Youth Action Plan (YAP) in EU External Action 2022–2027

The first ever Youth Action Plan provides a political framework and operational roadmap for a strategic partnership with young people in the EU's external action. Its main priority is to ensure youth ownership of EU external action and thus accelerate progress towards sustainable development, equality and peace, in line with international commitments such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the UN Agenda for Youth, Peace and Security.

The Youth Action Plan is based on three pillars of action: 1) Engage: increasing the voice of young people in policy and decision-making at all levels; 2) Empower: addressing inequalities and providing young people with the skills and resources they need to flourish and achieve their potential; 3) Connect: fostering opportunities for young people to network and exchange with their peers. For each pillar, specific actions such as the establishment of programmes or networks are outlined.

For example, actions to implement the UN agenda on Youth, Peace and Security include "build capacity of EU staff on the Youth Peace and Security agenda, for example in conflict prevention and mediation trainings in the European External Action Service"and "integrating a youth, peace and security dimension into conflict prevention and crisis management efforts". 
The Youth Action Plan will be assessed thanks to a monitoring framework to be developed in the first year of implementation, using age-disaggregated data and youth-specific indicators.

Reference: European Commission (2022). Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council: Youth Action Plan (YAP) in EU external action 2022 – 2027.

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