Fondation EurActiv organised for Wednesday 10 November a lunchtime Stakeholder Workshop on the future of the EU’s youth policy. The workshop was organised with the support of the Region of Zeeland and the Municipality of Goes (NL).

Programme

An open consultation is collecting views on how best to develop youth policy beyond 2013. At the same time, the second largest area of spending in the EU’s budget, the block’s regional policy, is under scrutiny.

• While youth policies are a local rather than national competence in most member states, can EU action in this area also be regionalised? To what extent?
• Both EU and member state youth policies are primarily designed for urban contexts. Is there an imbalance towards urban youth?
• What incentives should be put in place in order to retain the youth in scarcely populated and ageing regions? How can peripheral and rural areas be made attractive for the younger generations?
• While the younger generations have been particularly affected by the crisis, youth policies are traditionally among the first casualties in times of fiscal austerity. How can EU youth policies and funding be effectively integrated into local initiatives to enhance employability?
• Regional policy itself will need to mainstream education if it is to attain its objectives of promoting innovation and territorial cohesion. What in this context are the respective roles of formal and informal education?

Contributors included:

• Katarína NEVEĎALOVÁ, MEP;
• Franziska BRANTNER, MEP;
• Damien ABAD, MEP;
• Sergej KOPERDAK, Head of Unit Youth Policy;
• Giuseppe PORCARO, Secretary General, European Youth Forum;
• Marc SCHAEFER, Committee of the Regions ;
• Jo-Annes DE BAT, Alderman Youth, Municipality of Goes, The Netherlands

Moderator: Daniela VINCENTI-MITCHENER, Managing Editor, EurActiv

Chair: Luca MANGIAT, Public Affairs Manager, EurActiv