Changes from plenary report to adopted text

26. Emphasises that reducing structural inequalities affecting the conditions under which young people live, learn and participate across the EU should be a core priority of the future EUYS, in order to strengthen social cohesion, foster resilience and allow young people to fully achieve their potential, while improving access to quality education, employment, healthcare and housing and preventing youth homelessness;

27. Calls, in particular, for targeted measures to support young people from rural and remote areas in overcoming physical, social, digital and economic barriers, including reduced access to education, cultural, sporting and mobility opportunities, as well as barriers related to transport, affordability, youth information and services, with particular attention to NEETs;

28. Calls on the Member States to consider introducing targeted cultural vouchers for young people in order to reduce financial barriers, especially in rural and less accessible areas;

Quality youth employment and social inclusion

29. Calls on the Commission to intensify targeted support, policy coordination and enhanced monitoring in Member States facing structural youth unemployment, and to increase resources for programmes and projects, with the aim of ensuring that EU instruments effectively address long-standing labour market failures;

30. Stresses the importance of a strong and independent ESF+ in supporting youth employment, skills development and active labour market policies, particularly for young people with disabilities;

31. Stresses the need to promote participation in STEAM disciplines, including among young women and under-represented groups, through investment in digital, green and critical-thinking skills in order to strengthen innovation, competitiveness and social cohesion;

32. Calls on the Member States to strengthen VET, including dual learning systems and work-based learning, in order to support skills development and access to quality employment opportunities in the green transition, particularly for young people with fewer opportunities;

33. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the integration of young people into the labour market by promoting access to stable and quality employment, fair working conditions and equal opportunities; highlights the need to tackle age-based discrimination with regard to wages and working conditions;

34. Underlines the need to better understand the impact of technological developments, including AI, on youth employment and to support the development of relevant skills through education and training systems, including AI in education and training curricula, in order to equip young people for the labour market in the digital age;

35. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote quality and fairly remunerated traineeships that are accessible to all young people and to strengthen the legal framework on traineeships to effectively identify and combat practices that circumvent their purpose and the use of standard employment relationships disguised as traineeships;

36. Highlights that young people are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis, which limits their access to affordable and quality housing; underlines that this negatively impacts their employment opportunities, mobility and social inclusion; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support affordable and sustainable housing solutions for young people, including students, and stresses that housing should be one of the key pillars of the post-2027 EUYS;

37. Emphasises that the post 2027 EUYS should encourage the promotion of youth entrepreneurship and start-ups through simplified administrative procedures, improved access to finance and targeted skills support, including in emerging sectors such as the circular economy and sustainable innovation;

38. Calls on the Commission, in the context of the European strategy on intergenerational fairness, to ensure that long-term perspectives are effectively integrated into the EU’s employment, education and social policies, so that the interests of present and future generations are taken into account in policy design and implementation;

Health and well-being

39. Observes with concern the growing challenges faced by young people due to the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the excessive use of social media, socio-economic insecurity, war and conflict, social isolation and environmental factors; highlights the need for a cross-sectoral approach and for the next EU youth strategy to include sustainable public health interventions, school-based support and community based initiatives to address these cross-cutting challenges, while also tackling unhealthy lifestyles that disproportionately affect vulnerable groups;

40. Calls for stronger protection of young people online by addressing addictive design, cyber risks, cyberbullying and harmful online content, in alignment with the Commission’s forthcoming action plan against cyberbullying and the planned EU-wide inquiry on the impact of social media on the mental well-being of young people;

41. Stresses the importance of accessible and affordable mental health services, including early detection and intervention for children and young people; stresses the importance of integrating mental health awareness and education into school, youth work, sport and community settings; calls on the Member States and the EU to strengthen access to mental health support and counselling services in schools and universities, including for students participating in mobility programmes such as Erasmus+, and to invest in training teachers and caregivers to better identify mental health conditions;

42. Expresses concern about the growing use of tobacco, vaping and other nicotine products, as well as drug use among young people, and calls for stronger prevention, awareness-raising and health literacy measures that target addictive behaviours and lifestyle-related health risks;

43. Stresses that youth health measures must pay particular attention to young people in vulnerable situations and those with fewer opportunities, as they often face greater barriers to healthcare and psychosocial support;

