CELEX: 51990PC0470
Language: en
Date: 1990-11-22
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ADOPTING AN ACTION PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE YOUTH EXCHANGES AND MOBILITY IN THE COMMUNITY: THE " YOUTH FOR EUROPE " PROGRAMME

No C 308/6                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                  8. 12. 90
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Decision adopting an action programme to promote youth exchanges
                          and mobility in the Community — the 'Youth for Europe' programme
                                                     COM(90) 470 final
                                     (Submitted by the Commission on 15 October 1990)
                                                       (90/C 308/06)
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                         on the need adequately to prepare young people for
                                                                  adult and working life, and adopted action programmes
                                                                  relating thereto;
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community, and in particular Article 235
 thereof,
                                                                  Whereas the European Council, meeting on 28 and 29
                                                                  June 1985, adopted the conclusions of the ad hoc
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,               Committee on a People's Europe, which called for the
                                                                  promotion of youth exchanges within the Community
                                                                  and for an effective network of exchanges within and
 Having regard     to   the  opinion    of   the  European        between Member States;
 Parliament,
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                 Whereas the European Parliament in its resolutions of 12
 Social Committee,                                                March 1981 on youth activities (3), of 7 June 1983 on
                                                                  youth exchanges (") and of 16 December 1983 on a
                                                                  European Voluntary Service Scheme for Young
Whereas the Member States, when they became parties               People (5), advocated strengthening Community activities
 to the Treaty establishing the European Economic                 in this field;
 Community, declared themselves 'determined to lay the
 foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples
 of Europe';
                                                                 Whereas the Commission, in its document 'Education
                                                                 and training in the European Community — Guidelines
Whereas, in order to achieve this objective, the Treaty          for the Medium-Term' (*) set out the need for a new
has provided for powers to take action to ensure                 Community-wide commitment to invest in people, in
 freedom of movement for employed and self-employed              their skills, their creativity and their versatility, since
persons and those receiving services;                            without investment in the present and future workforce,
                                                                  Europe's capacity to innovate, to compete and to create
                                                                 wealth and prosperity for all its citizens will be severely
Whereas specific measures should be taken to assist              impaired;
young people to develop their sense of initiative, to
foster an awareness in them of their abilities and respon-
sibilities, and to enable them to comprehend the
European context of their lives;                                 Whereas project-centred youth exchanges are an appro-
                                                                 priate method of enabling young people to understand
                                                                 more about the European Community and its Member
Whereas the Council and the Ministers for Education,             States; whereas they thus contribute to the training and
meeting within the Council, at their meetings on 13
December 1976 C) and 12 July 1982 (2), were resolved             0   OJ No C     77, 6. 4. 1981, p. 38.
                                                                 (4) OJ No C     184, 11. 7. 1983, p. 22.
(') OJ No C 308, 30. 12. 1976, p. 1.                             (s) OJ No C     10, 16. 1. 1984, p. 286.
(2) OJ No C 193, 28. 7. 1982, p. 1.                              (*) COM(89)     236, 2. 6. 1989.
 ---pagebreak---  8. 12. 90                             Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 308/7
preparation of young people for adult and working life           — the general balance concerning the exchanges
and to the development of a greater awareness of their                between Member States and concerning the various
capacities and responsibilities;                                      types of actions.
Whereas a substantial improvement in the quality and
                                                                 2.     The Commission shall be assisted by the committee
quantity of youth exchange and mobility in the
                                                                 established by Article 4 of Decision 88/348/EEC.
Community can be achieved by a series of support
measures at Community level, and taking into account
the experience and the current contribution of organisms
already working in this field;                                   The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
                                                                 committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The
                                                                 committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a
Whereas the Council on 16 June 1988 adopted Decision             time limit which the chairman may lay down according
 88/348/EEC (') establishing the 'Youth for Europe'              to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a
programme to promote youth exchanges in the                      vote.
Community; whereas it is now expedient that this
programme should be extended;
                                                                 The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in
                                                                 addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask
Whereas, the Treaty has not provided the necessary               to have its position recorded in the minutes.
powers, other than those of Article 235,
                                                                 The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:                                          opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the
                                                                 committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
                                                                 taken into account.
                          Article 1
The second phase of the 'Youth for Europe programme'
to promote youth exchanges and mobility in the                   3.     The committee may examine all matters concerning
Community is hereby adopted for the period 1 January             the implementation of the programme.
