The Council for Youth Affairs

Foto © Erik Van Cauter

The governments of the 27 member states of the European Union are represented in the ‘Council of the European Union’. Youth policy is discussed in the Council composition of the Council on Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYCS). The Youth Council took place on the 13th of May and was presided by minister of youth Benjamin Dalle. Here the Council Acts tabled by the Belgian Presidency were adopted.

Preparations

The preparations started in 2019, in close cooperation with competent authorities on all levels, with the youth sector and with representatives from Flemish, intra-Belgian, and European authorities and governments. The Belgian Presidency was honoured and privileged to cooperate with such a wide range of partners and supporters from the youth field.

Intensive efforts were made to ensure youth participation and involvement from the youth sector during the preparations. This included setting up:

writing groups
working groups
informal steering group meetings for the EU Youth Dialogue
resonance group meetings related to youth work.

These groups included:

youth sector representatives
youth organisations
national youth councils
the European Youth Forum
National Agencies

European and international organisations and institutions, such as Eurodesk, EYCA, Eryica, Unicef
researchers and scientists of research institutes, including PEYR, JOP, RAY, SALTO
other (European) experts to support the preparations for the events and Council acts.

In preparation, background research was also published. These European publications offered a state of play to support the policy documents and events:

Foto © Erik Van Cauter

Youth Working Parties

Before a dossier is approved by the Council, it has already travelled a long way. On the basis of the preparations, the Belgian EU Presidency drew up draft proposals for a resolution and conclusions. These are “soft” legislation at European level in which the 27 member states reach a consensus about a text and declare their commitment and are therefore not binding. However, they do draft a framework of a shared position of the Member States, and invite both the Commission and the Member States to take action.

During the Belgian Presidency, the draft proposals were discussed in different meetings of the Youth Working Party. This is a Council Preparatory body in which officials of the 27 Member States prepare work for the Council.

Foto © Erik Van Cauter

Council Acts

The Council conclusions on the European and international policy agendas for children, youth, and children’s rights

During the Belgian Presidency, it was the ambition to update the Council Conclusions of 19 November 2010 on the European and International Policy Agendas on Children, Youth and Children’s Rights 2010/C 326/01.

The Council conclusions on the European and International Policy Agendas on Children, Youth, and Children's Rights aim to:

establish strong links and synergies between these agendas
align European youth policy efforts with both existing and future children's rights agendas.

The conclusions set out the initiatives that have taken place at EU level to safeguard children’s rights and protect them from discrimination. These include:

the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child
the EU Youth strategy 2019-2027
the Council’s 2021 recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee.

These conclusions contribute to creating a seamless transition from childhood to adulthood, especially for those young people in vulnerable situations, through informed policies and better coordination between the policies concerned. As such, they aim to raise awareness and propose avenues for achieving better cooperation, coordination, information and exchange on European level regarding the policy fields within the scope of these conclusions.

> Read the complete Conclusions on the European and international policy agendas on children, youth and children’s rights (C/2024/3528).

Foto © Freedom Photography

The Council resolution on Youth Work Policy in an empowering Europe

The Council Resolution on Youth Work Policy in an Empowering Europe has been officially adopted on the Council of 13 May. The resolution aims to empower youth work to adapt so as to support young people as they navigate their pathways to autonomy within new realities.

The text calls on the Member States and the Commission to support the development of quality youth work and of youth work policy at all levels:

by ensuring equal access to youth work for all young people
by facilitating and supporting new forms of voluntary and civic engagement
and by fostering societal appreciation and recognition of youth work, and creating enabling environments for youth work.

