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Since this is a very long session - as your sleep deprived body might have made you aware of - we thought of having three main themes to centre our output around - mirrored by the three issues. You might have guessed them by the first two issue titles and the session theme: Responsibility, Europe, Youth. While in the first issue we not only showed you what you, the participants of the session, think about responsibility but also had a look at the idea from a more philosophical perspective. As you know this session distinguishes itself from others - among other criteria, like freakishly fancy venues (on page 21 you can see some of the people who made those possible) - by the unorthodox concept. In the last days you have been asked to challenge hegemonic ideologies and think about topics from a philosophical perspective instead of a technical one. That is the reason for us accompaning you on your Menden journey with some philosophical input. In this issue we are now focusing on Europe. For us there is no moment when you feel more European than at an EYP session. And in Menden this was even more so. Events like the Europe Festival or the Euroconcert made us truly aware of our unity in diversity. This issue shall give you some input on European values, identity and history. Furthermore, we were trying to present the Brexit from an angle that you might not have seen it from yet. Last but not least we want to thank our team - the great bunch on the picture above. Floni & Tora
Editorial 1-2 POLICY POLO Voting Age Survey 3-4 European Youth: Facts & Figures 5-6 TURQUOISE The Responsibility of Cancelling a Session July 15th Military Coup in Turkey: Fact & Fiction
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EUROSCEPTICISM Sceptic about Euroscepticism? 11-12 A Brexit Story 13-14 EUROPA European Identity 15-16 History of Democracy in Europe 17-18 EU Values 19-20 Supporters 21 Media Coverage 22
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Voting Age During GA we distributed voting slips about an upper age limit for voting to you. Down below, you will now find the results of this voting and some comments that were left on the papers. In the spirit of the session concept we wanted to ask this question as it does not take the right to vote for granted and is thus very controversial.
Hours after the Brexit referendum, the news spread the fact, that the elderly citizens of the UK were responsible for the outcome of this historical decision. In the aftermath, many demanded, that a maximum limit regarding the age of the voting person should be implemented. This call was justified by the defenders, because they argued, that the elder people would have to live with the consequences less long than the younger generation. On social media, many requested a maximum voting limit of 65, also considering the life expectancy. n
Survey
Lena Kreft DE
23 In Favour 70 Against 1 Not Valid
Comments on the survey sheet (anonymous) “I’m offended that the younger generation has been branded as “ageist” because a small percentage of teens were bitter about Brexit and called for outrageous age restrictions. I’m unhappy this has even been put to a survey.” “All who have to live with any consequence by a political decision have a right to say how they feel - An 18 year old who voted to remain in the European Union from the UK.” “EU citizens are still citizens and worthy of a voice. Just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean we reject democracy and equal rights.”
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european youth: facts & figures
ARIADNA PUIG ENGEL ES YASMIN KARTES DE Sam van hoof BE
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The Responsibility of Cancelling a Session ANNOUNCEMENT
BY
THE
EUROPEAN
YOUTH
PARLIAMENT
TURKEY
Following the failed coup attempt on the 15th of July 2016, the Board of EYP Turkey feels obliged to make the following announcement regarding the status of the Istanbul Youth Forum event that is scheduled to take place between 29th of August- 6th of September 2016. [...] We recognise the fact that terrorism aims to hinder our unity, and solidarity; thus, our Executive Board has neither thought, nor discussed the possibility of cancelling an event before; instead, our first plan has always been the alteration of the event and the accommodation venues. [...] Unfortunately, the safety of our participants and our session can no longer be guaranteed by the efforts of the Executive Board and the Organising Team. It is our deepest regret to inform you that the 10th International Youth Forum has been cancelled, regarding the current situation. We would like to thank the Organising Team, our President João Moreira, our Editor Giedrė Kazokaitė, the Officials’ Teams, our sponsors and our friends for their endless efforts and contributions to the session. [...] Executive Board of the European Youth Parliament Turkey
Lena KREft DE
