Measures supporting integration of young EU citizens

Key points

• The EESC believes that greater attention should be paid to the specific needs and difficulties relating to the social integration and involvement of young EU citizens who have taken up employment in another Member State and who are staying in the host country on more than a temporary basis.
• The European Commission is urged to support the Member States in their efforts to create more effective integration policies for this group of young EU migrants, by increasing exchanges of experience and dialogue. The EESC therefore calls for programmes funded under the Your First Eures Job scheme to be reinforced.

• The Commission should facilitate the exchange of good practices and document successful concepts and practices aimed at supporting these young labour migrants in their efforts to integrate into society. In particular, the importance of intercultural and intergenerational strategies and projects as part of host country "welcome culture" initiatives could be recognised and emphasised.

• The Commission should make available this collection of tried-and-tested concepts and projects to the Member States, recommending that they be emulated in a creative way, and support those strategies and practices through the EU's existing programmes, platforms, funds and initiatives.
• The EESC believes that the European Commission should focus on involving young people in an appropriate way - through their civil society organisations - in important planning and decision-making processes on this subject.