Snapshot Report 2014

Snapshot Report 2014

Discuss YOUR ideas with Europe’s leaders

info@debatingeurope.eu www.debatingeurope.eu debatingeurope @debatingeurope

Table of content Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Growth

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Euro on the mend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 TIPPING the balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Doing more with less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Labour pains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Global Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

World

The bear next door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Ukraine: stuck in the middle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Syria’s agony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Ever-larger union? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Managing migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 A dilemma made in Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Global Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Green

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Preparing for Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Nuclear options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 To Frack or not to Frack? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Tech

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Privacy on Parade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 To Boldly Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Parliamentary Twittersphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Future

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Sceptics off the scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Dividing Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Growing up is hard to do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Vote 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Infographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Credits

Author: Paul Ames Publisher: Geert Cami Editor: Joe Litobarski

Publication coordinators: Linda Mazzucco and Alessandra Baldissin Design & Layout: cerise.be Year of publication: 2014

Disclaimer

This report offers an independent analysis of the Debating Europe project for which only the authors and Debating Europe can take full responsibility. The views expressed in this report by individuals are personal opinions and not necessarily the views of the organisation they represent, nor of Debating Europe, its members or partners.

Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted, providing that full attribution is made to Debating Europe and to the source(s) in question, and provided that any such reproduction, whether in full or in part, is not sold unless incorporated in other works.

All MEPs quoted in this report have been cited with reference to their title during the 7th European Parliamentary term (2009-2014).

Foreword In an election year, voters speak and politicians listen. Unlike traditional “top-down” media, this has been Debating Europe’s mantra from the start; the citizens are put centre-stage so they can set the agenda and grill policymakers on the issues people care about. Our aim has always been to encourage a genuine debate between citizens and politicians from all corners of Europe.

On 22-25 May 2014, voters across the EU went to the polls to elect new representatives to the European Parliament. For the first time, the results of these elections helped decide the next chief of the EU’s executive arm, the President of the European Commission. Debating Europe is proud to have played a part in the race for the

GILES MERRITT Secretary General Friends of Europe

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next Commission President, interviewing the candidates and asking them tough questions on behalf of our readers.

In the run-up to the elections, we received over twenty thousand questions from citizens, and put them to hundreds of politicians from across Europe – including MEPs, Prime Ministers, EU Commissioners, national ministers and MPs. This has been the most successful year yet for Debating Europe, and we hope to continue to build on what we achieved.

Our thanks go to the European Parliament, Microsoft, Skype and the Open Society Foundations for supporting Debating Europe.

GEERT CAMI Co-Founder and Director Friends of Europe

Overview The year leading up to the European Parliament elections in May 2014 has been the most exciting and successful year we have had on Debating Europe. In the run-up to the elections, half a million people accessed our site looking to debate the issues they care about and learn more about the vote.

To date, over 900 policy-makers have answered questions from citizens as part of Debating Europe. Politicians have taken part from every corner of Europe and from all across the political spectrum, including Jean-Claude Juncker and his fellow candidates for President of the European Commission. In addition, 184 MEPs, 58 national ministers and state secretaries, 41 national MPs, 13 EU Commissioners, 6 Prime Ministers and the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament have all taken part.

Each has agreed to answer some of the 30,000 comments sent in to us from citizens online, including from a growing community of over 175,000 people following us on Facebook and Twitter.

We are always willing to discuss any issue raised by citizens, as long as there is a European connection. In the year before

Adam Nyman Director Debating Europe

the European elections, our readers were especially interested in issues related to the economy, unemployment (particularly youth unemployment), immigration and the future of the European Union. The crisis in Ukraine also soon became one of the most popular topics we have ever tackled, prompting us to launch an additional channel covering global security issues. However, there was also space to cover other important issues facing Europe today, including education policy, energy security, online privacy and EU enlargement.

The European elections may be over, but there is still a need for dialogue, discussion and debate that connects people from across the continent with their politicians in Brussels and national capitals. The issues haven’t gone away, and policy-makers shouldn’t stop listening to citizens just because the election has passed.

In fact, the results of the elections – including a rising share of the vote going to eurosceptic parties, shows that now more than ever there is a need to foster debate between policy-makers and citizens on critical European issues.

There was, of course, much we were unable to fit into this report, and you can visit Debating Europe (www.debatingeurope.eu) to see more and to take part in the debate yourself.

Joe Litobarski Editor Debating Europe

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Growth Contrary to the predictions of many naysayers, the euro survived the crisis. Hardest-hit countries have seen their bond yields normalise. Ireland and Portugal made a clean break from their troika programmes, Greece has returned to the markets, surging exports have helped Spain edge back into growth.

Yet the mood is far from celebratory. Growth across much of the euro-zone remains anaemic. The crisis has left deep social scars and unemployment has stayed stubbornly high, especially among young people. More than half the under-25s in Greece and Spain have no job.

Differences within the euro-zone remain stark: Germany and Austria enjoy unemployment rates almost five time lower that those in the worst-affected southern member states.

While some say the years of rigour are finally beginning to bear fruit, many still question the wisdom of austerity and are calling for a change.

In the past few months the EU has launched a partial banking union to bolster Europe’s

defences against future crises, and negotiations are moving forward on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which supporters hope will inject billions into the world economy. The EU finally agreed its 20142020 budget framework, with a 959.99 billion euro commitment ceiling that represents a fall for the first time.

In Debating Europe’s Growth channel, themes under deliberation have ranged from the impact of austerity and the pros and cons of TTIP, to how to tackle corruption and the benefits (or otherwise) of labour mobility within the EU. As always, our Growth debates were among those attracting the most comments, bringing in impassioned views on all sides of questions.

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Euro on the mend?

By 2014, the euro-zone no longer faced an immediate risk of break up, yet the recovery remains fragile. Austerity supporters say the years of belt-tightening are beginning to yield results, yet there are growing calls for a renewed focus on growth and jobs - especially after the European Parliament elections where mainstream parties who backed budgetary rigour suffered losses in several member states.

Joining the anti-austerity chorus was ANDREA WHO SENt IN A FACEBOOK COMMENT FROM AUSTRIA:

The EU just needs to stop forcing countries into austerity measures, then there will automatically be more jobs.”

In our March debate on how to help the 48 percent of young Europeans still living at home, we put Andrea’s point to PASCHAL DONOHOE, Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs. He rejected the idea that the EU was forcing member states to impose austerity:

“The key thing that forced us to take many of the difficult measures that we had to recently was the fact that Ireland either could not borrow from the financial markets or could not borrow at a rate that was affordable for our country. That’s primarily a direct relationship with the financial markets that is very much independent of our relationship with the EU. In October, Debating Europe published the results of a major new Gallup poll conducted on our behalf. It found 51 percent of Europeans believe austerity measures have failed and better alternatives are available. One of them was LIDIA FROM PORTUGAL who wrote in to say:

Austerity policies are failing and no-one wants to take responsibility for it!”

Leading MEPs from both sides of the political divide responded. Austrian member HANNES SWOBODA, Chairman of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament, said fiscal responsibility is important, but austerity policies just weren’t working:

“The way that austerity has been implemented - including cutting very important expenditure such as education - cannot work. It cannot work in the short-term and it will be disastrous in the long term. And, therefore, I think we will have to change it.

MARTIN CALLANAN, leader of the European Conservatives and Reformist Group, said there was no simple choice between growth or austerity:

“The problem in Europe was too much spending and too much borrowing, and we won’t solve those problems by spending and borrowing even more.

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FER, ANOTHER PARTICIPANT FROM PORTUGAL, joined our September debate on Europe’s social model. He contested the impact of austerity on pensions and health systems:

Austerity is just like putting extra petrol into the fire … It won’t help, but it will burn quicker.”

In reply, Ireland’s Minister for Social Protection JOAN BURTON pointed out that the 25% to 40% of total spending that governments earmark for social welfare circulates in the economy to bring wide-ranging benefits well beyond help to the original recipients.

“We have to have a Social Europe, where the delivery of public services is, in my view, tremendously important – but where we also need to modernise it so it reflects what has happened in a globalised economy.

One European economy that has continued to thrive is Germany, buoyed by the strength of it small- and medium-sized industries, the Mittelstand. In September, Debating Europe asked whether the European economy should be more like Germany’s. VICENTE WROTE FROM ITALY suggesting other European economies had mistakenly focused on services, rather than maintaining their industrial base:

I think now the EU Commission is realizing the mistake and already many economists are saying that we need to increase our customs tariffs and reindustrialize.”

HERBERT REUL, MEP and Chairman of the German CDU / CSU in the European Parliament, disagreed with Vicente on tariffs, but said he was right about the need to re-industrialize Europe’s economies.

“We need both services and industry to have a functioning economy. This is the real answer for the future: we need to ensure the regulatory burden does not fall disproportionately on industry-based production. We need to ask if legislation at both the European and the national level helps industry or if it is a problem for the future.

While Germany’s coalition government plans to join most of the other EU member states by setting up a national minimum wage, some in Europe want to go further, guaranteeing an Unconditional Basic Income to every citizen. A European Citizens’ Initiative calling for a UBI gathered 285,000 signatures, including 34 MEPs. In April, Debating Europe launched its own debate on the issue, taking this question from BRUNO:

Why not just give an Unconditional Basic Income to everyone so each individual can develop themselves and create their own job? We are too dependent on big business to create jobs for us. Let’s change that and give a chance to small business to flourish.”

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Slovak MEP KATARÍNA NEVEĎALOVÁ, who sits with the Social Democrats, liked Bruno’s idea, but said implementation would need to be done on a member-state basis due to the varying income levels across the EU:

“I believe in a few years we can develop something like a UBI for everybody, which would help to support people and fight poverty. But we have to find the sources of funding for this, and the sources of funding are in the member states, so it’s their decision to take.

