COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Draft 2015 Joint Report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018)
Date: 2015-09-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: education, quality of life, social integration, social participation, vocational training, voluntary work, young person, youth employment, youth policy

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.9.2015  COM(2015) 429 final   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Draft 2015 Joint Report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018) {SWD(2015) 168 final} {SWD(2015) 169 final}  
 
 
Young people's human and social capital is one of Europe's greatest assets for the future. The 
European Union and its Member States need to invest in the potential that 90 million young 
Europeans represent in terms of skills, creativity and diversity. 

The economic crisis has hit young people particularly hard. It has widened the gap between 
those  with  more  and  those  with  fewer  opportunities.  Some  young  people  are  increasingly 
excluded  from  social  and  civic  life.  Worse  still,  some  are  at  risk  of  disengagement, 
marginalisation or even radicalisation. 

This is why the Commission and the Member States continued working together in the period 
2013-2015, to improve young people’s employability, their integration in the labour market, 
their social inclusion and participation. In the face of a growing socio-economic divide, policy 
must continue tackling the deep social problems that many young people are facing. We need 
to identify sustainable solutions to fight youth unemployment, strengthen social inclusion and 
prevent  violent  radicalisation.  This  requires  more  systematic  cooperation  across  a  range  of 
policies  at  EU  and  Member  State  level,  such  as  employment,  education,  training,  non-
discrimination, social policy, citizenship (including citizenship of the Union) and youth, but 
also culture, sport and health. 

In 2016-2018, the cooperation framework for youth1 should aim to empower more and more 
diverse young people, especially those at risk of exclusion. It should help them find quality 
jobs  and  participate  in  social  life.  EU  funding  under  the  Erasmus+  programme  will 
complement policy cooperation on youth work, volunteering and participation in democratic 
life. Other instruments, the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Youth Employment Initiative 
(YEI), will provide funding targeted at the inclusion of young people in the labour market and 
at developing their human capital. 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The EU supports young people's employment, employability and social inclusion, especially 
under its agenda for jobs, growth and investment, the Europe 2020 strategy and through EU 
funds such as Erasmus+, ESF and YEI. 

Furthermore, the EU supports, coordinates and supplements Member States' actions through a 
cooperation framework in the youth field in accordance with Articles 6 and 165 of the TFEU, 
which calls upon the EU and the Member States to: 

  create  more  and  equal opportunities  for  all  young  people in  education  and  in  the labour 

market; and 

  promote the active citizenship, social inclusion and solidarity of all young people. 

Through actions including evidence gathering, mutual learning and dialogue with youth, the 
framework  supports  action  in  eight  fields:  education  and  training,  employment  and 
entrepreneurship,  health  and  well-being,  participation,  voluntary  activities,  social  inclusion, 
youth and the world, and creativity and culture. 

1  

Council Resolution of 27 November 2009 on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth 
field (2010-2018), OJ C 311, 19.12.2009, p. 1-11. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
This report evaluates progress towards the goals and priorities of the cooperation framework 
in  the  period  2013-2015,  based  on  an  assessment  of  young  people’s  situation  and  policy 
measures taken at EU and Member State level. 

2.  YOUNG EUROPEANS TODAY

2 

Since  2013,  the  effects  of  the  crisis  continued  to  resonate  strongly  on  young  people.  
Transitions from child  to  adulthood  have  become  more complex and  individualised, a trend 
that  has  risen  sharply  since  2008.  These  transitions  are  marked  by  key  changes  -  from 
education to work, from being financially dependent to managing one’s own budget  - and a 
need  to  acquire  autonomy  which  exposes  young  people  to  fluctuating  economic,  social  and 
environmental conditions. Policies should accompany young people in this journey and help 
them realise their full potential. 
The data below provide a snapshot of the situation of youth aged 15-29.3 

This generation of young people is better educated than any other … 

Education indicators reveal positive trends. Although considerable divergences across the EU 
remain, early school leaving is now in decline.4  

Higher-education attainment rates improved from 33.8 % in 2010 to 37.9 % in 2014.5 Even if 
the EU unemployment rate increased for those with tertiary education, it is still much lower 
than for those with the lowest levels of education. Yet, these groups can also be confronted 
with underemployment and being overqualified for the opportunities in the labour market. 

