The European Parliament adopted by 604 votes to 25, with 68 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European Year of Youth 2022.

The European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amends the Commission's proposal as follows:

Objectives

The overall objective of the European Year will be to boost the efforts of the Union, the Member States and regional and local authorities, together with civil society actors, to empower, honour, support and engage with young people, including those with fewer opportunities, in a post-COVID-19 pandemic perspective with a view to having a long-term positive impact for young people.

In particular, the European Year should aim to:

- renew the positive perspectives for young people, with a particular focus on the negative effects that the COVID-19 pandemic had on them, while highlighting how the green transition, the digital transition and other Union policies offer opportunities for young people and for society at large;

- empower and support young people, including through youth work, especially young people with fewer opportunities, young people from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds, young people belonging to vulnerable and marginalised groups, young people from rural, remote, peripheral and less-developed areas and young people from outermost regions, to acquire relevant knowledge and competences and thus become active and engaged citizens and actors of change, inspired by a European sense of belonging, including additional efforts at building capacity for youth participation and civic engagement among young people and among all stakeholders that work to represent their interests and involving the contribution of young people from diverse backgrounds in key consultation processes, such as the Conference on the Future of Europe and the EU Youth Dialogue process;

- support young people to acquire a better understanding of, and actively promote the various opportunities available to them from, public policies at Union, national, regional and local level;

- mainstream youth policy across all relevant Union policy fields in line with the 2019-2027 European Union Youth Strategy to encourage the bringing of a youth perspective into policy-making at all levels.

Types of measures

The measures to be taken to achieve the objectives should include, inter alia :

- organise conferences, events, both cultural or otherwise, and policy initiatives targeting young people to promote an inclusive and accessible debate on challenges, that young people, including those with fewer opportunities and belonging to vulnerable groups, face, such as their social situation, access to education and training, and working conditions;

- promote youth participation and enhance the use of existing and new innovative tools, channels and programmes that enable all young people to reach policy-makers by identifying, collecting and sharing experiences and good practice and raising awareness among policy-makers of those tools, channels and programmes;

- create spaces and tools for exchanges on turning challenges into opportunities and ideas into actions in an entrepreneurial spirit, while fostering creativity, community and cooperation;

- undertake studies and research on the situation of young people in the Union, paying particular attention to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, producing and using harmonised European statistics and other relevant Union-level data, and promoting and disseminating those results at the European, national or regional level;

- promote programmes, funding opportunities, projects, actions and networks of relevance to young people, including through social media and online communities.

The Commission and the Member States may identify other activities which could contribute to the objectives of the European Year and allow references to the European Year to be used as label in promoting those activities in so far as they contribute to achieving those objectives. The institutions and bodies of the Union and Member States may also identify such other activities and suggest them to the Commission.

Coordination at national and EU level

The national coordinators should ensure that young people, youth organisations and civil society organisations, including, where appropriate, national youth councils and other relevant actors, are actively involved in the co-creation, implementation and monitoring of the implementation of the European Year activities at national level.

The Commission should convene joint or separate meetings with stakeholders and representatives of organisations or bodies in the field of youth and national coordinators to assist in co-creating and implementing the European Year at Union level. It should establish strong links with the Council of Europe's 'Youth for Democracy - Democracy for Youth' campaign and with international youth organisations and networks.

Budget and co-financing

The European Parliament and the Council agree that the minimum operational budget for the implementation of the European Year of Youth (2022) shall be set at EUR 8 million . Of that amount, EUR 3 million will come from the annual budget for 2022 of the European Solidarity Corps and EUR 5 million will come from the annual budget for 2022 of the Erasmus + programme.

The Commission does not exclude that additional contributions from other EU programmes and instruments could be added to this amount of EUR 8 million.

The co-legislators are committed to ensuring that the European Year leaves a legacy beyond 2022. Without prejudice to the powers of the budgetary authority, any additional funding beyond 2022 should be identified within the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027.

The Committee on Culture and Education adopted the report by Sabine VERHEYEN (EPP, DE) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European Year of Youth 2022.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure be amended as follows:

Subject matter

According to Members, the European Year of Youth should initiate a process of reflection on the future of young people and their active participation in the construction of the European project and should aim in particular to:

- renew the positive perspectives for young people negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while highlighting how the green and digital transitions and other Union policies offer opportunities for them and for the society at large;

- take into account the needs and concerns of young people , including those raised during the Conference on the Future of Europe, and supporting them in developing concrete, inclusive opportunities and deliverables, whilst making an optimal use of Union instruments;

- encourage and empower all young people, especially young people with fewer opportunities, from disadvantaged backgrounds or belonging to vulnerable and marginalised groups, as well as from rural, peripheral and less developed regions to acquire relevant knowledge and competences and a better understanding of the environment;

- assist all young people to acquire a better understanding of the various opportunities available to them from, the public policies at EU level;

- mainstream youth policy across all relevant Union policy fields to ensure that a youth perspective is duly taken into account at every level of the Union decision-making process.

