Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2021)634 - European Year of Youth 2022 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2021)634 - European Year of Youth 2022. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2021)634  |
| date | 14-10-2021 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
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,“a year dedicated to empowering those who have dedicated so much to others". Highlighting the confidence that she draws for Europe’s future from the inspiration provided by Europe's young people, President von der Leyen added that “if we are to shape our Union in their mould, young people must be able to shape Europe's future.”
To be successful in inspiring our collective Union project with the actions, dreams, hopes and insights of the new generations, the European Year of Youth must be resolutely inclusive. In the words of the President von der Leyen: “Europe needs all of its youth”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented – and uneven – impact on education, employment, social inclusion and mental health of the young people. The pandemic and related measures have resulted in interruptions in their education and transition to employment, and many youngsters have experienced feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression. Children, adolescents and young adults have been extremely affected by disruptions of family and social ties, and the economic crisis provoked by lockdowns has hit young Europeans in particular. 1
At the same time, young people have shown intergenerational solidarity and support, while sacrificing valuable “youthful moments” of their daily lives. And yet, young people, who are among the most diverse cohorts of our European society, have also managed to show great resilience and have been involved in the mitigation of the pandemic’s impact.
In this light, the European Year of Youth 2022 would further stimulate Europe’s young people to come forward with contributions and insights to give shape to the Union’s development and society at large. It would also be an occasion to raise awareness on the opportunities ahead for young people. The overall objective of the European Year of Youth shall be to boost the efforts of the Union, the Member States, regional and local authorities to honour, support and engage with youth in a post-pandemic perspective, by:
highlighting how the green and digital transitions offer a renewed perspective for the future and opportunities to counter the negative impact of the pandemic on young people and on the society at large, drawing 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,
encouraging 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 and among all stakeholders, who work to represent their interests. This involves the contribution of young people from diverse backgrounds and also belonging to vulnerable groups in key consultation processes, such as the Conference on the Future of Europe,
promoting 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 greener, more digital and more inclusive Union.
In its broader sense, the European Year of Youth will go hand in hand with the successful implementation of NextGenerationEU, which ensures a fast-forwarding of the twin transitions, provides the possibility to collectively emerge stronger from the pandemic and re-opens perspectives full of opportunities for young people, including quality jobs and education and training opportunities for the Europe of the future, and supports young people’s participation in society. The Commission aims to enhance the role of youth in turning the recovery into a driving force for future-oriented well-being and welfare.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The EU Youth Strategy is the framework for EU youth policy cooperation for 2019-2027, based on the Council Resolution of 26 November 2018 2 . EU youth cooperation shall make the most of youth policy's potential. It fosters youth participation in democratic life, in line with Article 165(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It also supports social and civic engagement and aims to ensure that all young people have the necessary resources to take part in society.
The European Youth Goals 3 , that are an integral part of the EU Youth Strategy, have been developed by young people for young people under the EU Youth dialogue process, and represent the areas where change still needs to happen, in order for young people to live to their full potential.
At the same time, the European Year of Youth 2022 will give a unique impetus to the creation of a European Education Area by creating a genuine European space of learning by 2025 in which inclusive and high quality education and training for all is not hampered by borders. It will contribute to the European Climate Pact, the updated Digital Education Action Plan and the HealthyLifestyle4all initiative. It will be supported by the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan in the area of employment, skills and poverty reduction. The European Year of Youth will emphasise the Union’s efforts to expanding employment opportunities for youth in the post-pandemic recovery through the reinforced Youth Guarantee 4 , and the relaunch of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships and the European Apprentices Network, the European Child Guarantee, the implementation of the European Skills Agenda 5 , the Commission Recommendation on an Effective Active Support to Employment following the COVID-19 crisis 6 (EASE), as well as the launch of the new initiative ALMA (Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve). ALMA will be a cross-border youth mobility scheme for disadvantaged young people aged 18-30 who are not in employment, education or training.
Although “digital natives”, young people, particularly minors, deserve support and empowerment for a life where the distinction between online and offline is more and more blurred. In 2022, the updated Better internet for children Strategy will put at its core youth participation, digital skills, inclusion and the promotion of well-being of children.
The EU Comprehensive Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee 7 set a new standard for child and teen participation as they have been developed together with children.
Many of these opportunities are underpinned by significant EU investment, in particular through programmes such as Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps, the European Social Fund Plus, Creative Europe, Horizon Europe, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Justice Programme, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development. These funding programmes make a significant EU contribution towards enabling youth to pursue their personal, social and professional fulfilment.
The EU programmes specifically dedicated to youth will have a key role during the European Year of Youth. The year 2022 will mark the 35 years of the Erasmus+ programme and the Year will be a great opportunity to celebrate the ten million young people who took part in that adventure since 1987, and to promote the new generation of this programme in all its dimensions, covering education, training, youth and sport. The European Solidarity Corps will also enter into its fifth year in 2022. The 9th May will be a symbolic date to organise activities or events around that day.