Many  young  people  build  social  networks  combining  global  connectivity  with  local  roots: 
82 % participated in online social networks in 2014. Young people engage in new forms of 
political participation, often using social media, but tend to vote less than older generations. 
Still, many remain active members of their local community; about one in two belonged to at 
least one organisation in 2014; one in four is a volunteer.6 

… but the crisis has created new divisions 

Many young people struggle to find quality jobs which seriously hampers their path towards 
independence.  In  spite  of  a  decrease  in  most  Member  States  after  its  2013  peak,  youth 
unemployment  remains  a  serious  concern:  8.7  million  young  Europeans  cannot  find  work7 
and  the  proportion  facing  long-term  unemployment  or  involuntary  part-time  work  remains 
high.  
In total, 13.7 million are neither in employment nor education or training (NEETs).8 Close to 
27 million are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Poverty rates are higher for young people 

2  

For details and data sources underpinning the analysis, see staff working document SWD(2015)169 on the 
situation of young people in the EU. 

3   Unless otherwise indicated. 
4  

Eurostat indicator 'early leavers from education and training', from 13.9 % in 2010 to 11.1 % in 2014 for 
the age group 18-24 (high percentages persist notably in Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Romania).  

5       Eurostat, population aged 30-34 with tertiary education attainment. 
6  
7  
8  

Flash Eurobarometer survey 408, 2014. 
Eurostat, 2014. 
Eurostat, 2014. 

3 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
than  for  the  overall  population  and  involuntary  part-time  work  or  protracted  temporary 
positions expose this generation to a risk of long-term poverty.9 

Inactivity,  poverty  and  exclusion  do  not  strike  evenly.  Those  starting  life  with  fewer 
opportunities  tend  to  accumulate  disadvantages.  Young  people  with  a  migrant  background, 
low  educational  achievers  or  young  people  with  health  issues  are  more  likely  to  become 
NEETs.10  Unemployment  among  native-born  youth  with  immigrant  parents  is  almost  50 % 
higher than among other young people in the EU.11 

The  gap  is  widening  between  young  people  who  study,  are  confident  of  finding  a  job  and 
engage in social, civic and cultural life, on the one hand, and those with little hope of leading 
a fulfilling life and who are at risk of exclusion and marginalisation, on the other hand.  

These  divides  threaten  to  undermine  the  social  fabric  and  sustainable  long-term  economic 
growth.12  Europe's  ageing  population  makes  integrating  all  young  people  (while  respecting 
their diversity) even more necessary and urgent.  

Young people on the wrong side of this divide find it difficult to express their political voice. 
The  less  educated  or  less  involved  they  are  in  social  activities,  the  less  they  take  part  in 
voting,  volunteering  or  cultural  activities.13  For  instance,  NEETs  have  less  trust  in  public 
institutions and participate less in social and civic activities than their peers. 

No single policy has the solution, but all policies can help 

All  young  people  deserve  fair  and  equal  opportunities,  but  this  demands  long-term 
investment.  In  their  respective  areas  of  competence,  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  need  to 
mobilise all policies that can help improve young people's prospects. 

To  convert  recent  signs  of  recovery  into  lasting  and  sustainable  growth,  the  EU  has  taken 
action to boost job creation, growth and investment, including efforts to help the young back 
into  quality  jobs.  The  EU  and  the  Member  States  can  build  their  efforts  on  the  Youth 
Guarantee,14 the European Social Fund and the Investment Plan for Europe. 

