Brussels, 05/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Secretariat of the Convention on the Future of Europe has put forward a detailed proposal, approved by the Praesidium on 27 March, on the organisation of the Youth Convention of Europe. At the official inauguration of the European Convention, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing had expressed the hope that there would be a Youth Convention. The young people taking part at this Convention, which is to be held from 9 to 12 July in Brussels, on the premises of the European Parliament, must be between 18 and 25 years of age ("We deliberately wanted to have a very young age", said VGE).
The Secretariat specifies that the total number of youth participants will be 210 (like Convention Members), without differentiation between full members and alternates (which is not the case for the Members of the Convention). Thus: 168 young people will be chosen by the Convention Members representing the national parliaments and governments, 32 by the European Parliament representatives, 4 by the representatives of the European Commission, and 6 by Chairman Giscard d'Estaing and his Vice-Chairmen, Jean-Luc Dehaene and Giuliano Amato.
The Convention Members will be helped in their choice by the youth organisations active at national level or (in the case of the EP, the Commission, the Chairman and Vice-Chairmen) at the European level. They are all invited to make a selection to guarantee diversified representation within the Youth Convention to ensure there is a balance with respect to age, sex, professional situation, and rural or urban origins …
As far as the timetable is concerned, the Secretariat proposes: - opening during the evening of 9 July, with a dinner of welcome; - 10 July: work of the Youth Convention and, during the morning or afternoon of 11 July, adoption of conclusions; - during the afternoon of the 11th or morning of 12th, presentation of conclusions of the Youth Convention to the European Convention; -during the afternoon of 12 July, the Youth Convention will draw up the balance sheet of its work.
The budget for this event is estimated at EUR 150,000, of which the Commission is willing to cover 120,000, the remainder being borne by the budget of the Convention on the Future of Europe.