Content The EU Youth Strategy objectives Fields of action Conclusion Bibliography

FRISPA The EU Youth Strategy (2010-18) has two overall objectives: to provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and in th e labour market to encourage young people to be active citizens and participate in society. The strategy proposes initiatives in eight fields of action: education and training employment and entrepreneurship health and well-being participation voluntary activities social inclusion youth and the world creativity and culture EDUCATION AND TRAINING Aim: Equal access for young people to high quality education and training at all levels and opportunities for lifelong learning should be supported. As a comple ment to formal education, non-formal learning for young people should be promote d and recognised, and better links between formal education and non-formal learn ing developed. Young people s transition between education and training and the la bour market should be facilitated and supported, and early school leaving reduce d. Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Support the development of youth work and other non-formal learning opportunitie s as one of a range of actions to address early school leaving, Fully use the range of tools established at EU level for the transparency and va lidation of skills and the recognition of qualifications Promote learning mobility of all young people, Address gender and other stereotypes via formal education and non-formal learnin g, Use formal education and non-formal learning to promote cohesion and understandi ng across different groups, promote equal opportunities and narrow the gaps in a chievement, Develop participative structures in education as well as cooperation between sch

ools, families and local communities, Encourage formal education and non-formal learning in support of young people s in novation, creativity and entrepreneurship, Make a broader public aware of the va lue of non-formal learning outcomes. The Commission will further develop Europas s as a European instrument for the transparency of skills, including tools for t he self-assessment of skills and the recording of competences by third parties s uch as Europass-Mobility Promoter Organisations. EMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Aim: Young people s integration into the labour market, either as employees or as entrepreneurs, should be supported. The transition from education and training, or from unemployment or inactivity, to the labour market should be facilitated and supported. Opportunities to reconcile working life with family life should b e improved. In the post- 2010 Lisbon Strategy a youth perspective needs to be en sured, and work carried out in line with the overall objectives of the European Youth Pact needs to be continued. Initiatives by Member States and the Commissio n within their respective spheres of competence Increase and improve investments in the provision of suitable skills for those jobs in demand on the labour mark et, with better matching in the short term and better anticipation in the longer term of the skills needed, Take the specific situation of young people into acc ount when devising flexicurity strategies, Promote cross-border professional and vocational opportunities for young people, Develop short-term measures in their recovery plans to stimulate the integration of young people in the labour marke t as well as structural measures taking into account youth, Develop career guida nce and counselling services, Lower barriers to the free movement of workers acr oss the EU, Promote quality internships and apprenticeships to facilitate the en try to, and progress within, the labour market, Improve childcare and promote sh aring of responsibilities between partners in order to facilitate reconciliation between professional and private life for both young women and young men, Suppo rt young people s entrepreneurship inter alia via entrepreneurship education, supp ort to start up funds, mentoring programmes, and encourage recognition of junior e nterprise, Support development of European networks and structures to promote youth entrepr eneurship, Promote entrepreneurship in the field of sustainable development.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING Aim: The health and well-being of young people should be supported, with a focus on the promotion of mental and sexual health, sport, physical activity and heal thy life styles, as well as the prevention and treatment of injury, eating disor ders, addictions and substance abuse. Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Follow up the Council Resolution on the health and well-being of young people ( 1 ) and encourage youth fitness and physical activity by applying the EU Physica l Activity Guidelines ( 2 ), Take into account that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in activities to promote the health and well-being of young people, Encourage healthy lifestyles for young people via physical education, education on nutrition, physical activity and collaboration between schools, youth workers , health professionals and sporting organisations, Emphasise the role of sport as an activity supporting teamwork, intercultural le arning, fair play and responsibility, Increase knowledge and awareness of youth workers and youth leaders of health is sues, Mobilise stakeholders at local level in order to detect and help young people at

risk and to signpost them to other services, where needed, Encourage peer-to-peer health education, Promote the protection of children and young people, in particular regarding the competences concerning new media and their protection against certain dangers a rising from the use of new media, while also recognising the benefits and opport unities new media can offer young people, e.g. through the follow-up of the Coun cil conclusions of 21 May 2008 and 27 November 2009 on media literacy in the dig ital environment, Facilitate access to existing health facilities by making them more youth friend ly.

