On the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027

1. Introduction

This report examines the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 (EUYS), with a particular focus on the period 2022-2024, as outlined in the Commission Report on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy (2022-2024) - COM(2025)0117 final - SWD(2025)0072 + 0073.

The European Parliament had not adopted an implementation report for the 2019-2021 period. Thus, the current report aims to assess implementation covering the entire duration of the EUYS, give recommendations for the last years of its implementation, and prepare the ground for the post-2027 framework.

The report focuses on the policy coherence of the EUYS and the extent to which youth has been mainstreamed across the Union’s various policies; and to take stock of youth inclusion and participation, as well as access to quality education and training for young people, volunteering and youth work.

2. Procedure and sources

Since her appointment on 7 April 2025, the Rapporteur has collected specific evidence from these sources, among others:

 A European Implementation Assessment prepared by the Parliament’s Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) entitled “EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027: Taking stock and the way forward” [hereafter, ‘the EPRS evaluation’];

 internal research on ex-ante impact assessments by EPRS;

 a shadows’ meeting with stakeholders on 11 November 2025;

 various background documents (see list of citations);

 consultations with and written input by youth organisations, NGOs, and other stakeholders (see Transparency Register).

3. Implementation and policy coherence of the EUYS

The EUYS is the framework for EU youth policy cooperation for 2019-2027, based on the Council Resolution of 26 November 2018. The EUYS is built around the framework Engage, Connect, Empower and seeks to improve young people’s wellbeing by creating more and better opportunities in education, employment, civic participation, and inclusion. EU youth cooperation aims to make the most of youth policy’s potential and foster youth participation in democratic life; and aims to ensure that all young people have the necessary resources to take part in society.

The EUYS has had to adapt to major crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and the subsequent rise in inflation and cost of living. These events, combined with pre-existing challenges such as youth unemployment, mental health concerns, environmental sustainability, and rural-urban disparities, have shaped the opportunities and constraints faced by the 73 million young EU citizens.

The EPRS evaluation concludes that at the EU-level, the EUYS and its instruments do not create significant additional burdens beyond their implementation costs, and that a dedicated youth policy coordination framework – a strategy with a clear vision and priorities - remains essential post-2027. The core EUYS areas (Engage, Connect, Empower) embody the essence of youth policy and remain relevant and foundational post-2027. In addition, it is essential to ensure inclusion in youth participation. Learning mobility, notably through Erasmus+ and volunteering exchanges, should continue to play a central role, alongside the recognition and support of youth workers, volunteering and non-formal learning, which are considered key to empowering young people.

European youth goals (EYGs)

The EUYS is guided by the 11 European Youth Goals (see infographic below), adopted following dialogues in 2017-2018 with young people across Europe. The EUYS should contribute to realising these cross-sectoral goals that affect young people’s lives and point out challenges.

https://youth-goals.eu/youthgoals

The EPRS evaluation identifies a lack of foresight in the development of the EYGs, as young people tended to focus on their concerns at the time of the consultations; it was difficult for them to anticipate what would become relevant to them in the future.

The 2019-2027 EYGs lacks adaptability to address a changing socio-economic and geopolitical context. New cross-cutting issues that have emerged since their adoption have not been sufficiently addressed neither in the EYGs nor the EUYS Work Plans. A solution would be that future consultations also include researchers, academics and stakeholders to offer a more foresight-oriented picture of topics that might become important in the future. A shortened EUYS cycle of 5 years could also help reflect rapid developments.

The final years of the EUYS should focus on managing the transition between current and emerging youth priorities. Key concerns to consider in the EYGs post-2027 include peace and security, defence, radicalisation, disinformation, affordable housing, digitalisation’s long-term impact and education, in order to counter disinformation, environmental disasters, physical and mental health. Stakeholders believe that safeguarding civic space and civil society, competitiveness, skills, democracy, EU citizenship and values should be further prioritised post-2027. The European Commission (EC) should integrate these emerging topics into the remaining implementation period to ensure the EUYS remains relevant and forward-looking.

