Welcome to the European Parliament.
We are here today to talk about Europe's youth and not just the nice travelling abroad parts with Erasmus.
We will also talk youth unemployment. What kind of answers does Europe has to this?
What are the prospects for the youth in Europe today?
Today we've got the ECR's Bernd Kölmel and GUE/NGL's Martina Michels to talk about the issue.
Thank you both for finding the time to be here. It's great to have a conservative and someone from the left here.
We're going to talk about young people.
First of all: Europe's youth no longer seem interested in Europe as it once was.
We set up the Erasmus programme, which created huge mobility in Europe and created so much added-value but Martina, let me ask you this.
It's a programme where young people can go on exchanges and gain experience. But Europe's youth today are still sceptical.
How can Erasmus reach young people as it once did?
So, first of all, yes.
Erasmus+, the flagship policy of the EU, celebrated its 30th birthday only last week.
And if there is anywhere you can learn to understand and practice solidarity, then it's Erasmus+.
I think it's a real success story.
I also don't believe that young people are not interested in Europe.
We've just come from Berlin, where I am from.
There we see movements going out into the street, showing how much they are in favour of Europe.
When has that happened before?
But what we do have is faith in the Europe Union being shown by the people.
It's not difficult to translate that into being more transparent and
that is why I think that we have to seize this chance to make sure young people are inspired once again.
Nine percent of young Europeans say Europe come first before they think about their home region or town.
An Erasmus travel grant is around €200 and the rest has to be self-financed.
Are there not enough reasons for European politicians to say they are going to increase this financing,
in order to reach more people?
Well that's an interesting question that I'm not so keen to answer
because I don't think it really goes to the heart of the matter.
First of all, Erasmus+ is a fantastic programme and without it, we really would have to come up with an alternative.
That is because it opens up the possibility for young people to learn about the EU, about Europe.
Talking is key but also learning about how people in other countries live, how they work. That's the whole added value.
But we have to be careful not to always think of needing more money, whenever we think of the EU.
Unfortunately, money quite often runs out in the EU.
That quite often leads to people being alienated from the EU and misunderstandings.
And it's not just about throwing a few extra euros at it.
We want to create a clear structure for the EU and it's something that I have been championing for years now.
We need a vision for the EU about where we want to go.
And I have to say that for the first time in years, I am satisfied with the Commission.
That's because of the moment when Jean-Claude Juncker presented his White Paper.
Up until that point it had all been about ever-closer Union and deeper EU integration.
But in the White Paper, he laid out alternatives and I think that is really fair.
It's something we are going to have to discuss more.
I want to go back to Erasmus+.
You've both praised the programme and shared your positive views on it.
We now have a society that has grown up with Erasmus.
The programme can change people's lives, let them find love in another country,
but young people are now realising the hard facts of life.
There is no European job security, there is no European social system tailored to this kind of mobility.
This has been known for quite some time.
So where is the European idea, in tangible terms?
I see things a little differently.
Of course we have to talk about money, we always have to talk about money in the European Union
and the EU benefits when we put the focus back on where money is actually spent.
That's because I've always believed that programmes like Erasmus+ and also cohesion policy
are programmes that benefit people in particular.
We've gained a lot here too.
Yes, we've been granted 40% more funding but there are also many more programmes.
I always say that the size of Europe is actually an abstract concept.
And you're right, it's now all about bringing Europe close to the lives of its citizens.
At the moment, policy is too sporadic.
We have to start thinking holistically and thinking about the EU differently than we do today
and about the social pillar, if we are to have future prospects.
How do you react to that?
If we're not necessarily talking about more funds then what about creating security for Europe's youth in terms of job prospects in different countries.
What can Europe do?
I think we're actually talking about a bit of a misconception here,
which I would like to correct.
We don't have this problem.
Every young person in the EU is free, thanks to freedom of movement, to live and work in another EU country.
And I say again, that it is great when young people take advantage of this because they improve themselves.
They get more qualifications and they learn the things I mentioned before.