German MEP REINHARD BÜTIKOFER, Co-Spokesperson for the European Greens, also picked up on Bruno’s question. He said his own Green Party in Germany had debated the issue but ultimately voted to reject the UBI idea.

“In theory, the Guaranteed Basic Income may sound very attractive, but when you look into the specific models that have been offered, there’s always a dark side to it. And some of the proposals I have seen would not end up generating more social justice – quite the opposite.

Markets may have decided the euro-zone is safe for now, but there’s still been considerable discussion among economists on the prospect of breaking up the currency bloc into northern and southern zones. We took up the question in September, following a comment sent in from ALEX IN GERMANY:

I would prefer a Northern euro and a Southern euro. Within [the Northern eurozone] we could have full integration as … all the countries having AAAstatus and their economies are pretty much at the same level.”

The idea didn’t go down well with MARIA FEKTER, Austria’s then-Minister of Finance:

“Not at all. The economic benefits of the euro increase with the size of euro area. Splitting-up Europe means less influence at the global level.

TIPPING the balance Together, the European Union and the United States generate almost half of total world output. Trade between them accounts for an estimated 13 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic and combined trade and investment is worth around 3.5 billion euro.

The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently under negotiation will make the world’s biggest trade relationship even bigger. Supporters say a successful deal could create additional trade-driven income of over 210 billion euro.

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So what’s not to like? Opponents of the deal - and they include many of the parties who did well in May’s European Parliament elections - say TTIP will undermine European industry; erode social, health and environmental standards; and bring benefits only to already dominant multinational corporations.

Whichever side of the argument they are on, it’s clear TTIP provokes strong opinions.

Take MARCEL FROM THE NETHERLANDS who says the trade deal should not go ahead.

It is designed to benefit the rich and corporations. Unemployment will go up as hundreds of thousands more jobs will be shipped to low wage countries, the middle class will be further gutted and poverty will continue to go up.”

In February, that triggered this response from ALEXANDER STUBB, then-Finland’s Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, now Prime Minister.

“The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Pact, if and when it materialises, will be great news for both the European Union and United States economies. If signed, it could boost GDP growth annually by 0.5% until 2027. It will give access to markets we haven’t been able to penetrate previously, including public procurement, and it will equally facilitate trade both ways across the Atlantic.

Writing in from Bulgaria, MARINA acknowledged TTIP might have some positive short-term benefits, but she cited a report showing the United States would be the big economic winner, and worried Europe could be risking achievements - like its limitations on the use of GMOs - for uncertain economic benefits.

VITAL MOREIRA, Portuguese Socialist MEP and Chair of the Trade Committee in the European Parliament, had his doubts about those studies that show TTIP bringing one-sided benefits and flatly rejected the idea that it would undermine European standards.

“There will be no erosion via this agreement of any of the sensitive issues here in Europe, namely safety. So, this is not in question.

MATHIAS joined the debate to argue against the TTIP:

It will largely profit the big corporations. Look I have nothing against money or rich people. However, this agreement means that corporations will be above several state laws.”

EU Trade Commissioner KAREL DE GUCHT strongly disagreed:

“In fact, the big advantage of this agreement with the United States is that it would be very good for Small and Mediumsized Enterprises ... opening up the US market is not just advantageous for the big corporations.

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Not all contributors were wary of TTIP and some want to go even further. Take JIM FROM GREECE:

It will benefit all Europeans and Americans. Since 45% of total GDP globally is produced in USA and EU, it’s natural that a bigger union will be created. And after a few years a single currency must replace the dollar and the euro.”

Doing more with less After months of tough negotiations, the EU institutions agreed this spring on rules for a common approach to the resolution of failing banks. Economists welcomed it as a major step forward, but many complained more was needed to produce a true banking union that would help avoid future financial crises.

Contributors to Debating Europe have also been calling for more action in other areas of citizens’ concern, from fighting corruption, to capping the bonuses that encourage risky banker behaviour. The EU finally agreed on its own long-term budget up to 2020, including a cut of 3.3% that reflects tough economic times and forces the Commission to do more with less.

ROLANDO IN THE NETHERLANDS said the budget cuts were a sign that the EU was getting facing up to economic reality:

Everybody has to do with less, so why not people in Brussels too?”

Joining our May debate on whether the EU represents good value for money, Spanish Socialist MEP EIDER GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL, Vice-Chair of the EP’s Committee on Budgets, agreed that the EU needed to manage its budget more efficiently, but pointed out that European spending is used for investments that can bring longterm economic gains:

“It’s also a very small budget compared to national budgets, representing only 1% of the EU’s GNI … when we talk about the European budget, we are talking about a budget designed to help European citizens live better in these troubling times.

As part of the package of measures being pushed through to “fix” the banking sector, a ban on bonuses of more than 100% of base salaries (or 200% if shareholders approve) is set to come into force this year.

The measure is controversial: some say it will remove incentives, send talent overseas and harm competition; others fear the rules are too weak, leaving loopholes that will maintain the dangerous bonus culture.

We let contributors put both points of view to EU Internal Market Commissioner MICHEL BARNIER during our April debate on the issue.

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First up JAKUB IN SLOVAKIA who argued that the rules should be tightened:

The EU should cap not only bankers’ bonuses, but salaries too [and] tax dividends, so they cannot easily overcome the cap.”

Barnier promised the Commission is very attentive to the risk that banks will attempt to sidestep the law. He hoped shareholders would take their responsibilities in helping to fix salary scales.

“We will see if this will be enough, but, frankly, we are not a planned economy, so everybody should take responsibility themselves. We are not going to fix by law the salaries in all European companies.

In a Facebook comment sent in for an earlier debate, HAMZA IN BELGIUM warned the new rules could see bankers moving out of the EU to places such as New York or Hong Kong. He also cautioned that the salary increases that are likely to be introduced to compensate for the bonus cap would make banks more vulnerable in a downturn, since salaries are harder to cut than bonuses.

Commissioner Barnier said he understood Hamza’s concern, but he insisted action had to be taken to curb the risks generated by bankers’ bonus culture.

Some of the bonuses paid were just inexplicable. Why have we adopted this law on capping bankers’ bonuses? Because, in many banks this was one of the causes of the financial crisis. The bonuses were so high that those who received them were taking many more risks, and in some cases these risks led to real catastrophes. And who is paying for these catastrophes? The taxpayers.”

Defending taxpayers’ money was also at the heart of our February debate on how to tackle corruption. It was held in the wake of a European Commission report which estimated the cost of corruption across the Union was at least 120 billion euros a year.

FROM PORTUGAL, BUT LIVING IN ROMANIA, MARCO sent in a video question asking what was being done to combat corruption in Romania and other relatively new EU members.

TRAIAN UNGUREANU, a Romanian MEP with the European People’s Party, complained a lack of political will to tackle the problem had weakened the judiciary and anti-corruption agencies in Romania. Fortunately, help was coming from Brussels:

“The European Commission has been very active in pushing member states like Romania and Bulgaria to establishing credible judiciaries, to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and block any interference of political parties and actors into judicial matters.

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We also put Marco’s question to Bulgarian MEP SVETOSLAV HRISTOV MALINOV, who also sits with the centre-right EPP. He said the problem could be traced to many post-Communist countries introducing the market economy and democratic system before the rule of law was properly established. In Bulgaria, he said, citizens saw the EU as key to confronting the problem:

“The level of corruption in Bulgaria is such that Europe is seen as the only way to combat it. In a very bizarre way, the level of corruption is boosting the popularity of the EU.

FROM THE EU’S NEWEST MEMBER, CROATIA, HRVOJE sent in a question via Debating Europe’s “Suggest a Debate” form. Despite a university degree, Hrvoje said he was unemployed and had few options beyond low-paid internships.

The people who get jobs are those who are loyal to a party and its politicians.

Why does the EU tolerate this system of corruption, nepotism and unfair job competition?”

NIKOLA VULJANIĆ, an MEP with the radical left, said one of the problems facing his homeland was the state’s continued role as Croatia’s biggest employer.

“Belonging to the party in power is really the only way to get a job in a state office or state-owned firm. This is a remnant of the communist regime. In fact, the system is much stronger today than ever before. I don’t think the EU can do anything about that.

Labour pains Europe’s lack of labour mobility has long been shown up as a competitive disadvantage. While around 14 million EU citizens now live in member states other than their own, they are outnumbered by almost 10-to-1 by Americans who move to another state for their jobs.

EU free movement laws have made it easier for workers to go where jobs are across Europe. A recent Eurobarometer survey found most Europeans view free movement as the EU’s most positive achievement.

Yet there is a backlash. In many of the older EU member states there are complaints about migration from the east. Those complaints rose as transitional restrictions on the movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria came to an end on 1 January.

Parties urging a rollback of free movement were among those who did well in the European Parliament elections. Often they complained of “welfare tourism” by migrants from other EU countries.

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PAUL IN THE UK was one who has concerns:

Nobody should be allowed to enter the UK without proof that they are able to support themselves and, as a lifelong UK taxpayer, I’m perfectly entitled to say that.”

The EU’s Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion LÁSZLÓ ANDOR pointed out that only a small minority abuse the system. Existing EU and national laws give states the power to eliminate welfare cheating by nationals or foreigners, he said.

“The point is that most people, if they go abroad, go there to work and not to take advantage of the benefit system of another country.

EVGENI KIRILOV, Bulgarian MEP with the Socialists and Democrats group, also responded to Paul’s comment. He said unfounded fears of a mass influx of Romanian and Bulgarians into the UK were being stoked for political purposes. Of those that were moving, only a “very, very small fraction of a percentage point” were seeking to abuse the welfare system, he insisted.

