Brussels Declaration

Preamble

We, the first free generation of Europe born in the historical year of 1989 gathered in Brussels, declare our readiness to take our share of responsibility to deal with the issues facing the European and global community in the world of the 21st century.

The European Union is a place where different cultures interact and where we aspire to live in unity through diversity and to share common values.

After 20 years of progress in finding common values among Member States, the biggest challenge that still remains, particularly with regard to the new Member States in the EU, is to overcome the inequalities that still exist.

We ask the European Parliament to join our efforts in shaping a better future for the European community by carefully considering our Declaration and addressing the issues outlined below:


Europe in the world / Foreign Policy

We want to promote greater transparency among the EU and other countries in the world as well as strengthen relations with the main traders of the EU.

We want to promote the history, the heritage and the identity of the EU as a whole outside the European Union.

We want to continue to make independent decisions that protect and promote our interests and ideals as a world leader.

We encourage diplomatic solutions rather than military ones.

We want continue to support developing countries.

We want to promote constructive debate on reaching a Common Foreign Policy without excluding any EU Member State.


Economics

We want to promote the image of the EU as one economic force.

We will endeavour to tighten up financial market regulations and increase transparency in the banking system.

We find it crucial to take certain measures to limit the impact of a possible future banking crisis.

We believe it is imperative to reassess the policy regarding the Euro.

We believe there is a need to balance the large disparity among subsidies for agriculture across the EU.

We want to encourage production in non-European developing countries in order to create an alternative source for imports.


Digital economy

We want to create a micro-finance instrument for young people and small companies that will act as an incentive in this domain.

We want to create and improve existing e-government websites for each country in the EU in order to reduce paperwork and bureaucracy (e.g. online applications for IDs and paying taxes; easy access to information).

We want to build trust in the digital economy by enhancing safety regulations and privacy. 

It is essential that we tighten restrictions on piracy and internet crime.

By providing more public investment we would like to facilitate greater access to the internet.


Culture

Culture is a unifying force within the European diversity, bringing its inhabitants together. It is a means to reflect the past and present identity in order to avoid misunderstandings in the future. Along with its social importance, culture may have a beneficial impact on the economy.

For these reasons we find it imperative to ensure transparency and reduce bureaucracy when accessing EU grants and broaden their availability according to their quality rather than to the political or institutional interests.


Education

Education is the single most important factor determining the development of a society. The international mobility within education is an essential condition for an open society and therefore should be further supported, developed and stimulated.
We would find it wise to get inspiration in the working education models of Scandinavian countries, for instance: providing access to private subjects in education; introducing the voucher system; reducing bureaucracy and finally, encouraging the plurality of pedagogic approaches on every school level.

We encourage all the Member States to create a central database for higher education accessible to national and foreign students (using a model such as UK’s UCAS).

We would like to emphasize that education is not only a form of preparation for future employment, but it shapes humanistic principles of a civic society.


Social Issues

We would like to express our support for the general values of the European social system. As a generation that will face unforeseen demographic changes, we would like to identify ageing as a serious social problem.

We find it important to support parenthood by improving access to, for example: kindergartens, part-time jobs, ‘time credits’/career break. 
 
The mobility of European citizens should be supported by the full mobility of social rights. 


Environment

As representatives of Generation ’89 and of all young people, we feel responsible to give a positive example to the next generations by leading, supporting and promoting sustainable life.

Facing possibly one of the most challenging problems of modern society – climate change, we want to urge more EU members to increase their usage of renewable energy sources and to adopt policies to further reduce CO2 emissions, such as abolishing coal as the most polluting source of energy.

We support transport that is environmentally friendly, such as long-distance travel by trains, localized public transport and commuting with bicycles as carbon free means of transport.

We must raise awareness among people about the implications that will arise from the irresponsible use of natural resources. Hence Member States need to implement policies to reach higher targets for recycling and adequate waste disposal.

We would like to promote incentives for eco-friendly buildings.

Employment

We would like to continue to support the mobility of workers throughout Europe.

Preventing the brain drain is very important and we would like to do this through funding programmes that encourage qualified workers from abroad to return to their own countries; set up homes or companies; and attract other qualified EU citizens. 

Creating incentives to attract qualified non-EU individuals to come to the EU is also necessary.

We support an increase in the information flow to EU citizens concerning their rights and opportunities and through initiatives such as migration profiles.

We support an EU policy that ensures that all EU citizens can enjoy the benefits of a flexicurity system.

We support the promotion of EU initiatives that create jobs.


Migration

We propose a RoadMap to address the EU issue of immigration with the ultimate goal of having a common EU policy on immigration.

We support EU initiatives to facilitate the integration of migrants and ethnic minorities, while acknowledging the fact that the will must come from both sides.


Equal Opportunities

We find it necessary to support the need for EU-wide quotas to prevent gender discrimination.

We support the creation of a pan-European platform for aiding the re-integration of older workers.

Challenging the mind set of employers and guaranteeing the active participation of older workers is of significant importance.

Signatories:
Samuel Bahlsen (Germany), Daniel Luţă-Dumitraşcu (Romania), Jáchym Hercher (Czech Republic), Verena Hörmann (Austria), Marius Iliescu (Romania), Izabela Kołodziej (Poland), Tomáš Kopečný (Czech Republic), Viktor Sándor Kovács (Hungary), Václav Krajňanský (Czech Republic), Caitlin Mills Lyle (UK), Florian Lüdtke (Germany), Boriana Madjarova (Bulgaria), Patricia Muhlbauer (Austria), Alexandru Bogdan Seran (Romania), Deyana Stareva (Bulgaria), Magdalena Surówka (Poland), David Tóth (Hungary), Bartosz Wiśniewski (Poland)