntary  activities  of  young  people, 
SEC(2007) 1084. 

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st12/st12772-ad01.en07.pdf 

Council  Resolution  of  16  November  2007  on  voluntary  activities  of  young  people 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/07/st14/st14427-re01.en07.pdf 

Council  recommendation  of  20  November  2008  on  the  mobility  of  young  volunteers  across 
the European Union, OJ C319/8, 13.12.2008 

1.3 Better knowledge 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  of  30  April  2004  -  Follow-up  to  the 
White  Paper  on  a  New  Impetus  for  European  Youth.  Proposed  common  objectives  for  a 
greater understanding and knowledge of youth, in response to the Council Resolution of  27 
June 2002 regarding the framework of European cooperation in the youth field [COM (2004) 
336 final - Not published in the Official Journal]. 

Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States 
meeting  within  the  Council  of  November  2004  on  common  objectives  for  a  greater 
understanding and knowledge of youth 

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/04/st13/st13997.en04.pdf 

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2. European Youth Pact 

Conclusions by the Council of 21 February 2005 on Youth in the framework of the mid-term 
review of the Lisbon Strategy [Official Journal C85 of 7 April 2005] 

European Youth Pact (Annex 1 of Presidency Conclusions of the European Council, Brussels, 
22 and 23.3.2005 (7619/05)) http://ec.europa.eu/youth/pdf/doc423_en.pdf 

Commission  Communication  of  30  May  2005  on  European  policies  concerning  youth: 
Addressing the concerns of young people in Europe - implementing the European Youth Pact 
and  promoting  active  citizenship  [COM  (2005)  206  final  -  Not  published  in  the  Official 
Journal]. 

Council  resolution  of  24  November  2005  on  addressing  the  concerns  of  young  people  in 
Europe  -  implementing  the  European  Pact  for  Youth  and  promoting  active  citizenship 
[Official Journal C 292 of 24.11.2005].  

Conclusions  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States,  meeting  within  the  Council,  on  the  implementation  of  the  European  Pact  for  Youth 
[Official Journal C 70 of 22 March 2006] . 

Contribution of the Council (in the field of youth policy) to the Spring European Council on 
the implementation of the European Pact for Youth − Key messages to the Spring European 
Council, February 2007 

Contribution  from  DG  EAC  to  the  preparation  of  Commission's  December  2007  Annual 
Progress Report (internal document) 

Commission's December 2007 Annual Progress Report 

http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/european-dimension/200712-annual-progress-report/index_en.htm 

Contribution of the Council (in the field of youth policy) to the Spring European Council on 
the implementation of the European Pact for Youth − Key messages to the Spring European 
Council, February 2008 

European Council Conclusions, 13-14 March 2008 

Contribution of the Council (in the field of youth policy) to the Spring European Council on 
the implementation of the European Pact for Youth − Key messages to the Spring European 
Council, February 2009 

3. Future perspectives 

Conclusions  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States,  meeting  within  the  Council,  of  25  May  2007  on  future  perspectives  for  European 
cooperation in the field of youth policy [Official Journal C 314/24 of 22 December 2007] 

Questionnaires  sent  to  the  Member  States  by  the  Commission  on  future  perspectives, 
February 2008 – Answers from the Member States 

4. Others 

Communication from the Commission of 5 September 2007 to the European Parliament, the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on 

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Promoting  young  people's  full  participation  in  education,  employment  and  society 
[COM(2007) 498 final - Not published in the Official Journal] 

Commission  staff  working  document  on  youth  employment  in  the  EU  -  Accompanying 
document  to  the  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - 
Promoting  young  people's  full  participation  in  education,  employment  and  society 
{SEC(2007) 1084} 

Conclusions  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member 
States, meeting within the Council of 16 November 2007 on a transversal approach to youth 
policy with a view to enabling young people to fulfil their potential and participate actively in 
society [Official Journal C 282/16 of 24 November 2007] 

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 

European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy (EKCYP) country sheets: 

http://www.youth-partnership.net/youth-partnership/ekcyp/countryinformation.html 

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ANNEX  2  –  PRIORITIES  AND  OBJECTIVES  OF  THE  CURRENT  OPEN  METHOD  OF 

COORDINATION IN THE FIELD OF YOUTH 

4 Priorities – 14 Common Objectives 

Participation 

(1) 

(2) 

Increase young people’s participation in the civic life of their community  

Increase  young  people’s  participation  in  the  system  of  representative 
democracy 

(3) 

Provide greater support for various forms of learning to participate  

Information 

(1) 

(4) 

(5) 

Volunteering 

Improving young people’s access to information services 

Increasing the provision of quality information  

Increasing young people’s participation in youth information, for example in 
the preparation and dissemination of information  

