The European Youth Strategy creates several instruments with the aim of helping national and EU authorities follow the goals of policy cooperation and progress.
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In a Resolution of the Council of the European Union and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, the European Union Youth Strategy for 2019-2027 was confirmed.
The EU’s Youth Policy up to 2019 focused on the principles of active participation and equal access to opportunities.
The objective of the Resolution is to set up an EU Youth Strategy able to address the challenges that young people are facing all over Europe and provide a common and coherent EU response to such challenges.
The Strategy recognises that:
- Young people have a specific role in society and face specific challenges.
- A European Union youth strategy 2019-2027 is needed.
- The European youth goals provide a vision for Europe.
The European Youth Policy and all actions undertaken within the European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 are firmly anchored in the international system of human rights. Therefore, all policies and activities concerning youth people are guided by the principles of equality and non-discrimination, inclusion, participation, global and local dimension, dual approach (mainstreaming initiatives across policies and tackling youth issues by specific initiatives in the youth sector.
Parties to the Resolution have agreed to:
- Working on effective, focused and joined-up implementation within and across sectors;
- Tackling core areas of youth sector: Engage, Connect and Empower;
- Cooperate on the basis of instruments and governance.
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EU Youth Dialogue
The EU Youth Dialogue is a dialogue mechanism between young people and decision makers taking place in the framework of the EU Youth Strategy. The EU Youth Dialogue refers to the dialogue with young people and youth organisations involving policy and decision makers, experts, researchers and other relevant civil society actors.
The objectives of the EU Youth Dialogue include:
- It encourages the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe;
- It promotes equal participation between young women and men;
- It ensures openness to all young people to contribute to policy-shaping;
- It brings about positive change in youth policy at local, regional, national and European level;
- It strengthens young people’s citizenship competencies and sense of belonging to society and the EU.
To support the implementation and governance of EU Youth Dialogue, diverse partnerships on different levels can be beneficial, for example with Youth Councils, youth organisations and other youth field stakeholders as well as partners from other sectors.
Future National Activities Planner (FNAPs)
In order to increase transparency in the implementation of youth policies at regional, national and EU level, Future National Activities Planners (FNAPs) intend to allow Member States on a voluntary basis to share their priorities in line with the EU Youth Strategy.
European Youth Goals
The European Youth Goals are the outcome of the Structure Dialogue with young people, decision-makers, researchers and other stakeholders that took place under the title ‘Youth in Europe: What’s next?’.
The aim of this cycle was to collect voices of young people and contribute together to creating the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027. The European Youth Goals present a vision for a Europe that enables young people to realise their full potential. They identify cross-sectoral areas that affect young people’s lives and point out which challenges need to be tackled. The European Youth Goals include the goals to:
- Foster the sense of youth belonging to the European project and build a bridge between the EU and young people to regain trust and increase participation.
- Ensure equality of all genders and gender-sensitive approaches in all areas of life of a young person.
- Enable and ensure the inclusion of all young people in society.
- Ensure young people have better access to reliable information, support their ability to evaluate information critically and engage in participatory and constructive dialogue.
- Achieve better mental wellbeing and end stigmatisation of mental health issues, thus promoting social inclusion of all young people.
- Create conditions which enable young people to fulfil their potential in rural areas.
- Guarantee an accessible labour market with opportunities that lead to quality jobs for all young people.
- Integrate and improve different forms of learning, equipping young people for the challenges of an ever-changing life in the 21st century.
- Strengthen young people’s democratic participation and autonomy as well as provide dedicated youth spaces in all areas of society.
- Achieve a society in which all young people are environmentally active, educated and able to make a difference in their everyday lives.
- Ensure equal access for all young people to youth organisations and European youth programmes, building a society based on European values and identity.
