Is the Council of the European Union beginning to get to grips with European disenchantment? At any rate, on the initiative of the Slovak Presidency, EU youth ministers held a round table discussion on Monday 21 November on ways to get young people to reconnect with the European project.
Brexit and the election of Donald trump in the United States cast their shadow over the debate.“Having been raised almost entirely in democratic societies, young people often do not recognise the risks and consequences of living in a society that is not based on tolerance, understanding and democratic values”, notes the Slovak Presidency discussion paper.
Unfortunately, ministers did not seize this opportunity to address the real problems but were happy to trot out the hoary old suggestions: educational and vocational mobility, the importance of digital skills, the training of community workers, volunteering, etc.
Madiana Asseraf of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) argued that the issues are broader. At the start of the meeting, she presented the investigation “Generation what?”, which reveals that the majority of young people (aged 16-25) in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria have completely lost trust in Europe. A majority in nine member states believe their politicians are corrupt. In Finland, Sweden, Norway and Croatia, the majority of young people believe their country should leave or remain outside the European Union.
Against this backdrop, some ministers made a timid call for change: “Let’s take the time to communicate directly with young people. Let’s not try to dupe them with any slick communication”, said the Luxembourg minister. [investigation: http://www.generation-what.eu/en/ ] (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)