70 young people from Young Friends of the Earth Europe and Milieu Defensie Jong met in Strasbourg to step into the world of EU policy making. The two-day workshops focused on deregulation in the EU and on how young people can make their voices heard by the institutions – which we literally did on the last day, with an action in front of the European Parliament.
Young people will live with the consequences of today’s political decisions for the longest time, yet we are not the ones making these decisions, and our perspectives are rarely considered when they are deciding about our future. Our meeting in Strasbourg was part of our work to bring young people closer to places and people where these decisions are made, and to learn together how we can be part of the decisions that lay the foundations of our lives.
One of the most worrying trends in the EU currently is the ongoing wave of deregulation. Crucial environmental regulations are being diluted and delayed at breakneck speed, driven by the interests of big corporations, threatening our rights, protections and our future.
Deregulation has already been in the focus of our work (learn more about the working group dedicated to the issue). On the first day of the workshops we heard examples from across Europe of how local governments are turning their backs on crucial environmental protections. It was especially interesting to connect these struggles with those happening at the EU level, right where we were, in Strasbourg.
On the second day, our sessions focused on the corporate lobbying skewing the democratic processes but mostly on how we can counter their narratives. We were introduced to one powerful tool of direct democratic input to the EU legislation: The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which allows EU citizens to call directly on the European Commission to propose new laws or legal acts in areas where the EU has legislative authority.
At the same time, we prepared for the final act of our visit to Strasbourg: a demonstration in front of the European Parliament, which was also the public release of our manifesto on Deregulation. The manifesto highlighted that corporate influence weakens climate protections and narrows democratic debate, while young people and civil society are left out of conversations that shape their future. You can read it here. At the action we publicly signed and handed over our manifesto to the decision makers. For the action we dressed as lobbyists, but this time, we lobbied for a liveable planet and human rights instead of boosting profits.
These tree action-packed days in Strasbourg showed us again, that we are stronger when we are together, and that it’s not so easy to keep young people away from the decisions shaping our future. Please find more details on what we did along with some testimonies from the participants below. Also, if you would like to get into EU policy making, don’t forget to check out our crash course on “How is EU policy made” and how you can join us.