Jobs  are  crucial  but  not  always  enough  to  ensure  full  inclusion.  Education  and  training  can 
provide young people with skills needed in the labour market and help overcome inequalities 
and promote upward social mobility. The urgent challenge for education and training across 
the  EU  is  to  invest  and  modernise  quickly  enough  to  realise  this  potential.15  Youth  policy, 
operating outside the classroom, can also help young people acquire the right mix of skills to 
prepare them for life and work. 

Young  people  should  be  able  to  grow  up  in  inclusive  and  pluralist  communities,  based  on 
European democratic values, the rule of law and fundamental rights. To safeguard tolerance, 
diversity  and  mutual  respect,  the  EU  Security  Agenda  involves  action  to  address  the  root 
causes of extremist violence and prevent radicalisation, including by promoting inclusion and 
participation  of  young  people.16  This  year’s  terrorist  attacks,  starting  in  Paris  and 
Copenhagen, have brought new urgency to these complex challenges. In a declaration adopted 

Rising inequality: youth and poor fall further behind, OECD, 2014. 
'NEETs', Eurofound, 2012 and OECD, 2015. 
Indicators of immigrant integration - Settling in 2015, joint OECD and European Commission study.  
In it together: why less inequality benefits all, OECD, May 2015. 

9  
10  
11  
12  
13   Flash Eurobarometer survey 408, 2014. 
14   Council recommendation on establishing a Youth Guarantee, OJ C 120, 26.4.2013, p. 1. 
15   Education and Training 2020 Joint Report, COM(2015) 408. 
16   COM(2015) 185. 

4 

 
 
                                                 
in Paris in March 2015, EU education ministers and the Commission committed themselves to 
taking further action to preserve European values. 

3. 

EU AND MEMBER STATE ACTION IN 2013-201517 

3.1.   EU action: employability, inclusion and participation 

Action across EU policy areas 

Youth employment and employability remained top priorities throughout 2013-2015.  

To improve educational outcomes, Member States took action under the European Semester 
to  bring  down  early  school  leaving  and  promote  higher-education  attainment  to  reach  the 
Europe 2020 headline targets. Their efforts were underpinned by the strategic framework for 
European  cooperation  in  education  and  training  as  well  as  the  Erasmus+  programme.  Since 
2012, following the Council Recommendation on the validation of non-formal and informal 
learning, Member States are starting to introduce measures to allow young people make the 
most of what they learn outside formal education. 

The EU and  Member States  undertook to  reduce youth  unemployment by easing transitions 
from  education  to  work.  In  2013,  the  Youth  Guarantee  was  introduced  as  a  structural 
framework to offer young people a job, an apprenticeship, traineeship or continued education 
within  four  months  of  leaving  school  or  becoming  unemployed.  The  ESF  and  the  YEI  set 
aside at least €12.7 billion for youth activation and employment. Around €27 billion of ESF 
funding  will  be  spent  on  education  measures  from  2014  to  2020.  Young  people  will  also 
benefit  indirectly  from  around  €11  billion  of  ESF  funding  for  other  initiatives  such  as 
modernising employment services or supporting self-employment. Actions under the YEI are 
expected  to  foster  cooperation  across  different  institutions  and  services  to  assist  especially 
NEETs in an integrated way.  

Since  2013,  the  European  Alliance  for  Apprenticeships  has  drawn  support  from  the  private 
sector,  while  since  2014  the  Council  Recommendation  on  a  Quality  Framework  for 
Traineeships18  aims  to  facilitate  quality  learning  and  fair  working  conditions.  The 
Commission  improved  information  for  young  jobseekers  under  the  EURES  system  for 
information-sharing on job offers and launched 'Your first EURES job' to help young people 
find a job abroad. 

