What are the views of young people?

Last updated on Friday, 06/05/2022

Youth engagement is growing in 2022! The new Eurobarometer survey on Youth and Democracy shows promising results. Find out more about young people’s expectations in the context of the European Year of Youth.

Today’s published Flash Eurobarometer survey on Youth and Democracy clearly shows that youth engagement is a growing trend and that young people want their opinions and needs to be listened to. 

In light of this, the European Commission is also launching a new online tool, the “Voice your Vision” platform, to make it easier for youth to make their voice heard by recording their opinions and ideas for the future of the European project.

With Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, young people’s first priority for the European Union is to preserve peace, reinforce international security and promote international cooperation. Young people also flag improving mental health, fighting climate change and education as key priorities for the European Year of Youth. 

Despite the pandemic, young people still show a strong willingness to re-connect with youth across borders. Youth mobility is on the rise. However, although the financial obstacle is declining, many young Europeans still do not learn, train or study abroad because of a lack of financial means. The survey confirms that more than half of young respondents know the Erasmus+ programme, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.

Interested in knowing more about the results of this survey? Check out the full online report here. 

Background

This Flash Eurobarometer survey n° 502 “Youth and Democracy in the European Year of Youth” was carried out between 22 February and 4 March 2022, targeting 26,178 young people aged 15 to 30 in the 27 EU Member States and was executed by the European Commission.