Committee of Regions calls for investment in youth

The Committee of the Regions calls for a renewed education policy which promotes social inclusion, innovation and excellence in all regions of Europe. In an opinion adopted on Thursday 11 February, the local and regional representatives of the European Union argue that this would be the best response to the recent terrorist attacks.
The opinion, which was drafted by Csaba Borboly (EPP, Romania), is entitled “European cooperation in the field of youth (2010-2018)”. It suggests setting in place a “guarantee for minimum qualifications and skills” for all young people in Europe. It also supports a baseline offer which may include broadband Internet access, language-learning, professional accompaniment and guidance, financing opportunities for studies and help to prepare for entering the workforce. It also stresses the importance of quality socio-educational accompaniment and ensuring that skills respond to employers' needs.
More generally, the text regrets the budget cuts made by several member states, as these have “affected socio-educational services at a critical point in time”. “With Europe currently experiencing unprecedented flows of migrants, these problems become even more important. The local and regional authorities should have appropriate and directly accessible financial resources in order to allow young migrants to integrate”, commented rapporteur Borboly.
During the debate which accompanied the vote, the European Commissioner Tibor Navracscics acknowledged that Europe suffered from “under-investment in education”. “We need to reverse this trend, in order to make our economy more competitive and give everybody a real opportunity in life. It is in the regions and cities that we will be fighting exclusion and radicalisation”, he said.
Despite strong opposition, the report contains a reference to the “promotion of the founding Christian cultural founding values of Europe”, which prompted most of the PES and ALDE members (and a few from the ECR) to vote against the final opinion, which ended up being adopted by 62 votes in favour and 42 against.