 1992 to 31 December 1994.
                                                                                          Article 4
                          Article 2
                                                                 As from 1 January 1992 the annual credits necessary to
 1.    The 'Youth for Europe' programme, in its second
                                                                 cover the Community contribution to the actions
phase, shall comprise a range of incentive measures to
                                                                 provided for in the programme will be established in the
promote the development of Youth Exchanges and
                                                                 annual budgetary procedure, taking into account the
Mobility in the Community. The measures are directed
                                                                 results of the programme as well as any new needs which
at young people (normally of 15 to 25 years of age), as
                                                                 may emerge during its operation. These credits are
well as youth organizations, youth workers, public auth-
                                                                 intended to finance the various Actions which form part
orities, non-governmental organizations and all other
                                                                 of the programme.
bodies active in promoting youth exchanges or mobility.
Its objectives shall be as set out in the Annex.
                                                                 The appropriations deemed necessary for the first year
                          Article 3                              of the second phase of the programme will form part of
                                                                 future budgets within the framework of the present
 1.    The Commission shall implement the second phase           financial forecasts 1988 to 1992 agreed jointly by the
of the 'Youth for Europe' programme in conformity with           three institutions in June 1988, and their development.
this Decision.
The following shall be determined in accordance with                                      Article 5
the procedure set out in paragraph 2:
                                                                 The Commission shall see to it that there is consistency
                                                                 and complementarity between this action programme
— the general guidelines concerning the measures                 and other activities of the Member States and the
     provided for by the programme, its operation and its        Community affecting        youth exchanges. In this
     assessment,                                                 connection, account will be taken of the activities of the
                                                                 Council of Europe, inter alia in the field of information
                                                                 and training for youth leaders. The Commission shall
                                                                 also maintain regular contacts with international organ-
(') OJ No L 158, 25. 6. 1988, p. 42.                             izations working in the field of youth exchanges.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 308/8                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                      8. 12. 90
                            Article 6                                  (b) endeavour, as far as possible, to adopt the measures
                                                                            necessary to ensure that young people who have
1.   Member States shall lend their support to achieving                    participated in exchanges under the programme do
the objectives of the 'Youth for Europe' programme as                       not lose their entitlements, particularly those linked
set out in the Annex by taking appropriate measures to                      to social security.
that end.
2.   Each Member State shall:
                                                                                                     Article 7
(a) designate an existing body or set         up one or more
    competent bodies responsible for          coordinating the         The Commission shall submit to the European
    implementation of the programme           at national level,       Parliament and to the Council an assessment of the
    although this may not necessarily         be the only task         implementation of the programme, after the end of the
    assigned to such body or bodies;                                   second year of the second phase.
                                                                ANNEX
                                                               ACTION I
                           Promoting youth projects which entail the exchange and mobility of young people
             1. For the purposes of this Action, the term ' y o u t n exchanges' shall refer to project-centred bilateral
                exchanges and multilateral exchanges and encounters arranged on the basis of joint plans between indi-
                viduals or groups of young people between the ages of 15 and 25 years, other than those which take
                place in the context of school or vocational training. These project-centred exchanges will have a
                minimum duration of one week in a Member State and shall be specifically planned so as to enable them
                to develop skills for active and working life by:
                    gaining understanding, at first hand, of the economic, social and cultural life of the country in which
                    the exchange takes place (including the situations and problems of young people), through direct
                    contact with the local community in the host country,
                    establishing cooperative relationships between groups of young people from different States within
                    the Community,
                    exchanging ideas and identifying common interests with young people from other countries taking
                    part in the exchange,
                    strengthening their awareness of belonging to Europe.
             2. The objectives of this action of the Touth for Europe' programme shall be as follows:
                (a) to promote project-centred youth exchanges within the European Community for an increasing
                     number of young people from all the Member States, including, in particular, regions in which few
                     such opportunities are customarily available;
                (b) to promote improvements in the quality of youth exchanges, in particular through assistance with
                    the preparation and organization of exchanges, so as to achieve maximum impact and to increase to
                     the utmost the benefit to the young people concerned, in particular by enabling them to play an
                     active part in organizing the exchanges;
 ---pagebreak--- 8. 12. 90                               Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n Communities                       N o C 308/9
             (c) to encourage, so far as possible, diversification in youth exchanges and achieve an improved balance
                 between Member States, inter alia by the promotion of multilateral exchanges, so as to extend
                 participation, in particular, to young people from all kinds of social, economic and cultural back-
                 grounds;
             (d) to support the pursuit of European activities aimed at developing ongoing links between young
                 people and groups of young people in the various Member States;
             (e) to identify ways and means of overcoming the various financial, legal and administrative obstacles
                 which may inhibit participation in, or the organization of, youth exchanges;
             (f) to define, in the light of experience gained, new actions which may be undertaken directed towards
                 filling any gaps discovered in existing youth exchange programmes.