“It’s in the interests of the economic development of the whole of Europe to have this free movement between Member States.

It helps the economies of all countries involved, including Great Britain.

WRITING FROM ROMANIA, MIHAIL reassured those worried about an “invasion” from southeastern Europe.

Those who wanted to emigrate have already done so. Our image has suffered because of a very few individuals that have caused various kinds of problems, but the vast majority have integrated into the societies where they have emigrated to.”

Romanian MEP Traian Ungureanu, agreed and produced statistics to show the fears of a migration wave are a “political myth.” Just 24 Romanians entered the UK looking for work in the month following the end of restrictions, he said.

“I think this is the kind of ‘invasion’ the British government can easily cope with. More worrying is the consequences of this sort of attitude towards European values and the EU’s image as a whole. I don’t think we can have a real European spirit and implement European values and standards as long as Eastern European migrants are treated the way they are.

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Global Security The Ukraine crisis is Europe’s most serious security threat since the Cold War, igniting violence and instability in the EU’s near neighbourhood.

EU efforts to build a partnership with Russia have been shattered by Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and instigation of unrest in eastern Ukraine. Instead, sanctions have targeted Russian officials and the EU’s eastern members are voicing real concern about their security, forcing NATO into a renewed focus on its core mutual defence pledge.

Under new leadership, Ukraine has signed an Association Agreement with the EU designed to cement political and economic ties. That is just what Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to avoid in November when a proMoscow government in Kiev backed out of the deal, sparking months of street protests. The cost however has been high - over 100 killed in February’s failed crackdown on the protests, hundreds more slain in violence since as Russian backed forces seek to gain control of eastern regions.

Debating Europe’s has been running debates on Ukraine since the crisis first flared - probing

the issues behind events and analysing the EU’s response. Should Europe have moved further and faster to bring Ukraine into the fold? How far should the West go in confronting Russia?

Where does Ukraine’s future lie? These issues have been among the most extensively and hotly debated of the year.

Ukraine however is not the only security nightmare on the EU’s doorstep. The Syrian civil war has brought horror without end - over 150,000 have been killed, millions driven from their homes.

The conflict has spread beyond Syria’s borders as the radical Islamic State movement advances into Iraq and threatens Jordan.

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The bear next door In the summer of 2013, the EU leadership was meeting Vladimir Putin for a regular summit in the Ural Mountain city of Yekaterinburg for talks on building trade, easing visas and cooperation in the fight against narcotics. A year on, the relationship was in ruins, Putin cold shouldered by the West, sanctions imposed on some of his closest officials, talk of a new Cold War. As tensions grew, we ran a series of debates looking at Europe’s relations with Russia, drawing a vast range of comments from those demanding a tougher Western response, to apologists for Putin.

In April, Debating Europe met with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, from the punk band Pussy Riot. They both served 21 months in prison for a 2012 antiPutin protest in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

LATA FROM LUXEMBOURG argued that Russian living standards have improved under Putin’s rule and that the West should look to its own democratic deficits before lecturing others.

NADEZHDA TOLOKONNIKOVA countered that Putin has profited from increased oil and gas prices while allowing non-energy sectors to decline. That is storing up major problems for the future, she said.

“We should have invested oil revenues to strengthen our industry, instead this money has been wasted. Many major government projects suffer from corruption, and there is no real development as a result of them. There is no innovation in business, and our judiciary is completely corrupt.

WRITING FROM BELGIUM, ANDRIES warned Russia’s behaviour was a clear cause for concern:

Russia is descending more and more into a dictatorial, monocultural, discriminating and closed society that shows not an ounce of respect for universal human rights, for minorities, nor for any form of democracy. Europe should send a very clear signal that we will not tolerate this.”

We asked the performers from Pussy Riot how Europe should respond, and got this response from Maria Alyokhina:

“We see such a signal from Europe in applying harsh sanctions against those oligarchs and civil servants that make up Putin’s closest circle. Those sanctions should ban them from entering the EU and freeze their assets ... This is pro-Russian because these people steal money from Russia and spend it in the EU. TOM wrote in to argue for tougher sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine. He complained that those currently targeted by the EU’s punitive measures have no real power or influence.

In reply, Maltese Foreign Minister GEORGE VELLA urged caution and warned that there was little stomach within the EU to move to broader sanctions.

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“I sit in the monthly EU foreign ministers council, and it’s quite evident that there is no agreement in the EU over economic sanctions, because they hit both ways. Economic and trade sanctions would have disastrous effects because of the interlinkage between EU economies and Russia.

Also taking a conciliatory line was contributor PANOS FROM GREECE. As the West agonized about Russian moves to take over Crimea in March, he said the EU should avoid a conflict.

Even if things calm down, at some point Crimea will become part of Russia, [and] it would be best if they do it with a referendum, not with violence.”

In reply, French MEP PHILIPPE JUVIN, from the European People’s Party, warned that the Crimea annexation set a dangerous precedent:

“Remember, just before the Second World War, Hitler asked for the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. And that was a reason for the Munich agreement that led, ultimately, to the war. We cannot accept modifications of territory as Russia wants, because if we accept this it’s an open door to a lot of new issues.

The West’s worsening relations with Russia have forced a re-evaluation of NATO’s role.

After years of planning for “out of area” operations like its long mission in Afghanistan or the air campaign over Libya, the Atlantic Alliance is focusing again on its core role of providing territorial protection for members as laid out under Art. 5 of NATO’s founding treaty which states that an attack on one ally will be treated an attack on all.

In June, we put questions on NATO’s future to GEN. PHILIP M. BREEDLOVE, Commander of US forces in Europe and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

CHRIS asked whether NATO was ready to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

In a video reply, Gen. Breedlove assured him the alliance was prepared and was continuing to adapt to new challenges.

“We’re in a place where we need to look, at a strategic and operational level, at adaptation. We are coming out of a counterinsurgency fight [in Afghanistan] we need to focus a little more on that Art. 5 collective defence ... we will be in a period of adaptation over the next several years.

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Ukraine: stuck in the middle Through history Ukraine has been squeezed between east and west. In October the country chose closer ties with the EU through an Association and Free Trade Agreement, but under pressure from Moscow, the government of President Viktor Yanukovych pulled out. The protests that followed saw the Maidan - Kiev’s central square - filled with demonstrators demanding a European future. Eight months later, a newly elected Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, signed the agreement, but in the intervening months, Ukraine has lost Crimea to Russian annexation and faces a violent, Russian-backed uprising in its eastern provinces.

Back in November, we asked if the West was loosing its tug-of-war with Russia over Ukraine. KOSTADIN FROM BULGARIA had no doubt Ukraine should be looking East:

It would be better if Ukraine turned away from Brussels and grew closer to Moscow. The future of Ukraine is to be a member state in the Eurasian Union.”

Centre-right MEP JERZY BUZEK, former President of the European Parliament and one-time Prime Minister of Poland, pointed out that the EU has stopped short of offering membership to Ukraine, but insisted both sides would benefit from closer ties.

“Close cooperation, including a deep comprehensive agreement on free trade, will be great for both sides. It will be very good for European citizens and our prosperity, and also for Ukrainians. So, let us go in this direction. We don’t know the end of our road - maybe the enlargement will be in 20 or 30 years, we don’t know - but to think about that is a very good idea.

Via Facebook, MAIKE IN GERMANY contended that what really worried Russia was not Kiev’s ties with the EU, but the concern that one-day Ukraine would join NATO. Ukraine’s ambassador to the Atlantic Alliance IHOR DOLHOV retorted that whatever future it chose, the decision should be for Ukraine alone:

“The answer is very simple: it’s up to Ukraine to decide what Ukraine is going to do. It’s not up to Russia. Whatever we decide within our country, it’s not to provoke somebody, but to improve the quality of life of Ukrainian citizens, of my people.

Many contributors were critical of the European role in the Ukraine crisis. ALEJO IN UKRAINE and TARQUIN IN BRITAIN came at it from different angles. Tarquin blamed the EU for triggering the crisis by seeking to “coerce” Ukraine into its sphere of influence. Alejo focused his criticism on the EU’s sanctions against Russia, claiming they were too weak and doing “nothing to change the facts on the ground.”

In April, we put both points of view to Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák.

He flatly rejected the claim that the EU was to blame.

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“Europe was not pushing Ukraine anywhere – it was Ukraine’s will to have the Association Agreement signed, and when that will was overruled the current chain of actions was triggered.

Speaking before Ukraine’s presidential election in May, Lajčák said the EU was willing to help, but primary responsibility for resolving the crisis had to lay with the Ukrainians themselves.

We are ready to assist Ukraine, but it’s also important that Ukraine assists itself, first by introducing an inclusive political process so that no single citizen, no religious group and no national minority feels excluded from that process.”

Another contributor calling for a stronger EU stance was PAULA IN SWEDEN who sent in a Facebook comment in January as forces loyal to the Yanukovych regime sought to crack down on the Euromaidan protesters:

The EU proves itself incompetent again! The [Ukrainian protesters] need support and [EU governments should implement] economic sanctions.”

At that stage, Marek Siwiec, a centre-left Polish MEP, said sanctions were not the right solution:

“We have a number of cases where, if sanctions are in place, there is no dialogue and no talks and no positive solution. I think, at this stage, we shouldn’t implement sanctions ... as long as people are still discussing and there is not total violence being used by either side.

Syria’s agony Hopes that the Arab Spring would usher in a new period of progress for the EU’s southern neighbours have largely been dashed. There is chaos in Libya, a new authoritarianism in Egypt and horrific bloodshed in Syria. The civil war there has torn the country apart, creating one of the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Divided international powers have been unable to stem the violence, which has spilled over into Syria’s neighbours, most notably with the advance of the radical Islamic State movement into Iraq.

