Launch of European Parliament Intergroup on Youth
11 February 2010, European Parliament (Strasbourg). A new era for youth issues has started. The constitutive meeting of the first ever Intergroup on Youth took place during the Plenary Session on Thursday, February 11 in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
For the first time in its history the European Parliament, will have a new instrument to better address the expectations and need of young people. The newly created Intergroup gathers around 20 Member of the European Parliament across political parties and parliamentary committees to discuss and encourage youth employment, mobility and active citizenship for young people. Additionally to that the Intergroup also aims at getting young people feel closer to Europe, bridging the gap between young people and the European Union. The intergroup is a follow-up action of the Written Declaration 33/2008 on devoting more attention to youth empowerment in EU policies.
The members elected today Damien ABAD (PPE) as Chairman of the Intergroup and 4 Vice-Chairmen in charge of the specific priorities of the Intergroup: active citizenship - Ramona MANESCU (ADLE); education - Pablo ZALBA BIDEGAIN (PPE); mobility - Franziska Katharina BRANTNER (GREENS/EFA); social inclusion and youth autonomy - Eider GARDIAZABAL (S-D).
Amongst others, the members of the Intergroup include Sidonia JEDRZEJEWSKA (PPE, former Vice President of the European Youth Forum 2001-2002), Katarina NEVEDALOVA (S-D, Vice President of ECOSY), Silvia COSTA (S-D), Georgios Papanikolau (PPE).
The European Youth Forum welcomed the initiative of the Intergroup as a clear sign of an enhanced cooperation with the European Parliament. "We will follow the activities of the Intergroup with close attention in order to continue empowering young people, - declared Giuseppe Porcaro, Secretary General of the European Youth Forum, present at the constitutive meeting in Strasbourg - and we wish the Intergroup and its member all the best for their work. Finally, youth issues will have an arena to be discussed in the European Parliament."
