I did not feel concerned about the EU… Speech text by Estelle VALETTE, MASSILLON

Unlike my friend Ombeline, I wasn't given a book about Europe in primary school. It was only eight months ago that I got interested in Europe. What is Europe? Why did we create it? I had never asked myself these questions before. And I'm not the only one who just recently got the chance to learn about Europe. Many people have some knowledge about it but not enough. Yes, we have our nationality but, in addition, we have the chance to be European. But it just so happens, I don't really “feel” European…

In the past, Europe has accomplished so much: the Euro, the preservation of freedom and giving aid to poor countries in challenging times. Europe has created new jobs and implemented measures to take care of the environment for future generations. All of this is great, but I had to look for all of this information. I had to appreciate Europe’s achievements through my own research. If I hadn’t had the curiosity to learn about Europe, I would not know much about it. I believe there is an enormous lack of information about Europe nowadays. There is so much that we take for granted. The European Union and its member countries want to solve important problems such as international crime and terrorism, hunger and poverty, pollution and climate change. But from my point of view, at this time, the most essential thing is to help the youth to feel more European because the EU’s future is the youth! And nothing will or can be done without us!

I spoke with my foreign friends about the EU. A Romanian friend told me that she didn’t feel European. Even though Europe has helped her country a lot, by revitalizing Romania's economy, she didn’t know much about the EU. For some French people it’s the flag that we can find on our driving licence. For another friend, from Mexico, Europe is just a rich area to the east. I ask you: can we consider Europe as just a rich region of the world or an alliance between governments?

Over the last months, I have learnt things about Europe, but I’m still far from knowing all about it. I now realize that being European means sharing our wealth and being proud of our diversity. It’s the possibility to discover other cultures, customs, and languages; to be more open-minded. One century ago, we did not have this chance. The EU is not just a continent or an alliance between several governments; it’s an opportunity to live in diversity, to learn things about other countries.

Nowadays, the link between European countries seems to be breaking up. Fewer students are taking part in the Erasmus programmes. Why is the feeling of being European, which was slowly being forged over the years, now decreasing? Firstly, to get on to Erasmus you have to wait for the second year of studies (having started the administrative procedure one year earlier, which includes providing school reports, a covering letter and a reference letter). If you're accepted, you then have to fill in yet another form. This programme, in fact, is only really open to a particular age group. Maybe, we can open up the Erasmus programme to more young people, like pupils in high school?

How can we reinforce or rebuild the link between the EU member states? In education, there is a specific programme about Europe. Some schools take trips to other countries in Europe. Pupils stay with host families and learn so much. But others don't have the opportunity to go on such trips with their school. We could create holiday camps for all children so that they too could learn about other countries, or about the origins of their families, to visit a new city, and improve their foreign language skills. They will meet people from different cultures and perhaps create links with one or more of these people who will maybe become friends.

Earlier, I was not concerned by Europe but I am going to be more interested in it from now on because I have chosen to be. We must give people like me the will to know more about the EU so we must give them more information and the feeling of belonging to Europe. But, don’t forget, to be European is more than having a privileged status; it's a shared way of life.

Why am I an EU enthusiast? Speech text by Ombeline LEMAIRE, MASSILLON

In the last 8 months, "Europe" has become more and more important in my life.

The first day I learned about the EU was probably when my teacher from primary school gave me a book about it. You know, the kind of book which is 80% made up of pictures and only 20% of text.

But seven years later, looking at pictures to learn about the EU wasn't enough anymore. In October, I did a European Parliament simulation. This event offered me the opportunity to discover the EU political system. Months later, I also deepened my knowledge about the EU with a cross border dialogue in Italy. A hundred citizens confronted their opinion about different EU issues to find solutions. I never expected, as a student, to participate in that kind of event.

For almost 15 years of my life, I thought the EU was only a union between 28, or 27, or 26 countries, whose information wasn’t important to me. Nowadays, the EU means more than a union state to me or a book with games. It is fighting for solidarity, social stability and economic prosperity. More than just knowing about it, I actually feel I can contribute to the aims of the EU.

Lots of people are criticizing the EU. For them the EU represents a constraint for the economic development of their own country.

