WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3892/98 by Luciano VECCHI to the Commission. Age limits for participating in the European Voluntary Service (EVS) programme for young people
28. 6. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 182/133 (1999/C 182/182) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3892/98 by Luciano Vecchi (PSE) to the Commission (4 January 1999) Subject: Age limits for participating in the European Voluntary Service (EVS) programme for young people When they adopted the legislative text on the EVS programme for young people after a lengthy and complicated codecision procedure, the European Parliament and the Council defined the age limit for participating in the programme. The compromise solution adopted was to continue to give priority to 18 to 25 year olds although, in duly justified cases, the age limit of 25 could be exceeded. The documents distributed by national agencies do not however make any mention of the possibility of exceeding the age limit of 25. 1. Why not? 2. Would the legislative provisions be properly implemented if the age limit of 25 were exceeded in certain cases? 3. Who is responsible for taking such a decision (national agencies, Commission, sending or host organisations etc. )? Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (20 January 1999) The Honourable Member draws the Commission’s attention to the fact that the information material on the European Voluntary Service (EVS) distributed by the national agencies does not specifically mention the possibility, in duly justified cases, of exceeding the age limits for young people participating in the programme. It is correct that this possibility is not specifically mentioned in the pamphlets intended to make a broad target group aware of the opportunities offered by the EVS programme. However, the User’s Guide, which is the main tool for helping young people and organisations to prepare a project, specifically refers to the possibility of flexible application of the age limits for young people (1). In future, the Commission will ensure that this flexibility is clearly mentioned in other information relating to the programme. EVS projects are largely decentralised. The national agencies are responsible for selecting ‘sending projects’ involving young people. In the case of multilateral or special projects, the Commission is responsible for the selection of ‘sending projects. ’ At meetings of the programme committee or with the national agencies, the Commission has always made it clear that the age limits may be applied in a flexible manner if this is duly justified. (1) ‘User’s guide’ Part II, the partners in an EVS project