The European Commission has presented last 3rd September a proposal for a Council Recommendation on mobility of young volunteers across Europe Brussels COM(2008) 424 final with the aim to promote the mobility of young volunteers in Europe.

Context of the proposal

This initiative aims to promote the mobility of young volunteers in Europe and is a component of the EU's "Renewed Social Agenda: Opportunities, Access and Solidarity in 21st century Europe". It seeks to open up new opportunities for mobility of young volunteers across Member States, and contribute to the development and accessibility of youth education, given that volunteering is an important form of non-formal learning. It will also help build solidarity between individuals and communities.

Proposed actions

1. Support the Member States in the above tasks by using the EU cooperation framework in the field of youth and in particular the open method of coordination and the Youth in Action programme.
2. Encourage and organise, in liaison with Member States, a systematic exchange of information and experiences about the interoperability of national volunteering schemes organised by civil society or public authorities.
3. Develop a European Youth Volunteer Portal on volunteering based on national youth volunteering portals, databases or specific websites.
4. Report to the Council four years after the adoption of this Recommendation to determine whether the measures proposed are working effectively and to assess the need for further actions.