(1) 

Develop  voluntary  activities  with  the  aim  of  enhancing  the  transparency  of 
the existing possibilities, enlarging their scope and improving their quality  

(6)  Make it easier for young people to carry out voluntary activities by removing 

existing obstacles 

(7) 

(8) 

Promote  voluntary  activities  with  a  view  to  reinforcing  young  people’s 
solidarity and engagement as citizens 

Recognise  the  voluntary  activities  of  young  people  with  a  view  to 
acknowledging their personal skills and their engagement for society 

Greater understanding and knowledge of youth 

(1) 

(9) 

Identify existing knowledge in priority areas of the youth field (participation, 
information  and  voluntary  activities)  and  implement  measures  to  collect, 
analyse and update this information and facilitate access to it  

Determine existing knowledge in further priority areas of interest to the youth 
field  (e.g.  discrimination,  education  and  training,  employment,  social 
inclusion and health) and implement measures to collect, analyse and update 
this knowledge and facilitate access to it  

(10)  Ensure quality, comparability and relevance of knowledge in the youth field 

by using appropriate methods and tools  

(11)  Facilitate  and  promote  exchange,  dialogue  and  networks  to  ensure  the 
visibility of knowledge in the youth field and to anticipate future needs. 

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ANNEX 3 - DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT COOPERATION FRAMEWORK 

Current European Youth
Cooperation Framework 

SOCIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL 
INTEGRATION

ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP OF 
YOUNG PEOPLE

YOUTH IN OTHER POLICY 
FIELDS

PRIORITIES
• Employment and social inclusion
• Education and Training
• Reconciliation of work and family

life

PRIORITIES

• Participation
• Information
• Volunteering
• Better knowledge and 
understanding of youth

PRIORITIES

• Fight against racism and

xenophobia and discriminations

• Health

INSTRUMENTS

INSTRUMENTS

INSTRUMENTS

(cid:131) European Youth Pact (Lisbon    
Strategy)
• Education and training OMC 
• Social OMC
• Life Long Learning and Youth in 
Action Programmes 
• European Social Fund

• Open Method of Coordination 
Youth
• Youth  in Action Programme
• European Knowledge Centre on

Youth Policy

• Mainstreaming
(cid:131) Youth in Action Programme
• Other EU programmes

STRUCTURED DIALOGUE

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ANNEX 4 - LIST OF RECENT REFERENCE DOCUMENTS 

"Towards  an  EU  Strategy  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child",  Communication  from  the 
Commission, 4.7.2006, COM (2006) 367 final 

"Investing  in  youth:  an  empowerment  strategy",  Bureau  of  European  Policy  Advisers 
(BEPA), April 2007 

"Promoting  solidarity  between  the  generations"  Communication  from  the  Commission  to 
the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the 
Committee of the Regions, 10.05.2007, COM (2007) 244 final 

"Together for Health: a Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013", Commission White 
Paper, 23.10.2007, COM (2007) 630 final 

"Opportunities,  access  and  solidarity:  towards  a  new  social  vision  for  21st  century 
Europe", Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 
European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  20.11.2007, 
COM(2007) 726 final 

"Child  Poverty  and  Well-Being  in  the  EU  -  Current  status  and  way  forward",  Social 
Protection Committee Report, January 2008. 

"Renewed  social  agenda:  Opportunities,  access and solidarity in  21st century Europe" 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  2.7.2008,  COM(2008) 
412 final 

"A  renewed  commitment  to  social  Europe:  Reinforcing  the  Open  Method  of 
Coordination  for  Social  Protection  and  Social  Inclusion",  Communication  from  the 
Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 2.7.2008, COM (2008) 418 final 

"Migration  &  mobility:  challenges  and  opportunities  for  EU  education  systems", 
Commission Green Paper, 3.07.2008, COM (2008) 423 final 

"Improving  competences  for  the  21st  Century:  An  Agenda  for  European  Cooperation 
on Schools", Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, 
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 3.07.2009, 
COM(2008) 425 final. 

Declaration on youth empowerment, European Parliament, 2 September 2008. 

"Acting now for a better Europe - Commission Legislative and Work Programme 2009", 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 5.11.2008, COM (2008) 
712 

"Demography  Report  2008:  Meeting  Social  Needs  in  an  Ageing  Society",  Commission 
Staff Working Document, November 2008, SEC (2008) 2911 

"An updated strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training" 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 16 December 2008, COM 
(2008) 865 

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"New skills for new jobs - Anticipating and matching labour market and skills needs" 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  16  December  2008, 
COM (2008) 868 

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ANNEX 5 - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE RESULTS OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION  

1. Background of the public consultation 

On 22 September 2008 the Commission launched a two-month online public consultation in 
the  youth  field,  called  "Strategic  choices  for  young  Europeans  -  An  EU-wide  public 
consultation on the future of youth policy". The aim of the consultation was to evaluate what 
the European cooperation on youth policy has achieved since its beginning in the year 2000 
and propose new objectives for the decade to come. 

The  idea  of  this  exercise  was  to  provide  the  possibility  to  different  stakeholders 
(organisations,  public  authorities,  individuals)  from  all  Member  States  as  well  as  from 
Norway,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein,  Turkey,  Croatia  and  the  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of 
Macedonia  to  give  their  opinion  on  the  priorities  and  the  challenges  for  the  future  of  the 
European  youth  policy.  The  Commission  sought  answers  on  how  EU  youth  policy  should 
develop in the coming years and what proposals could be made to EU member countries. 

2. Questionnaire 

The questions were grouped in five major thematic blocs: 

Profile of the respondents; 

Addressing key challenges for young people in Europe;  

Identifying policy priorities for European Union cooperation; 

Specific questions on: education, employment, social issues, citizenship; 

Youth and the European Union 

Only the answers to the closed questions (which were 18 out of 20) have been examined for 
this note. 

3. Statistics and profile of the respondents 

In the period 22 September until 25 November 2008 a total of 5426 responses were received, 
out of which the majority (88.6%) came from individual persons not representing any type of 
organisation or public body. This may be perceived as a very positive outcome indicating that 
the consultations may have reached groups of people which are not professionally involved in 
the youth field and normally do not participate in social polls in this area.  

11.4%  of  the  responses  received  (over  600)  were  generated  on  behalf  of  different 
organisations. Many of these entities were small organisations, which are difficult to reach by 
other  methods  of  consultations.  Their  participation  is  a  positive  phenomenon  showing  their 
interest in the area. 

The individual respondents were predominantly young people of up to 30 years (61.4%), still 
studying (43.1% as to 32.9% working and 12.7% other), female (54.7% as to 33.9% of men).  

The  nationals  which  were  the  most  involved  and  provided  most  input  in  the  online 
consultations  originated  from:  Italy  (13  %),  Portugal  (11.6%),  Germany  (8.1%),  France 
(7.5%), Romania (6.7%), Poland (6%) and Spain (5.9%). All Member States are represented.  

Almost  half  of  the  individual  query  participants  are  professionally  involved  with  young 
people on a regular basis (48%, that is to say around 2000 persons), most of all by means of 
youth  organisations  (38.2%),  non-governmental  organisations  (29.8%)  or  a  public  authority 
(17%).  

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4. Addressing key challenges for young people in Europe 

75.9% of all the answers provided in the public consultation indicated youth unemployment 
as the prime concern and challenge for young people in Europe in the coming decade.  

Reform of education systems emerged as the second key priority which will have most direct 
impact on young people's lives (70.4% of answers).  

Over half of the respondents indicated environment and sustainable development as a priority 
(62.7%). Social integration and exclusion came on fourth place (57.9%). Still over half of the 
consultation participants marked active participation in society as the most important subject 
for  the  coming  years.  Just  as  little  bit  less  important  were  the  migration/multi-ethnic/multi-
religious issues, youth violence, and discrimination – racism - xenophobia.  

Slightly  less  popular  challenges  indicated  by  the  query  participants  concerned:  work/life 
balance  (46%),  poverty  (46.1%)  and  demographic  changes  as  falling  birth  rate  and  aging 
population  (43.6%).  Terms  like  discrimination  against  women  and  domestic  violence  are 
considered as key challenges in this particular context by only around 19% of the respondents.  

5. Identifying policy priorities for European Union cooperation 

Taking into account the identified challenges for young people in Europe the participants of 
the public consultation were asked to indicate what policies should the European Union focus 
on.  

Priority  was  given  to  helping  young  people  play  a  more  active  role  in  the  society  (66.1% 
respondents), followed by helping young people get a job (62.1% votes).  

A  lot  of  emphasis  was  also  placed  on  providing  better  standards  of  life  for  the  youth. 
Developing  opportunities  for  young  people  to  live,  work  and  travel  throughout  Europe  was 
marked by 61.6 % of people. 

The  general  idea  is  that  providing  higher  standards  of  life  is  crucial  and  it  can  be  done  by 
focusing on employment, facilitating travelling, participation in the society, supporting youth 
organisations and youth leaders, promoting work and life balance, improving young people's 
health and well-being.  