But in my opinion “unity is strength”, and strength is what we need to get out of the economic crisis, to discover others cultures, to recognize the bad from the good. See, with unity, we achieved economic power. With unity we have a bigger impact in regards to human rights. Since 2013, the death sentence has never again been pronounced in any of the EU countries’ courts.

With unity we created a united new generation: my generation. Which I hope and think is mostly peaceful. We learned what happened during the World Wars, we learned what happened during the Cold War, and we don’t want it to happen again.

Now I hope that same unity will also help us to succeed in the environmental challenges we are facing. That unity will help to change people’s mentalities about climate change. When, as a 16 year old teenager or as a young child you learn that we are almost the last generation before it's too late, that all the burden of change is on us, you want to act and solve the issue.

Some friends say that I am passionate about the EU or an EU lover, but I also think that the EU needs perfecting and it needs to adjust to our times. We have a Commission, we have a Parliament but countries don’t respect the EU rules as they should. In 2008, the European Parliament established a norm for air quality, a norm which has not been respected by France nor by Italy, Spain, Poland, and so many others…

Also, in 1957, the Treaty of Rome established the principle of equal salaries for men and women, but this directive has not been respected everywhere (not to say anywhere).

If countries decide not to respect instructions, laws and so on, does it mean that the EU isn’t strict enough? Does it mean it’s not worth being part of it anymore?

Discovering the EU was not only discovering an economic and political administration. I had the possibility to feel European, and it’s that feeling that makes me look at the EU’s weaknesses with indulgence and to feel positive about its unity.

The EU has a past, a present and a future. We are the generation which is going to build the Europe of tomorrow.

Europe deserves better! Speech text by Maxime MIKLUHA, MASSILLON

When I returned to Europe from America a few years ago, a strange realisation came to me. I began to see Europe in a different light. I did not know Europe anymore, the utopia this continent had been to my 10-year-old self. Nobody has ever claimed the European Union to be perfect, nor will it ever be perfect, but we all deserve a better Europe. The European peoples who built this union deserve better. The European youth deserve a better Europe. But a lot of us are fed up. The form of unity and harmony that the European Union is imposing on everyday folks like you and me is instead a form of division. A European Union creating a European division, this is the paradox which we are facing. I say it’s time to assess Europe’s problems in our fight for a better Europe. Specifically, I will be looking at the disconnect between citizens and the politicians in Brussels as well as the fundamental problems within the European Union.

I believe, first of all, that Europe needs more democracy and less bureaucracy, not the other way around. Expensive and tedious legislation takes away the decision-making power from local European communities. Europe wastes precious time by passing laws through a complex bureaucratic process. The European Union is limiting the people's political power.

This leads me to the second problem many have with Europe: lobbying. At the moment, the interest of the common European people is being crushed by private corporations in Brussels. Lobbying groups essentially bribe our representatives in Europe to go against our interests. For instance, take the 2008 global recession. It was in part caused by bank lobbyists. By deregulating the European economy, big banks and private interests took great financial risks before the recession came. And now, we all have to pay the price for their gambling. It is no wonder many Europeans are fed up. Some countries have passed laws regulating this political practise. Yet, lobbying is still a massive influence on European politics. My point here is that we deserve better. Europe deserves a more effective legislative system. Europe’s youth deserves a more democratic system. Later on, I want to vote in the EU elections knowing my voice matters. Later on, I want to know that my vote has the same weight as a millionaire’s vote or a homeless man’s vote.

Another glaring issue is that some of the European Union’s principles lead to counter-intuitive measures, for example, the principle of austerity. This idea promotes spending cuts to meet tight budget deficits set by the European Union. Western countries like Germany and France can afford to cut back on government spending and they are privileged economically to do so. Some southern countries, though, are not. Italy and Greece both suffered badly from the last global recession. They desperately need government spending to boost their economies. The principle of austerity for all of Europe is therefore unrealistic.

Another European idea which is also problematic is the free movement of labour. Before, this was one of the most practical and beneficial principles of Europe. Working anywhere in Europe was great, and it still is. The problem lies with the inclusion of former Soviet states in the East. If you are born in Spain or the Netherlands, you would rarely want to work in Belarus or other Eastern states. Why should you work in a far away, poorer country with lower salaries than in the West? On the other hand, if you are from the East, moving to the West is your life goal. Because of this, we see a major shift in Europe. The East is losing its educated workers, with the West taking in a large amount of them. The East deserves a better infrastructure by being in the EU; it is instead getting the opposite. The EU unfortunately has nobody to blame but itself for these issues. It’s no wonder people are fed up. You can see this hopelessness in the rise of populist parties in Italy and Poland. Europe deserves better. Europeans from the East, just as much as those from the West, deserve better.

