Together with the European Youth Forum, European Movement International and many other associations, JEF is campaigning for the setting up of a European Statute for the European Association, giving institutional recognition to the engagement and to the activism of millions of citizens, freely and voluntarily joining together in associations across Europe. The freedom of association at European level is both a fundamental right of the European citizens and an active component in the emergence of a European public sphere.

For this purpose, we are part of an informal “European Alliance for the Statute of the European Association” (EASEA) which acts like a coordinator, together with the International Association of Mutuals (AIM) and the European Foundation Center (EFC), of an awareness raising and lobby campaign towards MEPs.

On 10 November 2010 five members of the European Parliament have launched a “Written declaration on establishing a European Statute for Mutuals, Associations and Foundations” calling on the European Commission to table three proposals for European statutes. JEF is part of a group of European associations that decided to join their forces with the mutuals and foundations in order to support this declaration and to help to collect a majority of MEP signatures which are needed to bring the statute of the European association back on the agenda.