Brussels, 08/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - More than 300 young people from the French city of Carpentras and different educational establishments, were able to put their questions to the French MEPs Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), vice president of the European Parliament, and Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE) on Friday 5 June. The debate enabled pupils to get to know how the European Parliament functioned and what role it played, as well as pose questions on these subjects.
The discussions focused on many different subjects: migrants, education, federalism versus nation states, agriculture, as well as the EU, which is unfairly held in poor esteem. During these debates, the young people attending were able to gain a better understanding of the role of an MEP, as well as the legislative work undertaken in Parliamentary committees and what were the different initiatives in favour of young people put forward by the European Parliament..
Guillaume was delighted with “this genuine and positive moment of simplicity warmth and enthusiasm… It is not a worthless task to raise awareness among these future citizens who are currently in school but will, in the future, be voters”.
Youth is a priority issue for the European Parliament, even though some of the young people participating in this debate will be first-time voters in the next European elections in 2019.
The event was organised by the EP's information office in Marseille, whose main task is to bring the European parliament closer to European citizens. (Isabelle Lamberty)