MEP Victor Negrescu, in his role as Vice Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education, recently organized a debate dedicated to the conclusions of the European Year of Youth, in which he invited the European Commission to directly answer the questions of the MEPs in a new format for the plenary session of the European Parliament. The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, testified and answered questions from Mr. Negrescu and other supporters.
“At the beginning of this year, we requested the organization of this debate dedicated to the European Year of Youth results. The proposal, part of our YouthUP campaign, was supported by the Social Democratic Group, dozens of MEPs from all political groups, and numerous civil society organizations.
We were firm in demanding the presentation of the results for young people generated by this European Year. Asking the Commission to move from nice words to concrete policies, such as the introduction of the youth test and the inclusion of young people in all EU policies, the ban on unpaid internships, supporting education for European citizenship, implementing the proposals from the Conference for the Future of Europe, and promoting fundamental mechanisms for the participation of young people.
But what we want to know from the Commission is: when will these proposals be implemented and what is the exact timetable for their approval,” demanded Mr. Negrescu.
The YouthUP campaign, initiated by MEP Negrescu, pursues policies in support of young Europeans. Negrescu asked the European Commission, with the support of dozens of MEPs from across party lines, to present the concrete results of the European Year of Youth initiative, as well as the solutions and measures it will adopt as a result of the young people’s proposals at the start of this year. At the same time, the Romanian MEP insisted on allocating additional funds for the European Year of Youth, obtaining, through the amendments formulated, 8 million euros for implementing actions and events under the auspices of this year.
