At a glance

The current generation of young Europeans is the first to have grown up in a largely borderless and peaceful Europe. This is a Europe where they can move around freely, work and learn more easily than ever before - and it is very different to the one their grandparents, or even parents, grew up in.

The development of Youth policies

The inclusion of ‘Youth’ as a concept in European policy is a relatively recent phenomenon. The Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 extended the scope of EU policies to include the youth ‘field’, thanks to Article 149 § 2. This states that the EU should “…encourage the development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-educational instructors…”

Before 2001, the activities of the European Institutions in the youth field mainly focussed on the consideration and implementation of specific programmes, like ‘Youth for Europe’, launched in 1988. However, a consensus remained that this action and cooperation needed to be built on further and that young people themselves needed to be more involved.

In order to widen and deepen the political debate and to go beyond the existing EU programmes, the European Commission considered the development of a genuine co-operation for future decades.

The focus of this was the White Paper on Youth which was adopted in November 2001. This contained a proposal to the EU’s Member States to increase cooperation in four youth priority areas: participation, information, voluntary activities and a greater understanding and knowledge of youth. The White Paper also proposes to take the youth dimension more into account when making other relevant policies, such as education and training, employment and social inclusion, health and anti-discrimination. Among other things, this was a response to the apparent disaffection of young people with traditional forms of participation in public life, and called on young Europeans to become more active citizens.

On the basis of the White Paper, the Council of the European Union in June 2002 established a framework for European co-operation in the field of youth. Later, in November 2005, the framework was updated to take into account the European Youth Pact.

The framework is now made up of three main strands:

• Young people'sactive citizenship.The member states have agreed on common objectives for each one of the four priorities of the White Paper. In order to reach these objectives, the Open Method of Coordination is applied. Other instruments to foster youngpeople's active citizenship are the Youth in Action programme, the Youth portal and the European Knowledge Center on Youth Policy. The structured dialogue aims at involving young people in policy shaping debates in relation to the European agenda.
• Social and occupational integrationof young people. The European Youth Pact aims at improving the education and training, the employability and social inclusion of young Europeans, while facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life.
• Including a youth dimension in other policies. TheEuropean Commission actively works to take youth into account in a number of policies, of which anti- discrimination and healthare the most prominent.

In addition to these three strands, the European Union also contributes to the development of the mobility of young people and recognition of their non-formal learning experiences. 

A specific Programme aimed at young people

The new Youth in Action programme (2007-2013) is the flagship European programme for young people. It builds on the experience of the previous Youth for Europe Programme (1989-1999), the European Voluntary Service and the YOUTH Programme (2000-2006). The budget for the Youth in Action Programme is €885 million for 7 years. Geographically, its reach will spread across the EU to its neighbours (Eastern Europe and Caucasus, the Mediterranean region and South-East Europe) and other partner countries in the world. Young people between the ages of 15-28 – and in some cases 13-30 – can participate.

The Youth in Action Programme aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future by boosting their participation in democratic life. The programme promotes non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue among European youth, as well as the inclusion of all young people, particularly those from less-privileged backgrounds.

The Youth in Action Programme encourages young people's mobility within and beyond the EU borders, thus giving them the opportunity to expand their horizons and gain valuable life and work experiences.

The programme funds a large variety of activities through five actions. ‘Youth for Europe’encourages young people to participate in democratic life through exchanges and other initiatives. The ‘European Voluntary Service’helps young people to develop their sense of solidarity by working on a voluntary project abroad. ‘Youth in the World’ promotes partnerships and exchanges among young people and youth organisations across the world. ‘Youth Support Systems’ include various measures to support youth workers and youth organisations and improve the quality of their activities. ‘European Co-operation in the youth field’ promotes dialogue and understanding in this area.

Action 1 –  Youth for Europe
Thisaction aims to encourage a sense of active European citizenship in young people. It also promotes mutual understanding between youth in different countries through the funding of intercultural exchanges. Youth initiatives, which encourage creativity and entrepreneurship, can also be funded under this action. Youth democracy projects encourage young people to become more actively involved in the democratic process at regional, national and European level.

Action 2 –  European Voluntary Service
The European Voluntary Service offers opportunities to carry out unpaid and full-time voluntary service for up to 12 months in another country in Europe or in the world. It is free for the volunteers and open to youth between 18 and 30. It fosters solidarity among young people and is a true "learning service". The benefits go beyond local communities, as volunteers learn new skills and languages, and find out about other cultures.

Action 3 – Youth in the World
European identity doesn’t stop at Europe’s borders. European citizens have a highly evolved sense of global citizenship and the Youth in the World action helps develop this further.
The Action supports projects with partner countries, particularly the EU’s neighbours (Eastern Europe and Caucasus, the Mediterranean region, and South-East Europe). It aims to encourage mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue through exchanges, training, networking and co-operation between young people and youth organisations from the EU and beyond.

Action 4 – Youth Support Systems
Promoting active citizenship needs more than aspirations and initiatives. It also needs solid support systems for those active in the youth field. This Action offers backing to youth bodies and NGOs active at the European level. It also provides youth workers with opportunities to co-operate, exchange good practice, receive training and build networks.
Other measures include projects encouraging innovation and quality, information activities, as well as partnerships with regional and local bodies.

Action 5 – European Co-operation in the Youth Field
Under this Action, funding for national and trans-national youth seminars promotes active citizenship and a deeper sense of European identity. These actively involve young people in policy-shaping debates and a more structured dialogue with policy makers. This action also supports research and other activities that result in better knowledge of the youth area. In addition, it promotes co-operation with international organisations targeting young people, in particular the Council of Europe and the United Nations.