The EPRS evaluation shows that implementation of the EYGs varies across the Union, due to their non-binding nature and differing national priorities. For example, mental health and wellbeing, rural youth opportunities, and youth employment remain unevenly addressed across Member States.

During EU Youth Dialogues, young people are consulted on selected topics linked to one or more EYGs. Nevertheless, it is the Council Trio Presidency that selects the EYGs to be addressed in the Dialogue based on national priorities of the respective Member States. Thus, while it is an achievement that the Trio Presidency works on the EYGs, some EYGs that are crucial to young people may never have the chance to be addressed in a Dialogue.

Furthermore, the EYGs’ implementation is not systematically monitored, which makes it difficult to evaluate if a EYG has been met. The EU Youth Indicator Dashboard to assess progress on the EUYS does currently not include the EYGs and they should be integrated.

EUYS Work Plans

The EUYS operates in 3-year work cycles. The priorities for each cycle are set by the Council together with the EC in EUYS Work Plans. The EPRS evaluation notes that the EUYS Work Plans are an important instrument to facilitate the implementation of the EYGs and provide a consolidated view of EU-level priorities; however, only a limited number and types of stakeholders are aware of them.

EU Youth Coordinator (EYC)

The EYC was established to enhance cross-sectoral cooperation and knowledge development, and to exchange on youth issues in the EC. According to the EPRS evaluation, the EC should evaluate the role of the EYC to further empower and strengthen its function as a central coordination mechanism. The need for a stronger, formal political mandate, a dedicated budget, and a reporting function should be assessed, and horizontal coordination and accountability enhanced. The EYC and their team should serve as a hub connecting youth-related EU initiatives, including EC sectoral initiatives and programmes, and support Member States in adopting similar coordination mechanisms at national/regional level.

4. Youth mainstreaming across the Union and policy areas

The EUYS has promoted the idea of youth mainstreaming, i.e. systematically integrating youth perspectives across all policies.

EYY2022 and its Legacy

Since the European Year of Youth 2022 (EYY2022), youth mainstreaming has advanced through new instruments implemented by the EC, such as the Youth Check, the internal EC Youth Correspondents network, and the external EU-Youth Stakeholders group, and Youth Policy Dialogues with Commissioners. These instruments aim to ensure that the potential impact of policies on young people is systematically assessed during the policymaking process.

In its communication COM/2024/1, the EC committed to running a Youth Check on its key policy proposals. The youth check supports the EUYS and consists of assessing EC initiative’s relevance for, and potential impact on, young people. The Youth Check is mandatory for key initiatives listed in Annex I of the EC’s Annual Work Programme (AWP).

The four key phases for the youth check, established in the Communication, are:

a. Assessment of youth relevance – the EC, with the support of its youth correspondents, and involving the Youth Network when needed, assesses if a planned initiative included in the priority initiatives set out in Annex I of the Commission work programme will have significant relevance for young people. A consistent process will be used to identify these key priority initiatives.

b. Youth consultations – when an initiative has been flagged as particularly relevant for youth, the EC will consider a dedicated youth consultation (targeted surveys, discussions with young people, representative youth organisations or the Youth Stakeholders’ platform). In addition, in such cases, a mandatory set of questions targeting youth will be included in the public consultations, with the possibility to identify the age group of respondents. This will help further stimulate youth contributions and outline them in impact assessments. The new national/regional youth coordinators (see further below) could be mobilised to facilitate consultations at national level.

c. Impact assessment – the Commission, with the support of youth correspondents, conducts the impact assessment, drawing on all Better Regulation tools considered as particularly relevant for youth and making sure that impacts on young people are properly analysed whenever they have been identified as being relevant.

d. Scrutiny – the Regulatory Scrutiny Board verifies whether all impacts have been properly analysed including the youth impacts and consultations whenever they have been flagged as particularly relevant for the initiative.

The last two steps apply only to legislative files.

In particular, the inclusion of youth in impact assessments (IAs) were the core of the call from youth organisations during the EYY2022, which the Parliament has supported in its resolution 2022/2953(RSP).