             Activities supported under this action shall be designed, in particular, to encourage the participation of
             young people who experience the most difficulties in being included in existing programmes of
             exchanges.
             The projects to receive Community assistance shall be chosen on the basis of joint criteria of quality,
             impact and efficacy responding to the programme objectives.
          3. The following measures designed to enable young people to benefit from exchanges and mobility shall
             be implemented.
             A. Direct support for youth projects involving exchange and mobility
                 1.    The Community shall continue the development of its system of direct financial aid to youth
                       exchanges with an explicitly educational purpose, expressed in the form of a coherent project.
                 1.1. Such projects will be so devised that the impact or repercussions of the exchange, in terms of
                       cooperation or individual or group training, may be assessed. Exchanges organized as part of an
                       educational or vocational training programme shall be excluded. Aid for exchanges under this
                       section shall not exceed 50 % of the total expenses incurred (journey and programme), except
                       as provided in point A. 1.4. below.
                 1.2. In calculating the aid to each Member State, quantitative objectives will be assigned in relation
                       to the number of young people from 15 to 25 years in its population. The calculation will also
                       take account of:
                       — the gross domestic product of each Member State,
                       — the geographical distance between Member States,
                       — the restoration of the balance of the flow of exchanges in the Community.
                 1.3. In the allocation of grants, priority will be given to project-centred exchanges which:
                       — bring together young people with different social, economic and cultural backgrounds,
                       — make young people aware of the European dimension, for example through their multi-
                           lateral nature,
                       — are designed also for young people with disadvantaged backgrounds,
                       — stress the active participation of young people from the beginning of the project,
                       — concern regions of the Community where few opportunities for exchanges are available.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 308/10                            Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n Communities                        8. 12. 90
                  1.4. As a complement to the provision set out above, the Community shall undertake positive actions
                       towards young people suffering from geographical, mental, physical, cultural, social or
                       economic disadvantage. In this context, financial aid towards exchanges organized under
                       section A.l may be of up to 75 % of the total; and the Community shall support such other
                       activities to encourage the participation of disadvantaged young people as may be appropriate.
                       Not less than one-third of the credits made available to Member States under section A.l of this
                       Action shall be used for disadvantaged young people.
                  2.   Grants shall be made available, on an experimental basis during the first two years of the second
                       phase of the programme, to support transnational projects enabling young people to take part in
                       voluntary service activities in another Member State. Such activities will be in the educational,
                       social or cultural fields, and will be operated by non-governmental organizations with
                       experience in these fields. This provision has no bearing on similar activities existing in some
                       Member States as obligatory military service.
                       Grants will be of a maximum of ECU 500 per month, with an overall maximum of ECU 3 000
                       per person, and of 50 % of travel costs involved.
              B. Study visits and professional development for youth workers
                  The Community will continue its aid for short study visits and for the professional development of
                  youth workers, as established under the first phase of the Touth for Europe' programme.
                                                                ACTION II
                                                         Accompanying measures
           1. Measures to accompany and support those referred to above may be carried out by the Commission,
              including measures:
              (a) to promote the implementation of pratical measures to encourage the mobility of young people in
                  the Member States, including the issue of a European Youth Card to facilitate their access to
                  existing services at national level;
              (b) to encourage the undertaking of collaborative activities in the field of youth work;
              (c) to provide technical expertise and support for the implementation of grant and subsidy schemes.
           2. In addition to the above, the Commission shall provide assistance for the development of activities for
              the bodies referred to in Article 6.b.l of the Decision. These activities shall be concerned with the
              development of:
              (a) information to young people and youth workers about the activities supported under this
                  programme, and the application and grant systems relating to each activity;
              (b) consultation facilities, to give practical guidance on the preparation of youth exchanges and other
                  projects eligible for support under this programme, including the operation of training courses
                  where appropriate;
              (c) coordination of activities and exchanges of information and experience between designated
                  structures in different Member States.