It’s a conflict Europe cannot ignore, especially given the numbers of radicalised European youths heading to fight in the conflict and returning prepared to commit terrorism back home.

In June, we asked how Europe should respond to the war. BART IN DENMARK, recognized Europe had moral, political and security obligations to seek an end to the conflict, but argued it would be better off supporting regional initiatives, for example through the Arab League, rather than launching direct Western intervention.

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JAMIE SHEA, NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, said the West needs to apply constant diplomatic efforts to seek a solution to this “appalling” tragedy:

“This crisis is destabilizing the region and certainly we need a consistent regional approach ... I don’t think there is any military solution to what is happening in Syria at the moment.

EMMANUEL IN FRANCE linked the Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts. He said Vladimir Putin was key to any solution in Syria and the West should recognize Russia’s role there.

Danish Foreign Minister, MARTIN LIDEGAARD replied during a video interview:

“Unfortunately the Ukraine crisis has a negative impact on the Syrian situation. It’s a terrible situation in Syria right now, especially from a humanitarian point of view and it’s very difficult to see the solutions. I agree that a key to that is to get Russia to the negotiating table, also when it comes to Syria.

There is no future for a free, democratic Syria if we don’t get a deal with Russia as well.

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Green The past few months have seen a spate of new moves to tackle climate change. The European Union pledged in January to produce 27% of energy by 2030 from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. President Barack Obama proposed reducing carbon emissions from US power plants by 30%.

Awareness of the global warming problem is spreading. An international poll published in May showed more than two-thirds of Chinese identify themselves as environmentalists, twice the level of Europeans or Americans. Yet there are also signs of doubts about climate change are taking root - Australia’s government has downplayed the risks and rolled back measures to tackle global warming; climate sceptics did well in the European Parliament elections.

The crisis in Ukraine focused attention on Europe’s energy supply. Most agree on the need to reduce dependence on Russian imports, but

there are divisions as to whether that should mean a faster switch to renewables, or a search for new oil and gas sources - including through fracking. The debate over the role of nuclear power in Europe’s energy mix rages unabated, three years since the Fukushima incident.

The Green channel on Debating Europe provided a platform of some intense discussions on topics ranging from the potential of the green economy to provide jobs for young Europeans, to the importance of sustainable shopping and arguments for and against shale gas production.

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Preparing for Paris After the failures of Copenhagen in 2009, another major world climate summit is looming in Paris next year.

Pressure to reach an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has been heightened by the latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which warned the effects of global warming risk sparking economic decline, food shortages, natural disasters and even war. Some say those predictions are already coming true with the impact of climate change seen in floods in Europe, searing heat in Australia and shrinking icecaps in the Antarctic.

Yet, voices on the other side continue to deny the link between human activity and global warming. They insist the economy cannot be restrained by a switch to expensive and unreliable alternatives.

In the search for answers, Debating Europe went to the top, joining Friends of Europe to co-host a live debate in April with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. As part of our Debating Europe Schools initiative, he took questions on climate change from European students.

Via video link, TONI FROM FINLAND asked what the Secretary General had to say in reply to climate change sceptics.

While even a few years ago sceptics could be found among the scientific community, BAN KI-MOON said, successive reports from the IPCC had left no room for doubt about the scale of the global warming challenge:

“I think the science has made it plainly clear - the climate change phenomenon is coming. And it’s coming much, much faster than you’d expect. You have experienced extreme weather patterns in Europe. Many European capitals have been inundated by extreme flooding and, in Africa, there was a long spell of drought. Even in Manhattan the UN building was flooded for the first time in almost 70 years. Can you believe this is normal? No, this is not normal. The impact of climate change is happening.

Stressing the global nature of the climate change challenge, MARCO FROM PORTUGAL wrote to Debating Europe in November to ask what the EU can do in the face of increasing CO2 emissions from developing countries, particularly China and India.

We put his question to MARCIN KOROLEC, Poland’s Minister of Environment, who insisted Europe has to work to bring others onboard rather than seek to impose its solutions.

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“We cannot say: ‘Listen, country X - you have to deliver’. We have to find a way for them to be with us. The UN process is a purely democratic exercise. We cannot order, we cannot force somebody, because then they would not ratify the solution. So, we have to be inclusive, we have to understand this and we have to be ready for real negotiations.

For Debating Europe contributor MICHAEL, “Climate change is the world’s number one vital issue that we should treat with respect no matter the cost.” He warned however that little was going to change unless Europe could forge a united response to the problem.

A well-known critic of EU climate policy, MEP ROGER HELMER, from the UK Independence Party, said increasing global CO2 emissions were inevitable given the discovery of new fossil fuel sources. Europe, he said, had to make sure environmental policy didn’t harm economic competitiveness:

“We are going to be increasing global atmospheric CO2 whatever we do. We can crucify our economies in Europe and in Britain on the alter of climate change in the hopes of making a difference but, in fact, the emissions are going up so fast in China, in India, and around the world, that we won’t make any difference.

Others see great economic opportunity in going green, if Europe can take a lead in developing new environment-friendly technologies.

Regular contributor SAMO FROM SLOVENIA said it was clear:

Optimization of products and their manufacturing process will be THE jobs of the future … our planet’s resources are being exploited at rate way too high to be sustainable. What we need to do is reduce our energy consumption, especially with its efficient use, and we also need to be able to re-use most, if not all, the materials that we use.”

JANEZ POTOČNIK, the European Commissioner for the Environment, agreed that green innovation could bring a much-needed boost to the economy:

“Samo is absolutely right. A lot of our resources today are not being used in a way that is sustainable ... resource efficiency and a circular economy is not just a question of preserving the environment, but is also relevant to the core question of competitiveness and the future of industrial policy.

Potočnik was among several policy-makers who took part in our October debate on how Europe can help young people find jobs in the green economy. A video question from JONAS summed up the concerns of many of the young contributors:

Often, it is only possible if young people have a lot of experience already, so it makes it hard to find entry-level jobs, and instead, often, they turn to the old industries.”

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MEP REINHARD BÜTIKOFER, Co-Spokesperson for the European Greens, replied that ‘green jobs’ did not necessarily require tougher qualifications than those in traditional sectors.

“We should not fall into the trap of thinking that green jobs are just very specific high-tech jobs, reserved only for specific industries. I would rather say that every job that is helping to transform our economy with the aim of creating more energy and resource efficiency can be called a ‘green job’. So, green jobs can be found in different sectors across the economy, if the policies and investment are set up right.

Nuclear options March saw the third anniversary of the Fukushima accident in Japan that persuaded Germany to move away from nuclear power, yet 30% of the EU’s electricity continues to be generated by nuclear reactors. Across the EU 132 nuclear power plants are operating, in 14 member states. Four more are under construction and another 17 are planned.

The European Commission has praised member states for following up on last year’s “stress tests” that urged tighter safety standards.

From our debates however, it’s clear citizens are as divided as their governments on how to move ahead on nuclear power. Some want an EU-wide phase-out - as advocated by the Greens in the European Parliament election campaign. Others see nuclear energy as key to reducing Europe’s dependence on imported fossil fuels and helping cut carbon emissions.

CĂTĂLIN FROM ROMANIA, summed up the concerns of the anti-nuclear camp:

Europe should give up nuclear energy and fast, not in 10 years from now!

There are a lot of ways to produce clean energy but there is no interest and less will to do it.”

Promoting the opposing view was JAKUB IN SLOVAKIA who rejected comparisons with Japan’s experience, arguing the natural disaster that hit the Fukushima plant was not a risk in Europe:

It is right to keep it (nuclear power). It provides stability in electricity production in comparison to the majority of green sources. It doesn’t pollute the air and the only pollution is the waste, but I am sure, we will find a solution for that. How many tsunamis does Europe have?”

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The March debate was launched after JULIAN FROM THE UK filed a question to the ‘Suggest a Debate’ section on the Debating Europe website. He asked simply:

Should EU member states give up nuclear power? If so, how could it be achieved and what would be the repercussions?”

The answer lies in better technology and tighter safety, argued MEP JERZY BUZEK, former President of the European Parliament (2009-2012) and Prime Minister of Poland from 1997-2001:

“I don’t think it’s necessary to “give up” nuclear power. It’s more important to change old nuclear power stations to very modern, new ones; third generation power stations are not dangerous at all. And then to solve the problem of waste which is the last problem of nuclear power to be solved. Once that is done - when we have greater security of energy supply without any dangerous climate emissions - we can use nuclear power stations.

Not surprisingly, EAMON RYAN, Leader of the Irish Green Party and former Irish Energy Minister (2007-2011) took a different tack. Regardless of safety and environmental concerns, he said economics would eventually shut down the reactors.

“I think nuclear power is not going to play a major role in the next 20-30 years of development of energy in Europe. I think the primary reason for that is just expense. I think it’s more expensive, more difficult to insure and more difficult to get investment support for than the alternatives - particularly renewables ... So, purely on the economics, I think it’s going to start to wind down.

To Frack or not to Frack?

North America is undergoing an energy revolution. Thanks to new technologies that have unlocked shale gas from subterranean rock and oil deposited in bituminous sands, the US and Canada are enjoying a cheap fuel boom. The US department of Energy predicts shale gas will be able to supply America’s needs for the next 90 years and US oil production grew faster in 2012 than in any year in history.

The US has recently overtaken Russia as the world’s biggest natural gas producer and Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest source of liquid fuels. US heating bills have fallen to roughly a quarter of European levels. European industries complain North American rivals enjoy a cheap-energy edge.

