Young Europeans unite against populisms and nationalisms

Iñaki Ellakuría

The Yes project calls for a mass vote in the May elections and proposes a "New Green Deal"

A few months before the European elections, young people from fourteen European parties have mobilized around the project YES (Young European Survey) to combat the rise of populisms and nationalism in the old continent. An association that has just launched a warning call for the situation of paralysis of the European Union and asks "all young Europeans" to go en masse to the polls in May and take "the reins of their future and build the Europe of tomorrow".

Members of the YES project, transcending the traditional ideological affiliations, are the youths of Citizens, those of En Marche! (Jeunes avec Macron), Italian FuturDem and Jong LVD Belgian, as well as youth organizations of parties from Austria, Slovakia, Holland, Hungary and Romania. This association has carried out a macro survey of more than 20,000 young Europeans who demonstrate a majority support for the idea of ​​Europe that dismantles some of the populist messages. Thus, 82% of young people declared themselves to be European citizens and 73% plan to vote in the elections scheduled for May 26.
 

In a letter these proud representatives of the "Erasmus generation" point to Europe as a "reality that must be conquered again and facing great challenges" with the emergence of nationalist and populist forces, whose messages and actions undermine the essence of the European project. "Europe is young only when it is big and open to the future. British young people were the first to oppose Brexit and young Europeans will remain the first to defend Europe", they say.

Disenchantment and New Green Deal

They admit, however, a certain disenchantment with the pace of the construction of the EU in recent years. "For European youth, Europe today is an unfulfilled promise, the source of intense hopes, but also frustrations". They speak, concretely, of "absence of Europe" when it comes to forging their future.

And in this regard they ask themselves: "Where is Europe when we must commit ourselves to the ecological transition, which is crucial for our future? Where is Europe when we must promote the digital economy in the face of Asian or American competition? Or when should we ensure access to the Erasmus program?"

Faced with this paralysis, YES demands a European "New Green Deal", consisting of promoting a progressive and efficient investment in renewable energies, to fight against global warming, the "biggest challenge" that Europe has with galloping populism. They demand, in this sense, a set of policies that "would be implemented at the local level to support the ecological transition, with special attention to the improvement of the quality of air, water, soil and food".

https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20190214/46449680874/europa-populismo-ciudadanos-nacionalismo-espana-transicion-ecologica-new-green-deal.html