Activites

• 1998/07/31 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Decision 1998/1686
  • OJ L 214 31.07.1998, p. 0001
• #2115
• 1998/07/20 Council Meeting
• 1998/07/20 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1998/07/15 Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading
  • T4-0422/1998 summary

    In adopting the report by Mrs Nicole FONTAINE (EPP, F) on the European Voluntary Service Parliament approved the joint text, even though it considered the text to be unsatisfactory. Parliament considered that funding for this programme was very inadequate for implementing all the measures planned. However Parliament, rather than disappointing the young people for whom this programme was intended, accepted, rather than seeing the whole programme placed in jeopardy, the budgetary funding of ECU 47.5 million provided for 1998-1999. Parliament hoped that the success of the programme would, as had already been the case for other initiatives, break the budgetary constraints placed by the Council on the European voluntary service scheme for young people. �

• 1998/07/14 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The rapporteur, Mrs Fontaine, invited Parliament to approve the common draft so that the European Voluntary Service could become operational as soon as possible, while hoping that the programme’s success in the coming months would prise open the budgetary corset in which the Council had stuffed it. While understanding Parliament’s disappointment, Commissioner Bangemann congratulated the successful conclusion of the conciliation procedure and hoped that this programme would develop its own impetus.

• 1998/07/08 Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading
  • A4-0274/1998
• 1998/06/30 Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs
  • 3613/1998
• 1998/06/23 Formal meeting of Conciliation Committee
• 1998/04/07 Parliament's amendments rejected by Council
• 1998/03/12 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The rapporteur highlighted the originality of the programme whose main aim was to give young people the opportunity to become voluntarily involved in social, cultural and environmental projects. She welcomed the fact that, at the end of the pilot phase, many young people had returned to their studies, found a job or decided to stay on in their host country. She also stressed the need to offer linguistic and cultural preparation to young people who agreed to go abroad. Mrs Fontaine also called for the financial resources to match the programme’s quality objective. By proposing ECU 80 million for 1998-1999, Parliament wanted to triple the number of young people who could benefit from the programme. Commissioner Cresson indicated that the Commission shared Parliament’s view on the Council’s common position. She confirmed that, in qualitative terms, the programme’s results were excellent, despite the obstacles which remained to the mobility of young volunteers, particularly young unemployed people. Mrs Cresson rejected Amendments Nos 1 (but proposed an amendment to its wording) and 5 which provided for the introduction of a European status of young volunteer without taking into account the responsibilities of the Member States. The Commission could also not accept part of Amendments Nos 2 and 4 on the link with national civilian services. Amendments Nos 7, 8, 9 and 10 also had to be rejected for strictly legal reasons. However, the Commission could accept the amendment on the composition of the programme committee as this complied with the decision on comitology. Finally, while being very sympathetic to Amendment No 3 (on the two-year budget for the programme), the Commission still maintained its original proposal for a budget of ECU 60 million given that this represented the minimum amount required to achieve the programme’s objectives in light of the experience of the pilot phase.

  • T4-0145/1998 summary

    In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mrs Nicole FONTAINE (PPE, F) on European voluntary service, Parliament amended the common position of the Council, upholding 4 amendments which it regarded as fundamental. These concerned: -the budget for voluntary service: Parliament upheld its call for a budget of ECU 80 m rather than the ECU 35 m proposed by the Council, maintaining that its proposed figure was essential to enable young volunteers to be properly prepared, both culturally and linguistically, and to make support for individual mobility sufficiently attractive; -the social security and tax provisions applicable to young volunteers: Member States should adopt measures to remove obstacles to the satisfactory functioning of the programme by granting residence rights, maintaining their social security entitlements, and granting tax exemptions in respect of expenses and allowances received by young volunteers for their travel and accommodation. Parliament also called on the Commission to make proposals for introducing a European statute for young volunteers; -complementarity with national civilian services: Member States were called upon to facilitate the access of young European volunteers to national infrastructures, both material and organizational (moreover, Parliament wished to see the gradual integration of voluntary service into national civilian services in order to impart a transnational dimension to national volunteer work); -Parliament's right to be kept informed throughout the implementation of the programme and when it is evaluated.�

• 1998/02/26 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A4-0077/1998
• 1998/01/15 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2062
• 1997/12/16 Council Meeting
  • 11851/1/1997 summary