But that shouldn't go hand-in-hand with, for example, a European unemployment insurance scheme.
On the contrary, that would be counterproductive.
And not just from the viewpoint of young people or working people. We aren't just talking about young people here after all.
We must strive to find the things that the EU can do better, as the sum of its individual member states.
And those are the things that I would strongly urge our political partners to leave up to European regulation.
For example, I would argue that we need European migration policy.
We have a single European external border after all.
We need European environmental policy, because the wind does not stop blowing when it gets to borders.
But when you talk about an area like unemployment insurance, about Europeanising it,
then it is crucial to remember that money would be paid into a pot and treated equally.
But there cannot be one-size-fits-all for this, because the countries will relatively low unemployment would be alienated from others with higher levels.
But from the point of view of solidarity, I would say that I am in favour.
But that's true of many other projects.
We've already mentioned cohesion policy and how it has increased competitiveness.
But how can it be then that some regions have for decades had such means at their disposal but it still hasn't worked?
That's something that has to be asked at least once.
As I said, Jean-Claude Juncker's White Paper illustrates the point.
If we grow the Union by unifying everything then some people in some countries will find themselves in an enormous payer position.
I believe that this will divide the Union not bring it together.
That is why I say solidarity but also subsidiarity. States must remain sovereign.
The keyword here is European equality. What's your take on it?
No one is calling subsidiarity into question.
Of course, problems have to be solved where they can best be addressed, whether that be at regional, national or other level.
But when we are talking about European unemployment insurance or pension insurance, then this is a social issue.
Reliability, social resilience and social guarantees. So why has Jean-Claude Juncker come out with this White Paper?
No not just because of Brexit.
Because Juncker and his Commission realised that Europe lacks completely a social component.
That is why there is the social pillar proposal and why questions have been raised about if and how this can be organised.
That is exactly why we have to link it to this idea of loss of faith in the EU,
because so many citizens think it's just about bank rescues, the internal market and competition.
But to the people who live within this framework, it's not about that.
And that's the killer argument.
We've talked about uniformity but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.
Of course, we have to orientate ourselves to the highest standards
and we can introduce regulations where countries with higher standards don't have to adjust to lower levels.
It doesn't have to be a problem. This is all about social guarantees for social rights.
This idea of social guarantees and youth unemployment in Europe.
When you read studies and interviews, as reporters we see it too,
you see that young people feel abandoned in a way. As a conservative, what's your answer to this?
We have real solutions and the direction we are going in is the right one.
When we talk about a social pillar, we have to talk about if we are going to finance it together and who pays how much.
It's not something that can be skimped on and it is a big part of transparency.
When we then ask about what should be paid, then we can see how far solidarity will stretch, especially on youth unemployment.
After all, why do we have such high youth unemployment in some countries and why is it so different in others?
I can tell you now that it is strongly linked to the euro. And the euro is the blueprint of how not to do things.
We've to that effect done this with the transfer union, as we have completely different living conditions.
There are different levels of performance, not between different people of course. I really believe that these differences have to be accepted.
We can't make everything the same. Just look at the eurozone.
We have enormous tensions within it. The euro is too weak for some countries, particularly Germany.
That's why we have subsidies in our economy and that is why our unemployment is so low.
In other eurozone countries, it's too high and that's why, in reality, their unemployment is higher.
We're nearly out of time so let me ask you just this.
In terms of youth unemployment, what are the three most important points or concepts
that Europe has to deal with in order to regain confidence in its political union again?
So in terms of reducing unemployment, it's important that programmes are properly financed and that promises are backed up.
At the end of the day, we are offering a youth guarantee that is not being adhered to.
Then there's the question of transparency and honesty.
Young people want to be able to see behind the curtain, to see how things work.
And the third point is about social security, the social pillar.
I think it's one of the most important issues we will have to tackle in the coming years.
There isn't just one side to Europe. That's been shown by today's lively discussion.
. We'll end it at this point, thank you once again. Goodbye from the European Parliament.
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