ABSTRACT
The European Union’s Euro-Med Youth Programme has long been the only programme directly and exclusively targeting young people in the Arab Mediterranean countries. The authors utilise the policy evaluation framework in order to analyse this programme as a youth policy instrument of the European Union’s policy in the Mediterranean region. The chapter argues that the Euro-Med Youth Programme is a direct reflection of the general Mediterranean policy of the European Union which focuses on the diagnosis of the problem contextualisation, but at the same time undermining the social reality and the needs and expectations of the young people in the region. Although it was beneficial to the few young people who participated, overall the programme had certain design and implementation shortcomings that risked negatively affecting its outcomes. Considering the emphasis on evidence-based policymaking at the European level, any available or prospective data, such as the SAHWA Youth Survey 2016 (2017), that provides a comprehensive snapshot of the situation and expectations of youth in the Arab Mediterranean countries should be carefully examined and utilised for the design and implementation of policy instruments to be able to increase and ensure the societal relevance of the youth cooperation schemes in the region.
