Strengthening democracies with young people: from participation to shared responsibility

Committee Opinion | Doc. 16332 | 26 January 2026

Committee

Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy

Rapporteur :

Ms Elisabetta GARDINI, Italy, ECPA

Origin

Reference to committee: Doc. 15756, Reference 4746 of 19 June 2023. Reporting committee: Committee on Culture, Science and Education. See Doc. 16308. Opinion approved by the committee on 26 January 2026. 2026 - First part-session

A Conclusions of the committee

1. The Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy welcomes the draft resolution and draft recommendation and commends the rapporteur, Ms Sona Ghazaryan (Armenia, ALDE) for addressing youth participation as a central element of democratic renewal, resilience and legitimacy, in line with the objectives of the New Democratic Pact for Europe.

2. The committee notes with appreciation that the draft texts build on Resolution 2553 (2024) “Strengthening the youth perspective in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly”, which established the PACE-Youth Participation Mechanism aimed at ensuring that the youth perspective is systematically taken into account in the Assembly’s deliberations.

3. The committee considers that the draft resolution rightly underlines that youth participation must evolve from consultation towards shared responsibility. From the committee’s perspective, the role of parliaments and political institutions in translating youth participation into genuine influence on decision making is of particular importance, including through transparent, accountable and accessible mechanisms.

4. The committee also recalls that, as a part of the PACE-Youth Participation Mechanism, the position of a “youth rapporteur” within each general committee was created. It considers that continued attention should be paid to the improvement of the visibility of youth rapporteurs and their effective functioning.

5. The Committee suggests updating the references to the Secretary General’s 2025 report so as to reflect the Council of Europe-wide process that has since been launched, and to note the active contribution of the Assembly to the New Democratic Pact for Europe, particularly within the framework of the Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau on the New Democratic Pact.

6. The committee notes that many young people already contribute to strengthening democracy through party youth organisations. The Assembly can help shape and professionalise this engagement, fostering intergenerational dialogue and supporting the development of future political leaders, while encouraging their interest in participating meaningfully in the work of the Assembly in the future.

7. The committee agrees with the report’s findings and analysis, and supports the draft resolution and the draft recommendations. It proposes five amendments to the draft resolution in order to strengthen its message.

B Proposed amendments to the draft resolution

Amendment A (to the draft resolution)

In the draft resolution, paragraph 2, after the words “Strengthening the youth perspective in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly”, insert the following words:

“which introduced the PACE-Youth Participation Mechanism with the aim of ensuring that the youth perspective is systematically taken into account in the work of the Assembly’”

Amendment B (to the draft resolution)

In the draft resolution, paragraph 4, second sentence, replace the words “as well as the 2025 report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe entitled ‘Towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe’” with the following words:

“as well as the New Democratic Pact for Europe, which aims at strengthening democratic resilience in Europe, and to which the Assembly actively contributes”

Amendment C (to the draft resolution)

In the draft resolution, paragraph 6, at the end of the first sentence, insert the following words:

“in accordance with the principle that young people should be provided with ‘the right, the means, the space, the opportunity and the support’ to participate meaningfully in democratic life”

Amendment D (to the draft resolution)

In the draft resolution, paragraph 16.1, after the words “and monitoring activities”, insert the following words:

“to ensure the implementation of Resolution 2553 (2024)”

Amendment E (to the draft resolution)

In the draft resolution, after paragraph 16.3, insert the following paragraph:

“promote dialogue initiatives within its framework, involving young people from the youth organisations of political parties represented in the Assembly, with a view to fostering intergenerational exchange and informing parliamentary work.”