Further  to  the  EU  Security  Agenda  and  the  Paris  Declaration,  Member  States  undertook  to 
step up efforts to foster the inclusion and participation in society of all young people. Through 
actions including the European Youth Week, the Commission mobilised civil society to work 
on inclusion, citizenship and intercultural dialogue. All these areas will enjoy greater funding 
under  Erasmus+.  These  efforts  complement  the  work  of  the  EU-funded  Radicalisation 
Awareness Network (RAN) which points to the preventive role of education and the teaching 
of  critical  thinking  and  democratic  values  in  tackling  radicalisation.  In  this  context,  the 
Commission  has  been  emphasising  the  importance  of  encouraging  young  people  to  think 
critically  about  extremist  messages19  and  stressing  the  potential  of  Erasmus+  in  supporting 

17   More  details  are  provided  in  the  staff  working  document  (SWD(2015)168)  on  the  results  of  the  open 

method of coordination in the youth field; http://ec.europa.eu/youth/policy/implementation/report_en.htm. 

18   OJ C 88, 27.3.2014, p. 1. 
19   COM(2013) 941 'Preventing Radicalisation to Terrorism and Violent Extremism: Strengthening the EU's 

Response'. 

5 

 
 
                                                 
learning  mobility  and  partnerships  between  stakeholders,  which  can  ultimately  help  youth 
develop resilience to extremist views20. 

Specific youth policy actions  

EU  cooperation  focused  on  social  inclusion  and  youth  empowerment,  including  access  to 
rights  and  political  participation.  The  Council  called  for  a  greater  contribution  from  youth 
policy to the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy and confirmed its intention to better include 
NEETs and promote youth entrepreneurship. 

Youth work has been high on the EU youth agenda since 2013. A Commission study showed 
the value of youth work for young people in different aspects of their lives21 and in 2015, the 
Second  European  Youth  Work  Convention  identified  the  most  urgent  challenges  and  called 
for a European agenda for youth work.22  

In light of concerns about young people’s withdrawal from traditional forms of participation, 
the Commission gathered evidence23 that they are still keen to participate, but that they ask for 
more and different channels of participation. The challenge to policy-makers will be to work 
out how best to respond. 

From policy to change on the ground: Erasmus+ 

In 2014, the EU launched the Erasmus+ programme for education, training, youth and sport. 
With  a  budget  of  €14.7  billion  for  the  period  to  2020,  Erasmus+  supports  the  learning 
mobility  of  four  million  young  people  and  educators,  with  10 %  of  the  budget  reserved  for 
youth  activities,  which  fund  an  estimated  400 000  participants  in  youth  exchanges  and 
100 000  in  the  European  Voluntary  Service  (EVS).  This  represents  an  80 %  increase  in 
funding as compared with the previous Youth in Action programme. 

Erasmus+  better  links  policy  and  programme  than  before.  It  funds  strategic  partnerships 
between  education  providers,  stimulating  cross-sectoral  cooperation.  Youthpass24  continued 
to support the recognition of non-formal and informal learning: National Agencies for youth 
have  delivered  nearly  250 000  certificates  since  its  inception.  To  widen  the  impact  of 
Youthpass,  the  Council  proposed  to  introduce  in  other  sectors  and  to  support  the  use  of 
national recognition tools inspired by it. 

Widening outreach 

Using both online and offline tools, the Commission undertook to better inform young people 
about the opportunities offered by EU policies and programmes. More importantly, it sought 
to  listen  to  their  views  and  ideas.  With  1.5  million  unique  visitors  in  2014,  the  European 
Youth  Portal  has  become  the  pillar  of  these  activities,  advertising  opportunities  for 
cross-border  volunteering  and  connecting  to  EURES  information  on  job  and  traineeship 
offers. In 2015, the Commission collected ideas from young people in ‘Ideas Labs’ during the 
European Youth Week, which overall reached 137 000 people in events and 1.2 million via 
social media. 

20  

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/networks/radicalisation_awareness_network/about-
ran/ran-prevent/index_en.htm  

21   Study on Value of youth work in the EU, 2014; expert group reports on the creative and innovative potential 

of young people and quality approaches in youth work. 

22   http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8491-2015-INIT/en/pdf 
23   Study on Youth participation in democratic life, 2013. 
24   Youthpass is a recognition tool for non-formal and informal learning in youth work; it is used for projects 

funded by the youth part in Erasmus+. https://www.youthpass.eu/en/youthpass/.  

