The European Parliament adopted by 603 votes to 23, with 63 abstentions, a resolution in response to the Commission communication entitled “Recognising and promoting cross-border voluntary activities in the EU”.
The resolution recalls that ‘volunteering’ means activities which are undertaken voluntarily on the basis of a person’s own free choice and motivation, and without concern for financial gain and for a non-profit cause. Given that volunteering is an informal learning experience suitable for persons of all ages, Members invite the Member States, who do not have a clear or adequate legal framework for volunteers, to put one in place.
Member States are also called upon to:
Recalling that volunteering reduces the risk of social exclusion, Parliament considers it essential to attract all social groups to such activities, especially people with disabilities.
Volunteers and the European Neighbourhood Policy: Parliament notes the benefits arising from cooperation between volunteers from the European Union’s Member States and third countries and points out that such cooperation is particularly important in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy. It calls on the Council and the Commission to continue to make progress in the negotiations towards easier visa regimes for non-EU citizens wishing to enter the EU for the purpose of volunteering, provided they fulfil the criteria to perform volunteering activities and to implement the provisions of Council Directive 2004/114/EC on the conditions of admission of third-country nationals for the purposes of studies. The purpose would be to simplify the procedures for the granting of visas for those wishing to undertake voluntary activities as part of the EU neighbourhood policy (as opposed to abolishing them as suggested by the committee responsible). Parliament encourages the Member States to recognise the benefits of participating in cross-border volunteer activities to provide citizens with new skills.
Volunteering and participative exchange: Parliament notes that volunteering involves citizens in economically, socially and ecologically sustainable local and cross-border development and can often ensure the swift provision of aid when disasters occur. It also plays a role in fostering solidarity, active citizenship and inter-cultural learning, providing volunteers with the opportunity to learn the language and culture of the country in which they work, thereby strengthening social cohesion and participative democracy. Parliament notes that volunteering increases people's tolerance, creates human and social capital and plays a vital role in the empowerment of socially excluded groups. It emphasises the need to provide access to as wide a range of volunteering opportunities as possible and encourages the Commission to make European programmes more inclusive and open to all age groups.
Enhance the quality of voluntary action: Parliament asks the Commission to strengthen the capacity of organizations and volunteer centers to provide information and training. The Commission should publish a report identifying barriers to cross-border volunteering, such as age limits in the insurance and, where appropriate, legislative proposals.
To enhance the quality of volunteer work, the resolution stresses the following:
Parliament proposes that a centralised EU portal be created, in cooperation with organisations and associations working in this sector and in particular their European networks, to include a best practice volunteer resources bank and a section on cross-border volunteering, with information on the programmes available, their costs and the conditions for participation.
Volunteering and senior citizens: Members note that older people who engage in volunteering find it easier to make the transition from work to retirement. It stresses the importance of providing information, adequate funding and support for senior citizens wishing to volunteer in another EU country. They note that volunteering contributes to integration, social inclusion and social innovation, and can also contribute to poverty reduction, thus helping to achieve economic and social cohesion. Members point out that volunteering also promotes solidarity between generations by encouraging cooperation between young people and senior citizens, and that it contributes to active ageing. Members call on the Commission and the Member States to give a high profile to volunteering in sport, particularly at the grassroots level, to acknowledge the important role played by volunteer-led sporting organisations in strengthening culture, etc.
Recognition of volunteering: Parliament supports the Commission’s proposal to establish a ‘European Skills Passport’, so that the skills acquired through volunteering may be officially recognised, both for professional and learning purposes. For Members, this Passport should not be a series of new separate certificates but, rather, a comprehensive document listing all practical experience, training and soft and vocational skills acquired through life-long learning, including those gained through volunteering, if desired by the volunteer. The resolution suggests therefore including the skills acquired through volunteering in the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) for students.
The Commission is called upon to:
Member States are urged to:
The resolution proposes that a training and qualifications framework for volunteer coaches be established and incorporated into the European Qualifications Framework in order to improve the mobility of volunteer coaches and enhance the transferability of skills and competences developed through volunteering.
European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps: the resolution supports the Commission’s proposal to create a ‘European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps’, which will increase the participation of volunteers in solidarity actions in the context of the EU’s humanitarian aid policy. It calls on the Commission also to take existing structures into consideration and actively to incorporate these from the outset when establishing this voluntary corps and emphasises that the duplication of organisations in the area of civil protection is not desirable and should be avoided.
Removing technical barriers: Members urge the national, regional and local authorities and the EU to ensure adequate and stable funding and to simplify administrative procedures, including tax incentives, for the organisations involved in volunteering work, including all the relevant associations and networks, particularly for small associations with limited resources, with a view to enhancing their roles, activities and achievements for the benefit of society. They call, therefore, for the concept of grants to associations to be clarified so that association funding is not confused with state aid, which could hinder competition in the financial sector. The Commission is called upon to propose a mechanism to allow Member States wishing to strengthen civil society to exempt from VAT all or most of the activities and transactions carried out by voluntary non-profit-making organisations. At least the smaller non-profit-making organisations should be covered by such a mechanism.
Member States are called upon to:
European financing for voluntary work: Parliament calls on the Commission to ensure that funding is guaranteed for volunteering projects and for the structures organised by voluntary activities in the EU.
It also calls on the Commission to:
Members ask the Commission to allocate adequate resources to the creation of a European Volunteer Centre Development Fund aimed at developing infrastructure to support volunteering.
European Statute: Members call on the Commission to propose a European Statute for Associations to give them the legal framework within which to operate, reduce the administrative costs associated with cross-border volunteering activities and establish voluntary structures at a European level which encourage mobility of volunteers in the EU. They propose that a cross-border network of voluntary organisations in the various Member States should be set up by coordinating the existing voluntary organisations and call for the promotion of volunteer work in EU policies.
Voluntary work and the European Year: Parliament recommends that the Commission and the Member States maintain a continuity between 2011 and future years by strongly integrating the volunteering dimension, which is an expression of active citizenship that promotes social integration, including that of older citizens, within both the European Year for Active Ageing (2012) and the proposed European Year of Citizens (2013).