Every year on 27 July, Sleepyhead Day, JEF Finland awards its Europe Wake-Up Call prize to a Finnish body that should better take into account the significance of EU themes in its activities and participate more actively in the debate on Europe. This year the prize goes to political youth organisations.
Dear political youth organisations,
Even though we don’t always agree with each other, we share a common concern for young people’s future. In the aftermath of the European Council meeting, we have also had to share the disappointment over its outcome. Reaching an agreement is an important step, showing that European cooperation is still considered important. Nevertheless, the outcome of the negotiations is a huge disappointment when it comes to investments in the future. Bigger investments are needed in research and digitalisation, the fight against climate change must play a stronger role in the budget, and delivering on the rule of law must be a condition for receiving support. The negotiations also raised the question of which direction the EU’s future development is heading.
The aftermath of the European Council meeting has also brought a second disappointment to light. In recent days we have watched, appalled, at just how poor a state Finland’s EU debate is in. It has become stuck on the idea of winners and losers, in a situation where we should above all be discussing the shared interest and future of the whole Union. The future is not built by focusing solely on net payments and power balances. We should be focusing on what kind of European Union we want and what kind of things the European Union should promote. In this debate, we young people must take a leading role, since after all, we are talking about our own future.
We at JEF Finland believe that the EU should be developed towards a federation, where decisions are made at the level where it makes the most sense to do so. We know that the European Union is not perfect or flawless. We do know, however, that the European Union has a place at the very core of building a better future. The European Union is a channel through which we can solve some of the greatest crises of our time, such as climate change. The Union is a community of values through which we can strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law globally.
Recent crises have, however, only reinforced our sense that we are now at a turning point. Our values and European cooperation are being seriously challenged. The crises have exposed gaps in cooperation and in the EU’s capacity to act. That’s why the EU needs defenders, constructive debaters and people with ideas.
We need openings that offer solutions to the defining questions of our time: how do we make the European Union carbon-neutral, how do we resolve the human rights violations taking place within our own community and protect everyone’s right to the rule of law, and how do we deepen cooperation within the framework of the current treaties — or is it time to create an EU constitution. We need a genuine, fact-based public debate on the EU’s federal development, especially among young people.
Especially now, as the Union and our shared values are being challenged, we must have the courage to look far into the future and consider what kind of Union we want. This is why, with this Europe Wake-Up Call, JEF Finland wants to wake up all political youth organisations to join the debate on the EU’s future and to share their own vision of what kind of actor the European Union should become.
With cooperative regards, JEF Finland
Iiris Asunmaa
President
JEF Finland
[email protected]
050 918 7390