Paper 5

Mar 1, 2018

9 min read

For a Europe closer to young people!

Summary

Spring is a private think tank that looks, at citizen level, for new ways to relaunch Europe. With youth unemployment above 20% in several European countries, this fourth paper focuses on two recent quantitative studies by the European Parliament and the World Economic Forum, as well as some twenty qualitative interviews conducted by Spring members with young people aged 18 to 35. These analyses reveal young people's major concerns, but also recommendations for concrete actions to rekindle their enthusiasm for Europe.

Among the priorities cited by young people are the challenge of climate change, large-scale conflicts, income inequality and the lack of government transparency. A youth NGO states in a recent document: “Our Europe is a positive force, but why is it unable to communicate its successes to its fellow citizens?” It is telling that young people recommend, among other things, that Europe adopt a much simpler governance of its institutions, introduce key performance indicators for its officials, and drastically improve its communication about how it works and above all about its achievements that are useful to citizens. Another recommendation worth highlighting is the need to double young people's training budgets and to extend an “Erasmus For All” programme.

In conclusion, this paper calls on the EU to be the institution that recreates enthusiasm by communicating better and involving young people more, that transcends divisions and petty political games, and that finally proposes concrete solutions to improve our economic and societal model.

Preliminary remarks

Our society is at the end of a cycle: first we had to rebuild after the war, then we could consume and use natural resources without asking too many questions. This unrestrained consumption, coupled with the exponential growth of the human population, is exhausting our planet, which can no longer renew its resources at the pace at which they are consumed. Other consequences of unrestrained consumption are global warming, which is becoming ever more obvious, and the pollution of air, land and water.

There is much talk of artificial intelligence, which will replace many jobs, especially in our developed countries. After the robotisation of factories, which eliminated many industrial jobs, current developments will make a large number of so-called white-collar jobs obsolete. Added to this is the influence of the GAFA big tech companies (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon), which end up bypassing a whole series of intermediaries between the producer of a good or service and the end user. There will of course be many new jobs in what is called the circular economy, new energies, high-performance housing, IT, the design and construction of the cities of the future, personal services, and so on, but it is likely that the number of new jobs created thanks to new technologies will not replace the jobs lost.

Youth unemployment is catastrophic across Europe. In 2014 it was above 20% in every country except Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. It has since fallen below that threshold in Poland, the Czech Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland and Norway, but even Sweden and Finland, which are often held up as examples of good education systems, still have more than 20% of young people unemployed. The future is therefore uncertain, and it is time for Europe to look to the future, to build and propose a positive vision of it, and to hand over the reins of power to young people gradually but without delay.

Young people's priorities and concerns

In an opinion survey conducted in 2017 by the European Parliament in the 28 member countries (1), citizens of all ages were asked to name the three areas in which the EU's role should be a priority. 44% of respondents cite the preservation of fundamental freedoms and rights, 36% the freedom to travel, work and study across the EU, and then, at around 33%, the socio-economic aspects relating to labour law, adequate and secure pensions, prosperity and economic well-being. As one might expect, the order of priorities varies: the most prosperous countries tend to prioritise the protection of freedoms, the others the socio-economic aspects, chiefly workers' rights. Belgian and Maltese respondents, for their part, give priority to climate protection.

Another 2017 survey, conducted by the World Economic Forum (2) among 18-to-35-year-olds in 186 countries, gives these young people's main concerns, in order:

Climate change and the destruction of nature
Large-scale conflicts and wars
Inequality (income, discrimination)
Poverty
Religious conflicts
Lack of government transparency, the fact that governments are not held to account, and corruption

These young people show a marked distrust of national governments, large companies, banks, religious institutions and the media. They trust academia, international organisations, their employer, and slightly less the justice system.

A document from the European Youth Forum (3) sets out their vision of youth for the future of Europe. This paper is rather demanding and idealistic. It is not certain that it represents the concerns of all European youth, but it contains many statements that are both worrying and hopeful.

We are angry at being the generation sacrificed by progress.
In our vision of Europe, politics stands above individual interests and is founded on values and ideals. Our Europe is a Europe that works for the well-being of individuals and of the planet.
It is our right to be heard.
We see a visionary Europe, but most people do not: why is Europe unable to communicate its successes to its citizens?
We live in an age in which people cannot live a decent life even though they work like mad.
We dream of a Europe where we feel safe at all times and everywhere.
Our Europe is a Europe that makes us dream, that gives us hope for a better future for us and our children. It is a positive force.
We, the young, are united; we work together and help each other despite our differences.

A poorly understood Europe with a little-known role

In mid-2017, Spring members (4) interviewed some twenty young people (university students and less privileged youth) about their perceptions of the European Union and their recommendations for concrete actions. Given the limited sample, the analysis is qualitative, but it nevertheless offers some interesting leads.

As for the positive role played by the European Union, young people cite the global strength that being united represents (or should represent); scientific, academic and industrial collaboration; the values of peace, prosperity, solidarity and social justice carried by the EU; the free movement of goods and people; and quality standards and free trade.

