European Cooperation in the youth field

Member States of the European Union, together with other European countries participating in the EU Erasmus+ programme, collaborate in the development of their youth policies with the support of the European Commission. Their cooperation is based on a methodology known as the 'Open Method of Coordination' (OMC) by which representatives of the national governments and of the Commission meet regularly to identify and define joint policy objectives or specific common challenges to address.

The EU Youth Strategy provides the overarching framework for this cooperation amongst EU Member States and the European countries participating in the Erasmus+ programme. The Strategy identifies priorities and establishes instruments to reach the agreed goals.

The current EU Youth Strategy was agreed by Ministers in November 2018 and runs until 2027.

Main objectives of the strategy

The EU Youth Strategy has three overall objectives:

• Engage – fostering a meaningful civic, economic, social, cultural and political participation of young people.
• Connect – supporting connections, relations and exchange of experiences among young people also through mobility.
• Empower – encouraging young people to take charge of their own lives through their engagement in quality youth work.

How the main objectives are achieved

The EU Youth Strategy establishes several instruments to help national and EU authorities pursue the objectives of policy cooperation and progress. Among them, three are directly supported by the Youth Wiki:

• Mutual learning between Member States, the European Commission and relevant stakeholders.
  

  By creating a space for sharing policy practices and national experiences, the Youth Wiki offers countries valuable knowledge of others' initiatives and actions and facilitates mutual learning amongst national policy-makers, experts in the youth policy field, and national and European stakeholders.

• Evidence-based policy-making.

  By collecting and disseminating pertinent, reliable and concrete information on the policies and initiatives implemented in European countries in the youth field, the Youth Wiki provides useful evidence for addressing the main challenges faced by young people.

• Monitoring the progress of policy coordination.
  

  By providing information on the development of national youth policies, the Youth Wiki supports the Commission in its regular reporting on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy.