Jean Lambert - youth issues in the European Parliament
Jean Lambert, London's Green MEP since 1999, has joined with colleagues in the European Parliament to call for the a new cross-party Intergroup to ensure that the voices of young people are heard by MEPs:
European institutions need to address young people's issues and concerns, including around youth unemployment and poverty, the future of our planet and climate change, movement throughout Europe, and the fight against discrimination. But continuing to design policies for young people is no longer enough: it is crucial to develop youth policies with young people.
Looking towards the future of the European Union, we must seize the opportunity offered to us with the political renewal of the institutions and bring the issue of youth policies to the very heart of the European Parliament. If we're serious about representing young peoples' views then we need to give them a platform to ensure they can be heard.
The formation of an Intergroup in the European Parliament, providing a cross-sector and cross-party approach, would provide a significant step towards involving young people in the parliamentry process. It will send a strong political signal on the commitment of the Members of the European Parliament to improve the quality of life of young people across Europe.
The objectives for a youth issues Intergroup would be:
- to encourage active citizenship
- to promote stronger participation, from local youth organizations to the European democratic processes
- to aid smooth transitions from education to the labour market, something crucial to avoid youth poverty, and,
- to propose new European initiatives and ambitions in favour of youth mobility, such as an Erasmus program for apprentices.
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