Challenges facing young people: enhancing cross-sectorial policy cooperation

EU Ministers see cooperation across policy areas as vital for addressing social and economic problems facing young people.

ACT

Council conclusions on enhancing cross-sectorial policy cooperation to effectively address socio-economic challenges facing young people (OJ C 172, 27.5.2015, pp. 3-7)

SUMMARY

WHAT DO THESE COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS DO?

They consider strategies to strengthen the cross-sectorial approach to youth issues so that policy-makers can react more effectively and promptly to problems, making the best use of all available EU funding and programmes in this field.

KEY POINTS

Cross-sectorial policy

To implement a wide-ranging cross-sectorial youth policy, EU countries need to:

• Take youth issues into account when developing policy in areas such as education, training, employment and others that impact on young people. For this to be effective, cooperation between institutions on a local, regional and national level is necessary.
• Implement overarching youth strategies to connect relevant policy actions that address youth problems and involve young people and youth organisations.
• Establish methods to monitor the situation of young people, which allow for evidence and knowledge-based policies.

They call on the European Commission to:

• consider how to effectively apply a coordinated policy approach in addressing young people's challenges;
• assess how youth policy issues are taken into account in other policy areas that affect young people.

They urge EU countries and the Commission to:

• make full use of the Erasmus+ programme to strengthen cooperation across sectors;
• collect evidence on how cross-sectorial cooperation can yield positive results.

Tailor-made approaches

Specially designed cross-sector approaches to programmes that tackle socio-economic challenges facing young people are needed.

EU countries are invited to:

• strengthen partnership approaches in implementing measures, such as the Youth Guarantee;
• request support for implementing youth sector activities funded under the Youth Guarantee;
• strengthen cooperation between formal education institutions (such as schools and colleges) and non-formal learning providers (such as youth and sports clubs) to address early school leaving;
• promote cooperation between youth work and social services to enhance youth inclusion in society.

The Commission is asked to facilitate EU level interaction between youth policy makers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in implementing the Youth Guarantee.

Both the EU countries and the Commission are requested to:

• consider using European Structural Funds and the Erasmus+ programme to tackle youth people's challenges;
• address concerns raised in the forthcoming peer learning among EU countries on reinforcing national level cross-sectorial youth policy that is contained in the EU Work Plan for Youth.

Youth work

The EU Council requests that EU countries and the Commission highlight the value of youth work in tackling young people's challenges by:

• promoting recognition of youth work and non-formal learning tools such as the Youthpass certificate in the employment, training, education and culture sectors.
• exploring the possibilities of mainstreaming the Youthpass certificate as a national tool for recognition.

More information:

• Erasmus+
• Youth Guarantee

RELATED ACTS

Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 20 May 2014 on a European Union Work Plan for Youth for 2014-2015 (OJ C 183, 14.6.2014, pp. 5-11)

last update 24.09.2015