14.6.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 183/1

1.

The Council ‘Resolution’ on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010 - 2018) (1) recognised all young people as a resource to society and highlighted the importance of upholding the right of young people to participate in the development of policies affecting them by means of a continuous structured dialogue with young people and youth organisations.

2.

The Resolution of 27 November 2012 (2) of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the overview of the structured dialogue with young people on youth participation in democratic life in Europe, stated that the overall thematic priority for European cooperation in the youth field for the third 18 - month work cycle (the period 1 January 2013 - 30 June 2014) is social inclusion.

3.

The structured dialogue is a participatory process and the outcome of the third 18-month work cycle is based on the results achieved by the national consultations during the Irish, Lithuanian and Hellenic Presidencies, as well as the EU Youth Conferences in Dublin in March 2013, Vilnius in September 2013 and Thessaloniki in March 2014.

4.

The joint conclusions of the Dublin Youth Conference focused on the following priorities: employment, participation, welfare, support tools (social and youth services), youth organisations and quality youth work, which were presented to Youth Ministers at the EYCS Council in May 2013 (3).

5.

The joint conclusions of the Vilnius Youth Conference focused on the following priorities: education, guidance, transition from education to employment, labour market conditions, autonomy, role of youth organisations and cross-sectoral cooperation, which were presented to Youth Ministers at the EYCS Council in November 2013 (4).

6.

The joint Recommendations of the Thessaloniki Youth Conference focused on the following priorities: quality education, quality transition, quality jobs, dialogue and learning between generations, active inclusion, youth entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship (5).

7.

Under the Erasmus+ programme, enhanced funding opportunities are made available to support the Structured Dialogue, including direct annual grants to the National Working Groups.

8.

The Joint EU Youth Report of 27 November 2012 (6) included an evaluation of the Structured Dialogue and suggested that the process could be further developed by further evaluation of the process and outcome of the Structured Dialogue, by making membership of the National Working Groups more inclusive of young people from all different backgrounds and by encouraging decision-makers to take recommendations from young people more fully into account.

9.

An evaluation of the Structured Dialogue should form part of the forthcoming second EU Youth Report and include an overview of the consideration of the Structured Dialogue outcomes at national and EU level.

10.

The Structured Dialogue and the consultations linked to it should focus on the overall thematic priority jointly discussed by young people and policymakers and set by the Council, in order to ensure a coherent and on - going process throughout each of its cycles.

11.

A simplified and clear architecture should be established for the Structured Dialogue cycle to ensure continuity of the overall theme and allow for better time management in consultations with young people.

In the first phase of each cycle, a common understanding and bottom-up approach to the overall thematic priority set by the Council should be developed among all stakeholders and should be a guiding framework for the dialogue to be conducted in the subsequent phases.

In the second phase, consultations should be undertaken and lead to possible solutions, which should be drawn to the attention of the Council and conclude with recommendations on the overall thematic priority.

In the third phase, the main focus should be on the formulation of concrete actions which will be submitted to the Council for further consideration.

12.

To increase the outreach of the Structured Dialogue, National Working Groups, assisted by youth researchers and youth workers, and where appropriate in consultation with local and regional authorities, should seek to ensure the active involvement of young people, including those who have not previously participated in the Structured Dialogue. Youth information and youth work networks could be invited to support National Working Groups in their efforts to reach out to more young people, where appropriate.

13.

To improve the quality of the outcome of the EU Presidency Youth Conferences, the working methods and the decision-making process in the Youth Conferences should be assessed and revised. The European Commission and the Member States, with due regard to national competencies, could consider a feedback mechanism to young people on the feasibility of the recommendations stemming from the structured dialogue process. The recommendations could be taken into account, where appropriate, so as to inform policy development and achieve better outcomes for young people.

14.

A creative and participatory process should be launched to develop a common and improved European visibility for the Structured Dialogue, which will allow for a national and European ‘branding’ of the process. The Commission should continue to develop the section on the European Portal which is devoted to the Structured Dialogue.

15.

The overall thematic priority for the structured dialogue with young people and youth organisations for the next work cycle (the period 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2015) is youth empowerment as set out in Annex II.

16.

The priority areas chosen can be complemented by each Presidency in the light of any possible new developments.

17.

The priority areas for the following Team Presidency cycle (1 January 2016 - 30 June 2017) should be defined before the beginning of its term.