22.12.2007 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 314/24 |
Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 25 May 2007 on future perspectives for European cooperation in the field of youth policy
(2007/C 314/07)
The Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council,
HAVING REGARD TO:
(1) |
the Council's request (1) to evaluate in 2009 the general framework for European cooperation in the youth field which was agreed in 2002; |
(2) |
the first exchange of views on future perspectives for European youth policy, which was held at the Education, Youth and Culture Council meeting on 16 February 2007 on the basis of a joint discussion paper from the German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies and with a view to the evaluation of the cooperation framework; |
(3) |
the work of the European Commission's Bureau of European Policy Advisers (2) which emphasises the importance of investing in young people's well-being, health, education, labour market integration and active citizenship; |
(4) |
the European Commission's interim report to the Spring 2007 European Council entitled Social reality stocktaking (3), which highlights the issue of intergenerational equity against the background of globalisation and demographic change and paves the way for an open debate on social issues and challenges that will also fundamentally affect the social situation of young people in Europe; |
(5) |
the Council's request (4) to promote a structured dialogue with young people with a view to increasing the involvement, at all levels, of young people and their organisations in shaping and implementing the policies affecting them and thereby promoting their active citizenship; |
(6) |
the European Pact for Youth approved by the Spring 2005 European Council, which identified priority areas for action in which greater involvement of young people and of all relevant actors in youth policy was required, |
1. |
POINT OUT that, in accordance with the European Pact for Youth, effective and sustainable youth policy-making requires in the relevant policy areas a truly cross-sectoral approach to whose shaping and implementation the Council intends to make a key contribution. |
2. |
FURTHER POINT OUT that, in view of the demographic changes observable in all Member States, with the number of young people as a proportion of the total population set to decline further in forthcoming decades, a cross-sectoral strategy is increasingly needed in order to develop intergenerationally equitable, sustainable policies which share both the opportunities and the necessary burdens evenly across all age groups and which enable young people to gain a level of autonomy appropriate to their age and needs. |
3. |
NOTE that the open method of coordination and the European Pact for Youth are the main tools for developing youth policies in Europe. In the interests of efficiency, coherence and visibility, initiatives aimed at ensuring that these tools can in future better interact and thus be mutually reinforcing should be developed. Any increase in the amount of reporting currently required of Member States should be avoided. |
4. |
UNDERLINE the importance of the Youth in Action programme (5) in increasing European cooperation in the field of youth policy, of the European Structural Funds in contributing towards the implementation of the European Pact for Youth at national, regional and local level and of the open method of coordination. |
5. |
WELCOME initiatives from the Commission highlighting the role of young women and men as a fundamental resource for the future organisation of society in the European Union and its Member States, by encouraging a truly cross-sectoral approach towards youth policy-making, reinforcing the structured dialogue with young people and promoting young people's autonomy and active citizenship. |
6. |
EXPRESS their willingness to help develop, take forward and follow up such initiatives, whilst seeking support from the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, and taking the role of relevant regional and local actors into account. |
6a. |
INTEND, by adopting these conclusions, to contribute with a set of relevant proposals on future thematic and structural perspectives to a thorough discussion on future perspectives for European cooperation in the field of youth policy and to the evaluation of the cooperation framework in 2009; |
7. |
CONSIDER, against this background, the following issues to be particularly relevant:
|
(1) Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on addressing the concerns of young people in Europe — Implementing the European Pact for Youth and promoting active citizenship (OJ C 292, 24.11.2005, p. 5).
(2) http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/policy_advisers/publications/index_en.htm
(3) COM(2007) 63 final.
(4) Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on implementing the common objectives for participation by and information for young people in view of promoting their active European citizenship (OJ C 297, 7.12.2006, p. 6).
(5) OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p. 30.
(6) OJ L 285, 16.10.2006, p. 47.