Brussels, 21/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 May, the Council adopted a resolution on the EU's work plan for youth for the 2014-2015 period. This is a medium-term structured plan over an 18-month period. It includes a limited number of key initiatives in specific youth policy areas, to help the EU and member states immediately set about the task of tackling high unemployment rates among young people and the consequences of the current crisis on youth. This plan sets out three priorities: 1) stepping up socio-educational youth work and non-formal and informal education; 2) enhancing inter-sectoral cooperation; 3) empowerment, with particular emphasis on access to rights, autonomy, participation and active citizenship. The plan also seeks to strengthen cooperation between the member states and Commission, as well as promote synergies between different education, training and employment policies, in an effort to ensure that youth policy can make a useful contribution to the European semester. It will be assessed during the second half of 2015. (IL)