#YouthUp’ed agenda for last 2017 EU summit

It is almost like Christmas came early: the European Youth Forum could not have dreamed of a more #YouthUp’ed agenda for the last high level EU meeting in 2017. The EU Head of State will be discussing, among other things, the Social Pillar, Erasmus+, skills, mobility, recognition of learning etc.

Here is a quick round-up of what we hope will be discussed around the table in the famous Europa building:

• A commitment of the Council will back a substantial increase of the funding of the programme in the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2020 negotiations – especially to the Erasmus+ programme. Check out the campaign Erasmusx10.
• A request to the European institutions to implement more measures to achieve and that this focus would also look into the role of youth organisations as Non-Formal Education and Informal Learning providers in achieving this goal.
• A renewed focus on (European) citizenship education and civic/political participation of young people, and its impact on our democratic societies. Especially in view of the European Elections in 2019
• A commitment to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights both at EU and Member State level. While the joint proclamation of the Pillar in Gothenburg was a promising first step, for it to become a real turning point for Social Europe, commitment should be translated into concrete measures supported by adequate investment. We will be following this process closely, starting by taking part in the public consultation on a EU action on access to social protection for all workers in non-standard forms of employment, and we hope that the commitment to a more social Europe will also shape the negotiations for the post-2020 MFF.
• A reference to the need to strengthen social dialogue, as social partners have a fundamental role to play, but we highlight that civil society organisations, should also be considered as key partners for a more social Europe that is able to do more for its citizens and its younger generations in particular.
• An intention to tackle the gender pay gap within the framework of the EU Action Plan 2018 – 2019, and we look forward to following and supporting this process also by pushing for the implementation of the Social Pillar and the Work Life Balance package proposed by the Commission. One of the Youth Forum's key messages in Gothenburg was that a fairer Europe is one where traditional gender roles do not dictate an individual’s participation in the labour market, and where personal and professional life are not mutually exclusive.
• A need for better education and training policies based on the lifelong learning principle, in relation to the focus on skills, but better recognition of skills acquired through non-formal education is needed. It is also important that skills should not be the only area of focus, particularly when dealing with access to the labour market: while the changing nature of work requires younger and older generations to adapt, this process should be accompanied by equally strong efforts to increase protection, access to rights, quality of employment and training opportunities.

You can follow the livestream of the meeting here, and on Twitter with the hashtag #EUCO.