Decision (EU) 2021/2316 on a European Year of Youth (2022)

What it is

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: the EU Youth Strategy is the framework for EU youth policy cooperation for 2019-2027, based on the Council Resolution of 26 November 2018. The Strategy recognises that young people are architects of their own lives, contribute to positive change in society and enrich the EU’s ambitions, and that youth policy can contribute to create a space where young people can seize opportunities and relate to European values. The Committee on Culture and Education adopted the report by Sabine VERHEYEN (EPP, DE) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European Year of Youth 2022. The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure be amended as follows: According to Members, the European Year of Youth should initiate a process of reflection on the future of young people and their active participation in the construction of the European project and should aim in particular to: - renew the positive perspectives for young people negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while highlighting how the green and digital transitions and other Union policies offer opportunities for them and for the society at large; - take into account the needs and concerns of young people , including those raised during the Conference on the Future of Europe, and supporting them in developing concrete, inclusive opportunities and deliverables, whilst making an optimal use of Union instruments; - encourage and empower all young people, especially young people with fewer opportunities, from disadvantaged backgrounds or belonging to vulnerable and marginalised groups, as well as from rural, peripheral and less developed regions to acquire relevant knowledge and competences and a better understanding of the environment; - assist all young people to acquire a better understanding of the various opportunities available to them from, the public policies at EU level; - mainstream youth policy across all relevant Union policy fields to ensure that a youth perspective is duly taken into account at every level of the Union decision-making process. Measures to be taken to achieve the objectives should include, inter alia : - organising conferences, cultural and other events and policy initiatives targeting young people to promote an inclusive debate on the challenges they face, in particular with regard to their social situation and working conditions , including the issue of unpaid internships and apprenticeships, the validation of skills acquired through non-formal and informal education and the strengthening of youth work and mental well-being structures; - develop long-term projects and policies for European youth; - carry out information, education and awareness-raising campaigns to convey values such as respect, equality, justice, solidarity, volunteering, a sense of belonging and safety, a feeling of being heard and respected;

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