44. Reiterates that sport and physical activity promote physical and mental well-being, social inclusion and cohesion, youth development and active citizenship by tackling rising rates of obesity, addiction and violence; emphasises the importance of grassroots sport organisations, local clubs and volunteering structures in providing accessible opportunities for young people across the EU;

Youth participation and inclusion in the EUYD

45. Welcomes the fact that considerable progress has been achieved on diversity and inclusion in the EUYD, the EU’s central instrument for structured youth participation; regrets, however, that rural youth and NEETs are under-represented in the 11th cycle; stresses the need to improve the quality of inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities; calls for the meaningful inclusion of young people from candidate countries in the EUYD;

46. Encourages national working groups to implement the toolkit for communicating about the EUYD and to strengthen its diversity and inclusion, in cooperation with national youth councils and local grassroots organisations as essential partners in reaching out to non-organised youth, including through targeted outreach strategies, in order to ensure a territorially balanced impact across all regions and among all relevant stakeholders;

47. Welcomes the creation of a permanent secretariat for the EUYD to serve a key role in the coordination of national working groups and ensure coherence and consistency between cycles; encourages the collection and sharing of best practices and the creation of a database of recommendations and outcomes of the dialogue; calls for a stronger feedback loop to ensure that young people understand how their engagement impacts policymaking and for clearer monitoring and dissemination of EUYD outcomes, including transparent follow-up at EU and national levels through measures such as formal written feedback from the Commission;

48. Stresses that EUYD priorities should be linked more clearly to the Commission work programme; calls on the Commission to reinforce the governance of the EUYS by combining a clear strategic direction with stronger accountability across relevant policy areas; stresses that youth priorities should be translated into concrete actions through sectoral initiatives of the competent directorates-general, supported by appropriate resources and developed in close consultation with EU and national youth organisations;

Youth participation and inclusion in EU programmes

49. Welcomes the adoption of the Erasmus+ and ESC inclusion and diversity strategy and the introduction of implementation guidelines; regrets that barriers persist in application and reporting; stresses the need to improve pre-financing, predictability of EU funding and support for first-time applicants and small organisations, including through technical assistance and simplified procedures, in order to improve access to EU programmes, reduce administrative barriers and facilitate long-term planning at local and regional level;

50. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote more continuous and sustainable outreach for young people with fewer opportunities, as well as to conduct qualitative studies and further establish clear inclusion targets and monitor their participation;

51. Stresses that the Commission and Member State authorities, such as Erasmus+ national agencies, should further strengthen inclusion, diversity and visibility within the EUYD and Erasmus+;

52. Calls on the Commission to align the post-2027 EUYS with new programmes under the MFF, such as Erasmus+, AgoraEU, Horizon Europe, the ESF+, etc, in cooperation with young people, in order to ensure coherence, promote synergies and broaden opportunities for youth participation across the EU; calls on the Commission to ensure that the youth actions within these programmes are coherent with the objectives of the post-2027 EUYS; stresses the need to ensure adequate funding in the next MFF, including through earmarked EU funding for inclusive mobility formats; calls, in particular, for stronger synergies and operational links with the reinforced Youth Guarantee;

53. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to apply intergenerational budgeting principles to the 2028-2034 MFF, ensuring that spending decisions are assessed for their long-term impact on younger and future generations and that policy choices affecting young people are clearly communicated and justified;

54. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support young people through strong public investment to address their concerns, in particular affordable housing and the cost of living, education and training, skills development, mental health and well-being, healthcare and youth employment;

Quality education and training for young people, including volunteering and youth work

55. Reiterates that everyone has the right to education and access to vocational and continuing training, as well as lifelong learning opportunities; stresses that access to education should be guaranteed for all young Europeans, in accordance with Article 21 of the Charter and in line with the EU’s commitments to equal opportunities, inclusion and non-discrimination;

Formal education and training

56. Calls for the EU and its Member States to strengthen inclusive and high-quality education for all young people, from early childhood education through higher education, VET and lifelong learning, to prioritise support for learners at risk of early school leaving and disengagement and to reduce financial and practical barriers to access, in line with Article 14 of the Charter, including the possibility of receiving free compulsory education;