    In its common position on European voluntary service, the Council incorporated in whole or in part 16 of the 40 amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading. In particular, these included the following: -reinforcing informal educational activities for the young as part of a policy of youth cooperation, and adopting a coherent approach to youth policy by the year 2000, -imparting added value to voluntary service in comparison with existing international exchanges in the Union (e.g. a stimulating framework for gaining broader experience, an active contribution to the ideals of democracy and tolerance in the context of European integration, opportunities for young people to play an active role in services of benefit to the community, etc.), -integrating activities with third countries wholly into the programme and ensuring complementarity with programmes under which projects for young volunteers from third countries may be financed, -linguistic and intercultural preparation of volunteers, -informing young volunteers about their rights and obligations, -monitoring the work of young volunteers in cooperation with local authorities, -ensuring that the activities of volunteers do not have the effect of restricting potential or existing paid jobs in the Member States, -the need for a certain amount of flexibility in the age range of volunteers, in certain justified cases. Those of Parliament's amendments which were not incorporated by the Council concerned, in particular: -instituting a specific budget heading for the programme as from 1996 and respecting the programme's budgetary compatibility with other Community youth measures, -the provisions designed to eliminate obstacles to the mobility of young volunteers, -commitology. Apart from general amendments intended to clarify the text of the basic proposal (particularly to reduce the number of sections in the annex from 5 to 4 while preserving the spirit of the original text and inserting an indicative definition of 'young volunteer'), the Council made two main changes to the text of the proposal: 1) the programme's duration and budget: the Council opted for a limited budget for the programme, namely ECU 35 m from 01.01.1998 to 31.12.1999. The Council brought the duration of the programme into line with that of the Youth for Europe programme, which expires on 31.12.1999; 2) the mobility of young volunteers: the Council did not wish to insert in the decision obligations which were more the responsibility of the Member States, particularly concerning the residence rights of volunteers or preservation of their social protection rights.�

• #2036
• 1997/10/28 Council Meeting
• 1997/07/23 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1997)0347 summary

    In its amended proposal the Commission adopted 18 of the 40 amendments proposed by Parliament on first reading, 14 in a slightly modified form. The Commission adopted the following amendments: - development of a cooperation policy among young people, - development, through 'voluntary service',of the ideals of democracy, tolerance and cohesion regarding the construction of Europe, - the submission before 31 December 1997 of a report setting out the main guidelines for young people between now and the year 2000, - coherence and coordination between this programme and the 'Youth for Europe Programme', - the participation of young people from third countries in activities under the programme in their country of origin and within the Union, - consideration of certain specific aspects relating to voluntary service in developing countries - the importance of linguistic and cultural preparation for young people, - measures to ensure that volunteers are properly informed and made aware of their rights and obligations, - a degree of flexibility concerning the upper age limit for involvement in the programme. However, the Commission rejected the notion of a European statute for young volunteers and the coordination of tax arrangements and social welfare. It opposed the integration of national civilian services into European voluntary service. In line with accepted policy and in the light of the annual financial perspectives, it also rejected an increase in the financial framework for the implementation of the programme for the first two years Concerning commitology, the Commission did not agree to the proposal to set up an advisory committee, taking the view that a joint committee was more suitable for this type of programme. In addition, it rejected other amendments regarding procedures to be followed by the committee (particularly information to be forwarded to Parliament). �

• 1997/06/12 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The rapporteur pointed out that this proposal fell within the more general context of implementing a genuine youth policy at European level. She called for the European Voluntary Service to be accessible to all young people, for solidarity associations to be closely linked to the processes and for those Member States favourable to the idea of a European voluntary civilian service to be able to integrate this within their national services. The rapporteur also called for young volunteers to be guaranteed a proper status which would ensure their social protection and legal coverage. The voluntary service should also be open to young people from third countries. Finally, she regretted that the resources did not match the programme’s ambitions. Recalling that the Commission’s proposal was in response to demands made in a Parliament resolution of 22 September 1995, Commissioner Cresson stressed that the high number of projects received showed that people were extremely keen to create a Europe of citizens. As for the amendments tabled, the Commissioner said that the Commission could take most of these on board, in particular those advocating development of the cooperation policy, those stressing the importance of coordination with the ‘Youth for Europe’ programme, those intended to bring down legal obstacles to transnational mobility and those underlining the role of the association sector. However, the Commission could not accept the part of Amendment No 11 establishing a link between national civilian services as these were the responsibility of the Member States. Likewise, for legal reasons, Amendments Nos 1, 4, 7, 10 and 38 could not be accepted by the Commission and neither could part of Amendments Nos 28 and 29 which also referred to points which were the exclusive remit of the Member States. The Commission could also not accept Amendments Nos 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 on comitology. Finally, Amendment No 20 on the budget could not be accepted at this stage.