I know I sound like a naive teenager just complaining about European problems. It is true, I have never held a normal job, I have never paid any taxes. Most of the issues I addressed barely impact my daily life. But the situation looks grim, even in a teenager’s eyes. The European Union was founded to unite us all. It has now changed so much that I’m afraid it is beginning to divide us all. The train of Europe’s economic prosperity and democracy is beginning to derail. Let us all act to put our Europe back on its tracks. I am looking at all of you pioneers from this great continent. I am looking at those meant to fight for us the most: the politicians in Brussels. I say, put away your political games! Fellow Europeans, use your voice and your vote to keep politicians fighting for all of us! It is time that all European nations and peoples become players in this European game. This is what Europe needs. This is what Europe deserves.

What are the causes of the democratic crisis? Speech text by Charline MARQUEZ, FENELON

Since the 1950s, we have managed to keep Europe more or less united. By working in the common interest, we have become ever more prosperous and we have avoided war. But, for how long can we keep it up?

To be part of the European Union, a nation has to respect the principle of popular sovereignty, that is: rule by the people. In one word: it has to be a democracy. The authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives.

Churchill said that democracy “is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. Joking apart, democracy has been coming under serious attack over the past few years. Does this mean that “other forms” of government, less democratic ones, will be coming back soon? The democratic crisis is undermining the project of an ever more united Europe!

Let’s take a look at some of the causes of this democratic crisis...

Cause number 1: the state of the economy! Since 2008, European countries have still not managed to get rid of their public debt, resulting in poor economic performance, wage stagnation, high unemployment, and low job opportunities, especially for us, the new generation. Eurostat estimates that 16 million men and women in the EU-28 were unemployed in February 2019. There is strong economic disparity between the member states. We are much less competitive in the globalized economy.

Cause number 2: society is in a mess! There is social unrest everywhere in Europe. Even middle class people are moaning; they feel that they are not getting enough in exchange for the taxes they pay, that their purchasing power is less, that they are being prevented from earning a decent living, that the Government favors the 1%, etc. Judging from the statistics, people do seem unhappy: millions are suffering from burnout, and the suicide rate is increasing.  Isn’t it strange that people feel miserable and unsafe in the most prosperous continent in the world?

Cause number 3: representative democracy is not working! Many people, like the “yellow vests” in France, feel that politicians are incompetent and corrupt, that the authorities are inefficient and wasteful, that their elected representatives don’t listen to them, and that they are indifferent to their problems. More and more citizens are demanding a more participatory democracy because they no longer have faith in the representative democratic system. There have been street protests, sometimes very violent, against governments in, among other countries: Belgium, Serbia, Germany, The Netherlands, and of course France. Is this the beginning of civil war all over Europe?

Cause number 4: we have failed to help the refugees and migrants! European governments appear incapable of working together to manage the flow of migrants. Some countries have shut their borders, others have welcomed the migrants. The issue has shown up how weak European cooperation is!

Cause number 5: voter abstention! In the 2014 European Parliament elections, around 56% of voters in France and 83% of voters in Portugal didn’t bother to go and vote… So many people seem ignorant about or even disappointed in the EU. The institutions seem so distant from ordinary citizens! The European Parliament, the European Commission and all the other institutions don’t seem to realize that their survival depends on explaining better their relevance to ordinary citizens…

Will the fatal cocktail of despair, anger, ignorance, fear and megalomania that we witness every day finish off our democratic system?

How can YOU help save democracy? Speech text by Claire SOULIER, FENELON

The EU plays an important role in our lives; without the EU, the economy would weaken, countries would become more inward-looking, and peace would be compromised. But, for the EU to work, we, the citizens need to feel that we truly belong to the European Union, which means that our voices need to be heard by the EU institutions.

