Raad Jeugdzaken wil politieke en maatschappelijke participatie van jongeren stimuleren (en)

The EU Council for Youth took place on 19 May. Androulla Vassiliou i, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, represented the European Commission.

The Council agreed on an integrated policy encouraging young people to get more involved in the democratic life, for instance by voting and standing for elections themselves or advocating via social media. They also underlined their support for Structured Dialogue between EU institutions and young people addressing youth unemployment. The EU Youth Strategy, adopted by the Commission in 2009, invited all Member States to organise regular dialogue with young people.

Ministers also discussed volunteering by young people and its contribution to the development of local communities. The Commissioner highlighted the benefits of 'intergenerational' dialogue in the context of volunteering, stressing that young volunteers can learn a lot from working with older people.

More information

• - 

  Resolution on the Structured Dialogue
• - 

  Resolution on Participation
• - 

  Press release: "A new era of EU youth policies" (IP/09/644, 27 April 2009)