The Commission has presented the new Youth programme for the period 2007-2013. It has a budget of EUR 915 million and its operation is largely decentralised. It is open to young people aged 13 to 30 in the Member States and in third countries, in particular those covered by the new neighbourhood policy. "Youth in Action" comprises five actions, including youth exchanges, the European Voluntary Service and "Youth of the World" which is designed to develop projects with third countries.
PROPOSAL
Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 14 July 2004, creating the "Youth in Action" programme for the period 2007-2013 [COM (2004) 471 final - Not published in the Official Journal]
SUMMARY
By means of the present proposal for a programme for youth for 2007-2013, the Commission intends to extend the " Youth " programme of 2000-2006 and the 2004-2006 programme for the promotion of bodies active in the field of youth . With a view to involving young people in society as active citizens, the programme is intended to strengthen their sense of belonging to Europe. It should also contribute to their education, in the broad sense, and develop their sense of solidarity and mutual understanding. The programme also continues to pursue the objectives of the Lisbon process.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
The general objectives of the programme are to:
promote young people's active citizenship;
develop young people's solidarity;
foster mutual understanding between peoples through young people;
support youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organisations in the youth field;
promote European cooperation in youth policy.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
For the five specific objectives, the Commission proposes to:
"Promote young people's active citizenship"
giving young people, and the organisations that represent them, the opportunity to take part in the development of society in general and the European Union in particular;
developing a sense of belonging to the EU;
fostering the mobility of young people in Europe;
developing intercultural learning within the youth field;
promoting the fundamental values of the Union among young people;
encouraging initiative, enterprise and creativity;
ensuring participation in the programme by young people with the least opportunities;
ensuring that the principle of equality for men and women is respected in participation in the programme.
"Develop solidarity among young people"
supporting voluntary activities at European and international level;
involving young people in the EU's solidarity actions;
contributing to the cooperation between the civil and voluntary services involving young people at national level.
"Fostering mutual understanding between peoples through young people"
developing exchanges and intercultural dialogue between young Europeans and young people in neighbouring countries;
developing in these countries the quality of support structures for young people and the role of youth workers;
developing with other countries thematic cooperation projects involving young people and youth workers.
"Support youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organisations in the youth field"
contributing to the networking of organisations;
developing the training of and collaboration between youth workers;
promoting innovation in the development of activities for young people;
working for the recognition of young people's non-formal education.
"Promote European cooperation in youth policies"
encouraging the exchange of good practices and cooperation between administrations and policymakers;
encouraging structured dialogue between policymakers and young people;
improving knowledge and understanding of youth.
ACTIONS
The new programme provides for five types of specific actions to pursue the general and specific objectives.
Action 1 - Youth for Europe
This action is mainly geared towards reinforcing the active commitment of young people by supporting mobility and initiatives for young people and projects for participating in democratic life.
Action 2 - European Voluntary Service
The aim of this action is to step up young people's participation in various forms of voluntary activities, both within and outside the European Union.
Action 3 - Youth of the World
This action helps develop young people's mutual understanding and active engagement through an open-minded approach to the world. It provides the opportunity for exchanges of young people and youth workers between the programme's partner countries.
Action 4 - Youth workers and support systems
This action aims to support organisations active at European level, in particular the Youth Forum. It promotes the development of exchanges, networking, training, projects to stimulate innovation and the quality of youth workers' actions, and partnerships with regional or local entities.
Action 5 - Support for policy cooperation
The aim of this action is to organise dialogue between the various actors in the field of youth, in particular young people themselves, youth workers and policymakers, to contribute to the development of policy cooperation in the youth field and to take the necessary steps and establish the networks needed for a better understanding of the field of youth.
IMPLEMENTATION
Provisions concerning third countries
The programme shall be open to the following countries:
the Member States of the European Union;
the EFTA States;
Turkey and the accession countries;
the countries of the western Balkans.
Beneficiaries and financial provisions
The programme is intended for young people aged between 13 and 30. Beneficiaries must be legal residents of a country participating in the programme. Particular efforts shall be made with regard to young people who, for educational, social or other reasons, have particular difficulties taking part in the programme.
The participating countries must remove obstacles relating in particular to the rights of entry, residence and free movement, thus ensuring that beneficiaries from third countries are admitted to their territory.
With a budget of EUR 915 million for the period 2007-2013, the Commission intends to implement at least 35 000 youth exchange projects by 2013 and 10 000 volunteer projects per year.
Management
The Commission shall be assisted by a committee comprising representatives of the Member States and chaired by the Commission representative. The programme will to a large extent be managed decentrally by independent national agencies. However, the centralised projects will be managed by a European executive agency.
BACKGROUND
The former "Youth" programme will come to an end in 2006 and, in the light of the Commission's Communication on European citizenship and the results of the public consultation, the interim evaluation report and the ex-ante evaluation of the future instrument, the Commission is presenting this legislative proposal with a view to the adoption of a new generation of programmes for the period 2007-2013.
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11080.htm
