On the situation of youth council structures in Europe

This development particularly affects the structures of young civil society - youth councils in Europe and their member organizations are under increasing pressure.

For example, national governments and institutions in several countries do not recognize the representation claim of youth rings for the interests of children and young people. However, recognition of the right to representation is essential for the genuine participation of young people in political processes and decisions. Regrettably, states sometimes ban youth organizations or prosecute elected representatives. As a result, oppositional youth organizations in particular are excluded from state funding. This results in a dependency on alternative, project-based funding. However, this is usually only designed for the short to medium term and often does not cover the costs of maintaining an office and full-time staff, which makes it difficult to strengthen sustainable structures and attract new members. This also affects partners of the German Youth Council who are committed to a free, independent civil society and human and civil rights in societies with authoritarian tendencies.

The Belarusian youth council RADA, for instance, which is classified as "extremist" by the Lukashenko regime, operates from exile in Lithuania and Poland and receives no state support. The independent Turkish youth council GoFor is not recognized by the Turkish government and also receives no state funding. The independent Ukrainian youth council NYCU competes with other youth council structures in Ukraine, which are closer to the expectations of the Ukrainian government with a nationalist-patriotic focus. The NYCU does not receive any state funding either. The Polish youth council PROM has not received any state funding since 2018, and despite a change of government and the associated atmosphere of optimism, no change is yet in sight.

In recent weeks, the Bundesjugendring has also received reports from other partner youth councils that receive regular state funding. Due to insufficient financial support and impending cuts in the area of youth work, their financial situation is worsening dramatically, to the point of insolvency and dissolution. It is to be expected that these cuts will have a negative impact on their ability to work, particularly in the area of international youth work.

One example of this is the Swedish youth association LSU, which has been significantly affected by the Swedish government's announcement that it will discontinue or at least restructure a central funding pot for youth work from 2025. The Israeli youth council CYMI is also facing cuts of around 20 percent in 2024. The Israeli government is planning to cut the education budget further in 2025. After 75 years of active work, the British Youth Council (BYC) was forced to file for insolvency in March 2024 and announced its final closure. The decision was attributed to the generally difficult economic situation, which was exacerbated by the insolvency of a long-standing private sector sponsor.

These developments not only have an impact on the youth councils directly affected by the insufficient funding. The cuts result in domino effects, as opposition youth councils in particular receive part of their income from projects with other youth councils.

The loss of part of the funding for the Swedish youth council LSU, for example, also affects the Belarusian youth council RADA, for which cooperation with the LSU was a component of its funding. RADA is currently examining how to compensate for the resulting funding gap.

The current developments outlined above can be complemented by the fact that many national youth rings benefit from Erasmus Plus funding.

These include, in particular, those implementing the EU Youth Dialogue as the largest Erasmus Plus youth project. Funding for Erasmus Plus is secured until 2027 via the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) of the European Union (EU). It is to be expected that after the European elections in 2024, the negotiations for the design of Erasmus Plus for the next program generation from 2028-2035 will gain further momentum. It is highly likely that there will be political efforts to reduce the overall Erasmus Plus budget. This will have a direct and indirect impact on the funding of youth associations and national youth councils. This is because youth structures from countries with EU accession candidate status can also submit applications for project funding from the Erasmus Plus budget. Youth councils from Albania, North Macedonia and Turkey are currently benefiting from this.

In the light of these developments in youth council structures in Europe, there is an even greater need for appropriate and cost-effective funding of international youth work in Germany. This includes a structural increase in all funding allowances for international youth work and an increase in the total volume of funding for international child and youth work in line with the increased allowances, as well as funding that grows dynamically. Improved funding conditions also take into account the needs in the partner countries and strengthen civil society engagement and human rights.

After all, by working in European and international structures, young people create a strong, democratic civil society. In their personal encounters and by engaging with thematic issues, they contribute to international understanding and, in the long term, to securing peace in Europe!

In addition, adequate and cost-covering funding for international child and youth work is needed to enable young people to take part in international activities.

In the coming weeks, we will provide individual information on the situation of the German Youth Council international partners.