Event report

As part of a 90-minute virtual live stream broadcast event, young citizens from Germany and the Czech Republic presented their concrete proposals to Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe, and Aleš Chmelař, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, on three European future topics: 1) How can we increase European solidarity, especially in the light of the Covid 19 pandemic; 2) How to give young people in particular good prospects in the EU; 3) How can the rule of law and fundamental values be strengthened in Europe? The approximately 30 citizens (between 18 and 34 years old, about half each from the Czech Republic and Germany) had developed the ideas the day before in a multi-hour, intensive virtual workshop in small groups. It became apparent in the discussion that the pandemic made it particularly clear how successful European cooperation depends on lived solidarity, especially between generations. Intensive virtual and physical exchanges fostered mutual understanding and therefore laid the foundations for cohesion within the EU. In order to uphold the rule of law and common values of the EU, it was essential to defend and promote it. In order to strengthen European solidarity, citizens specifically encouraged the promotion of digital exchanges with Europe. The creation of an “EU Facebook”, a digital platform for concrete exchanges and debates, as well as information on European issues, could contribute significantly to this. The existing platform for the future conference could be consolidated and expanded to include interactive elements such as a chat function and the establishment of a “contact network”. However, it was also important to develop the direct exchange of citizens, for example in relation to town twinning between Eastern European EU Member States and Germany. In order to further improve the prospects of young people in the EU, citizens encouraged the development of education on European issues, for example through greater integration into the curriculum. Linguistic diversity in the EU should also be strengthened, for example by increasing the distribution of films in the original language with subtitling or the development of bilingual educational qualifications. Finally, cross-border exchanges could be improved through targeted investment in transport infrastructure. In order to strengthen the rule of law and fundamental values in Europe, citizens were in favour of making the exchange of Europe more present in everyday life. In this way, a “European bus” in urban and local centres could provide information about Europe and invite them to the discussion. A comprehensive European communication channel could integrate podcasts for information and social media functions. In order to promote diversity in the Union and to combat xenophobia, a European Ombudsman against racism and xenophobia should also be created. The two ministers, like the citizens, were in favour of further developing and complementing the ideas in the conference process.