I am going to list five ways we, the future voters, can contribute to keeping the EU democratic:

First: Start a petition to get the vote at 16! In Austria and Malta, young people can vote in the elections to the European Parliament, so why can’t we? At 16, you can already work and therefore pay contributions and taxes, so why would you not have the right to have a say on how this money is used? Politicians would take us more seriously if we had the vote, don’t you think?

Second: Become a member of one of your school's decision-making bodies! That way, you can make a difference in your school. It’s a good way to learn to express yourself in public, to work in a team, to take part in a vote, and to defend your convictions. If you believe in democracy, it’s a great way to learn how it works! Warning: It’s not simple! However, it can be very gratifying to work with others for the common good.

Third: Take part in a peaceful demonstration! The government is never indifferent when youth takes to the streets, because we are the future voters. If young people make a lot a noise about an issue, it means that it needs to be taken seriously by those in power. We don't have the right to express ourselves through the ballot box yet, but we can through peaceful marches! The school strikes for the climate are proof that we are committed to fighting for our planet and our survival. Let's show the government what our priorities are! It's our democratic right to strike for what we believe in. 

Fourth:  Demand more and better Civics lessons at school! Most people do not take part in the vote for the European Parliament because they don’t know enough about what it does or about the candidates. Education is the only solution here. Students, but adults too, should be taught about the EU and its institutions otherwise they will not understand why the EU is so important. Why do we only have 30 minutes per week of Civics at school? And why do we not learn practical things like how to vote, or how to run an association, or how I can get in touch with my member of parliament? Why do we not have civic engagement projects in High School? The best way to learn how to be a good citizen is surely to be given the opportunity to help others.

Fifth: Get adults to vote! In the 2014 European Parliament elections, only 42 percent voted (that’s the EU average); how legitimate is a parliament that does not represent the vast majority of people? It is really serious and now people have to understand that voting is not only a choice but also a duty. So please, remind the adults you know to do their bit for democracy, unless of course you would prefer to live under an authoritarian regime…

Charline listed some of the causes of the alarming democratic crisis and Mathilde described our chaotic future if we let populism gain more ground. Valentine gave us hope by mentioning the possible political solutions to the democratic crisis, and I have just given you five ways you too can do your part in keeping our European Union democratic; no effort is too small when the situation is urgent, every drop of water counts when a fire has to be put out.

What will happen if we don’t do anything about the crisis of democracy? Speech text by Mathilde SUCHET, FENELON

Have you heard of the “Doomsday Clock”? Scientists around the world use it to measure how close we are to “midnight”, that is: to the end of the world. Today, it is set at two minutes to midnight. Why? The main reason is the failure of our leaders to deal with the threat of nuclear war and with the economic and political chaos caused by global warming. How are people reacting to this desperate situation?

A survey carried out in France in April 2019 for franceinfo found that only 29% of those interviewed considered European construction a “source of hope” (compared to 61% in 2003). Most think that the EU is “inefficient” in dealing with terrorism, employment, and immigration among others. What preoccupies these people most is not the future of the EU, but purchasing power, immigration and terrorism. People are losing faith in Europe and its institutions…

To work, the European Union needs the people of the continent to have a strong sense of solidarity, of pride in their cultural diversity, of having shared values and a common destiny on which to build lasting peace and prosperity… But, people feel threatened by anything they imagine might compromise their economic security. Extremist and populist parties gain influence by exploiting people’s fear of change, of foreigners. The solution these parties promote is nationalism and strong leadership, in other words, a rejection of others and of democracy.

Paul Lewis wrote in The Guardian in March 2019 that 2.5 billion of the world’s citizens have leaders who are more or less “populists”. The figure has never been so high and it is continuing to rise. Leaders of populist parties exploit the suspicion and anger against social elites to gain more power; more power to these leaders means less power to the people. You may think that it is only happening in other parts of the world, but of the 46 leaders that are categorized as “populists”, 18 of them were European! Take Hungary for instance: the ruling party there is anti-Semitic and ultra-nationalistic, fueling hate by threatening its opponents, attacking the media, and even vilifying the Central European University. Can someone please explain to me why Hungary is still a member state of the EU?

Are we going back to the 1930s? Aziz Huq and Tom Ginsburg, professors at the University of Chicago Law School, say that an increasing number of developed countries (for example Hungary and Poland) are no longer robust democracies; they are sliding towards autocracy. This phenomenon is called “democratic backsliding”. In 2017, research group Freedom House published a report indicating that 25% of countries in the world suffering from democratic backsliding were European: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Spain.