The aim is to address the role of youth work policy in an empowering Europe by:

Building further on existing policy measures, setting the parameters to enable youth work to position itself and adapt so as to support young people in their efforts to navigate their pathways to autonomy within new realities. This is to be achieved through the exercise of agency, participation and inclusion, and in a context of optimum well-being, political and civic engagement and a sense of self-determination.
Supporting the development of quality youth work and of youth work policy at all levels, paying due attention to the local level, which is closest to young people.
Making possible the creation of enabling environments, in particular by co-creating these environments together with youth workers and young people, so as to ensure that youth work activities can be organised in public spaces in ways most suited to the needs of young people.
Ensuring equal access to youth work for all young people, including through outreaching youth work, for example by supporting networks between youth work and social work, as well as relevant stakeholders of other fields working with young people with fewer opportunities and the organisations representing them, where relevant.
Providing youth workers with the education, training and learning, competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and critical thinking) and resources needed to support young people’s agency, judgment and navigational capacities in changing realities.
Facilitating and supporting new forms of voluntary and civic engagement, both physical and online.
Fostering societal appreciation and recognition of youth work in changing European societies.

> Read the complete Council Resolution Read the complete Council Resolution on Youth Work Policy in an Empowering Europe (C/2024/3526).

Foto © Erik Van Cauter

The Council conclusion on inclusive societies for young people

The Belgian Presidency introduced Council conclusions on inclusive societies for young people. These conclusions underscore the commitment to ensuring that no young person is left behind in our society, in particular those with fewer opportunities.

In these conclusions, Member States and the Commission are called upon to strive for social cohesion, equity and inclusion, and to ensure the participation of young people in democratic life. This can be done by inclusive measures facilitating the meaningful participation of all young people in decision-making and spaces that concern them, especially through youth work.

The aims of the conclusions are to:

Ensure targeted measures to promote equity, inclusion and support for young people in defining and taking up their place in society, in particular through youth work and by developing a transversal, inclusive youth perspective in all relevant policy areas, which can contribute to this. In addition, mechanisms for the meaningful and inclusive participation of young people from diverse backgrounds in decision-making, for example youth councils and youth organisations, can be created while also promoting the participation of young people outside these organisations.
Ensure young people’s active, meaningful, equitable and equal participation and give them a shaping role in spaces that concern them and, where relevant, create, further develop, adapt and safeguard emancipatory spaces for young people and their needs in order to empower them in their development irrespective of their background and to acknowledge, recognise and give effect to their voices and input.
Further connect young people with each other, ensure and facilitate their experiences and interactions with diversity of all kinds, for example through learning mobility or cross-border solidarity actions.
Reinforce the leverage for youth work and other relevant structures and services in support of young people’s development, mental health and well-being, learning and experimenting in order to overcome the barriers young people face on different levels, especially for those young people at risk of exclusion.

The outcomes of the EU Youth Conference in Ghent have been included in the Council conclusion on inclusive societies for young people. The six recommendations are included in paragraph 26 and the thirty-four possible implementing measures are outlined in annex III of the Council conclusions.

A final outcome of the Youth Conference is included in paragraph 47, in which the Member States and the Commission are invited to introduce means to monitor the follow-up of the outcomes of the EU Youth Dialogue and to give feedback on this follow-up to young people.

> Read the complete Council Conclusions on inclusive societies for young people (C/2024/3808).

Foto © Erik Van Cauter

Conclusions on the legacy of the European Year of Youth 2022

The Council approved the conclusions on the legacy of the European Year of Youth, recognizing the significant achievements made during the year-long initiative, which ran from 1 January to 31 December 2022. These conclusions highlight the success of anchoring a strong youth perspective and promoting youth mainstreaming across all relevant EU policies. The Council calls on the Commission to build on this momentum, including by strengthening key mechanisms such as the EU Youth Dialogue, national youth councils, and the proposed youth stakeholders’ platform.

Furthermore, the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, is also called upon to work with and for youth by:

continuing co-creation and mutual learning activities
strengthening the EU Youth Dialogue
communicating opportunities in a youth-friendly manner
involve National Youth Councils in key actions
enhance the inclusivity of programs like Erasmus+ through micro-grants
incorporate past initiatives into the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027
use the EU Youth Work Plans to address common areas of work
follow-up implementation of these measures in the EU Youth report.

