A key challenge for Europe is to seriously invest in social cohesion. The March 2017 Rome declaration spells out the need for a Union that promotes social progress, cohesion and convergence, with cohesion explicitly included at the initiative of the Bulgarian President.
It is precisely through a comprehensive European social model that the serious challenges facing young people in Europe today on employment, education and training can be successfully resolved.
Bulgaria has taken over the EU Council presidency at a time when defining issues for Europe will be dealt with, such as the post-2020 MFF, including financing for the future of policies and programmes such as the Youth Employment Initiative, Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and others.
The Bulgarian presidency will strive to promote constructive debate and concrete agreements between member states for an enhanced European Social Fund and other instruments targeting young people.
This range of issues will be examined in depth at the forthcoming high-level conferences in February and March in Sofia, dedicated to the topics of investing in people and the future of work.