10.6.2005   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 141/3

(1)

The European Commission's White Paper entitled ‘European governance’ (1), presented on 30 July 2001, places openness and participation at the top of its list of five principles underpinning good governance.

(4)

In its Resolution of 27 June 2002 (4), the Council

(5)

In its Resolution of 25 November 2003 (5), the Council:

(6)

The European Union is founded on both principles of representative democracy and participatory democracy.

(a)

young women and men continue to have a keen involvement and interest in societal issues;

(b)

young people's readiness for active citizenship does not automatically lead them to engage with the institutions of representative democracy;

(c)

young people's participation and interest in the institutions of representative democracy tend to decline in many EU Member States;

(d)

this lack of interest in democratic institutions is often reflected in a reluctance to make a long-term commitment to youth organisations, low turnouts at elections, declining membership of political parties and their youth sections.

(a)

representative democracy is one of the mainstays of our society;

(b)

democracies need the participation of all their citizens;

(c)

in particular, the participation of young women and men in the institutions of representative democracy is crucial if democracy is to function properly;

(d)

young people do not form a homogenous group, and the issue of their non-participation in the institutions of representative democracy presents various challenges, depending on gender, level of education, ethnic origin or other factors.

(a)

the value of an ongoing dialogue at national level between young women and men and political leaders in creating a climate conducive to participation in the institutions of representative democracy;

(b)

the importance of the Commission guideline on a structured dialogue between young people and political representatives;

(c)

the key role played by non-formal education and by youth-oriented information in providing quality civic education on a broad basis;

(d)

the special importance of youth organisations and associations in providing opportunities for young women and men to learn about democratic mechanisms and active, critical citizenship;

(a)

that action to achieve these objectives cannot target young women and men alone but must also be directed at the institutions of representative democracy themselves;

(b)

that the commitment of those participating in representative democracy should be highlighted and encouraged;

(c)

that when implementing the common objective of increasing the participation of young women and men in the system of representative democracy, particular attention should be paid to creating a climate which encourages young women and men to participate, taking into account the important role played by the education system, youth organisations, political parties and the family;

(d)

that particular care should be taken to tailor measures to their target groups and the groups' specific characteristics;

(e)

to involve young people and youth organisations in developing specific implementing measures.

—

encourage political parties' awareness of the importance of increasing their youth membership, having more young women and men on their organisational bodies and more young women and men on their lists of candidates;

—

encourage, where applicable, the placing of young people on the electoral register;

—

mobilise the support of regional and local authorities for young people's participation in representative democracy;

—

make young people aware of the importance of participating in representative democracy and, in particular, through casting their votes.

—

under the common priority regarding greater understanding and knowledge of youth, to make an inventory of the existing knowledge about obstacles to young people's active participation in representative democracy;

—

to pool measures already undertaken and examples of good practice for achieving the common objective of increasing participation by young people in the system of representative democracy, at both Member State and European level;

—

to strengthen dialogue between young people and political leaders, for example by introducing regular meetings;

—

to meet in 2006 to review progress on this objective on the basis of national reports on the participation priority.