Types of measures

Measures to be taken to achieve the objectives should include, inter alia :

- organising conferences, cultural and other events and policy initiatives targeting young people to promote an inclusive debate on the challenges they face, in particular with regard to their social situation and working conditions , including the issue of unpaid internships and apprenticeships, the validation of skills acquired through non-formal and informal education and the strengthening of youth work and mental well-being structures;

- develop long-term projects and policies for European youth;

- carry out information, education and awareness-raising campaigns to convey values such as respect, equality, justice, solidarity, volunteering, a sense of belonging and safety, a feeling of being heard and respected;

- create spaces and tools for exchanges on turning challenges into opportunities and ideas into actions ;

- allowing references to the European Year to be used as a label in the promotion of activities that can contribute to the objectives of the European Year.

Coordination at EU level

The Commission and the European Coordinator for Youth Activities should organise meetings of national coordinators, youth representatives with experience in the field, Commission representatives and representatives of the European Parliament to coordinate the running of the European Year. The European Youth Forum and other youth organisations should be involved.

Budget and co-financing

Members proposed that the financial envelope for the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 should be set at EUR 10 million . An additional financial envelope of EUR 2 million should be provided for the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 to support activities in 2023, with a view to creating a lasting legacy for the European Year.

The annual appropriations should be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027.

Co-financing should be provided from EU programmes and financial instruments to support the implementation of the European Year in accordance with the rules applicable to those programmes and instruments.

PURPOSE: to designate 2022 as the European Year of Youth.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: the EU Youth Strategy is the framework for EU youth policy cooperation for 2019-2027, based on the Council Resolution of 26 November 2018.

The Strategy recognises that young people are architects of their own lives, contribute to positive change in society and enrich the EU’s ambitions, and that youth policy can contribute to create a space where young people can seize opportunities and relate to European values.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented – and uneven – impact on education, employment, social inclusion and mental health of the young people. The economic crisis provoked by lockdowns has hit young Europeans in particular. However, young people have shown intergenerational solidarity and have also managed to show great resilience and have been involved in the mitigation of the pandemic’s impact.

On 15 September 2021, President von der Leyen announced in her State of the Union Address that the European Commission will propose to make 2022 the European Year of Youth.

In its resolution on the impact of COVID-19 on youth and on sport, the European Parliament underlined the particularly acute impact the current pandemic has had on young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs) and highlighted the need to tackle the problems faced by young people from vulnerable groups. It urged the Commission and the Member States to take all the necessary measures to counter the disastrous effects on youth employment and stressed the role of volunteering in developing life and work skills for young people.

CONTENT: the Commission proposes to make 2022 the European Year of Youth .

Objective

The objectives of the European Year of Youth are to encourage and support the efforts of the Union, the Member States, regional and local authorities to honour youth in a post-pandemic perspective . It is an occasion to raise awareness on European opportunities ahead for young people.

During the European Year of Youth, the Commission, in cooperation with the European Parliament, Member States, regional and local authorities, stakeholders and young people themselves, will:

- highlight how the green and digital transitions offer a renewed perspective for the future and opportunities to counter negative impact of the pandemic on young people and on the society at large;

- draw inspiration from the actions, vision and insights of young people to further strengthen and invigorate the common European Union project and listening to young people, taking into account their concerns and supporting them in developing concrete, inclusive opportunities, while making an optimal use of Union instruments;

- encourage all young people, especially young people with fewer opportunities, from disadvantaged backgrounds or belonging to vulnerable groups to become active and engaged citizens as well as actors of change, inspired by a European sense of belonging. This includes additional efforts at building capacity for youth participation and civic engagement among young people from diverse backgrounds in key consultation processes, such as the Conference on the Future of Europe;

- promote opportunities for young people arising from the public policies at EU, national, regional level and local level in order to support their personal, social and professional development in a green, digital and inclusive world.

The European Year of Youth seeks to:

- be implemented using existing EU programmes and delivery mechanisms already in place and the drive provided by NextGenerationEU;

- give a unique impetus to the creation of a European Education Area by creating a genuine European space of learning by 2025;

- contribute to the European Climate Pact, the updated Digital Education Action Plan and the HealthyLifestyle4all initiative;

- support the EU’s efforts to expanding employment opportunities for youth in the post-pandemic recovery as stated in the European Parliament Resolution on the Youth Guarantee.

Actions, measures and funding

Measures will include information and promotion campaigns, events and initiatives at European, national, regional and local level to convey key messages and disseminate information about examples of good practice, including the role of the EU in promoting shared solutions. This will lead to active participation and learning in key policy areas such as climate change.

The organisation of participation in the European Year at national level will be a responsibility of the Member States. The Commission will convene meetings of the national coordinators to coordinate the running of the European Year.

Without prejudice to the powers of the budgetary authority, the aim should be to provide funding for the implementation of this Decision of at least EUR 8 million .