16
Feb
2022
Watch
One youth, one Europe (topical debate)
Mr President, dear colleagues, today we are debating in the plenary of the European Parliament about young people and how we can concretely support them in order to have a better future in every Member State of the Union. But we don't just have to talk about it, we have to act. For example, Ana-Maria, 25, a graduate of two faculties in my city, Alba-Iulia, told me that she is thinking of moving to a larger city because she does not have the same opportunities in a small community. Stefan, one of my students, wants to take advantage of European mobilities, but his family cannot afford to give him extra money to go to the desired faculty abroad. Clemence, an Erasmus student, has difficulty finding a traineeship suited to her training. These are just a few real and concrete examples of the problems faced by many young people in the European Union. Discrepancies are increasing, youth unemployment is increasing, access to quality education is uneven, poverty and the pandemic have caused many young people to have psychological problems, and unfortunately, we in the European Parliament cannot reach a minor consensus leading to an end to unpaid traineeships in Europe. Unfortunately, there is no real political will at the level of some European political groups and this translates into a low level of ambition, including in terms of the outcomes of the European Year of Youth. The social-democratic group has struggled and obtained funds dedicated to the European Year, but, unfortunately, we do not see any concrete perspective. My call today is to build a European Union where young people and every European citizen can reach their potential anywhere in Europe.