The EP's Committee on Culture and Education urges the EU to promote non-formal education, combat youth unemployment and help young people with special needs.
The EP's Committee on Culture and Education urges the EU to promote non-formal education, combat youth unemployment and help young people with special needs. In a resolution adopted on Tuesday, MEPs also say youth mobility and volunteering need to be encouraged, and more attention should be given to sex education and promoting healthy lifestyles.
The committee wants young people to be involved in the formulation of youth policy and it calls for Member States to "provide support for local youth parliaments and councils". There should be "a youth perspective in policies, programmes and actions in the culture and media fields", says the report, and a European youth pass should be devised "so that young people can gain access to cultural institutions throughout the EU at a very low charge".
Youth mobility
"Even more effort should be made to promote the mobility of young people within Europe", argue MEPs. The Commission is asked to extend the special student visa regime to youth workers, while Member States are urged "to guarantee the total transferability of acquired social benefits so as not to jeopardise welfare protection for young workers who have opted for mobility". The committee lauds the role of the Comenius, Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci programmes but calls for improvements to Erasmus Mundus.
Combating youth unemployment
MEPs are "concerned about the increasing numbers of young people who are unemployed, under-employed or who have no job security, especially in the current economic crisis". They also note that "an insecure job situation may lead young people to refrain from or to postpone starting a family, thus having an impact on demographic developments". The committee strongly supports special measures targeted at young people as part of the EU's economic recovery plans.
Volunteering and non-formal education
The decision to designate 2011 as European Year of Volunteering is welcomed. MEPs advocate extending the European Voluntary Service programme and informing more young people about its existence. They also welcome the creation of the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps and recommend "fostering stronger recognition of non-formal education". At the same time they stress that "voluntary activities should not replace professional, paid employment opportunities but add value to society".
Young people with special needs
The committee "underlines the need to provide effective, tailor-made support to young people with disabilities". It also advocates equal access to education for young people from low-income and immigrant families, as well as "special support to young mothers". MEPs draw attention to the problem of school drop-outs and urge measures to ensure that "as high a percentage of young people as possible complete their period of compulsory education".
Non-discrimination, sex education
The draft report emphasises "the importance of eliminating all kinds of discrimination among young people, such as discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation". MEPs stress the need "to make children and young people aware that discrimination is unacceptable in any form". They also highlight the need for better sex education and draw attention to "the continuing high level of under-age pregnancies".
Healthy lifestyle
The importance of "further combating the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco-related harm and other forms of addiction, including gambling", is highlighted by MEPs, who also emphasise the role of sport in promoting healthy lifestyles for young people.