Terms and Conditions

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has been hosting Your Europe, Your Say! (YEYS) since 2010. The YEYS event brings together young people from the EU Member States, candidate countries and the UK to learn about the EESC, discuss matters and work as a youth assembly which proposes recommendations on specific subjects. The EESC feeds those recommendations into its advisory and political work with a view to their implementation.

YEYS 2026 will be held on 19-20 March at the EESC premises in Brussels. It will include two plenary sessions and various interactive workshops. Online participation is not possible.

For updates on the preparations for the event and posts during the event itself, see the dedicated pages on the EESC website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

ELIGIBILITY

YEYS 2026 will welcome 137 participants. These participants must live in:

• any of the EU’s 27 Member States; or

• any of the nine candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine; or

• the UK.

The 137 YEYS participants will comprise:

• 37 secondary school students aged 16–18, from 27 EU member states, 9 candidate countries and the UK, selected via an open call for applications and their 37 accompanying teachers;

• 43 participants aged 18–25, selected via an open call for applications, including individuals and representatives of youth organisations or national youth councils;

• 15 participants aged 18-25, nominated by the EESC's Youth Group in consultation with the three EESC Groups who have ideally not attended youth events at EU level (including YEYS) in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg organised by any of the EU institutions in the last two years.

• up to 5 participants, aged 18-25 and Brussels-based, delegates nominated by the European Youth Forum.

PLEASE NOTE

As the event will be held entirely in English, all participants must be able to understand and speak a good level of English.

Participants selected via an open call process, belonging to any of the above two categories will have ideally not attended youth events at EU level (including YEYS) in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg organised by any of the EU institutions in the last two years.

1. SECONDARY SCHOOLS APPLYING FOR YEYS

To be eligible, a school must:

• be a secondary school or vocational training school in one of the 27 EU Member States, or one of the nine candidate countries or the UK, with students aged 16-18;
• be recognised by their country’s education authorities;
• have a computer with internet access and an official email address;
• select a teacher who will be available to accompany the selected student and help prepare that student for the event. This can involve using any educational materials provided by the EESC. The accompanying teacher will be responsible for travelling with the student to and from Brussels, for escorting the student to the EESC premises, for supporting them where necessary and for taking part in the parallel programme for teachers. The accompanying teacher must be able to communicate in English;
• select one student in their penultimate year, aged 16-18, who will be available to participate in the YEYS event as the school’s representative. The selected student must be able to communicate in English. The school criteria for selecting students should be clear, fair and non-discriminatory. The schools must ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to be selected and inform the EESC of any special requirements in advance;
• the school must also nominate alternatives to take the place of the original nominees (teacher and student) should they be unable to travel due to illness or any other reason beyond their control;
• check that the student is willing to participate in preparatory meetings, if any, before YEYS 2026 takes place and any follow-up meetings afterwards and support them to this end;
• host an EESC member for an information session between January and March 2025; The school, student and teacher must coordinate both the practical and other elements (date, time, room, communicate the event to local press and other visibility) of the school visit with the member;
• the school must also commit to liaising with the European Parliament Liaison Office in their country, for this, it shall be assisted by the YEYS organising team;
• direct students to the official EESC webpage and social media and encourage them to find out about the event and the preparations for it;
• schools must not have attended youth events or gatherings at European level (including YEYS) in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg organised by any of the EU institutions in the last two years.

SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

To be considered for selection, schools must:

• ensure that the school submits ONE online application form for a teacher and student to take part in YEYS 2026 by 30 November 2025;
• designate an accompanying teacher with a good level of English, confirmed by the school’s headteacher on the application form;
• provide contact information for the school’s headteacher and the accompanying teacher;
• the school is responsible for ensuring that: the accompanying teacher is available; and for requesting the consent of the student’s parent or guardian both before applying for YEYS;
• all applicants are asked two questions in the application form to outline their motivation – the student alone must reply to these questions;
• this motivation will be assessed by the event organisers at the EESC when selecting schools. Please note that the selection by the EESC event organisers, based on this motivation, is final; no justification will be provided to applicants and no correspondence will be entered into about it.

ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS

In order to ensure as balanced a selection of the overall YEYS participants as possible, the assessment of applications will be based on the following criteria:

• age: 16 to 18 years old at the time of travel to the event;
• gender;
• nationality and residence;
• involvement, if any, in a civil society organisation at local, regional or national level, such as but not limited to national youth councils, youth organisations;
• the strength of the student’s motivation.

SELECTION OF SCHOOLS

• Selected schools will be announced by 15 December 2025;
• one school will be selected per country, with a reserve list of two other schools per country;
• selected schools will be notified by email and listed on the EESC website;
• the student and accompanying teacher from the selected schools will be invited to complete separate registration forms. Once they have registered, travel and accommodation arrangements can be made;
• please note that students will share a room with one other secondary school student of the same gender;
• if selected to take part in YEYS, the school must also ask the student’s parent or guardian for any health-related information that needs to be taken into account by the school, student, accompanying teacher and the EESC; pertinent information can be included when filling out the registration form;
• unsuccessful schools will be informed by email.

PREPARATION FOR THE EVENT

• An EESC member will visit the selected schools to provide information about the EESC and the event between January and early March 2026. For this visit, schools must provide a meeting room equipped to project PowerPoint slides and raise awareness about YEYS, for instance through local press, local politicians, European Parliament's Liaison Offices (EPLOs) and/or social media. The YEYS organisers will share details with the accompanying teacher about the elements that need to be arranged by the school for this visit and about communicating with the European Parliament Liaison Office in their country;
• schools will receive educational materials to prepare for the YEYS debates and workshops;
• students and teachers should discuss these materials in class, so that as many students as possible can increase their awareness and knowledge about the EESC and the YEYS event in particular and the EU in general.

AFTER THE EVENT

• The school must commit to disseminate the experience of their teacher and student from YEYS 2026 with the other students and teachers;
• the student must commit to delivering the 1-3 ways that they outline in the application form, with the support of the school, to encourage and inform others about civic and EU engagement in their home countries, or local community (how, what, when); and
• inform the EESC of their activities or post them on social media using #YEYS2026 so that the EESC can repost them and give additional visibility.

2. YOUNG ADULTS (INDIVIDUALS) APPLYING FOR YEYS

To participate in YEYS 2026, young adults must:

• be between 18 and 25 years old;
• be a resident of an EU Member State, a candidate country or the UK;
• have a good command of the English language;
• have access to a computer with internet access and a working email address;
• have some involvement with a local, regional or national civil society organisation(s), such as but not limited to, national economic and social committees, parliaments; national youth councils, youth organisations;
• participants must ideally not have attended youth events at European level (including YEYS) in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg organised by any of the EU institutions in the last two years.

PLEASE NOTE

• 43 young people, aged 18-25 will be selected from the applications submitted;
• the EESC will keep a reserve list of alternatives to take the place of the selected participant should they be unable to travel due to illness or any other reason beyond their control.

PROCEDURE

• Young adults are invited to complete the application form and submit it by 30 November 2025;
• all applicants are asked two questions in the application form to outline their motivation;
• this motivation will be assessed by the event organisers at the EESC when selecting participants. Please note that the selection by the EESC event organisers, based on this motivation, is final; no justification will be provided to applicants and no correspondence will be entered into about it.

ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS

In order to ensure as balanced a selection of the overall YEYS participants as possible, the assessment of applications will be based on the following criteria:

• age: 18-25 years old at the time of travel to the event;
• gender;
• nationality and residence;
• involvement, if any, in a civil society organisation at local, regional or national level, such as but not limited to national youth councils, youth organisations;
• the strength of the applicant's motivation.

SELECTION

• Selected applicants will be notified by email by 15 December 2025;
• successful applicants will be invited to complete registration forms. Once they have registered, travel and accommodation arrangements can be made;
• please note that young participants will share a room with one other of the same gender;
• unsuccessful applicants will be informed by email.

3. OTHER NOMINATIONS AND DELEGATES FROM THE EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM

15 participants, representing (European, national or regional) youth organisations, will be nominated by the EESC's Youth Group in consultation with the three EESC Groups and up to 5 participants will be nominated by the European Youth Forum and invited to take part in the event.

