EU Youth Ministers speak up for young people
EU Youth Ministers met yesterday 22 May to debate future priorities for EU youth policy and to adopt Council conclusions that will contribute to furthering young people’s role in Europe and the world.
The European Youth Forum welcomes the conclusions that centre on the role of young people in building a secure society and on addressing demographic challenges. In addition education ministers adopted conclusions on promoting common values and inclusive education.
Ministers #YouthUp the policy debate!
Throughout the public policy debate, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, we were pleased to hear Youth Ministers recognising the role of young people in shaping the policies that affect them. Many Ministers credited the fundamental work of their National Youth Councils and called for more investment in youth organisations. The Youth Goals created during the EU Youth Conference in April were also explicitly acknowledged, reflecting their value for policymakers. We sincerely hope that they will be incorporated into the work on the future EU Youth Strategy and utilised in its implementation.
The conclusions for youth
Many crucial aspects for youth policy feature in the Council’s adopted conclusions, including cross-sectoral cooperation, evidence based policy making and youth participation and dialogue. Going forward we hope that the focus on these aspects will remain throughout negotiations on the future EU Youth Strategy.
The European Youth Forum is encouraged by cross-sectoral references to social inclusion, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and youth work mentioned in these documents. We especially thank the Bulgarian Presidency for their focus on Europe’s role in the world, a unique perspective that has not been addressed at Council level in the field of youth before.
An emphasis on promoting common values is also featured, particularly the agreement that a European dimension of teaching should be included in curricula. We welcome this initiative as a crucial element needed for European citizenship education.
Furthermore, the adoption of conclusions on young people’s role in building a secure society and referencing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 is particularly timely given that the EU’s External Action Service will today host a conference on “Promoting Youth in Peacebuilding”.
We look forward to seeing these conclusions implemented in Member States, and we call on the European institutions to also make budgetary provision for this through the post-2020 MFF, as well as the 2019 budget negotiations.
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