Having looked forward to the session in Istanbul with great anticipation, it pained me tremendously to hear that it had been cancelled. This is one of the rare times that I have felt events in the turn of world history having an impact on my personal live - this made me feel small and helpless. I can only imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for the Organising Team and the President of the session, who had already invested so much of their precious time into the event. Knowing this sitting here in Menden is a humbling experience. Toni Dirlinger (AT) Chairperson at IST 2016 Editor at IF Menden 2016 I was supposed to go to IST 2016 in August, but now it has been cancelled due to the recent ‘events’ happening in Turkey. It was really understandable that the forum had to be cancelled. I feel really sorry for the officials’ team for their effort regarding the IST, I believe that the session would have been a really incredible one. But it’s not in our hands to decide when the terrorists want to destroy lives and become no souls or when the army attempts a coup which leads to deaths of people and deportations of the civilized society of one amazing country. What we can do, however, is to stop this kind of things from happening from as early age as possible. What we can do is to unite us, young people, the future of Europe or the world to prevent this happening ever again. If we look at all the statistics of the EYP, there is no denying that what we do really works and bring people, great minds from all over the world together, to form a better world for the future. To bring equality and unity to the world Maria Pokkinen (FI) Delegate at IST 2016 Delegate at IF Menden 2016 When I heard about the cancellation, I was devastated and had tears in my eyes. No one expected a coupe, a terror attack maybe, but not such a drastic event. Sure, it was clear, that they were going to be more attacks, but a failed coup attempt poses a to high risk and I completely understand the responsible decision the Board of EYP Turkey made. It’s better to exercise great caution, than seriously risking people’s lives. Nonetheless, I am saddened that an EYP session, which stands for democracy and tolerance, had to be cancelled because of the opposite reasons. Lydia Purschke (DE) Chairperson at IST 2016 Organiser at IF Menden 2016
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10 p.m., Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Bosphorus bridges closing to traffic, military jets flying over houses, tanks rolling through Atatürk Airport, internet blocked, helicopters bombing the police special forces, and my phone flooded with messages asking if I’m okay. This is the day I lost my last bit of faith in Turkey’s future and once again felt so ashamed of my country’s people who are so ready to submit to an autocratic islamist Turkey. There is no doubt that Erdoğan benefitted from this failed coup attempt, because now he can remove and harshly silence everyone who doesn’t obey him and prove his power by gathering his supporters who abide by every word he says. Being a part of the small group of secularists and knowing the previous frauds, impropriety
and misuse of authority linked to Tayyip Erdoğan, the first thought that came to my mind was that our own president might very easily be behind the failed coup. I leave it to your imagination to understand what it feels like to live in a country ruled by a president who is so hungry for power that it’s not so difficult to believe that he would leave the citizens at such peril for his own benefit. I can’t say that this is the case, because there are many more power figures like the Muslim cleric Fetullah Gülen. A former C.I.A. official and a former American ambassador to Turkey helped Gülen get a green card, so many Turks believe that Gülen is an American agent. So they come to the conclusion that the United States conspired with him to overthrow the Turkish government.
July 15th Military Coup in Turkey Fact and Fiction Allies to Rivals – Gülen’s and Erdoğan’s relationship Erdoğan and Gülen were not always against each other. For decades, they have been close friends as they shared a common interest: opposing the secular Kemalist forces in Turkey. I believe they both still have the intention to transform Turkey to a religious and conservative land, but as an associate professor of Islamic and World History at Queen’s University in Canada, Ariel Salzmann said, Gülenists
in the police and judiciary became a little too independent and their relationship worsened when Gülen criticised Erdoğan about the way he handled Gezi Park Protests in 2013. I believe that now, their relationship is based on a competition with both sides seeking to gain the more power in order to start the Islamic and authoritative reign. This makes me feel very helpless when I think about the future of my country because I can’t see how the Kemalist minority can rise again. n
OVER 300 PEOPLE KILLED
MORE THAN 2100 INJURED
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS DAMAGED MASS ARRESTS: 600 DETAINED, INCLUDING 2839 SOLDIERS AND 2745 JUDGES
15000 EDUCATION STAFF SUSPENDED LICENSES OF 21000 TEACHERS REVOKED RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, FACETIMING CNN TURK TO CALL UPON HIS SUPPORTERS TO THE STREETS TO PROTEST THE MILITARY IMPOSED CURFEW
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sceptic about euroscepticism? With the citizens of the United Kingdom voting for a Brexit, Euroscepticism seems to be more prominent than ever in the UK as well as in other European countries like, for example, France. Euroscepticism is more than often seen as a threat to the European Union and a disturbing actor in the political landscape throughout the continent, but shouldn’t we at least try to fully understand this movement before rejecting it? Wouldn’t it be interesting to look at Euroscepticism as a critical contribution to the debate on the working of the European Union? Couldn’t it be enlightening to set our minds open for constructive arguments from eurosceptics? Ever since the formation of the European
