Brussels, Friday 4 April 2003

The European Youth Forum, representing millions of young people all over Europe through their associations, welcomes the draft Article 34 as a basis for discussion. The article was presented today by the Convention Presidium and concerns participatory democracy.

The fact that the Presidium has agreed to include this article provides the ground for an important innovation in the Constitution, namely that the EU's primary law would recognise for the first time the vital role civil society plays in European democracy.

"However, the draft we have seen today falls somewhat short of our expectations," says Giacomo Filibeck, President of the European Youth Forum. "We hope that the final draft will recognise the value of a structured dialogue with civil society organisations. Consultation of NGOs should be recognised as a basis for participatory democracy. Also, the reference to 'internet chats' in the commentary to the draft article is somewhat worrying," underlined Giacomo Filibeck.

The European Youth Forum considers that the article 34 should also include the objective of promoting active citizenship and political participation of citizens in and through NGOs. In order to involve young people in the Future of Europe, special emphasis has to be made promoting youth participation through NGOs that work with and are run by young people.

"Active European citizenship needs to be seen as a prerequisite to a more democratic and widely accepted EU. The Constitution should recognise in Article 34 that participation in civic and social life is at the core of our model of democracy. The Union has to win the hearts and minds of each new young generation by promoting their participation, and it needs to recognise the contribution of youth organisations in this respect. They both embody and promote active European citizenship" Giacomo Filibeck concluded.

Notes to Editor
The European Youth Forum has made to contributions to the Convention and the Future of Europe Debate. "Building a European Union for and with young people" was adopted by the General Assembly in November 2002 and contained a proposal for a youth article. 'Bringing Europe closer to its young citizens' was adopted by the Council of Members in April and outlined the expectations of youth organisations towards the Convention. The Laeken declaration has given the Convention the mandate to "bring the citizens, in particular the young, closer to the European design."

Contact: Jorge Cámara, tel: 32 2 286 94 17 mobile: 32 4 73 773 442