At the Scottish Nationalist Party's (SNP) 73rd annual conference at the Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort, between Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October, the Young Scots for Independence (YSI) resolution was unanimously supported by SNP delegates.

The resolution read:
"Conference re-affirms the party's long standing support for reducing the voting age to 16 years old, an age where a young adult can get married, form a civil partnership, have children, pay tax, join the armed forces and much more but cannot vote.

Conference calls on the Westminster Parliament to remove this reserved power from the Scotland Act to allow the Scottish Government full control over voting rights in Scottish local government elections."

The motion follows a ruling by the Austrian state Governments' Council of Ministers earlier this year to lower the voting age to 16 years – a decision that was supported by the EFAy. Speaking at the time, EFAy Bureau Member and representative of Junge Sudtiroler Freiheit (from Sud Tirol), Reinhild Campidell commented:

"It is only fair to give young people the right to vote. At 16, they are old enough to take responsibility for their home and future, if that decision is given to them. Young people must be given the opportunity to tackle politics earlier and in doing so politics will become more interesting and more concerned with youth issues.

Lowering the voting age guarantees that an interest in the youth and young people will be strengthened."

Click here to see the video from YSI National Organiser David Linden, who presented the resolution at Conference

Click in the following link to access the European News Flash News (EFAY Newsletter): Newsletter 10

The President of the EFAy, Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, was invited to speak at an annual event organised by EFAy members Joves d'Esquerra Nacionalista ( www.jen.cat ) on Saturday 17th November 2007.

The Escola Tardor Jaume Serra event is organised by JEN every Autumn and guests are invited to speak on different topics. This year Rhisiart was invited to speak about "A Europe of the Free Peoples" and the position of the EFAy.

Other topics that were discussed included group psychology, ecological agriculture and the situation of the Catalan culture and language, with experts from these fields invited along to speak. The two day event was also an opportunity for members of JEN to come together socially for a fun and educational experience. Each year the school is held in a different venue and this year it was held near Caretara de Santa Maria, to the north of Palma de Mallorca.

Speaking at the event, Rhisiart said:
"The EFAy is important, because it gives young people a channel in which to express themselves politically... The EFAy, as a political community of young Europeans, aims to represent the interests of those who believe that the 'march of a nation' towards greater autonomy, self government or even independence should not have its boundaries. EFAy members represent the future of Europe and one day I hope that we will look back and not only feel proud of what has been achieved, but that we were also part of it".