EU Youth Strategy. European Implementation Assessment

This briefing is one in a series of 'Implementation Appraisals' on the operation of existing EU legislation in practice. Each such briefing focuses on a specific EU law which is likely to be amended or reviewed, as foreseen in the European Commission's Annual Work Programme.

Implementation Appraisals aim to provide a succinct overview of material publicly available on the implementation, application and effectiveness of an EU law to date – drawing on available input from the EU institutions and external organisations. They are provided to assist parliamentary committees in their consideration of the new proposals, once tabled.

Further information on the EU Youth Strategy

While respecting Member States’ overall responsibility for youth policy, the EU Youth Strategy, agreed by EU Ministers, sets out a framework for cooperation covering the years 2010-2018. It has two main objectives:

+ To provide more and equal opportunities for young people in education and the job market
+ To encourage young people to actively participate in society

The objectives are achieved through a dual approach which includes:

+ Specific youth initiatives, targeted at young people to encourage non-formal learning, participation, voluntary activities, youth work, mobility and information
+ 'Mainstreaming' cross-sector initiatives that ensure youth issues are taken into account when formulating, implementing and evaluating policies and actions in other fields with a significant impact on young people, such as education, employment or health and well-being.

The EU Youth Strategy proposes initiatives in eight areas:

+ Employment and entrepreneurship
+ Social inclusion
+ Participation
+ Education & training
+ Health & well-being
+ Voluntary activities
+ Youth & the world
+ Creativity & culture

This study provides an analysis of the EU Youth Strategy, established through the Council Resolution adopted in November 2009 on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field for the period 2010-2018.

The EU Youth Strategy is, first and foremost, an instrument created to facilitate the coordination of Member States' youth policies, with the additional possibility of supporting actions taken at the European level and managed by the European Commission and other bodies and organisations.

Using the data available in various documents and sources on the implementation of the Youth Strategy, this study follows the structure of the Council Resolution, covering all fields of actions listed, as well as the types of measures introduced at the national level by Member States (strategy/policy/ regulation/guidelines/programme/other) in order to assess the relation between its parts and their take-up to date by the main actors in EU youth policy.

It presents a compilation of findings allowing the reader to understand how much has been done so far, and shows substantial evolution in the activity of the European Union and individual Member States, particularly in learning from best practices and undertaking joint projects.

European Youth Forum: Proposal for the governance of the EU Youth Strategy. The EU Youth Strategy beyond 2018 : a focused strategy, 2017 with a coordinated management http://www.youthforum.org/assets/2017/12/YFJ-proposal-EUYS-Governance.pdf

EP: EPRS: Briefing: Implementation Appraisal: Ex-ante Impact Assessment http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/search.html?policyAreas=EXIMAS

EP: EPRS: Briefing: Implementation in Action, November 2017: Implementation appraisals following the Commission Work Programme 2018 http://www.europeansources.info/record/implementation-appraisals-following-the-commission-work-programme-2018/

European Commission: Youth: Discover EU's Role: EU Youth Strategy https://ec.europa.eu/youth/policy/youth-strategy_en

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