6 

 
 
                                                 
The  Commission  will  further  improve  the  design  and  functionality  of  the  European  Youth 
Portal and other online platforms. It will work more closely with networks  in direct contact 
with young people, such as the Eurodesk network with its 1 200 information specialists. 

3.2.   Action by Member States 

Member  States  increasingly  pursue  transversal  youth  policies,  with  employment,  social  and 
civic  inclusion  as  primary  concerns.  They  have  taken  many  measures  to  integrate  young 
people into the labour market, often as part of Youth Guarantee schemes and backed by EU 
funds  available  under  the  ESF  and  the  YEI.  In  addition,  18  small  scale  pilot  projects  were 
carried  out  in  2014  with  direct  Commission  support.  All  Member  States  have  submitted 
Youth Guarantee Implementation Plans. Progress on their implementation  is assessed within 
the  European  Semester.  Most  Member  States  involved  youth  organisations,  and  two  thirds 
involved youth services in the partnerships set up in the context of the Youth Guarantee. 

In  response  to  concerns  about  the  growing  social  exclusion  of  young  people,  nearly  all 
Member States took measures to enhance the inclusion of NEETs. Most undertook to improve 
young people’s access to quality services and 80 % supported youth work and youth centres. 
However, youth work has suffered from budget cuts across Europe25, while the growing share 
of youth at risk of poverty and exclusion increases the demand for intervention.  

As  to  participation,  27  Member  States  developed  mechanisms  for  dialogue  with  young 
people; 25 provided public support for youth organisations and two thirds promoted the use of 
online  media  and  provided  greater  opportunities  for  debate.  Although  Member  States  have 
sought  to  involve  young  people  across  the  socio-economic  spectrum,  given  the  persistently 
lower  participation  among  some  groups,  policy-makers  at  all  levels  can  still  do  more  to 
involve under-represented groups. 

4.  GOVERNANCE  AND  IMPLEMENTATION  OF  THE  YOUTH  COOPERATION  FRAMEWORK  IN 

2013-2015 

Member States’ reports on the implementation of the cooperation framework provide a solid 
basis from which to continue EU youth cooperation. The framework helped advance national 
youth agendas and cross-sectoral cooperation in support of young people, backed by relevant 
evidence and exchanges of experience.  

To make the framework's implementation more effective, the Commission and Member States 
could improve the sharing of relevant data and other evidence outside the youth field. At the 
same  time,  they  could  use  these  as  a  basis  for  more  output-oriented  youth  policies.  Both 
should support uptake of youth concerns in other policies. At EU level, mutual learning can 
be  diversified,  for  example  by  creating  additional  opportunities  for  peer  learning  tailored  to 
different needs of Member States. The Structured Dialogue with youth should be made more 
inclusive. 

The main activities and instruments are reviewed in detail below. 

25   Study on Value of Youth Work in the EU, 2014. 

7 

 
 
                                                 
The framework as an agenda setter 

The  framework  gave  a  strong  impulse  to  national  youth  agendas.  Nearly  all  Member  States 
have  introduced  initiatives  or  tools  in  this  field  since  2010.  In  two  thirds,  the  framework 
reinforced national youth policy priorities and in one third it influenced the local and regional 
level. 11 Member States reoriented their national youth policy in line with the framework. 

The framework encouraged cross-sectorial cooperation; Nearly all Member States now have 
institutionalised  mechanisms  to  ensure  a  cross-sectoral  approach  to  youth  policy,  such  as 
inter-departmental structures and regular inter-ministerial meetings. 

The first Council EU Work Plan for Youth (2014-2015) aimed at boosting the framework’s 
implementation, and most Member States took part in its activities. Twenty-three felt that the 
Work Plan succeeded in its aim and reflected the national priorities well, but some warned of 
risks of incoherent or parallel approaches to the nine-year framework.  