While the Better Regulation Toolbox does not include a specific section on the Youth Check, the toolbox provides other tools to ensure that the impact of policies and policy proposals, including on young people, is assessed. In view of the upcoming Communication on Better Regulation, the Youth Checks should be included as a specific instrument in the Toolbox.

Since the Youth Check was launched only in January 2025, there is limited evidence of its effectiveness and outcomes. According to the EC, since its launch, the Youth Check has already been applied to 12 initiatives from the 2025 AWP. Among the initiatives, the Commission selected all the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework proposals as ‘youth-relevant’, meaning they would be subject to a Youth Check in their impact assessment. However, according to internal analysis of the EC’s IAs accompanying the 2028-2034 MFF proposals, carried out by EPRS, it appears that several of them do not mention youth in their IAs, or they do not elaborate sufficiently on the potential impact of the initiative on young people. Currently, youth relevance is determined based on the list of initiatives in Annex I of the AWP. It would be essential to let young people decide which policies are relevant to them and which policies they would like to engage with, as it is done in the EESC youth test.

Youth mainstreaming in the EP

On 3 December 2024, the Coordinators of the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) endorsed the renewal of the CULT Committee’s #Engaged4YOUth strategy and proposed actions for 2024-2029, among which are:

 Follow up on the Legacy of the EYY 2022 by developing ways to take into account youth concerns in policy development and decision-making processes;

 Continue coordinating with other EU institutions to mainstream the youth perspective across policy fields and promote an active participation of youth in building the future of Europe;

 With an aim to put in place a youth mainstreaming exercise in the European Parliament, continue the close cooperation with DG COMM and in particular its “Youth Outreach” unit, in order to invite young people at relevant Committee meetings, in CULT and/or other committees. This is especially for the ‘youth relevant’ files in the Commission’s AWPs;

 Ensure a strong presence and active involvement of CULT Committee Members at the European Youth Events (EYE), starting with the upcoming EYE2025 (Strasbourg, 13-14 June 2025). Moreover, CULT will host a dedicated session there on its commitment to be #Engaged4YOUth;

 Hold systematic CULT Committee Exchange of Views and/or missions to the European Youth Capitals.

Youth Policy Dialogues with Commissioners

The College of Commissioners’ oral hearings and their replies to written questions demonstrate the Commissioners’ commitment to embed youth mainstreaming as a horizontal principle of EU policymaking. Across portfolios, youth participation is recognised as essential to democratic legitimacy, policy effectiveness, and long-term sustainability. Commissioners consistently commit to integrating youth perspectives into areas ranging from climate, economy, health, and digital policy to external action, security, and social inclusion.

A central element of these commitments is the systematic organisation of annual Youth Policy Dialogues by nearly all Commissioners. These dialogues are presented as the primary instrument for engaging directly with young people on portfolio-specific policies, enabling the collection of insights, concerns, and expectations.

Between 6 December 2024 and 10 March 2025, 28 Youth Policy Dialogues took place during the first 100 days of the new mandate of the EC. However, it is unclear if there was systematic follow-up and if young people’s views actually fed into policymaking.

Youth mainstreaming across policy areas

While a post-2027 framework should retain a core youth strategy, mainstreaming should be strengthened in parallel. According to the EPRS evaluation, youth mainstreaming across policy areas remains fragmented. Best practices exist where Member States institutionalised cross-sectoral youth policy coordination; however, in many cases, youth policy remains siloed.

According to the EPRS evaluation, the policy areas of environment and climate change, education, youth, employment, international development, and agriculture are already well mainstreamed (though unevenly across Member States) and continue to be highly relevant.

According to the EP Flash Survey Youth survey 2024, cost of living (40%) and housing (23%) are some of the top concerns among youth in the EU. According to the study on Housing affordability problems across socio-demographic groups, young people are finding the current housing environment particularly challenging because they tend to be on lower incomes, have insecure employment contracts, or lack access to adequate social protection.

According to the EPRS evaluation, housing, (mental) health, well-being, digitalisation, competition, sustainability, defence, and finance are important to young people but remain insufficiently mainstreamed. Such issues cannot be confined to a single youth strategy. Topics such as competitiveness, skills, democracy, EU citizenship, values, and identity should also be more widely integrated across relevant policy areas rather than addressed mainly within youth policy. Competitiveness and skills development should be more visible in employment and skills policies; democracy and threats to it should go under civic participation policies; and civic education should be embedded within formal education. This may also connect with broader EU initiatives such as the European Democracy Shield.

5. Youth participation and inclusion

Youth participation and inclusion in society

Meaningful youth participation and social inclusion are fundamental pillars of democratic societies and prerequisites for inclusive, resilient and future-oriented policymaking. According to the EPRS evaluation, rural youth and young people with fewer opportunities still face barriers to participation. Member States should help overcome the barriers marginalised groups face in accessing formal education and provide support to rural youth to help them overcome the physical barriers of living in isolated rural areas.

Surveys by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) show that persistent discrimination, online hate and unequal access to education affecting Roma, Jewish, Muslim and LGBTQI+ youth undermine social inclusion and trust in institutions, as well as these groups’ increased vulnerability to radicalisation and extremism. Furthermore, their findings show that intersex and LGBTQI+ youth face increasing bullying and discrimination in schools, highlighting the need for stronger protection measures. At the same time, youth organisations remain key actors in democratic engagement and radicalisation prevention but are often under-resourced, increasing the risk of youth disengagement.

The EC Anti-Racism Strategy of 2026-2030 stresses the importance to align the EU Youth strategy with the European Education Area strategic framework and the upcoming Commission Joint Project with UNESCO on strengthening anti-racism education. The Commission Coordinator on combating racism cooperates with the EU Youth Coordinator, the Coordinator on anti-Muslim hatred, the Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life and the Coordinator for victims’ rights.

Mental health and well-being

According to the EPRS evaluation, despite initiatives such as the EC comprehensive approach to mental health, and being covered under an EYG, this topic could be further mainstreamed within a wider EU policy framework. Resources remain insufficient, especially to scale up mental health support and inclusive education pathways. Regrettably, DG Sante (for Health and Food Safety) in the EC currently has no youth correspondent, despite the relevance of (mental) health and well-being for youth.

Sport and physical activity

Sport plays an essential role for young people as it contributes to social inclusion and cohesion. Moreover, increased sedentary behaviour and excessive screen time are having demonstrable negative effects on their well-being. Regular activity and sport can help counter these trends and support healthy physical and psychological development.

Inter-generational budgeting

In order to promote intergenerational equity, the concept of ‘intergenerational budgeting’ (see EESC opinion SOC/827) should be introduced, to raise awareness of how resources are allocated to the different generations, and in particular to young people, as the current ratio between spending for young people and old age is around 1:10.

EU instruments for youth participation

The EYY2022 demonstrated the political commitment to youth participation, but follow-up actions were uneven. The key EU instruments for youth participation (the EU Youth Dialogue, Policy Dialogues with Commissioners, EU-Youth Stakeholders’ Group, Youth Advisory Board, Youth Check) have been effective in raising visibility, but inclusiveness remains a concern.

Youth participation and inclusion in the EU Youth Dialogue (EUYD)

According to discussions held during the CULT shadows’ meeting with stakeholders on 11 November 2025, youth participation through the EUYD is widely recognised as a cornerstone of an inclusive and democratic Europe. The EUYD reaches tens of thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds and has strong potential to bridge the gap between EU institutions and young people’s daily realities. However, stakeholders underlined that young people must not only be consulted but meaningfully involved as co-creators of policies from the earliest stages of decision-making. For participation to be credible, it must carry real political weight, be connected to decision-making processes, and lead to visible outcomes that demonstrate how young people’s contributions shape policies.

Making the feedback loop stronger is essential to ensure that young people understand how their engagement impacts policymaking. A recurring concern raised by stakeholders was the lack of systematic follow-up and feedback within the EUYD. Participants stressed the need for stronger information flows, clear feedback loops so that young people understand how their engagement impacts policymaking, and a permanent structure in the form of a secretariat, to ensure continuity across dialogue cycles. This could also help create an overview and consistency across the variety of consultation formats.

