Brussels, 04/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - Some 433 MEPs signed a written declaration aimed at strengthening the role of young people in European policies. Initiated by Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, Greece), Marie-Hélène Descamps (EPP-ED, France), Ramona Manescu (ALDE, Romania), Christa Prets (PES, Austria) and Bart Staes (Greens-EFA, Belgium), the declaration calls on the European Commission to assess the impact that legislative proposals will have on youth and the results of structured dialogue with youth organisations. According to MEPs, member states should focus on youth when carrying out national reform programmes, in the context of the Lisbon strategy, and take into account this category of the population in policies concerned, mainly in the fields of education and lifelong training, employment, social integration, health, the autonomy of youth, mobility, fundamental rights and non-discrimination. The Youth Forum welcomed the initiative which is “an important but initial stride in promoting youth policy, and underlining its transversal nature, within the European Parliament”, as Bettina Schwarzmayr, President of the Forum, put it. (I.L./transl.jl)