EU Youth Conference in Copenhagen: Recommendations for the future of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps

Deutsche Delegation bei der EU Youth Conference mit EU-Jugendvertreterinnen Emma Stremplat und Eva-Marie Deckers, DBJR-Vorstandsmitglied Moritz Tapp, Thomas Hoffmann als Vertreter der Bundesländer und Ann-Kathrin Fischer aus dem BMBFSFJ

DBJR

The EU Youth Conference took place in Copenhagen from 21 to 23 September. The host country was Denmark, which currently holds the EU Council Presidency. This was the second youth conference in the 11th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue, which has the youth objective 1: "Bringing the EU and youth together".

Our EU youth representatives Eva-Marie Deckers and Emma Stremplat and our deputy board member Moritz Trapp took part in the intensive discussions as part of the German delegation, alongside Ann-Kathrin Fischer from the BMBFSFJ and Thomas Hoffmann from the Hamburg Social Welfare Authority. The conference focused on the question of how the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes can be further developed and strengthened in the future.

In various working groups, the delegates drew up specific recommendations, which were then discussed, further developed and finally adopted by the entire conference. In the end, eight recommendations were summarised in a joint policy paper. This paper will be forwarded to the European Commission and the European Parliament's Culture Committee (CULT), among others, where it will serve as a basis for further political debates.

The key demands include

  • securing an independent youth chapter in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) with an earmarked budget of 15 per cent

  • a significant simplification of the application and reporting requirements for projects in the Erasmus+ programme

  • the long-term safeguarding of the European Solidarity Corps as a volunteering and solidarity programme,

  • as well as the mandatory payment of Erasmus+ funding for stays abroad before departure.

With these recommendations, young people in Europe are sending a strong signal for the further development of the two central EU programmes in a way that is appropriate for young people. A detailed report on the results and impressions from Copenhagen will follow shortly.

Themen: 11. Zyklus Youth Dialogue European politics