Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-13-Speech-1-103"
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"en.20020513.9.1-103"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, the way the age structure of the population is developing everywhere in Europe means that today’s youth will really have to carry the burden of responsibility for tomorrow. For that reason it is only proper that issues of youth should be discussed at EU level. The quality of youth policy in the Member States can be improved through European cooperation.
It is gratifying that the Commission should have tried to implement European governance in practice and is offering young people opportunities to influence the decisions that relate to them. The consultation process prior to the White Paper aroused high expectations among young people as to its content. These hopes, however, have perhaps not been entirely realised. It is not enough that young people are merely listened to. We have to look for workable solutions to the problems that young people feel are serious. Although the majority of young people in Europe are doing well, youth unemployment and exclusion have become permanent social phenomena. Closely linked to this is the fact that deprivation tends to pass from one generation to the next.
The value of participation on the part of young people in decision-making that relates to them cannot be taken for granted. Bringing children up to prepare them for responsible citizenship is a big challenge for parents, teachers and trainers, and us politicians. We are looking at very fundamental questions of democracy when people are not interested in voting. For example, in Finland we are trying to show young people how to use their influence through youth councils, which are groups set up specifically for young people that strive to gain recognition for issues that are important to young people locally. We have also organised youth elections in which young people can express their views on state policy.
The structures in place have not yet, in themselves, inspired any motivation to exercise influence. In a youth seminar I organised in Helsinki in April, one in which Mrs Gröner also took part, a certain young person wisely stated that participation must be seen both as a right and a learning process. Citizenship is learned and put into practice through action.
The Commission’s White Paper is an excellent start to developments in youth policy. We also need concrete action and the necessary funds, just as the rapporteur, Mrs Gröner stressed. When considering funding we must also take into account the challenges of enlargement"@en1
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