An interview with Nicoletta MERLO, one of the youngest members of the EESC. She is National Head of Youth Policies for CISL, one of the largest Italian trade union confederations, and represents her confederation on the Italian National Youth Council. In 2017 she started a European experience in the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which led her to be elected, in 2019, as a member of the Bureau of the ETUC Youth Committee. Since October 2020, she has been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and actively participates in the SOC and NAT sections and in the Equality Group, seeking to be spokesperson for the demands and needs of young people and promoting the inclusion of a generational perspective in the Committee's discussions and multiple activities.
In the EU, 2022 will be the Year of Youth. Proposed by the Commission, the Year aims to promote opportunities for young people and engage them to become active citizens and actors of change. Although such an initiative is to be applauded, we must ensure it is geared towards achieving concrete and enduring outcomes for all young Europeans
COVID-19 has caused youth unemployment to soar in many Member States, pushing up the number of young people who neither work nor are in school or in training. National recovery plans represent a unique chance to reverse this trend and secure decent work for all young Europeans.
NEW DEADLINE : Applications are open until 2 December 2021
At the annual YEYS 2022 event, students from all over Europe will have their say on disinformation and fake news. The event will take place virtually between 31 March and 1 April 2022.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) opinion on structured youth engagement on climate and sustainability in the EU decision-making process is gaining momentum. When adopted in September 2020, it proposed, among other recommendations, the establishment of a Youth Climate and Sustainability Round Table, to be hosted by the EESC in conjunction with the European Commission, European Parliament and youth organisations.
On 30 June, the Diversity Europe Group held a webinar under the banner of the Conference on the Future of Europe on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the mental health and employability of young people.
Young people have the right to have a say on matters that concern them. The climate emergency the world is facing today has mobilised millions of young people around the world, many of whom are profoundly affected by the threat it poses for their future. At the same time, it is the young people who have repeatedly demonstrated their energy, creativity and motivation to challenge current unsustainable models and push the decision-makers to adopt ambitious policies. Despite that, a wide gap remains between listening to young people, and actually acting upon their calls and demands.
"Cohesion policy 2028–2034: A new fund, a new framework, a new role for civil society?" brings together EU institutions, social partners and civil society representatives to reflect on the future of cohesion policy in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The hearing explores proposals for reforming cohesion funding and governance, assesses the implications of the new framework through the National and Regional Partnership Plans and examines how civil society organisations can play a stronger role in the design, implementation and monitoring of cohesion policy. The discussion aims to identify how cohesion policy can continue to deliver territorial, social and economic cohesion while responding to new challenges and transitions facing the European Union.
Public debate in the ECO Section on the Latest twists and turns on the road to the next Multiannual Financial Framework in the framework of the opinion ECO/682 Multiannual financial framework 2028-2034.