Activities organised in the course of the European Year of Youth should be relevant for all Member States. Member States would therefore be requested to appoint a national coordinator responsible for organising their participation in the European Year of Youth. The Commission shall convene meetings of the national coordinators in order to coordinate the running of the European Year of Youth and to exchange information regarding its implementation at national and Union level.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The European Year of Youth 2022 will be cross-sectoral, building on all EU policies and programmes that strive to improve the lives of all young people and empower them . It should build on the European Green Deal – the EU sustainable growth strategy – and other existing initiatives and policies such as the Digital Decade, the European Single Market (which will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary), the New European Bauhaus, the Horizon Europe missions, the Conference on the Future of Europe, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU Strategy on the rights of the child, the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the EU Roma Strategic Framework for equality, inclusion and participation, the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the EU Anti-racism Action Plan, EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027, the Gender Equality Strategy, the European Democracy Action Plan, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the Long Term Vision for EU’s Rural Areas. The European Year of Youth has links with many Union policy areas beyond youth policy itself, such as education and training, employment, social inclusion, culture and the media, sports, health, research and innovation, environment and climate, transport, non-discrimination and anti-racism, cohesion and urban policy, rural development, migration as well as with Union’s ties with its neighbourhood and international partnerships.
The European Year of Youth will be implemented using existing EU programmes and delivery mechanisms already in place and the drive provided by NextGenerationEU. Youth relevant investment is currently eligible for significant EU funding under several EU programmes and instruments, in particular with Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps, Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, Creative Europe, the European Social Fund Plus, the Youth Employment Initiative, the European Regional and Development Fund, the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme, Digital Europe and Horizon Europe. The external dimension of these programmes and sharing its valuable lessons, as well as dedicated external instruments such as NDICI-Global Europe, will be an integral part of the EU’s youth engagement with our international partners. The upcoming Youth Action Plan will provide a core focus for the external dimension of the European Year of Youth.
The European Year of Youth 2022 will be aligned with the Commission’s priorities for 2019-2024.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
In accordance with Article 6(e) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in the field of youth the Union has the competence to carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States. Article 165(2) TFEU provides that the Union's action shall be aimed at ‘encouraging the development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-educational instructors, and encouraging the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe'. This Article further provides to encourage mobility of students and the European dimension in education and sport. In addition, Article 166(2) TFEU provides that the Union's action shall aim to ‘facilitate access to vocational training and encourage mobility of instructors and trainees and particularly young people’ and to ‘develop exchanges of information and experience on issues common to the training systems of the Member States’.
The legal basis of the proposal is twofold:
Article 165 i TFEU, which states that, in order to contribute to the achievement of these objectives referred to in this Article, “the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, shall adopt incentive measures, excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States”.
Article 166 i TFEU, which states that ‘The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, shall adopt measures to contribute to the achievement of the objectives referred to in this Article, excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States, and the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, shall adopt recommendations.’
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The present proposal is in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity as provided for in Article 5(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). The objectives of the proposal cannot be achieved to a sufficient extent solely by action undertaken by the Member States. This is because the action specifically aims at strengthening the voice of the young people at the European level to enrich the common Union project and because action at national level alone would not benefit from the European dimension of exchanges of experience and good practices between Member States. The Union shall pursue its objectives by appropriate means commensurate with the competences which are conferred upon it by the Treaties. In addition, Member States' action would benefit from the awareness and visibility created within and beyond the EU.
• Proportionality
The present proposal is in conformity with the principle of proportionality as provided for in Article 5 i TEU. The proposed course of action is simple. It relies on existing programmes and on refocusing communication activities on the themes of the European Year of Youth 2022. It imposes no disproportionate management constraints on administrations implementing the proposal.
The Union action will support and complement the efforts of Member States. This action will firstly improve the effectiveness of the Union’s own instruments. Secondly, it will act as an enabler by encouraging synergies and cooperation among Member States, organisations and foundations, and private and public enterprises.
The Union action will not go beyond what is necessary to address the identified problems.
• Choice of the instrument
A decision of the European Parliament and of the Council is the most appropriate instrument to ensure the full involvement of the legislative authority in designating 2022 as the European Year of Youth.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
• Stakeholder consultations
• Collection and use of expertise
• Impact assessment
No impact assessment is needed, since the objectives of the proposed initiative fall within the objectives of existing Union programmes. The European Year of Youth 2022 can be implemented within existing budget limits by using those programmes that provide for setting funding priorities on an annual or multiannual basis. The proposed initiative would not have any significant social, economic or environmental impact beyond that of the existing instruments.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
• Fundamental rights
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The flexibility for setting priorities on an annual or multiannual basis in the relevant programmes, such as the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps, is sufficient to envisage an awareness-raising campaign on a scale similar to previous European Years. At least EUR 8 million will be devoted to such coordination activities. Most of the actions will be supported through Union programmes and instruments, with actions directly benefiting Europe’s young people.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
National coordinators, in cooperation with representatives of organisations or bodies in the field of youth, including young people themselves where possible, should actively engage young people in preparing and implementing the activities of the European Year of Youth 2022.
The proposal includes an obligation for the Commission to report by 31 December 2023 on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the initiatives covered by the European Year of Youth.
Following the European Year of Youth, the Commission, under the implementation of the European Youth Strategy 2019-2027, will strive to keep alive, promote and further analyse and implement the outcomes and legacy of the year through the various EU youth programmes.
• Explanatory documents (for directives)
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal