Young people's recommendations reach EU decision-making
Today’s meeting of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Ministers marked an important moment for youth participation in Europe. The policy recommendations developed by young people during the 11th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue were directly reflected in the Council Resolution on the Outcomes of the 11th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue, adopted today.
This adoption reinforces the role of the EU Youth Dialogue (EUYD) in European policymaking, showing how young people’s contributions can move beyond consultation and inform concrete policy outcomes.
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But what is a Council Resolution?
A Council Resolution is an important policy document produced at the end of each EU Youth Dialogue cycle. Even though the respective presidency is tasked with preparing it, all member states can influence the document. This document eventually consolidates the recommendations developed by young people throughout the cycle in consultation with National Youth Councils (NYCs) and International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations (INGYOs).
How did this happen?
Over the last 18 months, young people from across Europe took part in the EU Youth Dialogue, the largest institutional youth participation mechanism in Europe. The 11th cycle was coordinated by the Polish-Danish-Cypriot trio presidency, with a special focus on “Bringing the EU closer to Young People”, which is also connected to European Youth Goal #1.
At the centre of the EU Youth Dialogue are the EU Youth Conferences, where young people and ministerial representatives come together to discuss consultation outcomes and draft policy recommendations. From 18-20 March, the last Conference of this cycle took place. It was originally planned to bring everyone to Nicosia on the island of Cyprus. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing uncertainties in the region, the Conference was moved online. Despite the change of format, it remained successful in fostering discussions among the participants.
Online, but no less motivated, around 150 young people and ministerial representatives worked across eight groups, to discuss and draft concrete policy recommendations on how to bring EU policymaking closer to young people and what to prioritise in the next EU Youth Strategy. The discussions resulted in several recommendations, including protecting young people’s access to affordable housing, creating stronger links between non-formal education and Erasmus+, and ensuring proper follow-up to the outcomes of the EU Youth Dialogue.
Participants also had the chance to choose the way forward for the revision of the next European Youth Goals, outlining the structure and focus of the next Youth Goals that will be drafted during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Their work will begin from 1 July onwards, marking the starting point for the 12th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue.
All the conference outcomes, policy recommendations and summaries of the discussions can be found below👇
Turning ideas into concrete proposals
At a time when many young people feel disconnected from European politics, this cycle focused on one key objective: bringing young people closer to EU decision-making, by strengthening their connection to the EU and involving them directly in concrete policymaking processes.
The need for this could not be clearer. According to the latest EUYD consultation report, in which 38,000 young people across Europe were consulted on how to better connect young people with the EU, only 34% of young people feel that their needs are sufficiently reflected in EU policymaking.
Throughout the cycle, youth representatives shared their views on the next Erasmus+ programme, calling for simpler administrative procedures and better promotion to ensure more young people know about the opportunities available. Their recommendation is based on the fact that 71% of responses in the consultation report agreed that mobility programmes help young people become more active in their communities. Participants also contributed to the EU Youth Strategy and initiated the process of revising the European Youth Goals.
More than just ticking the box
But this is only the beginning. We need meaningful follow-up of the policy recommendations to make sure that youth participation does not remain a box-ticking exercise. The current revision of the EU Youth Strategy offers the chance to better connect the EU Youth Dialogue with policymaking and make sure that all the outcomes are properly monitored and implemented. Our recent position paper further outlines our ideas on how a stronger EU Youth Strategy and a more meaningful EU Youth Dialogue can be achieved.
What's to come
As we look ahead, we are preparing for the 12th cycle of Ireland, Lithuania and Greece who will focus their work on Youth Goal 4 “Information and Constructive Dialogue. Next to discussions on digital and media literacy, the cycle will also work on redrafting the European Youth Goals - a process where young people will be able to revise and update the Youth Goals to maintain their relevance by adapting them to the realities of young people in 2026.
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