by Svetla Vassileva

Do you think that the creation of the future of Europe is only for 60 year old men in grey suits? If so, you probably have not joined us in Brussels at the end of November and met the ambitious young people that took part in the international debate “Europe! A Generation Ahead”. Run for young people by young people, the event presented a dynamic, new approach to the questions of the Future of Europe.

More than 200 participants from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, Yugoslavia and the USA expressed themselves and added some fresh air to the ongoing debate “What Europe should look like?”. Being in the shoes of the politicians on sensitive issues like competences, subsidiarity, institutions, economic governance, foreign and security policy, justice and home affairs, was a difficult yet challenging task. The youth of Europe was not afraid to take on the challenge!

The first touch
From November 29 until December 1 Brussels became the capital of ideas. Eager to communicate and exchange their opinions, representatives of 31 countries proved that no other generation has such a feeling of the “European Spirit” as young people. They left behind their cultural differences and worked together, producing concrete recommendations and proposals to the European Convention. Some of the participants tasted the amazing atmosphere of JEF’s international events for the first time. “I am here to learn more about the European union and the way it works”, an American girl timidly said. At the end of the discussion she was already defending her view that the union should be more people oriented. Of course there were also very experienced participants, who grabbed the chance to share their knowledge in the matter and present themselves as real experts. Thus, every working group had its apprentices but also its leaders and policy-makers.

“What should Europe look like?” This was intensively debated on Friday afternoon at a session organised at the European Parliament with Anne Van Lancker, Convention member and MEP, and Gérard Legris, from the European Commission Task Force on the Future of Europe. Further on, the participants could confront their views to those of the representatives of the youth political parties present in the second panel discussion. This was indeed a very polemical round-table, with confrontation on several keys questions like for example the need for a European Army.

While Europeans debated on one or another proposal, their US counterparts helped them by explaining how things work under the American model, what has proved to be good and what lacks momentum. The specifics of the discussions attracted even a French professor, who joined the workshop on economic governance. A lot of interesting and appealing questions from all over the world were addressed to him and provided him with new issues for research and observation.

New approaches, new vision
The participants in the international youth meeting pushed for deeper political integration, while preserving cultural diversity in the union. “Let’s learn and build upon our differences!”, they suggested, encouraged by the fruitfulness of the hot debates in the working groups, which stuck to the same formula. Young people built their own model for the future Europe, giving the union the role of an international peace promoter and a “humanising force of globalisation”, which offers alternative solutions to world’s problems. “Europe does not need more institutions, it needs better institutions with a more democratic, efficient and accountable decision-making structure”, the working group on the institutional aspects of European integration pointed out.

As part of their new vision for Europe young people called for a single president of the European union that should be elected only by the European parliament. They suggested that the Parliament has equal standing with the Council and the right to legislative initiative. Among the original ideas of the European youth was the proposal that the Council should be composed of national representatives, elected by national parliaments, and not of ministers with double mandates. They went even further in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy by backing the establishment of a European federal armed force and the transfer of Defence policy within the exclusive competences of the union. “This shows that young people are not afraid of a strong and united federal Union”, Alison Weston, President of JEF noted. She expressed her hope that the Commission, as the guardian of the European interests, will also be so bold and ambitious in its contribution to the Convention.

Taking the message to the street
In the first day of December some two hundred young federalists gathered at the Molenbeek market to share their thoughts with the public. With information leaflets, polls, petitions and games they tried to convince the citizens of Brussels that the future of Europe is not “a politicians only area”, regardless the typical Belgian rain.

Work and excitement went hand in hand
Of course, where there are young people, there are also parties. After the long and exhausting days the participants in the inter-national youth meeting relaxed under the beats of their favourite music bands and had the chance to taste the famous Belgian beers. They met new friends and experienced new challenges.

“I gave my first interview!”, a Slovenian boy shouted out after the discussions, impressed by his first contact with the media. At the same time a girl from Bulgaria was very enthusiastic because of her acquaintance with a Bulgarian-speaking Norwegian. Laugh and vivid conversations could be heard in the corridors, in the bars and in the youth hostel. Everybody was eager to get a piece from a different culture, while promoting the beauties of its own country. Everybody was eager to express its “European spirit”.