Event report

Students of the 7th grade BG Feldkirch were invited. After discussions in small groups, the young people debated in a panel discussion with Abg. Dr. Nikolaus Scherak. Results: European rights and values: • Protecting fundamental rights and respect for democracy and equal rights for all are important to us. The EU Member States cannot really be controlled, but we want them to be controlled. These rights are very important to us and they should be respected in order for the EU to function. • EU instruments, such as the reduction of EU funds or financial sanctions, should be used. • Our rights are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights and are important for the coexistence of European states. • We get far too little information so that we can get too little in the EU Parliament. We want to influence more. • The Charter of Fundamental Rights could be revised and extended, e.g. the right to asylum is not uniform, as states do not work together. This leads to a very long asylum process, especially among children and adolescents, which is contrary to the principle of equality. • New laws could be proposed, e.g. with regard to artificial intelligence, which affects all of us. We would like to see more transparency so that we know how much that restricts us or not. Much more communication is needed, but legal anchoring is also important. • Respect for fundamental rights is important, as no person should be discriminated against, regardless of origin, sexual orientation or gender, as this will allow everyone to benefit from the full potential. Consumer rights: • We imagine it difficult to force consumers to adopt sustainable lifestyles, such as vegetarian or vegan food, in the context of the green transition. Perhaps a first step would be a campaign for a more sustainable lifestyle, in which case a more conscious approach to meat and consumption. Security: • With regard to the digital transformation, a great deal is planned, with a focus on crowding out all illegals. However, we imagine it difficult to implement, because the internet is not only used by or in the EU. So how should the rules only apply in this room? In addition, we have an assessment that, due to the speed on the network, ways to circumvent rules are quickly found. • In principle, we find monitoring on the Internet difficult because it risks getting the data collected in the wrong hands. Even if the collection of data should actually serve security. • The protection of critical infrastructure should be of the highest priority and should be made as resilient as possible. Thus, one should not rely too much on public electricity and internet networks, but always have a plan, such as emergency power reserves, available in order to avoid fatal effects in the best possible way. Safe infrastructure is very important especially in institutions such as hospitals. • In the future, action should be taken on cybercrime. On the one hand, it should be clarified about as many threats on the Internet as possible and, on the other hand, algorithms should be developed by policy so that certain dangers are deleted on the Internet itself. Of course, people themselves should also pay attention to where and how they are on the Internet and how they use it. • The trade of goods such as weapons and equipment exported from European countries to places of conflict needs to be more closely monitored. Especially on the Internet, where retailers can sell weapons. Many of these weapons also go to the enemies we should not support. That is why we need stricter controls here. — see Parliament’s correspondence: https://iwww.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/PR/JAHR_2022/PK0154/index.shtml