Climate change, technology and Erasmus: young people convey their concerns to the President of the European Parliament

The president of the European Parliament He has left the room in a cloud of flashes. Hundreds of young people wanted to take a ‘selfie’ with her and the helpful diplomat stopped with all of them. There are only a few minutes left for her to be received in the Congress of Deputies by her counterpart, Meritxell Batet, but the Maltese Roberta Metsola he meets everyone as they try to fight their way to the exit.

He has just submitted to the interrogation of several of the three hundred young people gathered in the Caleido tower, in the financial district of Madrid and headquarters of the IE University, which has organized the event. She is the youngest president in the history of the institution and hers has been the commitment to meet with young people to learn about their concerns and try to answer how the European Union -and more specifically the Chamber that she directs- can help them.

The audience was diverse: from representatives of associations in defense of Spain Emptysuch as Acción Castilla y León, to groups of disabled people -the ONCE- or migrants -the Network Welcomes-. The common denominator in all of them: youth and interest in European affairs.

“We have been hit by a scandal”

In all her responses, the president has tried to encourage some groups suffering from numerous problems. Yes, they have asked about the bureaucratic problems involved in any procedure with the Union. Yes, they have also asked about the difficulty of finding accommodation in their exchange programs. And yes, they have also questioned the European leader for the Qatargate and the tricks of some pressure groups in Brussels.

“We pride ourselves on being open, in the way we legislate, in what we work for, in differences of opinion… But we’ve been hit by a scandal“, he acknowledged, ensuring that they are working very hard in the fight against corruption and in promoting the mechanisms to put a stop to these criminal acts. “The answer should be what are we going to do to put a stop to it. We are the ones directly elected, we need people like you to ask us for responsibilities. And if you don’t like the answers, ask again,” he claimed.

European integration and the priorities of the Twenty-seven, digitization and the green transition of the economy, have been the axes of each of their answers. Silvia, from Acción Castilla y León, has asked him about the effect of depopulation. Metsola has criticized the fact that digitization is not reaching all territories: “It is incredible that in some parts of Europe there is still no connection. We are pressing this from the European Parliament, so that no part of Europe is forgotten.”

Something that is also a solution for the youth unemployment, a classification that leads our country at a European level. “Green growth means more employment. Digital growth means more employment. And this is going to benefit the youngest above all. Growth is related to the ability to unplug from the past.”

In the problems of young people -and Europeans- the ukrainian war, where he has defended the solidarity with which the community block has acted and the seven million Ukrainians welcomed in the Twenty-seven. “For them, Europe is the great hope. Seven million Ukrainians: we have them in schools, we help them financially, many do not have clean water or access to necessary services,” she lamented.

In this sense, young people have also asked about one of the Union’s most pressing issues: the migration. “My biggest fear is that we continue to look at people seeking refuge in Europe as numbers. That we forget that behind every person for whom Europe is the only hope there is a face, a family, a decision that has been made.” Still, Metsola has insisted on the need to be “tough on people who are not eligible for protection” and to be “very tough on people traffickers.”

After an hour and a half of conversation, the president of the Eurocámara had to leave the event to go to the Carrera de San Jerónimo. Before, she has encouraged young people to take an interest in the European institutions and activism. “If you are not willing to make decisions for your country, others will make them. And you may not like them,” she warned. In view of the fervor at her exit, the message seems to have gotten through.