  • T4-0334/1997 summary

    In adopting the report by Mrs Nicole FONTAINE (EPP, F), Parliament approved the proposal for a decision establishing a European Voluntary Service with the following changes: - the financial framework for the first two years (1998-99) must be increased from the ECU 60 m proposed by the European Commission to ECU 80 m, - the service must contribute to the development of the ideals of democracy, tolerance and cohesion of European integration, - information on the rights and obligations of the volunteers must be provided at European, national and local levels, - the Member States must take measures to ensure that this service is compatible with national civilian services and that it does not serve to restrict potential or existing paid employment, - the Member States must take measures in respect of the right of residence, social protection and tax exemption for the allowances received by young volunteers during their period of service for their travel, accommodation and subsistence, - as regards the age of the volunteers, priority must be given to those between 18 and 25 years of age, but for missions to third countries, particularly developing countries, that may be extended to 29 years, - with particular reference to voluntary service in the developing countries, measures must be taken to ensure that the service gives rise to a real transfer of expertise to the countries concerned, that it tallies with the Union's development cooperation objectives and that the projects can be extended to two years in certain cases, - post-activity follow-up must be provided in order to ensure that the experience acquired does not go to waste, - a European statute for young volunteers must be established at Member State level, valid in the volunteer's home country and host country, so as to ensure that volunteers enjoy the same mobility as other EU citizens. In addition Parliament calls for: - proper coordination with the Youth for Europe programme, - the utmost transparency in the selection of projects, not least in connection with the committee procedure (with Parliament kept regularly informed about decisions taken in the committee), - an annual assessment, in conjunction with support associations, in order to identify the obstacles to the participation of young people in the programme, - the volunteers to be properly supervised in their host country, whether by community or institutional organizations, - consideration to be given to the possibility of involving young nationals from third countries in voluntary service in the Community, - cooperation with NGOs and civil society, - the young people participating in the programme to be given adequate language and cultural training, - a report to be drawn up before 31 December 1998 on the main priorities for European youth policy, - a decision on a possible change to the financial framework for the service to be taken after the Commission has submitted its final report and in accordance with the codecision procedure. �

• 1997/05/22 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0182/1997
• 1997/01/15 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1996/12/23 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1996)0610 summary

    OBJECTIVE : the establishment of a Community action programme 'European voluntary service for young people', for the period 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2002. SUBSTANCE: - The programme, based on increased cooperation between the Member States, offers young Europeans a recognized educational experience, at transnational level, involving both the acquisition of skills and abilities and the demonstration of responsible citizenship. To meet this objective the Member States and the Commission are to establish structures at European, national, regional or local level to facilitate access to the programme. The Member States are required, in particular, to facilitate the granting of the right of residence in the host Member State for the period of voluntary service and to maintain their entitlements in the Member State of origin, in particular those linked to their social protection. Specifically the programme seeks: . to support long-term or short-term transnational activities of benefit to the community, within Europe or a third country, . to support networks of innovative initiatives, particularly in the social, environmental and cultural fields and with regard to the fight against different forms of exclusion, . to support projects that help these young people to build on the experience acquired and are intended to further the follow-up, . to develop and support the preparation, particularly linguistic and intercultural, and the supervision of young volunteers, in particular mentors and project leaders, . to support the quality of all the programme's activities (in particular the development of the European dimension and improvement of the national support structures for voluntary service, studies and evaluation of the programme). - An annex gives details on the five sections of the voluntary service programme: . section 1 : long-term (six months to one year) or short-term (three weeks to three months) transnational intra-Community projects allowing young people aged between 18 and 25 to participate in social, environmental etc. projects in another Member State; . section 2 : long-term and short-term transnational projects in third countries (basically the same objective as section 1); . section 3 : innovative networks: assistance for the setting up of networks in the social field etc. in the European Union and third countries; . section 4 : support for a sense of initiative and enterprise : assistance for launching complementary training projects, developing initiatives following on from their voluntary service and launching economic activities (including business creation); . section 5 : complementary measures : actions intended to underpin the work of mentors and European project leaders. - Validation : Young volunteers will receive a European certificate attesting to their participation in voluntary service and the skills they have acquired. - Total funding : ECU 60 million for the period 1998-1999 (for the last three years proposals should be drawn up on the basis of the evaluation report on the voluntary service). - Access to the programme : all young people must be able to have access to the programme without discrimination (with special efforts being made for young people who experience the most difficulties in being included in Community or national programmes). - Scope of the programme : the programme is open to the associated countries of central and eastern Europe, Cyprus and Malta and the EFTA countries. - Complementarity : the programme is to be compatible with and complementary to other actions undertaken for young people by the Member States and the Community and with the activities undertaken by the Council of Europe. - Commitology : the Commission is responsible for the management of this programme. It will be assisted by a committee composed of representatives of the Member States. - Monitoring and evaluation : the Commission is to take the necessary measures to ensure the monitoring and continuous evaluation of the programme. Two years after the implementation of the programme it will present to the European Parliament and the Council an evaluation report which will serve to define any new guidelines (including budgetary) for the final three years of the programme. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1996)0610
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0182/1997
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0334/1997
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1997)0347
• Council position published: 11851/1/1997
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A4-0077/1998
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T4-0145/1998
• Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs: 3613/1998
• Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading: A4-0274/1998
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading: T4-0422/1998
• : Decision 1998/1686
• : OJ L 214 31.07.1998, p. 0001

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)