At a glance: Commissioner Marta Kos discusses EU enlargement with MEPs; Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee reviews Europol report on terrorism threats; applications are open for 2025 Charlemagne Youth Prize.

News in Brief – 16/01/2025 - English

At a glance: President Metsola’s visit to Portugal, the EU Youth Strategy survey and a competition for the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

News in Brief – 03/07/2024 - English

At a glance: ‘Sisterhood Pathways’ from Lithuania won the 2024 European Charlemagne Youth Prize; applications for Schuman traineeships are now open and the European Solidarity Corps.

News in Brief – 13/05/2024 - English

At a glance: the Europe Day celebrations continue; the 2024 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism; and the award ceremony of the 2024 European Charlemagne Youth Prize.

News in Brief – 06/05/2024 - English

At a glance: the European Parliament’s political groups are preparing for the last plenary session of this legislative term; the achievements of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender  Equality; and the European Youth Week.

News in Brief – 17/04/2024 - English

At a glance: the special European Council; the last Eurobarometer survey before the June European elections; and the European Youth Event.

News in Brief – 16/04/2024 - English

At a glance: Parliament wants to make the right to abortion an EU fundamental right; the ECB Annual Report for 2023; and European Youth Week 2024.

News in Brief – 15/04/2024 - English

At a glance: just 70 days to the European Elections; the presentation of a European Commission action plan to tackle labour and skills shortages; and the 2024 Charlemagne Youth Prize.

News in Brief – 27/03/2024 - English

The EYE 2025 will take place on the 13 and 14 of June in Strasbourg. The EYE (European Youth Event) brings together thousands of young people from across the European Union and beyond, right at the heart of European democracy. The event is a unique opportunity for 16- to 30-year-olds to inspire and get inspired, to debate directly with Members of the European Parliament and other European decision-makers, and to exchange views with experts, activists, and content creators. 

 

The use, reproduction, copying, or downloading of photos and videos featuring identifiable private person(s) by third parties is strictly prohibited without the prior consent of the person(s) depicted. The European Parliament disclaims any liability for the unauthorised use of such materials by third parties.

EYE2025

Compared to the rest of the world, Europe has the best levels of social protection and also ranks highly in terms of quality of life and wellbeing. However, it faces a wide range of challenges, including impact of the COVID situation.

The EU has only limited competence when it comes to social issues as most of it is up to national governments. The responsibility for employment and social policies lies mostly with the member states and their governments. This means that national governments - and not the EU - decide on issues such as wage regulations, including minimum wage, the role of collective bargaining, pensions systems and retirement age, and unemployment benefits.

However, over the years, the EU has been working on social issues throughout the European integration process and come up with a series of instruments in the social sector. These include EU laws, funds and tools to better coordinate and monitor national policies. The EU also encourages countries to share best practices on issues such as social inclusion, poverty and pensions.

One of the supporting tools is the European Social Fund+, with a total budget of €88 billion for next 7 years. It will play an important role in the implementation of the action plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights and in countering the socio-economic effects of the pandemic. It integrates the former European Social Fund, the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) and the EU programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) into one fund.

Social Europe

Since the onset of the economic crisis, the EP has strongly supported the creation of a Youth Guarantee scheme, which was finally adopted in April 2013 as the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI).

The Youth Guarantee is a commitment by all Member States to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship, traineeship, within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.

The Youth Guarantee has become a reality across the EU and has helped to improve the lives of millions of young Europeans.

Youth Employment

European Youth Event (EYE) 2018 takes place on on 1 and 2 June 2018 in the European Parliament's seat in Strasbourg. It is a unique opportunity for young Europeans to make their voices heard.

The topics covered in this compendium are divided into the five main themes of the programme of EYE 2018, namely:

Young and old: Keeping up with the digital revolution 
Rich and poor: Calling for a fair share 
Apart and together: Working out for a stronger Europe 
Safe and dangerous: Staying alive in turbulent times 
Local and global: Protecting our planet

EYE2018

10:05 President Metsola gives Press Statement with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides
10:10 President Metsola meets with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides
11:00 President Metsola participates in ‘Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’ together with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides on the occasion of Europe Day

Roberta METSOLA, EP President: Official visit to Nicosia (Cyprus)

MEPs, together with Commission and Council representatives, debate the preparations for the first EU-UK summit on British soil since Brexit.

EU and UK leaders will meet in London on 19 May for the first institutional bilateral gathering in Britain since the UK left the EU in 2020. Among other topics, they will discuss defence cooperation, opportunities for young people, and trade issues – the latter in the wake of the new US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on trade partners. 

In particular, this includes a potential EU-UK security pact that could see the UK participate in the EU’s joint arms procurement scheme. Leaders will review the possibility of a youth mobility scheme to facilitate freedom of movement for young people aged 18-30, as well as efforts to eliminate sanitary and phytosanitary checks (SPS) on certain products that are exported from the UK to the EU, in particular those entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Preparation of EU-UK summit

Roberta METSOLA, EP President addresses the Meta pan-European Youth Summit

Confirmation hearing of Glenn MICALLEF, Commissioner-designate, Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Nicosia (Cyprus) - Participation in ‘Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’ together with Nikos CHRISTODOULIDES, President of Cyprus

Among the EU measures to combat youth unemployment is the Youth Guarantee, a commitment by EU Member States to ensure all young people under the age of 30 receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of unemployment or leaving formal education. In the last two decades however, the unemployment rate of young Europeans has consistently been around twice as high as the general unemployment rate. Young people today are facing an increasingly insecure job market. How can we do better? What steps can be taken to improve employment quality and increase job stability for young people? How do the Traineeship Directive, the Youth Guarantee and other initiatives aim to tackle these issues? How can we support diversity, inclusiveness and accessibility in the youth labour market?