The negative points are quite numerous: an excessive bureaucracy that is too expensive, too well paid and under the influence of lobbies; the difficulty of moving forward with 28 members following an enlargement that was too rapid; an EU that is too mercantile; an immobile EU, held back by national interests; an EU absent from daily life, whose role is unknown or poorly understood; a lack of leadership and long-term vision; an excess of rules to the detriment of SMEs, which benefits multinationals; unfair taxation and a lack of action against tax havens; an unfinished project, both financially and politically; and a lack of funding for education, R&D and start-ups, with the corollary of brain drain and an ageing of ideas as much as of the population.

It is well known that young people show little interest in Europe. The reasons given are: an opaque, complicated and confusing institution, with the respective roles of the Council, Commission and Parliament hard to understand; Eurocrats living in their bubble, in a world far removed from the daily lives of Europeans; a lack of visibility — a huge, distant machine that gives young people no hope; a general disinterest in politics, of which the EU is an extreme case; repeated attacks by national politicians, who blame Brussels whenever they have a problem; a very weak sense of belonging to Europe, which comes second to national belonging; and the unbearable sight of an EU unable to make big US groups pay their fair share of taxes while they flourish in its market.

Recommended actions

The young people interviewed propose a dozen or so concrete actions to bring back young people's enthusiasm for Europe:

Simplified governance: a single decision-making body with competent ministers holding real power and a strong European president, plus a parliament to legislate.
Direct election of the president with a clear programme and mandate, committing to an action plan close to citizens' real concerns.
Review the salaries and benefits of European officials and leaders, which are too high compared with their national counterparts, and introduce key performance indicators (KPIs).
Work with irreproachable and competent political staff to regain citizens' trust and give them back the taste for work. Show us that a Member of the European Parliament really works.
Drastically improve the EU's marketing and communication. Better inform young people about how the institutions work and what their impact is on citizens' daily lives. Communicate better about the will for change, with clear-cut decisions.
Double young people's training budgets and extend an “Erasmus For All” programme to better prepare future European citizens. Introduce courses on European cultures and languages in schools from the earliest age.
Encourage “Made in Europe” through marketing and tax measures. Introduce tax harmonisation at EU level. Accelerate pan-European entrepreneurial initiatives and joint ventures.
Work for the Europe of tomorrow by leaving our children a clean continent without debt.
Include young people in decision-making processes that directly affect them (consultations, discussion groups, etc.).
Establish a European Defence with an obligation of inter-nation military service, to be performed in a member country other than one's own.
More decentralisation of the institutions, more local presence and contact with citizens. Abandon activities that can remain the responsibility of the States.
Europe needs a simple charter that better explains its priority commitments, with vision, values, decision-making bases and a measure of its successes.

A few young people from disadvantaged backgrounds were also interviewed. To interest young people in Europe, they feel it must:

Strongly encourage job creation across the whole European territory
Create more social justice among the citizens of the different member states
Manage crises (economic, migration, etc.) more effectively
Communicate adequately
Give young people a voice
Offer solutions that meet their specific expectations (and not a capitalist, consumer-society-oriented language)
Explain why voting in the European elections will change things

There are many grey areas in the EU, things we do not know! Is there something to hide? The EU must see to it that competition between West and East restarts on fair terms, and put an end to social dumping.

For better communication and forward thinking

It is clear that to bring young people back, the EU must review its structure and make it clearer and better organised, with democratically elected representatives and a democratically elected president. Its bureaucracy must be slimmed down, made cheaper, and more independent of pressure groups. It must step out of its bubble and communicate more effectively. And above all, it must address the uncertain future that young people face.

How can we build a Europe that is both economically flourishing and socially fair? How can we find a happy medium between neo-liberalism, which has led to an unprecedented concentration of wealth and a gradual impoverishment of the middle classes, and systems of excessive redistribution, which end up impoverishing everyone? We must also guard against populisms that offer supposedly simple solutions to complicated problems and in the end only set people against one another.

Giving young people an education and training suited to our rapidly changing world, enabling them to find a rewarding job and take their place in society, is obviously an essential first step. But beyond that, our entire economic and societal model must be the subject of an open reflection, free of passion and bias, led by competent and visionary people, including a sufficient number of young people. The reflection must go much further than the mere creation of jobs. We must define goals for the future and recreate enthusiasm. We must regain a common ideal and show that it is possible to build together a world of peace where life is good.

The EU can play a positive role by organising this reflection and being the driving force in providing directions and solutions that offer young people a future. Today our democracies are locked in petty political games and our media in scandals or “everything is going wrong!”. The EU must be able to place itself at a higher level and be the institution that transcends divisions, proposes solutions and draws a line. This of course requires competence, honesty, intelligence, cooperation between member countries and a visionary in charge. And young people must also be able to take the reins of power gradually, at both national and European Union level.

Spring, launched in 2013, is a private think tank of about a dozen curious and unresigned members and some forty supporters who share the same concerns about Europe. Spring wants to give citizens back the momentum needed to pursue more ambitious European ideals.

March 2018

(1) Parlemeter 2017: A stronger voice, citizens' views on the European Parliament & the EU (2) World Economic Forum Global Shapers Annual Survey 2017 (3) European Youth Forum: Youth's vision for the future of Europe – 2015 (4) Spring, a private think tank on Europe; qualitative analysis of 20 interviews with young people aged 18–35 – 2017