83rd PLENARY SESSION HELD ON 9-10 FEBRUARY 2010

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the European Year of Volunteering (2011)

(2010/C 175/10)

I.   POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1.   welcomes the European Commission proposal to designate 2011 as the European Year of Volunteering and endorses the Commission's analysis of the multi-faceted contribution that volunteering makes to European society and the challenges and policy requirements that the sector faces;

2.   welcomes the recognition by the European Commission of voluntary activity as a key component of active citizenship at local, regional, national and EU-wide levels. For many individuals, voluntary activity is a personal manifestation of the concepts of social cohesion and social capital, and is, in its truest form, ‘active’ citizenship;

3.   emphasises the major role that is played by local authorities and regions in promoting, developing and supporting volunteer activities, evidenced by the amount of volunteering that is facilitated directly at these levels and welcomes the recognition of the role of local and regional authorities in the draft proposal;

4.   welcomes the understanding by the European Commission of the importance of volunteering with regard to employability and lifelong learning. While this is of heightened importance at the moment due to the economic crisis, it is also crucial in times of economic well-being as a means of encouraging social cohesion;

5.   highlights the economic contribution that volunteering makes to local, regional, national and the EU economies and as an influential factor in investment and job creation and considers that the European Year in 2011 provides an opportunity for a greater reflection of this contribution in the context of renewing the European Jobs and Growth (Lisbon) Strategy and the National Reform Programme process;

6.   stresses, however, that volunteering must not be used as a substitute or replacement for employed staff in any environment; public authorities within their competencies should ensure that neither they, nor their contract partners engage in such practices;

Legal Base and Title of the European Year

7.   accepts re-titling 2011 as the ‘European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship’ on the grounds of the legal base used to make the draft proposal but considers that the original title should continue to be used as the public title to help engender support, recognition and understanding of the European Year and to avoid diluting its central theme, which is volunteering;

8.   furthermore, requests that lengthy discussion on the legal base be avoided and that a decision on the Proposal should be finalised as quickly as possible in order to allow sufficient time for preparatory actions to be undertaken in 2010;

9.   recognises that volunteering is a key dimension of active citizenship and democracy but underlines that this is just one facet and that the European Year must also promote the broad contribution that voluntary activity makes to European society;

Better Synergies between European Years

10.   considers that the designation of 2011 as the European Year of Volunteering should build on some of the activities of the European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion in 2010, given the role that volunteering plays in this regard and also suggests that the European Year should support complementary actions to the UN's ‘International Year of Volunteers +10’;

11.   advocates, furthermore, that outcomes from the 2011 European Year of Volunteering be utilised in the planning and implementation of actions related to future relevant European Years such as Active Aging (in 2012) and Citizenship (proposed for 2013);

12.   recommends that the European Commission should develop better synergies between the European Years in general rather than they being seen as ‘one-off’ events, as this would provide greater added-value and strengthen capitalisation on the European Years’ activities and outcomes;

13.   suggests, in this regard, that there needs to be a wider engagement and more horizontal coordination of different services in the European Commission, and a greater commitment from the Member States, as well as greater efforts to involve sub-national levels of governance, to ensure that the follow-up on 2011 is effective and builds on results achieved;

Objectives of the European Year in 2011

14.   welcomes the European Commission's four objectives for the European Year of Volunteering, as they are a practical and clear breakdown of the processes involved in volunteering both for individuals and volunteer-involving organisations;

15.   draws attention to the varied forms, spheres and traditions of volunteering among the Member States and underlines that there is a need for an understanding and flexible approach during 2010 and 2011 and considers that the European Year of Volunteering provides a unique opportunity to catalogue and create appropriate forums to share experiences and best practices between national, regional and local levels from across the European Union;

16.   advocates the consideration of the development of a common approach among Member States to quantify voluntary activity as a key theme under Objective 3 - Reward and recognise volunteering activities;

17.   emphasises the need to utilise the European Year of Volunteering to improve the conditions for volunteering in the European Union, with particular regard to the provision of well-resourced, efficient and visible infrastructure to enable easy access for the public to volunteering opportunities;

18.   advocates that a specific day towards the end of the 2011 be nominated as the European Union wide day of volunteering, bearing in mind the various traditions of volunteering that exist within Member States. This day could be utilised every year to create a sense of solidarity among EU citizens who volunteer and promote volunteering to the general public in a coherent and innovative fashion;

19.   furthermore, suggests that in light of the role public policy can play at local/regional level in promoting and facilitating voluntary activity, a biennial award for the most volunteer-friendly city, local or regional authority should be established at Community and individual Member State levels during 2011 and would, furthermore, support volunteer of the year awards to recognise the commitment and achievement of individuals in the area of volunteering;

20.   draws attention to the need to involve members of the general public (with a particular emphasis on those from socially excluded groups) already engaged in voluntary activity in relevant communication messages to promote engagement in voluntary activity to all EU citizens;

21.   emphasises that communication actions should focus on themes including local voluntary activity, cross-border EU voluntary activity, and voluntary activity in the developing world;

Outputs of the European Year in 2011

22.   underlines that for the European Year to be successful in achieving its objectives a critical mass of initiatives that will have an enduring impact on volunteering across the European Union, is required. In particular, the European Year for Volunteering must work towards achieving political commitment on:

23.   suggests that the European Year of Volunteering lays the foundations for the formulation of an Action Plan for Volunteering which should provide for a better recognition and support for volunteering in various EU policy areas and programmes and considers that the planned Thematic Conferences for 2011 be utilised to identify the key elements and priorities of this Action Plan;

24.   considers that the European Year could also facilitate a discussion on adequate policies at national level to stimulate and promote voluntary activities and build on the initiatives and achievements of 2011;

25.   also suggests that further consideration must be given to broader recognition of the monetary equivalent of volunteering as match funding in EU funded programmes, post 2013 and considers that this requires a stronger reference in the Financial Regulations and a wide Inter-Services consultation across the relevant Directorates-General;

Financial Resources

26.   regrets the relatively low level of funding being allocated for the European Year of Volunteering (especially in comparison to the EUR 17 million provided in 2010). There is a danger that with this amount of funding, the objectives of the Year may not be fully realised and the activities envisaged may not permeate through the various structures to the general public;

27.   suggests, therefore, that the EUR 6 million provided in the draft Proposal be seen as a minimum and that additional resources be allocated to the European Year in 2011, as available, and would like the European Commission to articulate more clearly the range of other funding possibilities under relevant Community Programmes that could be deployed to achieve the Year's objectives;

Committee of the Regions’ Role

28.   pledges to actively promote the objectives of the European Year of Volunteering and to be associated with its activities, as appropriate, and offers to work with the European Commission and Member States to give practical effect to the European Year of Volunteering.

II.   RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AMENDMENTS

Amendment 1

Proposed amendment to the Proposal for a Council Decision on the European Year of Volunteering

Article 4

Reason

There is a need for a process of consultation with stakeholders in drawing-up the national programmes and setting the priorities.

Amendment 2

Proposed amendment to the Proposal for a Council Decision on the European Year of Volunteering

Article 7.1

Reason

In order to achieve tangible results, the budget for the European Year needs to be increased and the current proposal must be seen as a minimum.

Amendment 3

Proposed amendment to the Proposal for a Council Decision on the European Year of Volunteering

Article 9

Reason

There is also a need to include consistency with local initiatives.