European “Youth” Law

Kateryna Shalayeva, PhD

Kateryna.shalayeva@coleurope.eu

FB, LinkedIn

EPYRU

ППMП

Eastern Partnership Youth Regional Unit

PROGRAMME FINANCED BY THE

EUROPEAN UNION

Key Elements of Presentation

EU youth law sources

Law approximation

Law development

EU Members States best/worse practices in the field of youth

Conclusions

Abbreviations AA Association Agreement DCFTA Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement EC European Commission ECTS European Credits Transfer System EEA European Economic Area EIDHR European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights EKCYP European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policies OECD DAC Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, Development Assistance Committee ENP European Neighbouring Policy ENI European Neighbouring Instrument EaP Eastern Partnership ICL Intercultural Learning INJEP National Institutive of Youth and Education, France MS Member States PCA Partnership and Cooperation Agreement PEYR Pool of European Youth Researchers SCO-LA Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities

The EU Youth Law – What can it be?

The Lisbon Treaty – «EU Constitution»

Competences exclusive, shared, parallel (youth, education, culture, health)

EU Youth Policy is based on « soft law »

• European Commission Green/White Papers, Communications, Staff Working Documents

• Council of the EU (Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council) – Recommendations, Resolutions, Decisions, Conclusions

• European Parliament – Recommendations, Budget approval

External Influences

• United Nations (Charter)

• Council of Europe, European Convention on Human Rights

• OECD DAC

• World Economic Forum (Global Competitiveness Report, Global Gender Gap Report, South Caucasus Scenario, Ukraine Scenario)

EU Ambition – EU as a Global Actor

Priorities Fight Global Poverty, Human Rights, Trade and Development – reflected in the youth policy priorities Mechanism Diffusion of Norms Instruments Unilateral (Erasmus +, EIDHR, SCO-LA) Bilateral (AA/DCFTA) (Quasi) - Multilateral (EaP) Quasi-unilateral ENI (ENP – differentiated approach)

Degree of Approximation

• “Full” Harmonisation (MS and candidates)

• Significant Harmonisation up to 90% (EEA, Association Agreement/DCFTA)

• Partial Approximation (PCA)

• No relation/driven by other norms of international law

Association Agreement EU-Georgia • Committed to enhancing people-to-people contacts, including through cooperation and exchanges in the fields of science and technology, business, youth, education and culture (Preamble)

Education, training and youth (Chapter)

• The Parties shall cooperate in the field of education and training to intensify cooperation and dialogue, including dialogue on policy issues, seeking approximation to relevant EU policies and practices. The Parties shall cooperate to promote lifelong learning, encourage cooperation and transparency at all levels of education and training, with a special focus on higher education.

• Promoting lifelong learning, which is a key to growth and jobs

• Cooperation on education, training, multilingualism, youth and sport

The Parties agree to cooperate in the field of youth to:

• (a) reinforce cooperation and exchanges in the field of youth policy and non-formal education for young people and youth workers;

• (b) support young people and youth workers' mobility as a means to promote intercultural dialogue and the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences outside the formal educational systems, including through volunteering;

• (c) promote cooperation between youth organisations

Association Agreement EU-Moldova

The Parties shall cooperate to promote lifelong learning and encourage cooperation and transparency at all levels of education and training, with a special focus on higher education

• Promoting lifelong learning, which is a key to growth and jobs

The Parties agree to cooperate in the field of youth to:

• (a) reinforce cooperation and exchanges in the field of youth policy and non-formal education for young people and youth workers;

• (b) facilitate active participation of all young people in society;

• (c) support young people and youth workers' mobility as a means to promote intercultural dialogue and the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences outside the formal educational systems, including through volunteering; and

• (d) promote cooperation between youth organisations to support civil society

Association Agreement EU-Ukraine Education, training, and youth (Chapter)

Higher Education, Vocational education

Fully respecting the responsibility of the Parties for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity, the Parties shall promote cooperation in the field of education, training and youth in order to enhance mutual understanding, promote intercultural dialogue and increase the knowledge of their respective cultures. The Parties agree to encourage closer cooperation and exchange of experience in the field of youth policy and non-formal education for young people, with the aim of: (a) facilitating the integration of young people into society at large by encouraging their active citizenship and spirit of initiative; (b) helping young people acquire knowledge, skills and competencies outside the educational systems, including through volunteering, and recognising the value of such experiences; (c) enhancing cooperation with third countries; (d) promoting cooperation between youth organisations in Ukraine and in the EU and its Member States; (e) promoting healthy lifestyles, with a particular focus on youth.

