We inform you today on the latest developments around the Convention on the Future of the European Union and give you an overview on YEPP’s involvement as well as opportunities for your organisations.

State of play – The “listening” phase

In the first phase of its work the Convention intends to listen to the 'Civil Society'. A number of platforms, contact groups and other gatherings have been and are being formed in Brussels trying to advise the Members of the Convention and gain access to public hearings or informal meetings.

YEPP is involved in this process and makes use of two channels.

Channel one – the EPP Convention Group

YEPP's first contact with the EPP Convention Group took place during our Chairmen's Conference in Salamanca. Inigo Mendez de Vigo MEP presented latest information just days after the official opening of the Convention and discussed with our participants. It became clear that the Convention needs maximum public attention and all input possible in order to achieve a common proposal for a future EU Constitution. In the best case this proposal will be so strong that the Intergovernmental Conference set to begin a few months after the end of the Convention in the first half of 2003 cannot ignore it and accepts it as draft of a Future EU Constitution.

The EPP Convention Group should be YEPP’s partner for the joint EPP - YEPP Youth Convention. Details are not fixed yet. However, a date after the summer break and around the time when the Convention begins the second phase of its work seems appropriate.
Why do we choose this later period?
We can already draw conclusions from the “listening period”. We can differentiate ourselves from the broad chorus of all other so-called “Civil Society” NGOs. We can draw conclusions from the Convention’s structures and procedures for the second and third phases and better identify how to advise Convention Members. We have more time to prepare our specific proposals from a young people focus for the Constitution (as discussed in Salamanca, we might introduce ideas on ‘sustainable governance’ besides our ‘Future is Ours’ paper). We can draw conclusions from the first seminar of the EPP Convention Group at the end of June and will know better, what can be achieved politically, what not.

Channel two – the INGYO Contact Group
The International Non Governmental Youth Organizations Contact Group (Contact Group) was established on 26 February 2002 to enable youth organizations to contribute to the debate on the future of Europe. The Group was set up by: the European Community Organization of Socialist Youth (ECOSY), European Trade Union Confederation Youth (ETUC Youth), Federation of the Young European Greens (FEYG), Young European Federalists (JEF), Liberal and Radical Youth Movement of the European Union (LYMEC), Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP). Other youth NGOs have joined recently: European Democrat Students (EDS), Democratic Youth Community of Europe (DEMYC), ATD Forth World.

The European Youth Forum, representing 91 national and international federations of youth NGOs (amongst them YEPP), has welcomed the initiative to hold a Youth Convention. The Youth Forum has been asked by the European Commission and the Convention secretariat to co-organise the event. Thus all members of the Contact Group are highly interested in making the youth convention a good example of youth participation.

The preparation of the Youth Convention

At the moment the Contact Group concentrates on the preparation of the Youth Convention.

The project
In his introductory speech on 28 February, the Chairman of the Convention Giscard d’Estaing said he hoped that a "Convention for the Young People of Europe" might be organised on the model of the Convention itself. This proposal received wide support and many requests or proposals have been made; also by the Contact Group. The Secretariat of the Convention, in cooperation with the Commission and the European Parliament, has drawn up a detailed proposal, which was approved at the meeting of the Convention on 16 April.

The involvement of YEPP
The Contact Group had meetings with both, the Convention Secretariat (YEPP was represented by Vice President Arnt Kennis) and the Convention Vice Chairman Jean-Luc Dehaene (YEPP was represented by Secretary General Markus Pösentrup). Before and after these meetings the Contact Group met for preparation and coordination. The European Youth Forum as potential co-organizer had separate meetings with the Commission and the Convention Secretariat. The Contact Group is in touch via email and telephone in between the meetings and lobbies Convention Members jointly and individually. The work in the Contact Group is characterized by a cooperative atmosphere and efficient style and has shown our common interests. It should be mentioned that YEPP’s good relations with LYMEC, JEF, EDS, DEMYC and the European Youth Forum are an additional support.

