In the field of youth affairs, the Council adopted conclusions on promoting new approaches in youth work to uncover and develop the potential of young people. After that the ministers had a policy debate about what can be done to better connect young people with the ideas underpinning the European project, to renew the links between the younger generation and decision-makers as well as about the recommendations adopted by the conference in Košice. On behalf of Hungary the Minister of State stressed the crucial involvement of young people in decision-making. For the Hungarian Government it is the key to guarantee the safety of young people, and creating opportunities for them. In addition, she also mentioned the urgent problem of youth unemployment in Europe while she highlighted that data shows a decreasing trend in Hungary, and youth unemployment is (12.7 percent) below the EU average (18.2 percent).
In the field of education the main topic for discussion was the fostering and development of talent. Representatives of Member States gave information about the national policies and programmes of their countries, which aim to foster the development of talent. Ms Katalin Novák, Minister of State for Family, Youth and International Affairs stated in her intervention that all nations are proud of their talents and try to support them to achieve their full potential. Hungary also supports it’s talented youngsters in the framework of a long-term talent support strategy. Talent support reaches youth at all ages, from early years until adulthood and covers all fields, like sports, arts and science. Katalin Novák informed participants that the Hungarian Talent Program can get support from any Hungarian citizens because they may yearly offer 1% of their income taxes to the Program. Lately, almost 350 000 tax payers made such an offer. The European Talent Centre in Budapest is committed to continue to make efforts in order to promote talent support across Europe.
The Council adopted a resolution on a New Skills Agenda for an inclusive and competitive Europe, reached political agreement on the recommendation on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults. Conclusions were adopted on the prevention of radicalisation leading to violent extremism.
On the course of the Culture and audiovisual session the Council took note of a progress report summarizing the results achieved during the negotiations of the proposal for a revised directive on audiovisual media services. It was underlined by a number of ministers that on the course of future negotiations more emphasis has to be put on outstanding issues such as quantitative quotas for the promotion of European works, the protection of minors, the fight against terrorism, rules on commercial communications, ensuring a level playing field between the traditional and new service providers, and tackling the drawbacks of the country of origin principle.
The Council held a policy debate on the topic “Towards a EU strategy for international cultural relations” based on the joint communication of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The Council adopted conclusions on sport diplomacy, building on the results of the Union level High Level Group on Sport Diplomacy, chaired by Pál Schmitt. The Council also discussed about the impact of sport on personal development.