Principles of law development • Evidence-based, considers the needs of the

target groups (youth and its subgroups, young women and men, youth from remote areas, unemployed, scientists)

• National development priorities (i.e. Europe 2020 Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth)

• Cross-sectorial (inseparable from other sectors, i.e. education, health, infrastructure, industries)

• Direct participation of target groups (Open Method of Coordination/Co-Decision)

• Multi-stakeholder dialogue (youth workers, researchers, policy-makers, educational institutions, business, media)

Sources of verification

• Dashboard on the EU youth indicators (Eurostat) • Eurobarometer Surveys • EU Youth Report 2012, 2015 (upcoming) –

benchmarks, indicators, criteria, consists of country reports, EU report, thematic summaries (PEYR)

• European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policies (thematic templates submitted by MS (EKCYP Correspondents), thematic summary reports (PEYR)

• National Youth Research Institutes (qualitative/quantitative studies)

Youth Law/Policy Cycle

• Identified Barriers - unemployment, social exclusion, civil disengagement

• Guiding Principles – equity and inclusion

• Solutions – learning mobility

• Competences acquired – multilingualism, ICL

• Results – access to higher education

• Impact – innovation, competitively, growth

• Evaluation

• Exploitation of results – new priorities, strategies, programmes

Member States Examples • Belgium Communities Youth Protection Law (juvenile justice), Law on Volunteering • France INJEP Law on Childhood Protection, Law on Youth Publications, Law on Volunteering (benevolat/volontariat) • Luxembourg (upcoming Council Presidency) University of Luxembourg Youth Protection Law (violence protection) Border workers issues/scholarships

Types of Legal Cultures (ex. Law on Volunteering, K. Shalayeva, 2012)

• Out of principle No law - Denmark, Finland, Sweden

• Out of need law-making - Croatia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania

• Strategic law-making - Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, UK

• Not sure - Bulgaria, Estonia

Particularities

• Recognition of youth work and non-formal education/learning – Youthpass, ECTS, Europass

National instruments:

France – Valorisations des acquis des compétences (Recognition of acquired competences)

Germany – Landers, Tailor-made volunteering programmes; National certification upon completion

Particularities contd

• Partnership with municipalities

Belgium, France, Spain, UK

• Youth work as higher education qualification

Malta, UK

• ICT, e-governance

Estonia

Policy Documents

Europe 2020 – Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

EU Youth Strategy – Investing and Empowering

Youth on the Move Flagship Initiative

Renewed Framework for European Cooperation

in the Youth Field (2010-2018)

Agenda for New Skills and Jobs

EU Youth Report

Erasmus Plus Programme

Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education

Volunteering specific studies Mieńkowska-Norkiene, Renata (2011) Impact of the European Voluntary Service on local communities in

the Eastern Europe and Caucasus region – Research report, SALTO-YOUTH, www.salto-

youth.net/downloads/4-17-2682/Impact%20of%20the%20EVS_final%20version.pdf

Pantea, Maria-Carmen (2012), Comparative Review of National Reports submitted by Member States in

the Field of Action ‘Voluntary Activities’, www.youthpolicy.org/library/wp-

content/uploads/library/2013_Comparative_Review_National_Reports_Member_States_Voluntary_Activities_Eng.pdf

Shalayeva, Kateryna (2013) Comparative Review of National Reports submitted by the Member States on

the Implementation of the First cooperation cycle of the EU Youth Strategy 2010-2012, Field of action

“Youth and the World”, www.youthpolicy.org/library/wp-

content/uploads/library/2013_Comparative_Review_National_Reports_Member_States_Youth_World_Eng.pdf

Shalayeva, Kateryna (2012) Volunteering of Young People in Europe. Findings of Summary Analysis of

Information Templates on Youth Volunteering. European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy, pjp-

eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/1668255/Summary_report_VOLUNTEERING_OF_YOUNG_PEOPLE_IN_EUR

OPE.pdf/4e74401d-67e6-4c8e-8d14-450cc60bf8ce

Volunteering in the European Union. Volunteering in the European Union, Final Report submitted by GHK.

EACEA, DG EAC (2010) http://ec.europa.eu/citizenship/pdf/doc1018_en.pdf

Mobility of Young Volunteers across Europe, Study commissioned by the Committee of the Regions,

written by Public Policy and Management Institute,

http://cor.europa.eu/en/documentation/studies/Documents/Mobility%20of%20young%20volunteers%20a

cross%20Europe/EN.pdf

Useful Online Resources • European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policies

http://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/countries

• European Youth Portal http://europa.eu/youth/en

• Youth on the Move http://ec.europa.eu/youthonthemove

• Dashboard on EU Youth Indicators

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/employment_social_policy_equality/youth/indicators

• Youthpolicy.org www.youthpolicy.org

• OECD DAC www.oecd.org/dac

Conclusions • Majority of children and youth issues are

covered by sectorial laws

• Youth “law” is rather expressed in concepts, strategies, programmes

• Youth-related laws in the EaP should reflect national needs and developmental objectives (avoiding copy-paste)

• EaP can be seen as a framework for a common regional developmental strategy, including youth matters

Thank you!

Q&A