Key points
The EESC:
- considers that the ongoing and future EU Youth Agenda should address the main challenges young Europeans are facing and determine how the EU can help young people overcome them; underlines the importance of having accurate, up-to-date data in order to monitor and evaluate the impact of policies on youth and to define good practices which address young people;
- believes that the EU Youth Dialogue should be strengthened, involve bodies representing young people meaningfully throughout the policymaking process and take into account the new ways in which young people engage, debate and mobilise; it is important to identify and overcome social, economic and cultural obstacles to the full participation of young people, especially the most vulnerable;
- considers that more support should be dedicated to building the capacity of the social partners, particularly among young members, with a view to social dialogue and collective bargaining;
- considers it essential that all Member States' laws, policies, programmes, measures and public investments be subject to a Youth Test consultation, impact assessment, policy design and proposals for mitigation, and that they prevent infringements of rights and discrimination against young people;
- stresses the importance of lifelong learning, transversal skills, skills development in climate action and environmental issues and of promoting digital and STEM skills, particularly amongst girls;
- stresses the need to ensure that adolescents acquire socio-emotional skills and to provide free psychological and social support in schools and other large groups, thereby promoting mental health and combatting violence and bullying;
- points at the need to help young people with housing costs and to foster public housing policies in order to guarantee young people's access to decent housing, encourage them to live independently and support them as they plan their family life;
- recommends all public institutions to use accessible and youth-friendly language and make more efficient use of social media to convey essential information and communicate their actions and policies;
- believes that integrating young people into the labour market through quality jobs and improving the outreach to NEET should be a priority for the EU and the Member States; urges the Member States to use funds under the NRRPs and other existing funds to create jobs and to upskill young people where needed; calls for investing in tangible and intangible infrastructure for childcare and long-term care facilities to work towards women's full employment.