The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has reaffirmed that the effective participation of young people is "vital for the renewal, resilience and legitimacy of democratic institutions". The body stressed that Europe's future depends on societies "in which young people are recognised as equal partners in shaping political, social, economic and cultural life".
Some young people feel excluded from democracy
Assembly members passed a resolution and a recommendation based on the report by Sona Ghazaryan (Armenia, ALDE). Building on previous work, it underlined that youth participation must "evolve from consultation to shared responsibility, ensuring that young people have both the right and the means to influence decisions that affect them". Despite progress, it noted that "youth participation remains uneven and fragmented across Europe", with many young people feeling excluded or perceiving institutions as unrepresentative.
Council of Europe steps for youth inclusion
The resolution highlights the need to address deepening socio-economic divides, stating that restoring young people's trust requires tackling "precarious employment, limited access to housing and education, as well as shrinking civic and cultural spaces". It welcomes recent developments, such as the declaration of the 10th Council of Europe Conference of ministers responsible for youth and the new Reference Framework on a youth perspective, which together provide "a coherent roadmap for integrating youth perspectives across all sectors of policy and decision-making".
It further praises the Council of Europe's unique co-management system as well as the European Youth Centres and European Youth Foundation, as "an exemplary model of youth participation" and welcomes the proposal for a feasibility study on establishing a third European Youth Centre in the Black Sea region.
Looking ahead, the resolution insists that youth participation "must move beyond consultation to genuine influence in decision-making". It calls on the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly to reaffirm youth participation as a priority and underlines that building democracy with young people requires "transparent and accessible institutional mechanisms, accountability of authorities towards young people, and a culture of trust between generations".
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
New Democratic Pact for Europe