Evidence-based policy-making: quantitative and qualitative developments 

The situation of young people in the EU is measured regularly on the basis of a dashboard of 
41  indicators  on  conditions  affecting  young  people.26  Member  States  are  increasingly  using 
these indicators, even if this has not yet produced systematic output-oriented youth policies. 

The indicators and further evidence from Eurostat, Eurofound and the partnership between the 
Commission and the Council of Europe help Member States and the Commission to discern 
new trends and adapt priorities accordingly.  

The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  need  to  share  this  evidence  -  beyond  the  remit  of 
youth policy – with others working with young people. At EU level, the new youth monitor27 
provides user-friendly online access to data. As of 2016, a new youth wiki will provide up-to-
date information on national policies, legislation and programmes in the youth field. This will 
be  complemented  by  a  new  Indicator  Framework  for  Monitoring  the  Youth  Guarantee,  for 
which first data will be expected end 2015. 

Mutual learning: exchange of experience 

Member  States  have  learned  from  each  other,  primarily  through  participating  in  expert 
groups.  In  2013-2015,  experts  addressed  ways  of  supporting  the  creative  and  innovative 
potential of young people, the contribution of youth work to young people’s challenges in the 
crisis,  and  youth-work  quality.  The  findings  fed  into  discussions  in  the  Education,  Training 
and Youth Forum, as well as work in the Council.28 The 2015 report on quality youth work29 
informed Council conclusions on reinforcing youth work to ensure cohesive societies30, which 
called for a reference and guidance tool on quality for national youth work organisations. 

Member  States  also  learned  from  each  other  through  activities  organised  in  partnership 
between  the  Commission  and  the  Council  of  Europe;  smaller  groups  of  Member  States 
organised specific exchanges on matters of common interest, such as local youth work. 

26   SEC(2011) 401. 
27   http://ec.europa.eu/youth/dashboard/index_en.htm. 
28   Council resolution on a European Union Work Plan for Youth for 2014-2015, 20 May 2014. 
29      Quality Youth Work - A common framework for the further development of youth work, 

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/library/reports/quality-youth-work_en.pdf.  

30   May 2015. 

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To make the most of the various mutual learning activities, the next work plan should include 
the development of a flexible framework to facilitate access to information and the outcomes 
of the activities. It should encourage uptake of findings and help match partners with shared 
interests. 

Structured Dialogue: increasing outreach and anchoring dialogue in the policy agenda 

The EU Structured Dialogue between policy-makers, young people and their representatives 
is  widely  seen  as  a  promising  tool  for  listening  to  young  people.  Its  first  18-month  cycle, 
which ended in 2011, helped to shape subsequent EU initiatives on youth unemployment. In 
2013-2015,  the  Dialogue  addressed  social  inclusion  and  youth  empowerment  and  its 
recommendations have subsequently been addressed in the Council. 

The  Structured  Dialogue  has  evolved  since  2013  and  is  better  anchored  in  the  youth  policy 
agenda.  The  number  of  participants  has  more  than  doubled  and  some  40 000  young  people 
responded in the last cycle, many of them on behalf of larger groups. Also, national dialogue 
processes are taking inspiration and beginning to emerge. 

The Structured Dialogue has yet to fulfil its full potential: It still fails to reach a wider group 
of  young  people  with  fewer  resources  and  a  weaker  political  voice.  The  Commission 
encourages  greater  outreach  through  Erasmus+  grants  in  support  of  national  efforts  and  an 
online consultation tool launched in 2014. A further challenge is to monitor the uptake of the 
Dialogue’s results in EU and national policy. Finally, in the interest of accountability and to 
motivate  young  people  to  stay  engaged,  policy-makers  at  all  levels  should  provide  better 
feedback on their responses through the European Youth Portal and national working groups. 

5. 

