LiJOT - Lithuanian Youth Council

The European Youth Forum member organisations are troubled by recent developments surrounding the withdrawal of funds for United Nations Youth Delegate programmes across various European countries, denounces the efforts to challenge the legitimacy of several of these programmes and calls on governments to integrate National Youth Councils and not sideline them into irrelevance.

National Youth Councils all across Europe have always proven to be indispensable partners in the field of youth policy. The European Youth Forum and its member organisations categorically oppose any attempts to overtake and replace self-organised, youth-led, democratically elected and independent National Youth Councils with any other parallel structures that have been established without consulting the aforementioned National Youth Councils.

On 8 December 2022, the Council of the European Union deliberated the joining of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania in the Schengen Area. Croatia was unanimously accepted, however, the application of Bulgaria and Romania was vetoed by the governments of Austria and the Netherlands.