These Council Conclusions aim to ensure that the positive impacts and progress made during the European Year of Youth continue to benefit young people across Europe.

> For more information, please follow this link to read the complete Council Conclusions (C/2024/3543).

Foto © Sanad Latifa

Council Recommendation Europe on the Move

On 15 November 2023, the European Commission released the Skills and Talent Mobility package, which included a proposal for a Council Recommendation titled ‘Europe on the Move’ – learning mobility opportunities for everyone.

During the Belgian EU Presidency, negotiations on this proposal primarily took place within the Education Committee. The Youth Working Party contributed by writing an opinion that suggested to:

better consider the specificities and realities of non-formal and informal learning
reflect the specificities of young people and the youth work sector in the proposed recommendation.

These suggestions were incorporated during the drafting process in the Education Committee, thereby ensuring the impact of the youth field.

Finally, the Council Recommendation was approved by Education Ministers during the Education part of the EYCS Council.

> Read the complete Council Recommendation (9804/24).

Policy debate An exchange of views on the importance of monitoring and feedback processes of the EU Youth Dialogue

Based on a background paper of the Belgian Presidency and the six recommendations and the 34 possible implementation measures, which were proposed by young people during the EU Youth Conference in Ghent, the Youth Ministers held a policy debate during the Council. The debate focused on the importance of monitoring and feedback processes regarding the outcomes of the EU Youth Dialogue to better meet young people's needs and expectations.

Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova stressed the importance of timely feedback from the EU Youth Dialogue in the policy cycle and the need for closer cooperation with young people. She stressed that active involvement of Member States is essential for an inclusive dialogue so that young people's recommendations are addressed at the right levels: local, national and European.

The discussion emphasized the necessity for Member States and the European Commission to collaborate closely on a feedback and monitoring system for the EU Youth Dialogue, to incorporate the outcomes of the EU Youth Dialogue and to create an inclusive dialogue that genuinely reflects young people's voices in policy-making processes.

Informal Breakfast Meeting

Prior to the youth session of the Education, Youth, Culture, and Sport (EYCS) Council, an informal breakfast meeting was held, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, including ministers, representatives of EU institutions and representatives of the 9th, 10th and 11th cycles of the EU Youth Dialogue.

The meeting aimed to foster a meaningful exchange of ideas on current topics such as the upcoming European elections and voting rights for 16- and 17-year-olds. Participants also explored ways to improve the EU Youth Dialogue, ensuring that young voices are effectively integrated into policymaking.

To promote meaningful and in-depth discussions, an interactive setting was chosen with roundtable discussions focusing on one of the two themes, "Vote at 16" and the "EU Youth Dialogue". A good balance was ensured among participants at every table, ensuring a well-rounded mix among youth representatives, institutional representatives, youth ministers and ambassadors.

The participants formulated the following key elements to increase the visibility of the EU Youth Dialogue as well as to reach more young people:

Training is key for ministerial and youth delegates participating in the EU Youth Dialogue.

A coherent and inclusive communication strategy focusing on the EU Youth Dialogue as a whole is important to improve follow-up and visibility.
It is important to mainstream (the outcomes of) the EU Youth Dialogue.
Monitoring the mainstreaming of the outcomes of the EUYD and the communication strategy is necessary to assure good follow-up.
It is important to involve National Youth Councils and INGYOs.

In regards to “Vote at 16”, it was argued that lowering the voting age can strengthen democracy. However, political and civil education, both formal and non-formal, is crucial for effective youth participation. It is essential to use the momentum of the elections to foster this discussion in EU countries and to support the youth organisations that are informing and engaging young people.

Overall, the outcomes of the discussions highlighted the importance of collaboration between youth representatives and policymakers, underscoring the commitment to empowering young people and encouraging their active participation in shaping the future of Europe.

Report of the Belgian EU Presidency for Youth - Connecting Young Minds to Empower Europe