Currently, the Recommendation explicitly mentions that it "does not include work experience that is part of formal education or vocational education and training curricula". This creates ambiguity as to the quality that can be expected from curricular placements, even though they are essential in providing work experience prior to entry into the professional world.

The inclusion of work placements in the quality framework is a step forward in the management of the education-work transition and its implications for youth employment. Although the reform of Recommendation 2014/C 88/01 proposed here will not entail binding obligations or rights for Member States, it can serve as a de facto roadmap for Member States to regulate internships at national level, making them more quality-oriented. It would explicitly ensure the improvement of the quality of traineeships, whether curricular or non-curricular, through the principles mentioned in the Recommendation: conclusion of a written traineeship agreement, educational and training objectives, working conditions applicable to trainees (including financial remuneration), rights and obligations, reasonable duration, appropriate recognition of traineeships, transparency requirements, cross-border placements, use of European Structural and Investment Funds, etc.

Furthermore, the incorporation of curricular placements into Recommendation 2014/C 88/01 will give universities and higher education institutions the role of "social partners", taking a more active role in the implementation of the principles of this Recommendation and in the management of curricular placements at European level. It should be noted that youth unemployment rates vary across the European Union; however, one thing that almost all Member States have in common is the compulsory nature of a traineeship during higher education studies. Thus, including such periods in Recommendation 2014/C 88/01 would provide some cohesion between Member States.

Cities should tap into the experience and motivation of those who have been on Erasmus+ exchanges, be it academic, short-term EVS or other experiences. 1 or 2 of these individuals should be appointed Youth Exchange Ambassadors (YEAs).

These YEAs will act as a delegate of young people in their city, playing the role of bridge between the community, municipal representatives and EU institutions. These YEAs may also share experiences from their counterparts.

The impact? The voice of youth will be heard at municipal level and more active young people will contribute to regional development. More young people will be involved in the decision-making process at a local level that will further enhance political culture.

One of the biggest struggles students face is choosing a career path they want to follow. Students generally only consider occupations that are popular in society, or familiar to them, and not many have access to a career counsellor.

That is why it is essential to inform students about various different kinds of professions, and offer them a hands-on experience. This can be done through virtual events such as an EU-hosted online career fair. These events would allow students to meet with experts from various fields.

The great economic and environmental crises are not the roots of our problems. They are just the result. The result of a poorly structured society at cultural and educational levels. We need to use philosophy in our education (especially in STEM) in order to motivate active citizenship behavior and redefine Europe's culture at local, national, and pan-European level, before reaching a point of no return.

Can philosophy make any change? History has proven so, many times! From the founding of Democracy in Classical Athens in the 6th century b.c., through the “Age of Enlightenment”

In order to fight youth unemployment, the EU should:

• research what type of employees are needed in the next 15 years, publish the results and tailor the education system to these needs.
• establish specific funds to support unpaid internships for young people from low socio-economic backgrounds.
• establish employment programs for young foreigners from less developed countries.
• invest in innovative projects, especially those focused on technology and digitalisation.
• encourage young people to travel as much as possible.

Volunteering builds social skills and offers practical experiences useful in adult life. It also supports solidarity, inclusion and tolerance, thus promoting EU values.

This is especially lacking in post-Soviet countries where non-formal learning is less popular.

Catalan should be made an official EU language. Ten million people speak the language, so they are going to appreciate it and become more familiar with the EU.

Populism is rampant in Europe today. We need:

• visionaries who are not afraid to stand up for ideals and principles of a democracy and our EU values.
• to unite the people in a vision of a equitable and harmonious humanity.
• to teach EU values in schools, museums and other educational institutions.
• for information about the rights and obligations of an EU citizen to be available and accessible to all.

There is a skills mismatch between universities and the job market – many young graduates cannot find work in their field of expertise. In the meantime, demand for electricians, mechanics, plumbers, nurses, welders and a wide range of other physical jobs soars.