57. Welcomes ongoing work on a European degree label as part of the European Education Area, including through the European universities initiative; calls for further progress towards the development of a genuine European degree, ensuring quality, academic integrity and recognition across the EU, in order to strengthen the European Education Area and enhance the international attractiveness of European higher education;

58. Stresses that youth policies should also support traditional sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, craftsmanship and processing;

59. Calls on the Member States to support marginalised young people in accessing formal education and accessible learning environments; encourages the Member States to strengthen cross-sectoral coordination among youth-related services, in order to prevent early leaving from education and training and to support transitions into further learning, training, community participation or employment;

60. Calls on the Member States to increase public investment in education, strengthen school systems and address persistent shortages of qualified teachers and educational staff by improving professional development opportunities, working conditions and career attractiveness, including through improved pay and targeted recruitment strategies, and by supporting teacher training and retention, particularly in rural and remote areas; calls on the Commission to address these issues in the upcoming EU teachers and trainers agenda, and strengthen the take-up and dissemination of Erasmus+ teacher academies;

61. Calls on the Member States to put in place effective, affordable and accessible mechanisms for young people to acquire relevant skills, taking into account the recommendations on the establishment of individual learning accounts;

Digital education and media literacy

62. Urges the Commission and the Member States to strengthen digital skills and media literacy education across all forms of formal, non-formal and informal learning, with a view to fostering critical thinking, combating disinformation, promoting safe, responsible and inclusive online behaviour and preventing cyberbullying, in alignment with the basic skills action plan and the EU’s efforts to strengthen democratic resilience, with particular attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups;

63. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure consistent enforcement of the Digital Services Act and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive to protect minors online and to integrate structured media literacy, critical thinking and algorithmic awareness education into the post-2027 EUYS;

European Citizenship education

64. Welcomes the addition of citizenship education as a basic skill in the basic skills action plan, but recognises the need to develop a more coherent policy on citizenship education; calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to present an EU strategy on citizenship education; emphasises that citizenship education, including digital citizenship education, should be built into formal, non-formal and informal education, in order to foster active citizenship, critical thinking, intercultural skills, participation in democratic life and engagement with EU values;

65. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to disseminate and exchange good practices on citizenship education by gathering and exchanging guidelines, materials and resources through an EU toolbox, including teaching materials, and to ensure that these are accessible and adaptable to diverse educational contexts and learners, while supporting teacher and youth work training to ensure their effective use in different educational and community settings;

66. Calls on the Commission to develop specific training modules on democratic citizenship education for teachers, trainers, leaders, policymakers and everyone who takes part in Erasmus+ or the ESC;

67. Calls on the Member States and civil society to actively promote comprehensive civic education for young people, meaningful youth participation in democratic processes at local, national and EU level, including through youth exchanges, volunteering projects and collective mobility activities;

68. Encourages the Member States to exchange good practices on initiatives that facilitate youth participation in elections, democratic processes and civic initiatives;

Non-formal and informal education, volunteering and youth work

69. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the European youth work agenda is translated into action and funding plans;

70. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the formal recognition of competences acquired via non-formal and informal learning, including volunteering and youth work, through qualification frameworks, Youthpass and Europass, training standards and accreditation systems, thereby enabling mutual recognition and mobility; underlines the key role of volunteering in equipping young people with skills and competences that enhance their employability, and calls for volunteering to be duly recognised and promoted;

71. Regrets that validation frameworks remain uneven, complex and insufficiently accessible in practice, and calls for clearer procedures, guidance and support so that young people and employers can use them effectively;

72. Calls on the Member States to provide guidance for employers on Youthpass and Europass; reiterates that volunteering is not a substitute for traineeships or jobs and must not be equated with employment;

73. Believes that the Member States should strengthen the recognition of volunteering as professional experience and professionalisation of youth work and non-formal and informal learning, to ensure that such experience is meaningfully recognised;

74. Calls on the Member States to encourage higher and vocational education institutions to award credits for volunteering activities and increased cooperation with education institutions in creating these synergies, including under the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS credits) and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET credits) and, where possible, by recording volunteering experiences as digital credentials or micro-credentials;

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