Samenvatting

Democratic deficit, mistrust and decreasing interest in European politics has forced European Union institutions to take action to bring Europe back to its citizens. The aim of this paper is to outline the impact of the European Union Youth policies on European integration. This will be accomplished by measuring what impact the active youth citizenship programs have on the youth's personal developments as European citizens.

This paper first looks at young people's role as a demographic group in Europe and the challenges of active European youth citizenship. This is followed by exploring the European Union youth policies and youth policy tools on youth citizenship; Youth in Action, Youth Partnership and European Youth Portal. A case study of youth gatherings in Finland will be then used to demonstrate the impact Youth in Action has on youth and their opportunities to learn about Europe and eventually to play an active role in the European society.
The main conclusions drawn from this research suggest that European Union youth polices do indeed stand a chance in increasing the level of integration and cohesion in Europe. The experiences of involvement, cultural and information exchange and feeling of ownership the programs offer, lower the step for the youth to participate and encourage youth to be more tolerant towards the prevailing diversity in Europe.