Brussels, 03/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU Youth Ministers, who met on 29 November under the chairmanship of Bert Anciaux, held a public debate on the "White Paper for Youth", published by the Commission on 21 November. They noted the information given by the Presidency on the colloquy held in Ghent on 26 and 27 November, which allowed participants of Member States and of candidate countries to hold a first exchange of views on this White Paper. This, as Bert Anciaux told the press, is "a very important instrument at political level as it must serve as a base for an action plan involving all the young people of Europe and because it may finally allow Europe to get down to a true youth policy". Commissioner Viviane Reding announced a large youth meetings to be consulted on this action plan, in March, in Murcia.
During the debate, the conclusions of which will be forwarded to the Laeken Summit, the ministers were not unanimous about application of the method of open coordination to youth issues. Germany felt the approach aimed at involving young people was very important. Denmark expressed scepticism about the use of the open coordination method, the appointment of a national coordinator and the fixing of major guidelines in this field at European level. The same was true for Finland, which considered that "such a bureaucratic system (…) would not really help the young". It felt that the approach should rather be based on the exchange of good practices and that it would be better to watch over the concerns of the young in sectoral policies. This transversal approach was also supported by Spain, which backs the join request by Germany, Greece, France and Portugal to hold two Youth Councils under Spanish Presidency in order to make progress on issues regarding future EU Youth policy and in order to maintain the rate of work "so that the young are not disappointed". Portugal requested that "a more rigorous and effective agenda" should be defined, and the United Kingdom said it was in favour of the open coordination method as long as a detailed analysis of the mechanisms proposed is carried out. The UK was also critical of the representation of young people in the consultation process, and asked whether youth organisations such as the European Youth Forum "really" represent the young. It pointed out that this representation must be improved and that, for this, there must be action at the local level. The Netherlands criticised the fact that the White Paper only covers the 15-22 age group, saying that, in the Netherlands, it would be "0 to 25!" It added that "it is typical for youth policy to be local but we have much to learn from each other". Finally, Belgium said it was "opposed to the use of Youth programme funds to launch this new youth policy". Viviane Reding announced the opening in June 2002 of an internet portal at European level, that would work with the national portals and be open to the regions. She noted that the open coordination method was already adjusted to youth.
The Council also adopted a resolution on youth voluntary work, in the context of the United Nations international year for voluntary workers. Council President Bert Anciaux pointed out that the resolution would be forwarded to the UN for 5 December, the date of the final ceremony for this international year. He added that the Belgian Presidency planned to "include an important passage on the subject in the Laeken Declaration because the voice of the young must be heard to build Europe". Ms Reding noted that "only 7% of young people undertake voluntary work at European level". In 2002, she exclaimed, pressure will be put on key actions, in order to have a higher percentage in the next Eurobarometer. With this resolution, the Council invites: 1) the Member States to take measures that they consider appropriate to lift the legal and administrative obstacles and to give the young every chance of carrying out voluntary work at national and international level, and to prevent the voluntary work of the young from restricting potential or existing paid jobs, or to be a substitute for paid work; 2) the Commission to develop synergies between the initiatives of the EU, the Council of Europe and other international organisations, and to take into account the contribution that young volunteers make to the activities of the Youth programme.
Finally, the Council: 1) noted the presentation by Ms Reding of the assessment report of 9 October 2001 on the Youth for Europe programme and European Voluntary Service; 2) noted a report from the German delegation on the European Conference "Youth for Tolerance and Democracy", held in Berlin from 20 to 23 October with the support of the Commission; 3) was informed by Ms Reding of the launching of the 2nd phase of the Euromed Youth programme, which covers the period 2002 to 2004 with a budget of EUR 14 million (40% increase compared to the first programme).