I fear more democracies will be replaced by authoritarian regimes like those in Brazil, China, or Russia. We may, indeed, end up living under totalitarian regimes. This will mean no freedom at all. War and civil conflicts will become part of our daily lives. Women’s rights will be reduced and discrimination against minorities will increase. We will end up completely brainwashed by propaganda, constantly watched by Big Brother.

Do we want to live in a world of hate and fear? Well, if nothing is done about the state of the world, it can only get worse.

Democracy is on the verge of collapse… Can we save it?

What are the solutions to the democratic crisis? Speech text by Valentine MESTRE, FENELON

You heard Mathilde predict a dangerous future for Europe; that’s why I want to give you five possible solutions to our crisis of democracy.

My first solution:

Representative democracy is becoming a bit of a joke. Let me give you some examples which show that the traditional political system is being challenged:

• In Italy, the system is run by an “anti-system” party hand in glove with an anti-democratic party;
• In Hungary: an autocrat has been (paradoxically) re-elected;
• In Poland: the government’s abuse of power has extended to undermining the independence of the courts;
• In France: the “yellow vests” movement has imposed its mob rule on Macron;
• In Ukraine: the new president is an actor whose only political experience is… playing the president in a TV show!

A solution to avoid more dictocracies (that is: dictatorships disguised as democracies) and prevent widespread anarchy, would be to introduce a more participatory/direct type of democracy.

Let me give you two examples:

1) The “RIC” is a referendum at the initiative of citizens without the mediation of their political representatives (RIC stands for “Referendums by Initiative of Citizens”) which would allow citizens to amend the constitution, dismiss a political official, delete an existing law or propose a new law. According to the Lausanne University researcher Antoine Chollet: "… (the RIC) does not necessarily reconnect citizens with politicians but it reconnects them with politics in the broad sense".

2) Swiss-style popular votes in which citizens are asked to vote on one or more issues related to federal, cantonal or communal policy. The authorities have to apply the result of the vote, whatever it is. In Switzerland, voter turnout saw a continuous decline since the 1970s, down to an all-time low of 42% in 1995. In recent years however, voter participation has been slowly growing again and was at 48% in 2011.

Thanks to a more participatory system, giving citizens more say in decision-making, democracy would become more meaningful, getting people involved in and responsible for their country’s progress. Of course, a direct democratic system should be complementary to the representative democratic system, reinforcing it and making it more legitimate to ordinary citizens once again.

Let’s move on to my second solution to the crisis of democracy:

EU communication is inefficient: people continue to find the European Union boring, bureaucratic and to be blamed when things go wrong. Why vote for the European Parliament when we don’t understand what it does? So, the solution is: the EU must make communicating with the people on what it stands for and what it does a priority; only then will people want to “get involved” (as written on the Parliament website).

OK, my third solution:

The director of the Department of Political Science at the University of Montpellier, Jean-Yves Dormagen, considers that voting procedures must be simplified. I agree, because voter abstention is becoming so bad that it is making a mockery of democracy. Voting via internet is the solution! It would make things easier for everyone, especially busy workers or those living abroad. In Estonia, where e-voting has been used for more than ten years, the number of people voting has increased a lot.

Now for my fourth solution:

Politicians are rarely seen as honest, competent and bright. How can we make voters trust their elected representatives more? I think people who want to get elected should first have some experience of work outside of politics, not get re-elected more than once, or hold more than one elected office. Also, we should reward politicians only if they make their region or country progress. This is what happens in Singapore where Ministers receive bonus payments only if GDP goes up and unemployment down.

Here is my fifth and last solution:

The EU needs ordinary people from the member states to work together to defend our common beliefs such as the freedom of speech, an independent press, equal rights, the rule of law, democracy. Organizations such as Citizens for Europe and the European Movement offer us the opportunity to fight for a democratic Europe. For example, Citizens for Europe organizes workshops where you can learn about fundamental rights and how to defend democracy against the rise of nationalism, racism and the shrinking of civic spaces. There is a European Movement association in Clermont-Ferrand which organizes conferences on Europe, trips to Brussels, etc. You can become a member of course. I would encourage you to do so, for democracy’s sake…