This recommendation recognises the role of the national youth councils as active contributors to the development of public youth policy. The member states, therefore, should respect their specific nature, consider them as partners of public authorities in youth policy development, and legitimise their role in this context. In this process, the following principles should be followed: freedom of expression for national youth councils; the possibility for national youth councils to formulate opinions and recommendations on any issue that concern youth; the right for national youth councils to determine their own working organisation and methods; the possibility for national youth councils to have access to relevant information concerning youth issues; the importance of consideration by public authorities of the recommendations of national youth councils, and commitment on the part of the authorities, should they decide not to follow the said recommendations, to give reasons for their decision. The Committee of Ministers encourages the member states to support the establishment of national youth councils in the countries where they do not exist yet and to create the necessary conditions for broadening the participation of young people in society and developing associative life to make the councils more representative of young people, including young people belonging to all kinds of minorities.
Youth specific: No