THE WAY FORWARD IN EU YOUTH COOPERATION (2016-2018) 

Equal education, job and participatory opportunities in inclusive communities 

On the basis of the EU's political priorities, Member States' reports on the implementation of 
the  Framework,  data  and  evidence  gathered,  the  future  work  cycle  of  the  cooperation 
framework should prioritise: 

 

increased social inclusion of all young people, especially those at risk such as NEETs and 
young people with a migrant background; 

  stronger participation of all young people, in particular those at risk of marginalisation; 

  easier integration into the labour market for all young people, with a special focus on the 

long-term unemployed and those in transition from education to work. 

The  Commission  and  Member  States  will  take  action  in  these  areas,  including  through  the 
framework’s instruments and cooperation with other policies as appropriate, to promote: 

  social  inclusion  and  outreach  practices  to  reach  young  people  of  diverse  backgrounds, 
especially  those  suffering  from  disadvantages,  to  ensure  their  full  participation  in  social 
and civic activities; 

 

 

the capacity of youth work, youth organisations and networks to act as forces of inclusion 
by  assisting  young  people  to  engage,  volunteer  and  drive  positive  social  change  in 
communities; 

the  recognition  of  quality  youth  work,  building  its  capacity  for  outreach  and 
responsiveness to emerging societal, behavioural and technological changes; 

9 

 
 
  new  forms  of  participation  in  democratic  processes  and  access  to  political  decision-

making through both online and offline tools; 

  evolving  skills  demands,  including  citizenship,  media  and  digital  literacy,  critical 

judgment and intercultural understanding;  

  young  people’s  ability  to  take  ownership  of  fundamental  rights  and  of  the  practise  of 

non-discrimination and intercultural understanding; and 

  volunteering,  including  through  EU  programmes  such  as  the  EVS  and  the  new  EU  Aid 
Volunteers  Initiative,  as  a  way  of  combining  learning  with  civic  engagement31;  greater 
complementarity  between  national  and  international  actors  to  scale  up  cross  border 
volunteering and better link national volunteering with the EVS.  

Reflecting  these  priorities,  the  EU  Structured  Dialogue  with  youth  should  promote  the 
inclusion of all young people in tolerant, diverse and democratic societies. The next Dialogue 
must reach a much wider audience of youth groups, especially those that have not engaged in 
the Dialogue so far, among others by using lighter engagement tools tailored to the needs and 
habits of young people. 

Youth policy within a broader EU agenda 

Youth policy cannot work in isolation. Cooperation and complementarity with policies such 
as  employment,  education,  training,  health,  culture,  digital  media,  sustainable  development, 
citizenship and sport is essential. 

The cooperation framework can underpin such cooperation through its mechanisms. Through 
the  EU  Work  Plan,  the  Commission  and  Member  States  can  further  implement  and  refine 
cross-sectorial  structures  and  working  methods.  This  contributes  to  reaching  the  overall 
objectives in the youth field: to create more and equal opportunities for all young people in 
education  and  in  the  labour  market  and  promote  the  active  citizenship,  social  inclusion  and 
solidarity of all young people. 

European cooperation in the youth field should be part of a broader political agenda for young 
people. To have real impact, policy-makers at EU and Member State level must work together 
with  practitioners,  service  providers,  educators  and  businesses  on  the  ground  to  mobilise 
resources  and  funds  to  reach  a  critical  mass  of  young  people.  They  should  aim  to  deliver 
innovative solutions to the complex phenomena  that are marginalisation, exclusion and lack 
of participation. 

Ultimately,  there  is  an  urgent  need  to  scale  up  efforts.  To  offer  more  young  people  the 
genuine  prospect  of  becoming  full  and  engaged  members  of  their  communities,  we  need  a 
comprehensive  approach  to  match  the  challenge  ahead.  This  requires  a  coherent  policy 
agenda, backed by Erasmus+, the Youth Guarantee and EU funding instruments with greater 
outreach,  such  as  the  ESF  or  the  YEI.  National  and  regional  resources  must  support  these 
efforts where possible. 

31   At EU level, in spite of doubling the number of beneficiaries under EVS, cross-border volunteering remains 

modest. 

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