6. Specific questions on education, employment, social issues, citizenship 

• 

6.1. Education 

67%  of  the  queried  were  not  satisfied  with  the  school  or  higher  education  system  in  their 
country of residence. 47.7% found it the EU's and its member countries' competence to reform 
the  official  education  systems.  In  general  terms,  people  tended  to  think  that  it  was  the  EU 
countries which should be responsible for the educational reform (35.8%) rather than the EU 
(only 10.2%). 

In  the  opinion  of  56.4%  of  the  respondents,  closer  cooperation  with  the  formal  education 
system is the key to ensuring that non-formal learning is properly recognised. 52.1% found it 
equally  important  to  engage  in  the  spreading  of  the  knowledge  of  non-formal  learning  to 
employers and better promotion at European level (49.8%). The learning happening in youth 
organisations could be better appreciated if the employers took it into account more (36.7% of 
votes) and schools gave credits for the learning in youth organisations (31.6%). 

• 

6.2. Employment 

With  reference  to  the  employment  three  top  actions  to  be  undertaken  in  order  to  prepare 
young people for finding work were identified: giving more opportunities for internships and 
training  on  the  job  (65.8%),  closer  partnerships  between  schools  and  stakeholders  in  the 

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labour market (65.5%) and better matching between learning outcomes and the labour market 
(49.8%).  

• 

6.3. Social issues 

Even  though  60.3%  of  the  queried  answered  that  social  integration  of  young  people  facing 
difficulties  such  as  poverty,  educational  problems,  unemployment  should  be  considered  as 
priority,  they  underline  that  the  European  cooperation  should  rather  focus  on  all  young 
people. Moreover, a greater interconnection between different policy fields relevant to youth 
is said to be necessary (49.2%), especially with the involvement of young people in the policy 
making  (41.1%).  Financial  support  is  recognised  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  factors 
supporting  the  youth  organisations,  youth  workers  and  leaders  (51.2%),  followed  by  more 
exchanges of good practices and better recognition of the role of youth workers and leaders 
(45 % and 39.3% respectively).  

Apart  from  employment  and  education  the  following  issues  have  also  been  identified  as 
problematic:  alcohol  and  drug  abuse  (77.7%),  social  exclusion  (68.9%)  and  stress  and 
psychological disorders (68.2%). A high position of the last problem relating to health (which 
was  placed  even  before  the  "poverty"  factor,  which  usually  is  indicated  as  one  of  the  main 
concerns) may be quite worrying. This is due to the fact that it affects all youth and not only 
young people from less privileged socio-economical backgrounds.  

Awareness raising campaigns were indicated as one of the most important tools to deal with 
discrimination (53%). Much lower attention was given to stronger laws (24.3%). 

• 

6.4. Citizenship 

As  a  general  rule  the  respondents  perceive  that  the  young  people  lack  ways  to  make  their 
voice heard in the society. However, the tendency is that at the European level the situation is 
not good but there are more and more opportunities to do so. On national level the situation is 
much worse and also the situation is not improving so fast. The best ways to speak up may be 
found  on  local  and  regional  level.  There,  the  young  seem  to  have  growing  opportunities  to 
play an influential role.  

The  five  most  effective  methods  for  young  people  to  make  their  voices  heard  by  policy 
makers  were  in  the  opinion  of  the  consultation  participants:  joining  and  being  active  in 
political  parties,  youth  organisations,  other  NGOs  or  trade  unions  (68.2%),  participating  in 
debates with policy makers (65.6%) and voting in the elections (44.3%).  

The  youth  policies  in  the  opinion  of  the  consultation  respondents  should  recognise  the 
prominent  role  of  young  people  in  social  challenges  (58.9%),  democratic  participation 
(49.9%) and building the EU (43.1%).  

Volunteering  abroad  is  very  much  dependent  on  knowing  where  to  find  more  information 
about  the  opportunities  in  other  countries  (59.7%),  knowing  that  the  experience  will  be 
recognised and knowing the quality of the volunteering experience (having recommendation 
from others or having it certified). 

7. Youth and the European Union 

In the last closed questions respondents were asked to select the terms that they have heard of 
before in the context of the European Union's work in the field of youth. The term with which 
most of the participants were familiarised with was the European Voluntary Service (53.1%) 
and  the  Youth  exchanges  in  the  framework  of  the  Youth  in  Action  Programme  (51.5%). 
44.2% of the people have heard of the Europass and of the Life-long learning strategy. The 
least known tool was the European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy (only 9.7%).  

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8. How the consultation was taken into account 

The  problem  definition,  the  general  objectives  and  the  chosen  policy  option  reflect  the 
outcomes of the various consultations. As regards the public consultation, this is particularly 
the  case  for  the  challenges  identified  by  respondents  and  the  priorities  highlighted  as  key 
issues to be tackled by the European Union. 

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