Rome Youth Declaration 
[78 KB]
Official opening of the Youth Summit
Opening speeches:
-
Ms Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President of the European Commission
-
Ms Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth [21 KB]
-
Mr Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament [33 KB]
-
Mr Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth [18 KB]
-
Ms Bettina Schwarzmayr, President of the European Youth Forum [42 KB]
-
Ms Ágnes Heller, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, Budapest and New York Universities [78 KB]
Marking the 50th anniversary of the EU's founding treaty in the city where it was signed, the Rome first ever EU Youth summit organised jointly by the EU and the European Youth Forum aims to involve young people and youth bodies in the ongoing debate on the future shape of the EU.
Preparations started in January with a meeting in Brussels, where six issues were chosen for discussion in Rome:
-
the future of the EU treaty
-
the EU's social and economic model
-
sustainable development
-
the EU's role in a globalised world
-
democracy and civil society
-
youth and education.
Preparatory work then continued with national debates organised in all EU countries.
Conclusions of national debates and contributions from International non-governmental Youth organisations.
The summit will be officially opened on Saturday 24 March, attended by a clutch of EU VIPs, including Mr Romano Prodi, Prime-Minister of Italy, Mr Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ms Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Mr Ján Figel, European Commissioner for Education, Culture and Youth.
Participants will then work in groups to prepare the summit conclusions and a message on the future of the EU. This will be conveyed to European leaders gathering the same weekend in Berlin for an informal meeting commemorating the anniversary.
A round table debate will give participants a chance to put their views directly to representatives of EU institutions. Vice-President Margot Wallstrom, who will also be in Rome, said: "This summit will offer an unprecedented occasion to discuss this European Union 'on the move' ".
The round table will be streamed live on the internet from 8:45 to 13:30 a.m. on Sunday 25 March.
Watch the live webcast.
To complement the Summit, there will also be the chance to party and take part in the other celebrations in Rome.
Summit programme [2 MB]