EYE2025 - Unlocking opportunities: pathways to fair employment

Europe is experiencing a youth mental health crisis with half of all young Europeans now reporting poor mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic already placed significant pressure on young people’s mental health and the situation has intensified due to the crises encountered in recent years, including economic instability and geopolitical conflicts like the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, social media is allowing youth to maintain friendships or engage with issues they care about, but also exposing them to bullying, threats and graphic reports of global problems. How can the EU address such issues? What are key factors impacting youth mental health? And how can we address inequality in mental health access? What is the connection between social media and mental health, and which tools can be used to improve the current situation?

EYE2025 - From stigma to support: youth mental health in Europe

Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’

Official visit to Nicosia (Cyprus) - Opening statements by Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Nikos CHRISTODOULIDES, President of Cyprus and Marilena RAOUNA, Cypriot Deputy Minister for European Affairs

Press point by Nela Riehl (Greens/EFA, Germany), Chair of CULT, following the confirmation hearing of Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport

Plenary opening session of the kick-off event of the European Youth Week 2024

LUX Audience Award 2025 - Youth Seminar with European Parliament Ambassador School teachers and students

CULT- Exchange of views with 2025 European Youth Capital - Lviv, Ukraine

Roberta METSOLA, EP President at the Meta Pan-European Youth Summit

EP Plenary session - Silent crisis: the mental health of Europe’s youth

Sakharov Youth Seminar

CULT - Confirmation hearing of Glenn MICALLEF, European Commissioner-designate for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport - Press point

CULT - Confirmation hearing of Glenn MICALLEF, European Commissioner-designate for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Portugal - Tram Talk with Portuguese youth and Carlos MOEDAS, Mayor of Lisbon

Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Nikos CHRISTODOULIDES, President of Cyprus, participate in ‘Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’ in Nicosia, with Marilena RAOUNA, Cypriot Deputy Minister for European Affairs

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Nicosia (Cyprus) - Participation in ‘Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’ together with Nikos CHRISTODOULIDES, President of Cyprus, and Marilena RAOUNA, Cypriot Deputy Minister for Europe

Roberta METSOLA, EP President participates to the event in ‘Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’ together with Nikos CHRISTODOULIDES, President of Cyprus, on the occasion of her official visit to Nicosia (Cyprus). Arrival and extract from the event

Official visit by Roberta METSOLA, EP President to Nicosia (Cyprus) - Participation in ‘Your Europe, Your Future: A dialogue with youth’ together with Nikos CHRISTODOULIDES, President of Cyprus: arrival and extract from the event

CULT Chair, Nela RIEHL, visited Lviv, in Ukraine, for the opening of the European Youth Capital, among other activities.

CULT Chair, Nela RIEHL opens of the European Youth Capital in Lviv, Ukraine

The fifth meeting of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA) takes place in Brussels. Members exchange views on the Future of EU-UK foreign and security policy cooperation, Youth Opportunities, and Trade, customs and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Sandro GOZI (Renew, FR) and Marsha DE CORDOVA (MP, UK) hold a press point on the 5th EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

Press point by Sandro GOZI (Renew, FR) and Marsha DE CORDOVA, Co-Chairs of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (EU-UK PPA) on the 5th EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

EP President, Roberta METSOLA, addresses the Meta pan-European Youth Summit at the Square Convention Centre in Brussels. The conference titled "Youth Safety in a Digital World" focuses on how to support parents and young people to safely navigate online spaces.

Roberta METSOLA, EP President at the Meta Pan-European Youth Summit: extracts from the address

On 13 and 14 June 2025, thousands of young people will take over the European Parliament in Strasbourg for EYE2025 (European Youth Event), to engage, get empowered and connect with thousands of young people, experts, activists, content creators and decision-makers. The EYE is a unique opportunity for 16- to 30-year-olds to inspire and get inspired, to debate directly with Members of the European Parliament and other European decision-makers, and to exchange views on Europe.

EYE2025 – Registration process for groups sponsored by the European Parliament

EYE2025 – Registration process for individual participants

Nela RIEHL (Greens/EFA, DE), Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) holds a press point after the Confirmation hearing of Glenn MICALLEF, Commissioner-designate, Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Press point by Nela RIEHL (Greens/EFA, DE), Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)

Glenn MICALLEF, Commissioner-designate, Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, of the VON DER LEYEN Commission is heard by the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) of the European Parliament. Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) are also invited to participate as joint committees. At the end of the confirmation hearing, Glenn MICALLEF makes a closing statement followed by the one from the Committee Chair. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Confirmation hearing of Glenn MICALLEF, Commissioner-designate, Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport: closing statement by Glenn MICALLEF and Committee Chair

11,985 results

Topics (20)

Events (4)

Streaming (150)

Videos (435)

Photoset (489)

Photos (10,871)

Audios (16)