The EU should thus provide special funding for technical education. This would help promote the physical jobs which society desperately needs, thereby curbing structural unemployment in some member states.

It would also provide better jobs than working at a fast food restaurant or a shopping centre. Lastly, it would fight the myth that those who have not attended university are inferior to those who have.

Erasmus+ students on academic exchanges receive the same amount of money to spend within either a semester or a year. For example, you receive the same grant in Bologna as in Naples, even if Bologna is more expensive to live in.

Regional economic imbalances must be taken into account when allocating grants; the cost of living in the place of residence should be taken into account to make the programme fair and equitable.

Prejudices, lack of knowledge or lack of collaboration between different bodies in schools can sometimes slow down innovation.

To address this, there should be better collaboration between schools within the EU. EU schools should have strong and stable communication networks so that they can be in contact with each other and share best practices regularly. A Forum of European Schools, whereby school principals and other school leaders meet with students to discuss new ways of organising schools, would be an effective way to enhance collaboration. This discussion should be in the form of workshops, designed by experts, with the aim of birthing new, progressive ideas.

Furthermore, like our cities, our educational institutions should be able to pair up with one another, with the institutional and financial support of the EU.

Gender equality is still not a reality when it comes to economic value or pay. We still do not have equal pay between men and women, and very often women pay double the price for the same services. For example, getting a haircut is often two or three times more expensive for a woman, even with short hair.

We need to change this on a community level: the EU should impose equal prices for equal services, by tolerating increases or decreases only on the basis of variations in the trader's costs for the provision of that service, not for gender.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that dealing with mental health issues is a luxury not many people can afford. We need a mental health pact to organise our resources and tackle mental health issues within our community. Health is more than just physical health: citizens need to understand that there are many ways to be healthy - and mental health is one of them.

The continued uncertainty of 2020 and 2021 is compounded by the longer uncertainty of climate change. For this reason, it is necessary for the European Union to sign and promote a mental health pact, promising to use resources to tackle mental health. We need to:

• tackle the stigma that surrounds mental health
• treat mental health in schools and teach children how to seek help for a variety of mental health issues
• provide psychological support to vulnerable groups, such as those adversely affected by the pandemic and by climate change. This should be subsidised by national authorities and the EU
• subsidise treatment, including therapy
• fund positions for more psychologists within national public health systems
• ensure employers provide necessary paid leave for mental illness

Another measure which would allow us to concentrate more on mental health would be to create an online website where practical help and contact information can be found.

Cigarettes are harmful in many ways - both for our health and the environment. Besides causing serious health issues, they also contribute to air and water pollution as well as forest and rainforest fires. In order to incentivise people to quit smoking or to help them not to start smoking at all, taxes on cigarettes as well as on other highly polluting products should be increased.

We can reduce plastic use if we make it easier for people to refill their water bottles than buying several single use ones. This can be achieved by installing devices similar to vending machines that are dedicated to sell purified water for the same prize as an ordinary plastic bottle. The liquid in these facilities can be stored in aluminum boxes, making them completely plastic free. In addition, the aluminum deposits can be kept in the same refrigerators that are now used for single-use plastic bottles so that the energy consumption for cooling stays the same.

We should allow citizens in all Member States to vote online in local, national and European elections.

European institutions should write a law that mandates public school restaurants, hospitals and enterprises to always have a vegetarian option on their menu.

The EU and its Member States should limit the conduction of online consultations, due to the fact that not everyone is equally represented, as only those who possess electronic equipment can participate and share their opinions.

The EU should force social media platforms to make sure that every social media account represents a real person. If we consider platforms such as Facebook or Instagram to be part of the public space, no one should be allowed to their their identity!

In addition, if a person break a law while using one of these platforms, only forcing users to reveal their identity will allow authorities to deal with crimes, thereby making social media a safer space.

EU institutions should not concern themselves with the organisation of its Member States' judicial systems. How Member States choose to manage rule of law internally should be a matter of national politics.