As the Ukraine crisis highlights EU countries’ reliance on imports of Russian oil and gas, there are growing calls - including from President Obama - for Europe to step up exploitation of its own underground shale - estimated at around 10% of global reserves.

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Yet opposition is strong. The hydraulic-fracturing process, known as fracking, which is used to extract shale fuels is criticised as dirty, wasteful and dangerous. Shale fields can be an ugly blot on the landscape and they extend the use of carbon-emitting fossil fuels that Europe is supposed to be committed to phasing out.

During our liveblog from the Citizens’ Dialogue with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EC Vice-President Viviane Reding in Warsaw, MARIA wrote in to make her views crystal clear:

Shale gas exploration and exploitation is ecocide! You will be remembered as the ones who destroyed the future of an unknown number of generations to come! Ban fracking now, if you want to avoid the EU being shaken down from its foundations because of this crazy project!”

MARGRETE AUKEN, a Danish MEP who sits with the Greens, was in complete agreement. She called for an EU-wide ban on fracking:

“Absolutely! I find shale gas the most short-sighted way of trying to solve the problem. You are creating many more problems than you are solving. It might not even help against climate change, and it is damaging to nature, it causes pollution, and I find it hopeless to choose this strategy.

From the British Conservatives, MEP JAMES NICHOLSON recognized the need to avoid rushing headfirst into the search for a European shale boom, but he said all options should be considered.

“I think we’re very early in the process of assessment as to what the future of fracking may or may not be ... certainly it’s also a big debate in my region and in many regions. I think we have got to be extremely careful not to rule out any new energies that may come forward, but also they have got to be tried and tested.

GEORGE, a contributor from the UK, wondered about the impact developing economies would have on world energy sources:

The developed world consumes nearly all of planet’s currently available energy resources. If Africa started living like we do, then we would run out of energy probably by the end of the week. And this is simply disgusting, but it’s true… We must learn to live with less. A lot less.”

We put George’s point to Lithuanian Minister for Energy JAROSLAV NEVEROVIČ who took a more reassuring tone, contending that technological advances were opening the way to new fuel sources and alternative energies.

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“As technologies are developing, we are able to tap into natural resources in regions that we didn’t think we would be able to do... we’re starting to use energy resources which a few years ago, certainly a decade ago, were not possible to extract. And, in the first place, I’m talking about renewables. The change is going to happen when renewable energy will become competitive in the market. We will be buying wind, solar and other renewable energy at market prices because the advances in technology are very rapid.

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TECH The fallout from Edward Snowden’s revelations on the extent of America’s snooping on its allies has dominated the European tech agenda.

Having stayed away during his first five years in office, US President Barack Obama made two trips to Brussels in recent months, seeking to rebuild trans-Atlantic trust in the wake of the Snowden affair.

Obama has promised reforms to protect citizens’ privacy, but many are unconvinced, not least in the European Parliament which has called into question existing agreements with the United States and threatened to withhold support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), unless Washington does more to respect Europeans’ data privacy.

US eavesdroppers have not been the only ones in the spotlight as Europe seeks to find the right balance between security and online privacy. Questions have also been raised about electronic espionage by Russia and China, as well as domestic concerns - such as net neutrality and the right to be forgotten online.

Debating Europe has also been tackling questions of Europe’s tech future as the EU struggles to keep an edge in innovation and research in these tight economic times. We’ve looked at issues ranging from space exploration to how to encourage innovative business start ups and the role of social media in today’s politics.

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Privacy on Parade Where the optimum balance between security and privacy has been a major question running through Debating Europe’s tech channel debates. In recent months, we’ve put readers questions on cyber-security and the morality of e-mail monitoring to NATO and EU specialists, sounded out Europe’s political groups on data protection and quizzed the European Commission on citizens’ right to be forgotten.

From the response of Debating Europe participants, it’s clear the privacy issue is a major concern for many people across the continent. Take CATHERINE FROM THE UK, who joined the debate on whether governments should monitor e-mails.

Anyone who believes there is no harm in government, of any kind, having access to their private information is an ignoramus. And the pretence they make about this being needed as we have terror in our midst, is bull.”

The views of PAUL, another contributor from Britain, could hardly have been more different:

I couldn’t care less if the authorities choose to monitor my e-mails, they won’t find anything scandalous and, to be honest, if monitoring everyone’s online activity helps keep our streets free of perverts and terrorists then I’m all for it.”

Debating Europe partnered with the Security & Defence Agenda for its annual conference: “Overhauling Transatlantic Security Thinking.” In the run up, we put Paul’s point to JAMIE SHEA, NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emergency Security Challenges.

“It is a legitimate activity for governments to want to monitor communications. However, that is only if they have a reasonable suspicion of direct or indirect criminal, terrorist or illegitimate illegal activity. I don’t believe that there is a role for intelligence services to monitor the emails of every private citizen.

In an earlier debate, JOE FROM AUSTRIA said Snowden’s revelations should lead the EU to immediately revoke the “Safe Harbour” agreement with Washington that allows European companies to export data to US servers, if they are certified as providing adequate protection levels.

German Social Democrat MEP BIRGIT SIPPEL was in complete agreement.

“It cannot be considered as ‘safe’ any longer ... in the context of the NSA affair, it was revealed that US intelligence services have direct access to data stored with companies that are supposed to be ‘safe’.

In May the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that European citizens have the right to request search engines delete results linking to webpages containing personal information that is deemed “irrelevant” or “out-of-date.”

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Debating Europe opened up the question of the “right to be forgotten” to its contributors, but first we sought the opinion of some experts at the heart of European policy-making on the issue.

NEELIE KROES, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, said the ECJ decision showed the importance of striking a balance between privacy and public interest.

“Let’s start with the positive part of this judgment: It creates more clarity and should create more trust in the online environment ... Each decision from now on will have to be made on an individual base, and taking into account whether the right to privacy will be in balance with the right to access to information.

German Green MEP JAN PHILIPP ALBRECHT, who served as rapporteur for the EP on the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation agreed on the need for balance.

He added that the ruling underscored the need to set in place clear EU legislation on the issue.

“This judgment shows how important it is that we have a unified data protection regulation in the EU that explains how far the right to deletion of personal data goes and how this right can be enforced.

To Boldly Go There’s little doubt the economic crisis has crimped European investment in innovation.

The European Commission says only eight of the 28 member states are currently on track to meet the 3% research and development intensity target set for 2020.

In its 2013 R&D Investment Scorecard, the Commission had some good news. An EU company - Volkswagen – topped the list as the world’s largest private sector R&D investor for the first time since 2004. Overall however European firms were outpaced

by US rivals, with clear weaknesses shown in key innovative areas like software and biotech.

The need to nurture Europe’s talent for innovation featured in several Debating Europe tech channel debates. Themes ranged from how best to help young Europeans set up businesses to the future of Europe’s space programme as new competitors from India, China and elsewhere leave the launchpad.

Contributor BASTIAN had some harsh words for Europe as a player in the space race.

It has degenerated to a second or even third rate supplier, in strategic terms behind China, Japan and even India. The ESA remains an appendix of NASA, with no room for a challenging European space programme.”

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Naturally, that provoked a defence of the European Space Agency, ALAN COOPER, Head of the ESA’s Brussels Office.

“Europe achieves fantastic results in its space programmes. It’s a leader in commercial markets - we get something like 50% of the market for satellite launches, a third of the market for commercial satellites ... despite the fact that NASA is spending something like five times more than ESA spending.

In January, Debating Europe teamed up with the European Youth Forum to question a panel of MEPs representing the largest political groups in the European Parliament on how to counter Europe’s soaring youth unemployment. One of the issues raised was how to encourage youthful entrepreneurs. In a follow-up debate GABRIEL FROM FRANCE said:

If I had to suggest something, it would be a way – outside of expensive business schools – to help new entrepreneurs to develop realistic business plans without the risk of having their ideas stolen.”

MARIA DA GRAÇA CARVALHO, a Portuguese European People’s Party MEP said the EU was already pressing ahead with ideas similar to Gabriel’s suggestion of “twinning” entrepreneurs with more established mentors, as part of the Horizon 2020 programme for research and innovation.

“It will really help the less-experienced partners not only to set up their company, but also to internationalise, to apply for European funds, and to carry out some joint-ventures together with their more experienced ‘twin’. So, that’s a really good idea from Gabriel.

The Parliamentary Twittersphere The role of social networks in politics is growing fast - evidenced by the Twitter wars between Russian and Western institutions over Ukraine, the speed in which demonstrations are organized online, or the unprecedented level of e-campaigning in May’s European Parliament elections.

Around 400 of the 766 MEPs are already on Twitter, many are also assiduous bloggers, Facebookers and Youtubers. How is all this direct media activity changing politics? We asked three MEPs (and active tweeters) to respond to this statement from FRANCESCO IN ITALY:

In the future, social media will completely change the structure of politics, allowing a direct relationship between people and politicians without the expensive and obsolete mediation of political parties.”

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First up was SVEN GIEGOLD. The German Green MEP said managing his own Facebook and Twitter accounts enabled him to see what people think of his work, and to respond to them directly.

“It is also a great chance for politicians to fight the myth that in Brussels there are only lazy bureaucrats and, on the other side, there are only good citizens who are all behaving responsibly and sustainably.

British Conservative SAJJAD KARIM agreed that social media has transformed the way many politicians now work.

“Those politicians who genuinely want to be connected now have the ability to be directly connected ... it allows me a tremendous ability to communicate directly with people and allow constituencies and citizens to see exactly what I am doing.

That level of direct contact between voters and politicians was also lauded by CATHERINE STIHLER from the British Labour Party, but she insisted the traditional media still had a role.

