The Greens call for concrete actions under the European Year of Youth
The Greens in the CoR welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to designate 2022 as the European Year of Youth. During its plenary session of 1-2 December, the CoR adopted a resolution, which underlines the key role of local and regional authorities in promoting youth participation and urges the Commission to mainstream a youth perspective in all EU policy areas. Several Greens’ voices were represented in the debate.
CoR Greens’ member Ufuk Kâhya, and co-spokesperson of the Federation of Young European Greens Eleanor Morrissey, represented Green voices in the discussion preceding the adoption of the resolution. Kâhya pointed out that ‘every child has talent, but not always the chance to discover it’ and stressed that ‘the European Year of Youth should look at how we can provide equal opportunities for young people everywhere: in cities, rural towns and villages’.
Morrissey, representing the Federation of Young European Greens, called the Commission to live up to its commitment and deliver concrete actions to tackle issues particularly affecting young people, including unemployment, housing, climate change, and mental health and wellbeing. ‘Otherwise the European Year of Youth will only be youth-washing’, she concluded.
Green city councillor of Cologne Sandra Schneeloch also participated in the exchange, representing the Young Elected Politicians (YEP) programme and presenting a list of 19 recommendations put forward in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
In a follow-up debate during the SEDEC Commission meeting on 13 December, CoR Greens’ member Tine Radinja said: ‘Let’s use this opportunity to make lasting commitments that will give young people more and better opportunities, especially in the terms of mobility and youth rights, while also addressing mental health and wellbeing. We have to bring together various sources of funding to successfully go beyond the capitals, and to achieve measurable results for youth in Europe and beyond. Most importantly, we can also benefit from the vision, engagement and participation of young people.’
The CoR resolution adopted during the 147th CoR plenary session stresses that LRAs should have more access to funding opportunities for projects aimed at supporting local youth initiatives. It also emphasises that the budget allocation should not affect the delivery of existing projects, such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. What is more, the resolution affirms that the European Year should not be limited to young people from the 27 EU Member States but should also involve young migrants and young people from the Enlargement countries.
The Commission’s proposal followed President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address of 15 September 2021, announcing that 2022 would be the European Year of Youth. The proposal draws on the latest EU Youth Report and goes hand in hand with NextGenerationEU, aiming to reopen perspectives for young people, including the provision of quality jobs, education, training opportunities, and to support young people’s participation in society.