European development and humanitarian aid policies might testify to the EU’s solidarity with the outside world but solidarity has also to be expressed within the European Union, stated Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday 14 September, announcing a Commission proposal to set up a “Youth Voluntary Corps” to help in crisis situations.
Addressing the European Parliament in his second annual state of the Union speech, Juncker said that “the Commission is proposing to set up a European Solidarity Corps. Young people across the EU will be able to volunteer their help where it is needed most, to respond to crisis situations, like the refugee crisis or the recent earthquakes in Italy”.
He wants this European Solidarity Corps up and running by the end of the year and “by 2020, to see the first 100,000 young Europeans taking part”.
Without providing any detail of the proposal, Juncker argued that “by voluntarily joining the European Solidarity Corps, these young people will be able to develop their skills and get not only work but also invaluable human experience”.
The European Solidarity Corps could be used to provide assistance in difficult situations, whether helping to rebuild communities in the wake of a natural disaster, helping the socially excluded, assisting in health crises or working to aid refugees, for example, a source told EUROPE.
Under the Lisbon Treaty (Articles 214-5), a European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps, formally set up in March 2014, became operational in the EU this year, after a pilot phase of four years. This corps will assist in the event of natural and man-made disasters outside the EU (see EUROPE 11386). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)