(13 January 2022) – The Commission published today a proposal for a Council Recommendation on youth volunteering to facilitate transnational youth volunteering under the European Solidarity Corps or other schemes at national level.

Recognising the key contribution of volunteering for the development of young people’s skills and competences and its role in positively overcoming societal challenges, the proposed Recommendation aims to boost the inclusiveness, quality, recognition and sustainability dimensions of transnational youth volunteering.
Addressing the remaining impairments to volunteering mobility, the proposal tackles lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps, which will celebrate its 5th anniversary in 2022.
Volunteering is an important activity for Europe’s youth: 34% of youth stated in 2019 that they had engaged in organised volunteering activities within the past 12 months. This figure has been continuously increasing, from 24% in 2011.