“Journalists who are looking at and investigating issues still have a really important part to play in holding those who are elected to account, and also looking at different issues. So you cannot say it is going to be just social media in the future, it is going to be both... we really still need journalists doing their job.

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WORLD The EU’s membership swelled to 28 in 2013 when Croatia joined the Union. Many others are still knocking at the door.

In recent months, Serbia, Albania and Kosovo have all taken important steps towards joining, but the EU has expressed disappointment at the lack of progress in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Iceland decided to freeze its membership bid - drawing protests from some citizens.

Debates on EU enlargement are among those drawing most comment from Debating Europe participants, their contributions show opinion is deeply divided on the benefits of EU expansion within both the existing member states and in candidate countries.

Migration is another hot topic. The world was horrified when more than 360 would-be migrants from Africa drowned when their boat sunk off the Italian island of Lampedusa in October. Since then, patrols to locate and rescue people heading across the Mediterranean have been stepped up but the Union’s frontline

states are struggling to cope with a growing influx fuelled by conflict in the Middle East and African poverty. Meanwhile parties opposed to more immigration where among those doing well in the European Parliament elections.

One country taking a resolute decision to combat immigration was Switzerland which narrowly voted in a February referendum to impose restrictions on the entry of workers from EU nations - a move Brussels denounced as a violation of single-market agreements. Naturally the issue produced a heated discussion among Debating Europe contributors.

Other issues covered in the World channel included relations with China and Europe’s competitiveness in global markets, while some subjects previously handled here are now discussed in our new Global Security section.

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Ever-larger union?

Since last summer, Debating Europe has run four debates dedicated to enlargement issues, but questions on the EU’s open door policy also regularly crop up in other formats - like our student-led Schools debates or the Citizen’s Dialogues which European Commissioners held in cities around Europe. The March debate on which country should join the EU next drew over 230 comments, with suggested answers ranging from Catalonia to Ukraine.

Many however were uneasy about the prospect of any further expansion. Take PAUL IN THE UK:

What is the benefit to me, a tax-paying EU citizen, by allowing [new countries] to join? What’s in it for me?”

Albania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs DITMIR BUSHATI was clear that expanding the EU means expanding Europe’s stability zone and boosting the Union’s place in the world:

“Europe has been more stable, and the EU has been more credible in the international arena due to the enlargement process. And, by being an EU Member State, Albania will bring stability and prosperity to the European Union. Albanian and Western Balkan success would be also an EU success.

DORIS PACK, a MEP from the German Christian Democrats, agreed that it was in the interests of Europe as a whole to bring new democracies into the fold.

“It is in our interests to have a stable neighbourhood without conflicts or big problems as we had in the Balkans previously.

We had, in the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from the conflict there which we had to care for, so it was in our interest to help them overcome this.

On the specific case of Bosnia however, Pack was less upbeat. As protesters from all Bosnia’s ethnic groups took to the streets in February to demonstrate against corruption and political stagnation, Pack authored a European Parliament report that expressed deep concern about the lack of vision shown by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s political leadership.

Contributor DENIS wrote in to suggest that Bosnia’s constant internal disputes meant it had no European perspective.

Pack argued that deep reforms of Bosnia’s institutions are needed, to move beyond the Dayton Agreement that split the state into ethnically based entities after the 1990s war.

The status quo is not workable ... but the problem is that the politicians running this country are quite happy with the current situation because it gives them a chance to do what they want to do, not to go forward but to stick to their little courtyards.”

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The question of Turkey’s membership of the EU came up in a Schools debate with students from France in January.

JULES, A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FROM DIJON, sent in this video question:

Should Turkey join the European Union? And what benefits would Turkish membership bring?”

Romanian centre-right MEP TRAIAN UNGUREANU said he didn’t think the time has yet come for Turkey to become a member, not least because of recent developments inside the country:

“At the moment, there is still divided opinion inside the EU towards allowing a large new state like Turkey in, particularly as Turkey has, over the past year, experienced new internal problems that are doing nothing to speed up the process.

Managing migration Europe is facing a new influx of would-be migrants and asylum seekers, many fleeing war in Syria, others taking advantage of the breakdown of order in Libya to avoid controls there and embark on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean. In the first six months of 2014, Italy reported 58,000 arriving on its shores - compared to 13,000 in the whole of 2012. Many were rescued by the navy and coastguard as part of a intensified operation following the Lampedusa disaster in October. However authorities in Italy and other southern European states warn they are struggling to cope and have appealed for greater support from other EU members. Meanwhile, human rights campaigners complain about the treatment offered to those who make it to Europe.

CHRISTOFFER FROM SWEDEN recorded a video question asking:

What measures are being discussed to improve the situation of illegal migrants in the EU?” The response came from CECILIA MALMSTRÖM, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs:

“That’s a very difficult situation, because people come to countries for different reasons. They ask for asylum, and then, of course, they are entitled to a decent and fair process. We are just now updating the rules so that will be a better process all over Europe in the future ... What we are trying to do is to improve the asylum system to make sure that returns, when people cannot stay, are as safe and dignified as possible.

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FROM ITALY, ANOTHER CECILIA wrote in to complain that the EU has spent a lot of money trying to control immigration without securing results:

The only results obtained have been the creation of detention centres for illegal immigrants. These centres have been [criticised] for their conditions and the treatment of migrants, and are disrespectful of human rights.”

Bulgarian MEP SVETOSLAV MALINOV, who sits with the European People’s Party, had recently visited refugee centres in Bulgaria. The country was caught by surprise by thousands of refugees who fled there from the carnage in Syria, and Malinov acknowledged that, at first, Bulgaria was unprepared to handle the influx. He said EU nations need to help each other more to ensure those on the frontline can provide humane conditions for newly arrived migrants:

“Definitely, countries like Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Malta are in a geographical position that makes them more vulnerable, and we need solidarity between EU Member States to be better guaranteed by new laws and new practices at the European level.

In the run up to the European Parliament elections in May, Debating Europe asked four leading candidates for their views on immigration. For the Centre-right, JeanClaude Juncker said the EU needs immigration, but it has to be brought under control; Social Democrat Martin Schultz said immigration was a good thing, but problems associated with it must be solved; Green candidate Ska Keller stressed the cultural and economic benefits of immigration; and Guy Verhofstadt, for the Liberals, said Europe needs a legal migration policy like Canada or Australia.

The candidates’ replies triggered a range of responses.

Via Facebook, NADEZHDA FROM BULGARIA, said immigration could be positive, if managed:

Stop abuse of resources and exploited labour, emphasize productive integration which means that immigrants are expected to adapt to local ways of life as much as possible and make a positive contribution! On the other hand it’s ‘bad’ if it generates hate, tensions and embeds inequalities.”

IN BRITAIN, NIC said immigration was needed to counter worrying demographic trends:

Racial inequality will be nothing compared to the ageing population crisis we face, which is why immigration is essential in the UK. It’s either that or lose all the public services we love, including the National Health Service, and go back to pre-war conditions. Imagine how unequal society would be then!”

KIM IN NORWAY saw things differently:

I honestly see very few benefits for the people of Europe when it comes to large scale immigration from outside of Europe. I do however see plenty of problems associated with it.”

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A dilemma made in Switzerland The Switzerland team that headed for the World Cup in Brazil was packed with players from immigrant backgrounds, their parental homelands stretching from Cape Verde to Kosovo, Italy to Ivory Coast. Yet 50.3 percent of Swiss voters backed the referendum motion against “mass immigration” that seeks to impose quotas on newcomers - including those from EU nations. EU officials responded tetchily to the Swiss vote which throws into doubt Single Market agreements. Cooperation programmes were cut. Commission Vice President Viviane Reding pointed out that unlike Swiss cheese the Single Market can’t have holes. For some politicians inside the EU, however, the Swiss sets a good example that free labour movement must have limits.

Switzerland’s vote provoked a series of questions from SMILLS FROM THE UK:

How do you think the EU Member States will react to the Swiss referendum?

Is Switzerland going to lose access to the Single Market? And will the referendum results encourage the UK and others to follow suit?”

In reply, Ireland’s Europe Minister PASCHAL DONOHOE said the EU would wait and see what the Swiss government would do in response to the referendum result.

However he warned there would be consequences if the referendum leads to restrictions on movement.

“If the people of Switzerland decide that the ability of people to move into their country should be limited, that clearly will have very big and fundamental consequences for the nature of the relationship they have with the European Union, because [freedom of movement] is so core to the European project.

Portuguese Socialist MEP VITAL MOREIRA agreed there would be consequences:

“It cannot have anything but a negative impact on the other agreements of the package. Switzerland cannot cherry pick and have things that are good economically and just stop making concessions on freedom of circulation, which is key for the EU. RAZVAN-VICTOR FROM ROMANIA argued the EU should adopt a firm position explaining the possible consequences to the Swiss. After that, he said, a second referendum might be the best option:

If they allow Switzerland to continue with the other bilateral agreements, other countries may see it as an example and do the same. That can be a threat to the free movement principle all over the EU and can fuel the antiEastern Europe current.”

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ALEXANDER STUBB, Finland’s Minister for European Affairs before he was appointed Prime Minister in June, shared that concern that the Swiss vote reflected a wider trend:

“The Swiss referendum is a sign of the times, and unfortunately, we have seen a lot of similar anti-immigration sentiment all around Europe.

Yet, he too advocated a wait-and-see approach. Eventual EU action should depend on whether the Swiss government’s response to the referendum infringes its international obligations, Stubb concluded.

Global Europe Wracked by internal differences, militarily weakened by years of defence cuts, damaged by the economic crisis, can Europe still cut it on the international scene?

