How the EESC is putting youth at the heart of EU policy

By Katrina Leitane, President of the EESC Youth Group – In an era where youth engagement often risks becoming a box-ticking exercise, one EU institution is setting a powerful precedent. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has taken meaningful steps to place young people not just in the room—but at the table, helping shape policies that will directly impact their futures.

Since its formation in July 2023, the EESC youth group has quietly but confidently altered the landscape of youth participation in Brussels. Created as a temporary yet ambitious structure, the group of 12 members was given a clear mandate: implement the EESC youth test, foster institutional partnerships, and act as a bridge between policymakers and Europe’s young people. Now, two years on, the impact of this initiative is being felt far beyond the walls of the committee.

From paper to practice

The youth group emerged following the EESC’s adoption of the opinion The EU Youth Test in 2022—making it the first EU body to commit to such an initiative. At its core, the youth test is a policy assessment tool designed to ensure that the voices and needs of young people are systematically considered in EU decision-making. In a policy sphere often dominated by long-term projections and short-term political cycles, it was an idea that dared to ask a simple but radical question: what does this mean for the next generation?

Over the past two years, the group has not only developed a methodology—co-designed with the European Youth Forum—for applying the test across EESC opinions, but also cultivated a vibrant network of over 70 youth organisations across Europe. These links have created direct channels for dialogue, allowing young people to engage with EESC members and contribute meaningfully to debates.

Elevating youth, institution by institution

Visibility is often the first test of institutional commitment—and here, the EESC has made striking progress. Today, the committee is a regular presence at major EU youth platforms, including the Council of the EU’s presidency youth conferences, the European Parliament’s flagship European Youth Event, and the European Commission’s European Youth Week. These are no mere appearances: they are strategic opportunities to communicate EESC positions and, crucially, to listen.

More quietly—but perhaps more significantly—the youth group has played a behind-the-scenes role in fostering institutional collaboration. Targeted engagement with Commission departments (notably DG EAC and DG JUST), Parliament actors such as the AFCO committee and youth outreach unit, and the Council’s youth working party has built bridges that didn’t exist before. These relationships are changing how institutions think about youth—not just as a demographic, but as a political constituency.

A model for the EU?

The ripple effects are already visible. The European Commission is set to launch its own ‘youth check’ in 2025—an initiative that borrows directly from the EESC’s pioneering work. A recent Commission report on youth mainstreaming and impact assessments explicitly references the youth test, acknowledging its influence and effectiveness. Elsewhere, the European Parliament has also taken notice. In its 2023 discharge report on the EESC,
MEPs praised the committee’s “proactive and innovative” work on youth. Praise is one thing; institutional change is another. But when both arrive together, something is shifting.

What comes next?

With the youth group’s current mandate set to expire in October 2025, the future looks far from uncertain. The EESC bureau’s proposal this April to renew and strengthen the group’s work sends a clear message: youth policy is no longer peripheral. It is central. And rightly so. The work is not finished. If anything, it is just beginning. The challenge ahead is to embed youth perspectives across all levels of governance—not as an afterthought or occasional consultation, but as a permanent, structured presence in EU policymaking.

This is more than just preparing young people for the future. It is about preparing the future with
young people. And if the past two years are anything to go by, they are more than ready for the task.