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(1) Article 165(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that Union action is to be aimed at, inter alia, encouraging the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe.

(2) In the Bratislava Roadmap of 16 September 2016, the 27 Heads of State or Government committed to ‘provide better opportunities for youth’, in particular by means of Union support for Member States in fighting youth unemployment and enhanced Union programmes dedicated to youth.

(3) In the Rome Declaration of 25 March 2017, the leaders of the 27 Member States and of the European Council, the European Parliament and the Commission pledged to work towards ‘a Union where young people receive the best education and training and can study and find jobs across the continent’.

(4) The 2019–2027 European Union Youth Strategy, based on the Council Resolution of 26 November 2018 , recognises that young people are the architects of their own lives, contribute to positive change in society and enrich the Union’s ambitions. It also recognises that youth policy can contribute to creating a space in which young people are able to seize opportunities and relate to Union values. Previous European Years, such as the 2021 European Year of Rail, the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, the 2013–2014 European Year of Citizens and the 2011 European Year of Volunteering, offer valuable experience which should inform future efforts to engage and empower young people to shape their future and the future of Europe.

(5) NextGenerationEU, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council , ensures the acceleration of the green and digital transition and provides the possibility to collectively emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. NextGenerationEU re-opens perspectives full of opportunities for young people, including quality jobs and adapting to social change. The Union aims for young people to be fully on board in the rollout of NextGenerationEU, enhancing their role in the green and digital transition.

(6) The President of the Commission announced in her State of the Union address of 15 September 2021 that the Commission would propose to make 2022 the European Year of Youth (the ‘European Year’). Highlighting the confidence that she draws for Europe’s future from the inspiration provided by Europe’s young people, the President of the Commission added that ‘if we are to shape our Union in their mould, young people must be able to shape Europe’s future’. Europe needs the vision, engagement and participation of all young people to build a better future, and Europe needs to give young people opportunities for the future, a future that is greener, more digital and more inclusive. This is why the President proposed ‘a year dedicated to empowering those who have dedicated so much to others’.

(7) The European Year should trigger a reflection process on the future of youth and their active participation in building the future of Europe. For that reason, youth policies should be mainstreamed through all relevant Union policies.

(8) The active participation of young people in democratic processes is crucial for the present and the future of Europe and its democratic societies. In line with the Council conclusions of 1 December 2020 on fostering democratic awareness and democratic engagement among young people in Europe and of 21 June 2021 on strengthening the multilevel governance when promoting the participation of young people in decision-making processes , the communication of the Commission of 3 December 2020 on the European democracy action plan and the resolution of the European Parliament of 11 November 2015 on the reform of the electoral law of the European Union , the European Year therefore aims to boost the active involvement of young people in Europe’s democratic life, including by supporting participation activities for young people from diverse backgrounds in processes such as the Conference on the Future of Europe, promoting civic engagement and volunteering initiatives, thereby raising awareness of Union values and fundamental rights and European history and culture, bringing together young people and decision-makers at local, regional, national and Union levels and contributing to the process of European integration.

(9) The United Nations resolution of 25 September 2015 entitled ‘Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ (the ‘2030 Agenda’) recognised the essential role of young people as change makers on the international scene and stated that young people need to be supported ‘to channel their infinite capacities for activism into the creation of a better world’. The European Year is a concrete contribution to the 2030 Agenda, which highlights that ‘children and young women and men are critical agents of change’, and should provide further impetus for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the road to sustainable development, and the capacity of young people to shape the present and the future, not only of the Union, but also of Union partner countries and of our planet as a whole.

(10) In line with the Council conclusions of 5 June 2020 on Youth in external action, stressing the contribution of young generations to building stronger, more legitimate, peaceful and democratic societies, the European Year should contribute to strengthening youth participation in the Union’s external action across all policies, to creating new opportunities for education, learning and exchanges, to developing partnerships and dialogue between young people from the Union and partner countries, including the Eastern Partnership, the Western Balkans and the Southern Neighbourhood, to capitalising on existing platforms for youth dialogue and partnerships such as the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub and the Union’s Youth Sounding Board and to increasing the role of youth engagement in strategic communication and public diplomacy action.

(11) The European Youth Goals, which are an integral part of the 2019–2027 European Union Youth Strategy and which have been developed by young people for the benefit of young people under the EU Youth Dialogue process, are a testament to the eagerness of many young Europeans to participate in defining the direction in which the development of the Union should go.

(12) The European Year should boost the successful implementation of Principle 1 of the European Pillar of Social Rights , which highlights that ‘everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and life-long learning’. In that respect, the European Year should help to make noticeable progress towards achieving, by 2025, the European Education Area, which aims to stimulate young people in their personal, social and professional fulfilment and foster citizenship education by creating a genuine European space of learning and removing barriers to the automatic mutual recognition of degrees, qualifications and periods of learning in the Union. The European Year should consider young people’s social situation and well-being. The European Year should contribute to the successful implementation of Principle 3 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which highlights that ‘everyone has the right to equal treatment and opportunities regarding employment, social protection, education, and access to goods and services available to the public’.

(13) The European Year should support the Union’s efforts to expand employment opportunities for young people as part of the recovery plan following the COVID-19 pandemic as stated in the resolution of the European Parliament of 8 October 2020 on the Youth Guarantee , which underlined that lockdown measures have caused a sudden disruption to young people’s formal and non-formal education, as well as to informal learning, traineeships, internships, apprenticeships and jobs, and have affected young people’s income, earning potential and well-being, including their health, and in particular their mental health. In both that resolution and its resolution of 17 December 2020 on a strong social Europe for Just Transitions , the European Parliament condemned the practice of unpaid internships when not related to the acquisition of educational qualifications as a form of exploitation of young workers and a violation of their rights. In its resolution of 17 December 2020, the European Parliament called on the Commission to put forward a legal framework for an effective and enforceable ban on such unpaid internships, traineeships and apprenticeships.