The question is crucial as the EU faces seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East, an aggressively assertive Russia, the challenge of America’s rebalance towards the Pacific and the ever-growing power of China.

Our debates show that Europe’s place in a troubled world has citizens concerned, take ANAÏS AND HÉLÈNE, FRENCH STUDENTS, who made a video contribution to our School’s debate in January:

In what areas is the EU more competitive than the US? And does Europe offer an alternative model to US influence in the world?”

Finnish MEP NILS TORVALDS, who sits with the Liberals Democrats in the European Parliament, pointed to Europe’s education system as a clear advantage, but he said the EU needed to do more to build up its industrial strength.

“Europe has an enormous amount of potential if only it had a Europe-wide industrial policy ... We need to be much more European. If we worked on this, we could be able to lift our production up the value chain, and by doing that we could compete with anybody in the world.

SAÏD EL KHADRAOUI, a Belgian Socialist MEP, also responded to the questions from Anaïs and Hélène. He said the EU and US had contrasting views on their global roles:

“The role we want to play in the world is different: the US wants to be a policeman, we want to be a kind of facilitator, we want to help when there are problems to be solved, and also there are issues where we want to be the frontrunner, such as on climate change.

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ALEKSANDER FROM SLOVENIA wrote in to express his concerns that Europe should be doing more to promote human rights around the world:

The EU should spearhead economic development in the world because – unlike other political world powers – it does respect human rights and liberties… For example, China, India or even the USA often put [economic] progress before ‘humanity’.”

Debating Europe put Aleksander’s point to several experts on China. KATHARINE DERDERIAN, an Executive Officer dealing with EU Foreign Policy at Amnesty International, said the vast commercial relationship between Europe and China gave the EU influence in the human rights debate.

“The EU has a huge, really significant role to play on the interchange on human rights with China.

From the European Studies Institute of the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences (CASS), Prof. CHENG WEIDONG said China’s human rights issues were often exaggerated by Western media.

“We need some time to reduce some misunderstandings, but we know there are also some common understandings of human rights and in that part I think we are in a very similar situation with the Western world.

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FUTURE This year’s European Parliament elections were a shock for the political mainstream. MEPs sitting outside the main factions now hold a fifth of seats in the assembly. In Britain, France, Denmark and Greece, non-traditional parties topped the polls.

The governing Popular Party and the opposition Socialists in Spain saw their joint share of the vote fall from over 80% to less than half.

Many of the successful upstarts are eurosceptics. Their growing support reveals a deep dissatisfaction with the way established politicians are running Europe - and in particular their handling of the economic crisis.

The crisis may have opened divisions between Europeans from the north and south, but voter disenchantment stretches across the Union.

A positive sign from the election was the stabilization of voter turnout after years of decline, but at just 43.09%, it was hardly a cause for rejoicing.

In the wake of the results, many mainstream politicians are calling for a renewal of the Europe idea with an emphasis on reaching out to younger generations.

Finding agreement on the way ahead won’t be easy. Some hope giving the European Parliament a greater say in the selection of the European Commission president will boost democracy, but Britain warned the EP-backed appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as new head of the EC could lead the UK to leave the Union. Some leaders say the election result is a signal to set a new pro-growth economic course, others warn that relaxing fiscal rigour would endanger the fragile recovery.

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Sceptics off the scale The success of eurosceptic parties in May was unprecedented. UKIP’s victory was the first time Labour or the Conservatives had failed to take first place in a British national election since 1918. Wins for the National Front in France, Syriza in Greece or the Danish People’s Party would have seemed equally unlikely just a few years ago.

Among the eurosceptic groups however, there are broad differences - even among those on the right - which has made forging a single block within the EP impossible.

WRITING FROM PORTUGAL, TONY said it was important to make a distinction between the far-right and more moderate eurosceptics:

To put all eurosceptics in the same basket as Le Pen and Wilders, is a gross misrepresentation of why many of us are against the EU.” Replying to Tony, UKIP MEP STUART AGNEW could only agree:

“The key thing is that Le Pen’s party in particular has all of this antisemitism and racism. It’s got all that baggage and we don’t want anything to do with that in UKIP. That’s not necessarily eurosceptics, it’s something else, which in the UK is represented by the British National Party.

Taking a different approach, STRUAN STEVENSON, an MEP with the British Conservatives, had this reply for Tony in our January debate on the differences between eurosceptics and the far fight:

“I blame, to a certain extent, the media for their lack of interest in European elections. Seventy percent of laws in our countries emanate from the European Parliament, but the media focus all their attention on member state governments … The outcome of that is, when you hold a European election, few people bother to go out and vote. Unless people get out and vote in May, the British National Party and UKIP and all the fascist and hard right eurosceptic parties will do very well.

FRANS FROM THE NETHERLANDS suggested one solution could be to shut down right-wing extremist parties:

It’s time for the EU’s Parliament to act, Europe wide ... A party is a means to enact a certain idea, so I see no problem in banning and prosecuting the extremists.”

MORTEN MESSERSCHMIDT, an MEP with the Danish People’s Party, had another point of view:

“I think, first and foremost, it is not an EU issue. Free speech is an inherent part of our democratic values and these questions are up to the member states. However, I think the limit should be set at the point where there is incitement or inspiration to carry out violence.

Although coming from a different political group - the Liberals - Swedish MEP CECILIA WIKSTRÖM, was also wary about the idea of banning far-right groups. She argued instead that the extremists should be confronted with political debate:

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“One of the fundamental pillars of the EU is the right to freedom of assembly. These parties are democratic movements and we must never label them as martyrs, because if they are not allowed to appear in public then they will appear in the darkness.

As the European election campaign was getting into swing, we picked up a comment from BASTIAN, A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR FROM AUSTRIA:

The danger from far right parties in the EU is being exaggerated to keep ordinary citizens voting for mainstream parties.”

Danish MEP MARGRETE AUKEN, who sits with the Greens, disagreed.

“We really have a problem with right-wing extremism in Europe.

And I think we have to think about how we can get a more common European response to this challenge.

Political honesty is the best way to counter extremism on both sides of the political spectrum, contended Finnish Liberal Democrat MEP NILS TORVALDS:

“We are actually very easily opening up the political space for opportunists, and opportunism leads to very populist approaches on both the left and right. I really think this is a fundamental problem .... I’m trying to counter this opportunism by trying to be indecently honest.

Faced with widespread eurosceptic opinion, British Prime Minister David Cameron last year said he would hold a referendum on an eventual UK withdrawal from the EU, if he is still in power in 2017.

As other leaders ignored his objections to the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president in June, Cameron suggested the appointment could hasten a British exit. Polls show a slim majority in favour of leaving, although the “staying-in” vote looks set to grow if Cameron can negotiate a new deal for Britain within the Union.

As part of our Debating Europe Schools programme, KATARINA FROM CROATIA sent a video question asking whether member states could actually leave the EU. This is a purely “British question” replied Romanian centre-right MEP TRAIAN UNGUREANU, since no other country was contemplating such a move. While legally countries can leave, he said, the consequences would be hard to predict.

“I don’t think the British debate is being pursued in earnest, I think again this is political football and there is no such question in reality. I can’t imagine the circumstances in which a member state would indeed propose to leave the Union.

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Dividing Lines Increasingly, Debating Europe participants have been raising concerns about new divisions growing within EU public opinion. In many Western member states, media reports and some politicians have whipped up concerns about expats from central and eastern Europe moving to their countries. North-South divisions have meanwhile been sharpened by the economic crisis, with some northern politicians griping about lazy or spendthrift southerners. At the same time, many feeling the pitch of austerity in the south complain of the lack of solidarity from hard-hearted northerners.

ROMANIAN STUDENT FLAVIA picked up on the concerns of many when she asked:

What are politicians doing to mend the divisions between Northern and Southern, and Eastern and Western Europeans?”

In a November debate, we put her question to several of those politicians.

LINAS ANTANAS LINKEVIČIUS, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the best way ahead was to get citizens from all countries more involved in European affairs.

“We really must do the best to involve citizens more, to share ownership with what we are doing, and to make them feel they are really part of the game. National governments and parliaments are close to citizens, they are visible and citizens know what they mean but they don’t know what European institutions mean.

TYTTI TUPPURAINEN, a Social Democratic member of the Finnish Parliament, said countries on all sides could do better in promoting solidarity and responsibility:

“It is very dangerous for European citizens to think that the others are somehow worse as workers and citizens ... we need to find some kind of common values that unify us.

Work is needed urgently to rebuild trust and improve relations among citizens within the EU, said BRIAN HAYES, Minister of State at Ireland’s Department of Finance:

“We either have one European Union or we have a fragmented European Union... if we have this dichotomy between north and south it will lead to a lack of trust and a fragmentation and a breakdown of the essential confidence that should be there among the European Union citizens.

Finally, BOGDAN KLICH, Deputy Chair of the Polish Senate, stressed the need for give-and-take among EU member countries:

“It means building compromises that are necessary between political groups, within societies and between the nations of the European Union.

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Growing up is hard to do Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says he’s on a mission to turn the EU from a “boring old auntie” into something that is again exciting and inspiring for young people.

At 39, Renzi is Italy’s youngest premier and he’s part of a relatively youthful generation of leaders - 15 out of 28 EU prime ministers are under 50. Young people have plenty to reason to care about EU policies - whether to complain about the record levels of youth unemployment or to safeguard programmes like Erasmus which offers millions of students the opportunity to study abroad.

Yet in many countries, young people are among the least likely to vote. In April we asked: are they disenchanted, or just lazy?

The question angered SOPHIA MARIA WRITING IN FROM THE NETHERLANDS:

Of course they are not lazy! I think that’s a terrible thing to say for our generation… I believe that they are frustrated by their politicians and their inconsistency between words and actions. Europeans seem to mistrust politics and governments ... I cannot say they are completely wrong.”

