Event report

The Café-debate was attended by 6 volunteers from 3 Marseille mobility associations. After presenting the work of the Conference on the Future of Europe and the principle of the workshop, the EUROPE DIRECT team presented a slido and guiding questions to the participants: “What is Europe for you? “,”what issues would you like to see a priority in European policies? What solutions would you consider to address them?”. In responding, the participants identified the themes they wanted to discuss and formed into two groups of three people. After half an hour of conversation, the following solutions emerged: Group 1 — Border violence against refugees Findings: — The way refugees are represented in the European media is oriented, in the way of the extreme right. Words with a strong symbolic scope, such as “migration waves or crises”, which provoke fear, are used; — European media deal with crises occurring abroad in a Euro-enterical manner; — There is a lot of repression against refugees, especially at the borders of the countries of the South; The lack of a common strategy in Europe generates violence; Frontex is insufficiently controlled. Solutions: — Establish common rules for border management and the use of violence; — Establish better control of Frontex; Increase financial and material support to humanitarian organisations; — Highlight civil society initiatives that act for migrants; — To put in place measures to raise public awareness of the issue of migration; — Put in place “anti-racist” education actions; — Establish programmes for the integration of migrant populations (language courses, social support). Group 2 — Consumption: Findings: — Differences in consumption between northern and southern countries; — Consumption in European countries (rich continent) has an impact on the rest of the world (less developed continents). This asymmetric relationship translates into tensions in the southern countries. Solutions: — To further finance the green transition in the southern countries (renewable energy); — Promote schemes such as Erasmus, volunteering or cafés debate to encourage citizens to participate in the construction of the society they and they desire; — Channel funding to the most disadvantaged populations. The groups were then remodeled to stimulate trade. The following conclusions emerged: Group 1 — Trust in Institutions Findings: — A lot of euroscepticism; — Weakening the European civic bond; — Lack of trust in the institutions; — Lack of knowledge of European actions that improve the quality of life; — The Brexit and Poland movement is helping to increase mistrust of the European project. Solutions: — Making European achievements more accessible; — Strengthening communication and education actions on Europe. Group 2 — Rise of the far right: Findings: — The extreme right takes advantage of European fragmentation. Solutions: — Promote and make accessible European exchange programmes; Education on the history of Europe (reason, construction, project); — Better communication on European achievements; — Better identify Europe Direct/information points on European programmes (Erasmus/Mobility/Volunteership).