5 Ideas for a younger Europe

What would you say to European lawmakers if you had the chance?

Last week the President of the European Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz said in an interview that  ‘Europe has spent hundreds of billions of euros rescuing its banks, but may have lost an entire generation of young people in the process’.

Most of us, especially those originating from PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), have seen our lives changing dramatically since the beginning of the crisis. In Greece and Spain, one in every two young people under 25 is unemployed, regardless of their educational background. Public health and education have seen their budgets plunge, sacrificing quality over debt.

What are the changes that need to take place on a European level in order to see our lives improve on a local level?

The project ‘5 ideas for a younger Europe’ was a joint-initiative of the First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Gianni Pitella and the Vice-President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Anna Maria Darmanin.

Since October 2011 the two Vice-Presidents visited 11 universities in 8 countries. Their aim was to meet with communication and political science students to hear their fears, hopes and concerns regarding the future of the European Union. It is through discussing with these young people that the five ideas for a younger Europe were born.

Tomorrow at 14.30 CET I will have the pleasure to coordinate the final event of this project, where young Europeans will have yet again the chance to get their voices heard.

If you want to contribute to the improvement of these five ideas, please join us tomorrow, 18.03.2013 at EESC or online.

The event will be live streamed and you will also have the chance to leave your comment on Debating Europe’s platform.

See you soon!