European Youth Forum Calls for Youth Rights at European People’s Party Congress

The European Youth Forum is calling on European People’s Party (EPP) candidates to support youth rights during their Congress to be held in Dublin today and tomorrow (6th – 7th of March).

So far, the European Youth Forum has gathered the support of more than 100 MEPs and candidates from all the main European political parties for its election campaign “LoveYouthFuture”. The campaign aims to get candidates for May’s elections to sign up to the Youth Forum’s pledges committing the next European Parliament to ensuring youth rights and make Europe a better place to live for young people.

The European Youth Forum firmly believes that the EU has a crucial role to play in improving the lives of young people. Young people’s rights have been overridden during the economic crisis and the prolongation of the austerity measures. Therefore the upcoming elections and a new Parliament represent a great opportunity to ensure a Europe which is truly pro-youth and to make sustainable investments in measures which will give young people full access to their rights.

Rather than turning to inward-looking nationalism, Member States should seek to solve Europe-wide problems, such as unemployment, job security and mobility through Europe-wide solutions. That is why we are now urging MEPs and candidates to sign our pledges and to commit to ensuring the rights of young people to have access to jobs, quality education and free movement, in a Europe where they can define their own future.

The LoveYouthFuture campaign includes pledges on protections for young workers, volunteers and interns; balanced pro-growth budgets; quality education & better transition to work; the implementation of the Youth Guarantee; reducing barriers to the mobility of young people; as well as encouraging Member States to lower the voting age to 16.

Peter Matjašič, President of the European Youth Forum, comments:

“We are delighted with the support that candidates have given the LoveYouthFuture campaign so far. It is a sad reality that almost one in four young Europeans are unemployed and many others struggle to access to quality jobs. Solutions for Europe-wide problems such as these, have to be found and implemented at a European level.

Europe needs to invest in youth and in areas such as quality education, the Youth Guarantee and creating sustainable jobs, in order to ensure that all young people across Europe can live autonomous lives. That is why the Youth Forum is urging MEPs and candidates to sign up its LoveYouthFuture pledges and make this a reality.”

The LoveYouthFuture campaign is still running and MEPs and candidates from all parties are invited to sign up to our pledges to ensure youth rights in Europe before and after the elections.

[ENDS]

Notes to the editor:

About LoveYouthFuture

LoveYouthFuture is the European Youth Forum’s campaign to get MEPs to sign up to 11 pledges which outline how the European Parliament can show its love for young people, both now and in the future. More information on LoveYouthFuture can be found here www.loveyouthfuture.eu

About the European Youth Forum

The European Youth Forum is the platform of youth organisations in Europe. Independent, democratic, youth-led, it represents 99 National Youth Councils and international youth organisations from across the continent. The Forum works to empower young people to participate actively in society to improve their own lives, by representing and advocating their needs and interests and those of their organisations towards the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. For more information, visit www.youthforum.org