The open questions
It turned out in the discussions that even though there is broad support for the proposal to hold a Youth Convention, there were quite different opinions on how this Youth Convention should look like. Summarizing, one could describe the proposal of the Chairman and the Praesidium of the Convention as the proposal for a ‘Youth Gathering’, whilst all members of the Contact Group would have preferred a ‘Youth Experts Hearing’.

There is widespread concern in the Contact Group that the proposed Youth Convention will end up as a nice travel opportunity to Brussels with nice pictures but only limited influence on the ‘real’ Convention and its discussions and results. The concern is nurtured by the following points: only short time for joint meeting of ‘adult’ Convention and Youth Convention; uncertainty if there will be a joint discussion, since the proposal includes the alternative of mere ‘presentation’ of the Youth Convention results to the Convention; the danger that too many non-representative young people will participate, because regarding the selection process of participants there is no proposal for obligatory involvement of the European umbrella youth organisation and National Youth Councils and organisations and binding proposals from them; the danger that too many inexperienced young people participate, because the age limit is too narrow. Someone in the Contact Group asked the question how we could effectively prevent a Youth Convention of sons, daughters, nices and nephews of the Convention Members.

In the discussions with Mr. Dehaene and with representatives of the Convention Secretariat and the Commission the importance of making the selection process of participants as open and transparent as possible was therefore stressed very much. The opinion of the Contact Group is that the most transparent process would be one in which umbrella organisations on the national level (National Youth Councils) launch an open call to young people in their country and then make a list of nominees for the national delegation. This list of six young people should then be agreed with the six members of the European Convention of that country. As regards the young people “shadowing” the European Parliament delegation and other European level actors: We believe that it would be important that the selection of these participants sets a positive example. These participants should not be selected on a national basis but rather should be selected in a European approach. There are European networks that enhance encounters of young Europeans and the exchange amongst young people based on specific yet diverse ideas, interests, and convictions. Many of these European youth NGOs understand it to be part of their mission to reflect on Europe, its values, its perspectives. We think that they should not be left out when it comes to organising the Youth Convention. The European Youth Forum and the Contact Group can and would like to facilitate their involvement. Our proposal therefore is that a European level call among European youth NGOs is launched and a proposal made based on the applications received to the EP delegation, the Commission representatives and the Chairman and Vice Chairmen. Each of the steps of the selection would be made public (on the Youth Forum and possibly the EP website).

Concerning the future work of the Convention after the summer break it was good to hear Dehaene’s commitment to permanently integrate the youth in the process. Since the Convention’s structures and procedures for phases two and three are not yet defined, it also remains to be determined how the youth involvement can be effected. One idea is to send a youth representative from the European Youth Forum and the Contact Group to hearings or special meetings (other than the normal Convention Sessions) that might take place.

The next opportunity to discuss these points with Jean-Luc Dehaene is during the Council of Members of the European Youth Forum on 27 April 2002.

No involvement of young people from Non-EU Member and Candidate States
This problem must be explicitly mentioned: The Convention exists of Representatives from EU institutions, EU Member States and Candidate Countries. Since the Youth Convention is formed according to the Convention’s composition, there is no possibility to include representatives of the young people from other countries.

YEPP had raised this problem both in the Contact Group as well as in the discussion with Jean-Luc Dehaene. Our proposal was to agree with the Convention Members sent by the European institutions, that a joint youth delegation will be formed by them. The participants of this delegation should be selected from proposals made by the European Youth Forum and the Contact Group. These Organisations would propose a suitable number of representatives from those countries. Unfortunately, it seems excluded that this procedure is agreed. The Youth Convention as well as the Convention will therefore deal with the ‘Future of the European Union’ rather than the ‘Future of Europe’ – just as their name suggests.

Conclusions

At the moment it can at least be said that the Youth Convention will take place in July and that the selection process will start soon. We therefore advise you to get in touch with your Convention Members and Replacements as well as your National Youth Councils.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions, information and proposals.

Best Regards,
Markus Pösentrup
YEPP Secretary General