Position of Youth MRF for the European Youth Conference which took place in Sofia

Over the past weekend, youth representatives from all over Europe gathered in Sofia for a conference, part of the Commission's and the Council's Structured Dialogue with Young People.

The purpose of the conference was to empower young people by providing a platform for their active involvement in decision-making processes. The outcome of this dialogue was to be included in the next Youth Program of the European Commission. Unfortunately, the young people were turned into unbiased viewers. The European delegates left our country with lack of importance and sense of ignorance of their ideas. Youth MRF condemns the indifferent approach of the Bulgarian government and reminds that tolerant hearing of speeches and directed applause are too far from the European way of making decisions - through exchange of views, mutual hearings and dialogue. What happened during the conference once again shows the general attitude of the Bulgarian government towards the problems of young people - paper priority, disregard for practice. We believe that only the active and direct involvement in the decision-making processes of young people is the future of Europe. That any attempt to diminish youth participation should be prevented. We are confident that we must continue to insist on meaningful youth participation and youth policy dialogue.