PARTICIPATION Aim: Young people s participation in representative democracy and civil society at all levels and in society at large should be supported. Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Develop mechanisms for dialogue with youth and youth participation on national y outh policies, Encourage use of already existing, or development of, guidelines on youth partic ipation, information and consultation in order to ensure the quality of these ac tivities, Support politically and financially youth organisations, as well as local and na tional youth councils and promote recognition of their important role in democra cy, Promote the participation of more and a greater diversity of young people in rep resentative democracy, in youth organisations and other civil-society organisati ons, Make effective use of information and communication technologies to broaden and deepen participation of young people, Support various forms of learning to participate from early age through formal edu cation and non-formal learning, Further develop opportunities for debate between public institutions and young p eople. The Commission will revise the European Youth Portal and promote greater outreac h to young people. VOLUNTARY ACTIVITIES Aim: Young people s voluntary activities should be supported and better recognised for their value as an important form of non-formal learning. Obstacles to volun tary activities should be removed and the cross-border mobility of young people promoted. Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Promote the recognition of skills acquired through voluntary activities through instruments such as Europass, Youthpass and Member State funded instruments, Implement the Council Recommendation on the mobility of young volunteers in Euro pe ( 1 ), Raise awareness about the value of voluntary activities, including through peerto-peer processes, Promote protection of young volunteers and quality in voluntary activities, Engage young people and youth organisations in the planning, delivery and evalua tion of the future European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citize nship (2011), Promote intergenerational solidarity through voluntary activities.

SOCIAL INCLUSION Aim: The social exclusion and poverty of young people and the transmission of su ch problems between generations should be prevented and mutual solidarity betwee n society and young people strengthened. Equal opportunities for all should be p romoted and all forms of discrimination combated. Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Realise the full potential of youth work and youth centres as means of inclusion , Adopt a cross-sectoral approach when working to improve community cohesion and s olidarity and reduce the social exclusion of young people, addressing the interl inkages between e.g. young people s education and employment and their social incl usion, Support the development of intercultural awareness and competences for all young people and combat prejudice, Support information and education activities for young people about their rights , Address the issues of homelessness, housing and financial exclusion, Promote access to quality services e.g. transport, e-inclusion, health, social s ervices, Promote specific support for young families, Engage young people and youth organisations in the planning, delivery and evalua tion of European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010). YOUTH AND THE WORLD Aim: Young people s participation in and contribution to global processes of polic y-making, implementation and follow-up (concerning issues such as climate change , the UN Millennium Development Goals, human rights, etc.) and young people s coop eration with regions outside of Europe should be supported. Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Raise the awareness of young people about global issues such as sustainable deve lopment and human rights, Provide opportunities for young people to exchange views with policy-makers on g lobal issues (e.g. via participation in international meetings, virtual platform s/forums, etc.), Foster mutual understanding among young people from all over the world through d ialogue and by means of supporting actions such as training courses, exchanges, and meetings, Encourage young people to participate in green volunteering and green patterns of co nsumption and production (e.g. recycling, energy conservation, hybrid vehicles, etc.), Promote entrepreneurship, employment, education and volunteering opportunities w ith regions outside of Europe, Promote cooperation with, and exchanges between, those active in youth work on d ifferent continents, Encourage young people to participate in development cooperation activities eith er in their country of residence or abroad. CREATIVITY AND CULTURE Aim: Young people s creativity and capacity for innovation should be supported thr ough better quality access to and participation in culture and cultural expressi ons from an early age, thereby promoting personal development, enhanced learning capabilities, intercultural skills, understanding and respect for cultural dive rsity and the development of new and flexible skills for future job opportunitie s.