CHRISTOS IN IRELAND had a gloomy outlook about young citizens’ view of politics:

They have just given up, they don’t think they can make a any difference and that is dangerous in a democracy. Our leaders have succeeded in creating an apathetic mass of citizens.”

Things are changing in Spain, wrote CARLOS:

In Spain, some people are starting to move in politics, I have found an amount of them that think more or less like me, they are young and they want to change some things.”

Back in March, GERMAN STUDENT FRANZISKA send in a video in which she asked politicians to think about the Europe their descendants will inhabit:

Do you have a vision for Europe? What kind of EU would you like your grandchildren and great-grandchildren to grow up in?”

One of the more senior members of the European Parliament up to the May elections, German Liberal WOLF KLINZ said he would like to see a Europe that grows closer together while allowing countries to maintain their national identities:

“If we want to be heard and participate in the decision-making processes on a global basis, we have to speak with one European voice, especially when it comes to foreign and security policies, climate questions, but also in energy questions and transport questions.

Irish centre-right MEP MAIREAD MCGUINNESS saw a Europe where countries would work together to defend core values at home and around the world:

“If Europe could actually do what it says on the tin, in other words if Europe could live up to defending the values it’s built on: democracy and the rule of law, and equality, a better society, a better way of living for all our citizens, that’s the vision I would like to see in the future, I’d love to see it now.

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Vote 2014 Debating Europe’s Vote 2014 initiative was launched in April 2013. Over the course of thirteen months, we encouraged our readers to decide who they wanted to support in the European Parliament elections in May 2014.

We hosted a series of video interviews and debates with MEPs and national politicians from the various European political parties, getting answers to user comments and questions and discussing the issues that citizens wanted to talk about.

sides of the political debate before casting their ballot. In the run-up to the elections, we put together a series of online debates looking in detail at the European Parliament elections, the policies and priorities of the various political parties and the candidates they were putting forward for EU Commission President.

To help voters make up their minds, we invited hundreds of MEPs and national politicians to explain why they thought their party deserved votes – giving readers the chance to hear all

We published summaries of the manifestos of the largest European political parties, and profiled each of the candidates for EU Commission President. We are particularly pleased to have published video interviews with the candidates themselves, and to have been the official debating partner of the live television and radio debates between the candidates hosted by Eurovision and Euranet Plus.

Debating the impact of the European Parliament elections, voter turnout, the rise of extremism, and much more!

We highlighted some of the key points from each of the manifestos published by the parties in the European Parliament.

We profiled six of the candidates put forward for the next EU Commission President.

Debating Europe put a series of questions to the candidates for EU Commission President and published their video responses.

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We were greatly supported in these efforts by the main European political parties, which engaged and promoted our initiative on social media to their followers.

We also took hundreds of video questions and comments to MEPs and national politicians in a series of student-led online debates involving schools and colleges across each EU member state as part of our “Debating Europe Schools” initiative.

19,165 people took part in our vote. Each reader had a single vote which they could cast for any of the ideologies in the European Parliament. The e-vote has involved a wide audience outside the usual ‘Brussels bubble’: only 6% of our readers logged on from Brussels.

In total, 31.89% of our audience come from Northern Europe (Scandinavia, the UK, Ireland and the Baltic states), 28.52% from Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia and Croatia), 26.55% from Western Europe (France, Germany, Austria and the Benelux Countries), and 13.03% from Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia).

Above all, the results – which leant strongly to the left of the political spectrum - highlighted the frustration of younger voters with mainstream political parties. Over 60% of our audience are under 35 years old. As to the results themselves, the most surprising thing is how poorly the centre-right performed; despite starting strong, their support gradually eroded until they ended in fourth place. It’s also interesting that the eurosceptic vote was relatively weak, whilst over 20% of voters supported the radical left.

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Schools Empowering young Europeans to take part in political debate is at the heart of everything Debating Europe does. If young people don’t vote or engage in political discourse, politicians will have less of an incentive to address the issues important to them – including shockingly high youth unemployment rates across the continent. With that in mind, Debating Europe worked closely with schools and colleges from across the EU to launch a series of student-led online debates under the banner “Debating Europe Schools”. We offered students the chance to question policy-makers, debate with fellow students from other European countries,

and learn more about the work of the EU, particularly in the run-up to the 2014 European Parliament elections.

Educational institutions from across Europe asked their students to submit questions in advance of the debate, either in writing, video or Skype. These were then put to relevant policy-makers (including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon) for their answers, which were posted online for participating students, as well as Debating Europe’s usual users, to further debate.

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Events From July 2013 to June 2014, Debating Europe hosted or was the official debate partner for a series of live debates, most of them streamed online, exploring in greater detail some of the most interesting issues and topics brought up by citizens. During the events, we asked highprofile speakers to respond to written and video questions sent in by our users.

1. European Commission’s Citizens’ Dialogues

11 and 23 July; 14, 16 and 24 September; 3, 5, 15 and 17 October; 7 November 2013 10 February and 3 March 2014 Debating Europe was the official debating partner for a series of townhall-style debates organised by the European Commission, as part of the European Year of Citizens 2013.

The events, held in various towns and cities across Europe, gathered an audience of citizens together with EU Commissioners to discuss the future of Europe.

2. T he State of Europe 2013 : “The European elections and after”

2 October 2013 Debating Europe, in partnership with our sister think-tank Friends of Europe, hosted a high-level interactive session during Friends of Europe’s annual “State of Europe” VIP roundtable in October 2013, bringing together the presidents of the largest political groups and parties in the European Parliament to answer video questions from citizens.

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3. European Green Party’s #GreenPrimary hangouts 19 November 2013 and 27 January 2014 Debating Europe was the official debating partner for the European Green Party’s online primary campaign to select their two leading candidates for the European elections. The candidates answered questions from our users in a pair of live online debates.

4. “Choose your future!”: youth-led debate in the run up to the 2014 European Parliament elections

21 January 2014 Debating Europe together with the European Youth Forum organised a youth-led debate in the run-up to the May 2014 European Parliament elections. The “Choose your future!” event, hosted by Microsoft Europe, with media partner Euronews, brought together MEPs from the largest political groups in the European Parliament and asked them to respond to questions from our users on youth unemployment and entrepreneurship.

5. 6th European Summit of Regions and Cities – Committee of the Regions

8 March 2014 Debating Europe was the official debating partner for the 6th European Summit of Regions and Cities, organised by the Committee of the Regions and held in Athens.

The event included a high-level debate with European political leaders about the 2014 European elections and was streamed live online on Debating Europe.

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Events 6. On the road to Paris 2015: Towards a new global climate deal

3 April 2014 Debating Europe, in partnership with our sister think-tank, Friends of Europe, invited UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to an event in Brussels focused on the challenges for a new global climate deal. We put a series of video questions to Ban Ki-moon from students as part of our Debating Europe Schools initiative.

7. “Big Crunch” Presidential Debate

29 April 2014 Debating Europe was the official debating partner of the “Big Crunch” Presidential Debate hosted by Euranet Plus. The debate gathered four of the candidates for European Commission President - Jean-Claude Juncker, Martin Schulz, Guy Verhofstadt and Ska Keller – to respond to tough questions on the future of Europe.

8. #TellEurope TV debate

15 May 2014 Debating Europe was the official debating partner of the 90-minute Eurovision #TellEurope debate on 15 May 2014. This was the largest of the live debates held between the candidates for European Commission President, and the only debate with all five candidates taking part.

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9. “Overhauling transatlantic security thinking”: Security & Defence Agenda annual conference

4 June 2014 Debating Europe was the official debating partner for a major annual conference hosted by our sister think-tank the Security & Defence Agenda. As part of the event, we published a series of online debates and took questions to high-profile policy-makers, including former NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow and the NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, General Philip Breedlove.

10. “Africa: Progress and pitfalls”: Friends of Europe’s annual Africa summit

24 June 2014 Debating Europe, along with our sister think-tank Friends of Europe, held a high-level summit on EU-Africa relations attended by, among others, Andris Piebalgs, the EU Commissioner for Development; Vincent Biruta, the Rwandan Minister for Education; Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, the Secretary General of the ACP and Andreas Proksch, the Director General for Africa at GIZ. Debating Europe interviewed speakers at the summit, putting questions to them from young people from both Europe and Africa.

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Infographics Debating Europe regularly publishes infographics designed to illustrate key facts and help explain complicated issues in an easily accessible way. These infographics have been very popular with users, and were promoted through social media and image-sharing websites.

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Impact Debating Europe regularly receives coverage from major international, European and national press and media organisations. Over the course of the project, Debating Europe has been quoted over 130 times. We also receive significant attention from specialist media, and from highimpact social media pages (e.g. the official pages of political parties, organisations or individuals we have interviewed).

Linas Linkevicius Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lithuania 31 October 2013

Martin Lidegaard Minister of Foreign Affairs, Denmark 19 May 2014

LibĂŠration 02 October 2013

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impact

Reuters 21 May 2014

Martin Schulz President of the European Parliament 21 March 2014

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Die Zeit 02 October 2013

JosĂŠ Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission 31 December 2013

The Guardian 2 May 2014

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impact ANSA 21 January 2014

Delo 5 July 2013

El Mundo 2 October 2013

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Kathimerini 2 October 2013

PĂşblico 2 October 2013

Salzburger Nachrichten 2 October 2013

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FOUNDING PARTNERS

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The project is co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament’s grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this project. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the project.

66 Debating Europe Report 2014

Snapshot Report 2014

Discuss YOUR ideas with Europe’s leaders

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