WE ARE EUROPE!

For young people in the southern countries of the eurozone, unemployment is an oppressive problem. Whereas (according to the most recent date of Eurostat) general unemployment in the EU amounts to 10.6% and youth unemployment to 22.9%; youth unemployment in Greece is a staggering 58,3%, with Spain (53,0%), Italy (42,3%) and Portugal 35,0% following not far behind. A whole generation is at risk of being left behind without any real perspective to lead a decent life, let alone build up a career. With the educational and health care system being severely hit by austerity measures, even the outlook for the next generation is worrying. Without a serious turn-around of the current crisis management and a new ‘solidary pact’ between the north and the south, the young generation of the southern member states will be sacrificed and the European project will fail. The measures, which have been taken so far, are simply not enough to give youth a real perspective.
The upcoming elections to the European Parliament will be the first after the crisis struck Europe. Citizens in the north and the south are critical about the way the EU has handled the crisis so far. The fundamental European value of solidarity seems to be at stake. This discontent is reflected in the rise of Eurosceptic parties in most Members States which have a good chance of scoring well over 20% in the upcoming European elections. The new tools of the Lisbon treaty, invented long before the crisis started, alone will not be able to conquer Euroscepticism and the damage Eurosceptic parties will do to the European project. What can young European do to reclaim the European project and to reclaim their future?