While the European Green Deal is a step forward in the battle against climate change, the EU should take more decisive positions to make it effective. One of those is the revision of the State Aid Guidelines obliging beneficiaries to abide by the principles of “green conditionality”

The crisis that Greece has been facing in the last decade is not over. The country, which is one of the pillars in European history, needs as much help as possible from the EU to overcome its financial difficulties. Greece needs radical reforms in social policy and welfare as well as financial aid to manage the migration crisis.

Giving Greece a chance means giving a chance to the future of Europe.

A short-term solution to reduce car pollution is to simply shift from fuel-powered vehicles to hydrogen-powered ones. In order to make this possible, EU institutions must get to work and develop the infrastructure for this type of engine. That way, costs will drop and hydrogen-based vehicles will be accessible to more citizens.

The European Parliament provides the democratic base of the European Union and is therefore an important institution. Nonetheless, it should be reformed in order to reach its full potential.

Ways to do so could include:

• The parliament should offer Member States the opportunity to make use of single-member constituencies for national minorities, without permitting a (de facto) first-past-the-post system in cases of very small constituencies.
• It should have the right of initiative to propose new legislation. Suggestions should be able to be proposed by either a political group, a committee or a group of MEPs representing at least 5% of Parliament.
• It should continue having standing and temporary committees with a focus on specific political areas. The composition of the committees should continue to reflect the political composition in the Parliament.
• It should transition into a single seat parliament in Brussels to save on administrative costs.
• It should work to promote gender equality, e.g. by establishing a parental leave substitution system in the European Parliament, available for any of the parents.

The EU should create a compulsory, transnational program that all young people who, once they turn eighteen, could participate in and that could be linked to social service schemes and local community development projects. It would only be a truly transnational program though if it allows citizens to move to other countries to e.g. participate in workcamps or voluntary services. That way, young people could meet one another, build life-long friendships, but also increase awareness of civic duty, European identity and solidarity. The program could thereby build on existing programs such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps.

A significant number of scientific and social research studies stress the importance of sex education at secondary school level. Young teenagers are in need of practical and factual information.

In some communities, issues linked to sexuality are taboo and people don't discuss them in homes, schools and centres. Now, as a result, teenagers are in danger of sexually transmitted infections, mental illness, and chronic health problems as well as of LGBTQ discrimination and school bullying.

One of the challenges here is a lack of teachers who possess the necessary knowledge and training to distribute appropriate and correct information about sex and reproductive health. Additional barriers include opposition from cultural and religious leaders, as well as the absence of sex and reproductive health education generally, both at a local and EU level.

Let's unify and provide teachers with the right information, backed by scientists and health specialists, as a starting point.

Eco-labels make it easier for customers to identify which items are better for the environment - particularly when they specify if the product is biodegradable, recyclable or made from recycled materials. That is why it is important that the European Union dedicates big efforts to the promotion of these tags.

Additionally, EU institutions should work on the creation of an environmental impact index: a mandatory label that will inform customers about what harm a specific item might have done to the planet. Apart from this information, it can be interesting to add an index such as "eco-cost" that quantifies the impact of each product.

All of this data, reflected in the mentioned eco-labels or impact indexes, will encourage citizens to make more informed choices that can also benefit our planet.

Fiscal integration is the last step towards a stronger united Europe. We need to put an end to the disparities between each Member State and reduce tax evasion within the Union with a single tax.

Each Member State should be treated equally within the EU. In this respect, the Union should help less developed nations, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe, to thrive financially and level with the remaining developed Member States.

The EU should:

• implement less political spending and more social reforms in the Education and Health sectors.
• implement administrative mergers, fewer impediments, and bureaucracy to entrepreneurship.
• increase research into anti-corruption laws.

In this way, the EU can treat Member States more equally and better connect to the far corners of the continent.

The EU should be transparent about major contracts that it concludes, such as vaccine purchase contracts. There should also be prior consultation with citizens about such agreements.