To participate, the nominees must:

• be 18-25 years old at the time of travel to the event;
• be able to speak and comprehend a good level of English;
• have access to a computer with internet access and a working email address;
• the 15 delegates nominated by the EESC's Youth Group must be a resident of an EU Member State, a candidate country or the UK;
• the European Youth Forum nominees must be Brussels or Belgium-based;
• participants will ideally not have attended similar youth events at European level (including YEYS) in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg organised by any of the EU institutions in the last two years.

Please note: Alternatives must be nominated by the youth organisations and the European Youth Forum to take the place of the original nominee should they be unable to travel due to illness or any other reason beyond their control.

FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS

NON-COMPLIANCE

Failure to meet the conditions outlined above will result in exclusion from the event, application or registration process.

WORKING LANGUAGE

All YEYS sessions and workshops will be held in English.

REGISTRATIONS

A link to the registration form will be sent to the selected schools, individuals and nominated delegates. Students and teachers from the selected schools, selected young adults, representatives from youth organisations, those nominated by the EESC’s Youth Group and the delegates nominated by the European Youth Forum must complete the online registration form by 10 January 2026. Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the event; an alternative from the reserve list will be invited to take their place.

When registering for the YEYS event, certain categories of personal data must be filled in. If those categories of data are not filled in, you will not be able to register for the event.

The EESC will primarily communicate with participants by email, so an email address that is checked regularly should be provided in the registration form.

PREPARATION FOR THE EVENT

All participants will receive educational and supporting materials to prepare for the event.

They are encouraged to discuss these materials in their schools or communities, organisations or on online forums.

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION

Participants are expected to arrive in Brussels in good time for the start of the event (i.e. by Thursday 19 March) and to leave only after the event ends on 20 March (i.e. in the evening or the next day).

For successful applicants and nominated delegates, the EESC will arrange and pay for accommodation in Brussels, as well as a return flight (economy class) or train/bus journey between the country of residence and Brussels.

The EESC will not cover the cost of travel from the place of residence to the departure airport or train station for any participant, nor will it cover the cost of or provide tickets for transfers (taxi/train/bus/metro) from the airport or train station in Brussels to the hotel or the EESC.

The registration form contains information for booking travel and accommodation. The EESC will arrange travel and accommodation through an agency. The EESC will not reimburse the costs of any arrangements made independently by participants.

All participants are responsible for ensuring that they have valid travel documents. Where required, participants are solely responsible for applying for a visa or any other documentation from their national authorities needed to enter the EU.

Where an official invitation from the EESC is needed by a participant, for example for a visa application, they should indicate this in their registration form.

Travel guidelines and accommodation details will be shared with participants once they have registered.

IDENTIFICATION AND INSURANCE

Participants must carry their personal travel documents (valid passport or identity card) with them at all times. Participants must have their own travel insurance and bring evidence of coverage.

For participants from EU countries, the European Health Insurance Card is available free of charge from their national public health insurance providers (more information available here: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559).

Participants from candidate countries or the UK must contact their national health system or private insurance company to check that they are covered when travelling abroad.

The EESC’s accident, civil liability and repatriation policy covers participants during the event on its premises in Brussels. It does not cover personal belongings or those periods when participants are not on EESC premises.

PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

Under EU law, people must be informed when their personal data are processed (collected, used, stored) by any organisation, including one of the EU institutions. They have the right to know how and why the data are being processed.

As the host of YEYS, the EESC may collect the personal data of applicants for and participants of YEYS 2026 only to the extent necessary to process their applications and/or registrations and to organise, manage and communicate YEYS 2026. Photographs, audio and video recordings and web streaming related to the event may be used for communication and reporting purposes. Please read the data protection notice for more information.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The event will take place in the EESC premises in Brussels on 19-20 March 2026: JDE building, rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99-101, 1040 Brussels.

The EESC premises are accessible to persons with disabilities. Any special requirements should be communicated via the registration form or by email to the YEYS organising team when the applicant is selected to participate in YEYS 2026.

Schuman and Maelbeek are the nearest metro stations (in walking distance) to the EESC premises.

Detailed information will be shared with participants prior to or upon arrival in Brussels for the event.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Information about the event can be found on the YEYS pages on the EESC website

You can also send questions to the YEYS organising team by email at: youreurope@eesc.europa.eu

General information about the EESC is available on the EESC’s website: www.eesc.europa.eu

YEYS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/youreuropeyoursay

 YEYS on Instagram: @youreuropeyoursay!

#YEYS2026