Council of Ministers: Education and Youth

Monica Traniello

YMGE Crisis 2017
@YMGECrisis2017

Letter to the Delegates

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to Yale Model Government Europe 2017! My name is Monica Traniello, and this year I have the pleasure of serving as your chair for the Education and Youth Council of the European Union. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with all of you and delve into some of the world’s most pressing issues.

Before you begin to prepare for the conference, I wanted to briefly introduce myself. I am a junior majoring in Global Affairs, with a focus on international development. Outside of academics and Yale International Relations Association, I participate in the student finance club and the women’s leadership initiative. I also enjoy studying new languages and exploring museums!

Working to support education and youth throughout the European Union will undoubtedly require much collaboration and debate. I am very confident that through our discussions on the issue, we will all obtain new perspectives and deepen our understandings of critical challenges.

Good luck with your research! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at monica.traniello@yale.edu . Once again, I am looking forward to working with all of you and am excited to see you in November!

Best wishes,

Monica Traniello

Introduction/ Committee History

The Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council functions to provide a framework for collaboration and cooperation between all EU member states. The council is composed of ministers responsible for communicating member states various interests in topics pertaining to education, youth, culture, and sport.

The committee comes together three to four times annually to discuss ways to develop quality education systems throughout the EU and implement a vocational training policy for students in EU member states, while remaining cognizant that it is ultimately the responsibility of the individual member states to determine, organize, and maintain their own teaching content and vocational programs.The committee acts to establish various support programs based on the cooperation of member states that

-Develop the teaching and dissemination of languages within EU school systems

-Encourage students to mobilize by suggesting that mutual recognition of diplomas and educational credits

-Promote cooperation and support between formal education avenues and vocational training programs, particularly in regard to business

Role of the Committee

Although each EU member state is responsible for its own education and training systems, this committee is designed to support policies that address common challenges of the member states. The committee has historically adopted decisions made by a qualified majority and operates in codecision with the European Parliament.

The committee has established some common objectives that it hopes to achieve by 2020. These include:

-Make life long learning and inter-member state mobility a reality

-Improve the quality and efficiency of EU education and training programs

-Promote equality and active citizenship

-Enhance creativity and innovation at all levels of education and training

Case Study One: The Prevention of Radicalisation Dominated Ministerial Debates

Following the attacks that occurred in Paris on November 13, 2015, the Education and Youth council met on November 23 to discuss the need to eliminate radicalisation by promoting social inclusion in schools and preventing marginalization.

The council meeting began with representatives from each member state examining how education and youth initiatives could contribute to the prevention of future attacks similar to the one that had occurred in Paris. The council worked to understand the motivations behind young Europeans becoming radicalized and ultimately concluded that increasing investments in schools, childcare programs, and youth initiatives must become a top priority of all member states.

In terms of the Erasmus (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) Program, which is a primary component of the committee’s mobility and social inclusion plans, the committee concluded that more social inclusion projects should be implemented into the program.

The committee also called for an increase in funding of 10 million EUR to support programs fighting radicalization throughout the EU. Moving forward, the committee aims to maintain the EU values of equality and fraternity amongst citizens.

Case Study 2: Addressing Youth Unemployment

Youth unemployment rates in the EU have climbed to approximately 17% which caused alarm amongst officials in the Youth and Education committee. High youth unemployment rates often lead to increased social problems in countries and are not unique to Europe, as the rate is also significantly high in many countries throughout Latin America. Therefore, the members of the EU Education and Youth Council decided to partner with officials in Latin American countries to create the PRESET project, which is a program through which young people in the EU and Latin American work together on social entrepreneurship ventures. The program lasted for two years, spanning from 2014 to 2016, and allowed many students from the EU to enter into the workforce.

The PRESET project is just one of many initiatives set forth by the Youth and Education council to target the EU’s high unemployment rate. At the council’s February 7, 2013 meeting it was decided to launch the Youth Employment Initative. This initiative serves to support students who are not involved with education, employment, or training and operates on a 6 billion EUR annual budget, which is composed of funds from both . The funds are available to all EU member states to finance measures aimed at assisting qualified youth programs.