While youth participation is growing, representation is uneven across Member States and groups. In particular, rural youth, those with migrant backgrounds, those not in employment, education or training (NEETs), and non-organised youth, remain underrepresented. Some national youth councils lack formal recognition, while independent youth organisations (especially local, rural, and grassroots actors) often struggle with insufficient or unstable funding.

Considerable progress has been achieved on the diversity and inclusion of the EU Youth Dialogue: according to the EUYD11 Results of the Consultation Phase, 92.1% of participants reported that this was the first time they had engaged in EUYD. However, some challenges still persist at the national level: the inclusion of young people who are NEETs and maintaining proportional representation of young people from rural areas, which has declined in the 11th cycle. Finally, young people are calling for the equal inclusion of participants from candidate countries in the EUYD.

Youth participation and inclusion in EU programmes

According to the EPRS evaluation, the EUYS has strengthened youth inclusion and participation, with increased representation of youth with fewer opportunities in Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). Inclusion and diversity are horizontal priorities of Erasmus+ and ESC; however, further efforts are required to ensure representation of diverse social backgrounds.

Moreover, EU programmes and activities remain challenging due to complex applications, reporting demands, and financial constraints. Some stakeholders face burdens linked to national conditions, such as unstable, insufficient and inconsistent funding for youth organisations, which adds pressure to the implementation of EUYS at both national and local levels. Alignment has strengthened under the 2019–2027 EUYS and Erasmus+ and the ESC are viewed as key drivers of national EUYS implementation. The EC and Member States, including Erasmus+ National Agencies, should also aim to enhance accessibility and administrative simplicity, and to support first-time youth applicants and small organisations. It is important to ensure that information about the EUYS and relevant EU programmes is accessible in all official EU languages and to reinforce communication in rural and isolated areas.

Research indicates that post-2027, the EUYS should reference other youth-relevant MFF programmes, such as AgoraEU, Horizon Europe, ESF, etc.

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

According to the EPRS evaluation, the EUYS and its instruments have supported access to quality education and training at the EU level and in certain Member States, though the impact remains uneven where structural barriers in formal education persist.

The EUYS contributes to access to formal, non-formal, and informal education and training; yet it remains unequal, particularly for rural youth, migrants, and those at risk of radicalisation. For the post-2027 EUYS, the EC should consider measures to ensure the link between education and the labour market, and between informal, non-formal, and formal education and training.

Formal education and training

According to the EPRS evaluation, the EC should continue strengthening the links between the EUYS and vocational education and training, where stakeholders provided limited relevant insights.

Digital education and media literacy

Media literacy, essential for the protection of democratic values, freedom of expression and informed civic participation, is a core competence for young people. It enables them to critically assess information, identify disinformation and manipulation and engage responsibly and safely in the digital public sphere. Digital learning for young people is key, as it enables young people to develop critical and analytical skills, which enable them to safely navigate in digital environments, understand the influence of algorithms, recognise bias and distinguish credible information from false or misleading content. Therefore, the empowerment of citizens through education must complement effective regulation of the digital space. Furthermore, it is essential to continue strengthening the protection of minors in EU legislation regulating the digital environment.

Volunteering and youth work

Youth work and volunteering are among the most empowering tools for youth to acquire new skills, gain confidence, feel part of their communities and have a substantial impact on their future. Volunteering strengthens the sense of active citizenship by fostering youth empowerment, solidarity and European values through collaborative activities. Youth work is also an important entry point into education, training and employment, as well as a safeguard against exclusion.

According to the EPRS evaluation, weak institutional recognition, unstable funding and unequal access hinder the potential of youth work and volunteering. The link between informal, non-formal, and formal education should be strengthened, together with further recognition and professionalisation of youth work by the Member States; this would ensure a minimum degree of harmonisation and function as a channel towards education, training and employment.

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she included in her report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that she received, in the preparation of the draft report, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.