Initiatives by Member States and the Commission within their respective spheres of competence Support the development of creativity among young people by following up the Cou ncil conclusions on promoting a Creative Generation: developing the creativity a nd innovative capacity of children and young people through cultural expression and wider access to culture ( 1 ), Widen quality access to culture and creative tools, particularly those involving new technologies, and develop opportunities for youth people to experience cult ure and express and develop their creativity within or outside school, Make new technologies readily available to empower young people s creativity and c apacity for innovation, and attract interest in culture, the arts and science, Provide access to environments where young people can develop their creativity a nd interests and spend a meaningful leisure time, Facilitate long-term synergies between policies and programmes in the fields of culture, education, health, social inclusion, media, employment and youth with t he view to promoting young people s creativity and capacity for innovation, Promote specialised training in culture, new media and intercultural competences for youth workers, Promote partnerships between culture and creative sectors and youth organisation s and youth workers, Facilitate and support development of young people s talent and entrepreneurial sk ills with a view to enhancing their employability and future job opportunities, Promote young people s knowledge about culture and cultural heritage in the differ ent EU Member States, including through the use of new technologies. The strategy is implemented in the following way: Cooperation with Member States A common agenda, mutual learning, dissemination o f results and progress reporting are key elements to promote learning from good practice and exchange of information on their priorities and actions Structured dialogue involving young people in continuous joint reflection on pri orities, implementation and follow-up Evidence-base for youth policy all policy must be based on concrete evidence, ex perience and knowledge of the situation of young people Youth work promoting opportunities for young people to develop autonomy and key competences such as a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and to actively participate in all fields of public life (social, political, educational, sports , service) The Youth in Action Programme contributes to the goals of the EU Youth Strategy by providing opportunities for young people to be mobile, to learn and to partic ipate across the EU.

Conclusion EU Youth Policy represents an interesting aspect of the European integration pro cess for a number of reasons. Firstly, it has little, if any, real legal bases within the Treaty for action at the EU level. Secondly , nevertheless, there has been considerable policy activism over the last 30 years, particularly since th e launch of the Lisbon Agenda. Thirdly, EU Youth Policy remains almost entirely comprised of the OMC and other soft law instruments. The considerable policy act ivism within the field of Youth Policy provides an example of the integration po tential of a policy field within the EU where conditions are not particularly favourable to the traditional Community Method, i.e. little or no legal basis fo r secondary legislation like directives, no harmonisation of national laws and r egulations, and therefore hardly backed-up by the ECJ. Nonetheless, we see that EU Youth Policy has evolved from a piecemeal approach t o that of a more coherent framework by 2009. The most significant aspect of this evolution has been the changing type of the instruments used to operationalise

EU Youth Policy: from action programmes mainly to a wider range of instruments i ncluding policy guiding resolutions and OMCs. Furthermore, initially, different aspects of EU Youth policy had little relationship with each other, but from the second half of the 1990s the policy actions start to interact more and became c omplementary in achieving a common goal of EU Youth Policy. As policy activism c ontinued within the field, the different instruments used to govern EU Youth Pol icy were transformed into frameworks. In this respect, the instruments used to g overn Youth Policy have shifted from a complementary hybrid to that of a transfo rmative hybrid. Unlike traditional transformations of instruments / policy areas , EU Youth Policy may be something of an exception in that its transformation has included mainly soft law instrume nts. Despite the soft law nature of EU Youth Policy, it has the potential to sti mulate action by the Member States, similar to all soft law. Firstly because it has developed in a coherent, overall EU Youth Policy, which seems to stick on th e EU Agenda, and is still gaining political attention. At a very basic level, th is has the potential to create cognitive shifts within the Member States shifts which can be fairly powerful (Trubek and Trubek 2005). Furthermore, the greater coherence provided by the renewed Framework of 2009, represents an increase of t he integration capacity of EU Youth Policy, since the sum of its components is b igger than the parts alone. The evolution of EU Youth Policy represents an exception to the development of t he ESM over the last ten years - the first Barroso Commission was not particular ly supportive of the ESM (ter Haar and Copeland 2010) and the political constell ations within the EU have shifted from centre-left to centre-right. Nevertheless , EU Youth Policy has become more coherent and has witnessed more coordination a nd involvement at the EU level. The move to more flexible means of policy integr ation, including the OMC and the use of general frameworks, may explain why EU l evel involvement within Youth Policy has increased over the last ten years, desp ite the shifting political constellations. Hence, the evolution of EU Youth Poli cy in a political environment which has been unfavourable to EU social policy, m ay point to potential stronger integration in the future should the EU s political constellations shift back to a centre-left majority.

Bibliography http://euce.org/eusa/2011/papers/11l_terhaar.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/youth/policy/eu-youth-strategy_en.htm http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2009:311:0001:0011:EN :PDF