CompletEU

The project completEU aims at raising awareness about EU enlargement mechanisms, educate citizens about its advantages, and strengthen cooperation partnerships and networks among young people across geographical regions and beyond borders. It will empower youth from all over Europe to create a common vision for the future of the continent. In order to do so, it will bring together young people coming from EU countries, as well as the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries.

CompletEU foresees the production of a research paper on the concept of peace and democracy in different European regions, carry out capacity-building activities for young European people, and enable them to advocate for a more complete future for the European Union, culminating in a simulation of decision-making processes including all European countries and various advocacy campaigns.

The initiative, supported by the Erasmus+ grant, will be implemented between December 1st, 2023 and November 30th, 2025, and will fund activities taking place in different regions of the European continent.

Aims and goals

The main objectives of completEU are the following:

  1. To map the past and present definitions of peace, democracy and the rule of law in EU member states, Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan countries and create a common youth agenda for Europe moving forward.
  2. To create a publication that details a common vision for Europe, shaped by young people (New Horizons).
  3. To empower young people to become catalysts for change in the fields of peace and democracy in EU member states, Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan countries.
  4. To strengthen cooperation partnerships and networks among young people across geographical regions and beyond borders, fostering a common vision of the future of Europe and sharing good practices in the areas of democracy, peace and the rule of law.
  5. To develop and test a model of a reformed European decision-making process involving all Eastern Partnership, Western Balkan and EU countries.
  6. To impact European communities on the local level throughout all the three target regions through multiplier events with decision makers and advocacy campaigns, aligning with the European Youth Strategy, the European Youth Goals 3,4 and 9 and the Youth Action Plan on EU External Action.

Implementation and activities

Transnational partners meetings (January 2024 and December 2024)

Two transnational partners meetings (TPMs) will be organized throughout the project.  They will aim at setting up the bases and the evaluation for the whole implementation of the project. Moreover, they will establish the links between the partner organisations and their roles. The TMPs will be organised in Tbilisi, Georgia and Tirana, Albania.

EXPLORE – mapping and research (December 2023 – April 2024)

During the first months of project implementation, partners will conduct a mapping of the past and present definitions of peace, democracy and the rule of law in EU member states, Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan countries and create a common youth agenda for Europe moving forward. The partners will be grouped in three geographical areas (EU, Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership) depending on the country they are based in, and will jointly produce their regional research. These three papers will be compiled in a joint research.

EXPAND – capacity-building and European simulation (May 2024 – May 2025)

During the second phase of the project, the consortium will implement a series of capacity-building activities, both at the national and European levels.

National capacity-building events – consortium partners will organize national training sessions in their own languages, in order for local youth to learn about concepts such as the EU youth goals, European integration, peace and democracy etc.

Online capacity-building series – consortium partners will organize online training sessions in English on similar topics as the previously mentioned ones, in order to ensure a European-wide dialogue among European youth, and a more wide-spread capacity-building opportunity.

European simulation event – delegates from all European countries will be invited to a large-scale simulation which will be based on the simulation method developed by the consortium.

ENACT – advocacy and campaigning (June 2024 – November 2025)

The third and last phase of the project will focus on advocacy and campaigning, and will take place for the longest time period.

  • The first event (New Horizons) will be held in Brussels before the European Elections 2024 take place, in order to draw attention to the project activities.
  • Secondly, the consortium will be launching a Europe-wide campaign, focused on the question “where would Europe be today if those countries not in the EU joined at one point?”. The campaign will be called “Europe What If?”.
  • Thirdly, the consortium will support JEF Europe’s annual campaign “Democracy under Pressure”, which focuses on standing up for the rights of people living in countries with endangered democracies.
  • Finally, in order for the project to have a wider national impact, each partner will organize multiplier events in their local contexts.

Partners and Roles

JEF Europe will be responsible for the overall coordination and communication with the partners in each of the steps.

The National Youth Councils and Umbrella will be involved in each step of the project and responsible for bringing specific impact in their national contexts, by implementing training opportunities – both online and offline – and advocacy campaigns. They will also bring their own unique perspective on what the future of Europe should look like.