Union, Euroscepticism has existed with its ups and downs. One of the heydays for eurosceptics was 20 September 1988, when Margaret Thatcher rejected the idea of an increasing centralisation of the European Union in her Bruges speech. In 2005, referendums were held both in France and the Netherlands, which ultimately refused to adopt the Constitutional Treaty. Most recently, the United Kingdom showed a clear sign of Euroscepticism by deciding to - as the first Member State ever - leave the European Union. But what does Euroscepticism really mean? The term was first introduced in the mid-eighties by
sam van hoof BE
Taking into account these definitions, it is clear that Euroscepticism is not simply a black and white story. If we now look back at the questions raised at the beginning of this article, one can say that hard Euroscepticism contributes very little to the debate on the working of the European Union as it principally rejects the idea of a united Europe. Contrarily - and this is a rather important distinction to make - the views of soft eurosceptics do have the potential to inspire European politicians to fine-tune our Union and turn the criticism into areas of improvement. For example, the argument that Member States are losing their sovereignty due to the European Union’s meddling might as well be interpreted as a call to reevaluate the legitimacy of European Union as it is at the moment. The point of all this is to show that we do not need to completely overcome the issue of Euroscepticism simply because it isn’t necessarily an issue as such. Therefore, maybe Europe itself needs to be less sceptic about Euroscepticism. n
SOURCES
the newspaper the Times to describe “a sceptic opposition towards the European Union and its policies”. The word scepticism originates from the Greek language (σκεπτικός) and means a way of thinking that does not accept a priori the validity of any belief or opinion; all claims should first be subject to critical examination. According to Taggart and Szczerbiak, most trains of thought among eurosceptics can be allocated to either soft Euroscepticism or hard Euroscepticism. Hard Euroscepticism is where there is a principled opposition to the European Union and European integration and a belief that one’s country should withdraw from membership. On the other hand, soft Euroscepticism is where there is not a principled objection to European integration or EU membership but rather concerns on a number of policy areas that lead to qualified opposition to the European Union.
w The Economist w The Independent w The Guardian w Continental Drift - Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon w Understanding Euroscepticism - Richard Rose
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A Brexit Story Matthew Gibbons IE Francisca Somann NL Melina Dursun TR
Video-Editing: Jan Ruflin CH
Motion for a resolution by the Committee on Breakups and Sitting-in-a-car-crying affairs (BREAKSIT) Submitted by: Matthew Gibbons (IE), Francisca Somann (NL), Melina Dursun (TR), Jan Ruflin (CH)
Even though the Media Team of Menden 2016 is: A. B. C. D. E.
Fully aware of the fact that the referendum which will most likely separate Britain from the EU affects the entire EU and is no laughing matter, Respecting the choices of individuals regardless of what they might be and what our opinion towards them entail, Considering referenda as an essential part of democracy, which is one of the funda mental values of the EU, Acknowledging that breavk-ups may do mental and physical harm to people all a round the world and can happen to everyone regardless of your personality, Reminding that the European youth, in the video referred to as “the children”, is absolutely something that we should be concerned about and not something we can shrug our shoulders at;
We are still strongly convinced that: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Laughing about serious issues can help people engage and deal with them without doing any harm; A dramatic retelling of the Brexit story is both an accessible “representation” of the political issue and is pretty hilarious; The EU and Britain are perfectly capable of maintaining a friendly relationship even though their romantic engagement might have failed; Even though we are fully aware of the fact that the referendum, which will most likely separate Britain from the EU, affects the entire EU, this does not make it any less funny; It is justified in recording possibly the most ridiculous EU-themed video ever, filled with bad costumes, continuity errors, appalling acting and incredible banter.
It’s not
EU
- It’s Me It was inevitable to cover the Brexit at some point. Our Media Team did so in rather unconventional ways in order to even please people who have heard enough about the topic in the last couple of weeks. On the left page you can find a Brexit mock-resolution while on the right you see a teaser of the produced video. As usually you can access it via QR-code. n
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European identity European Identity. What is that? It could be explained by opening up the scope a little more and compare the European Union to the national states. It seems to be far more common waving flags of your home country than the European flag. It is often questioned whether the European Union is really the community of values it wants to be. Often criticised is that the citizens aren’t connected to each other. Why is it that many do not see themselves as European? One reason for a missing European spirit might be that there is no famous myth which explains an European identity. Myths are oral traditions from the past which connect living generations as a community of destiny. Germany has the Liberator Myth of Arminius, In Greece there are several stories which symbolize the creation of life and culture in ancient world. The only existent myth about Europe is the abduction of Europa which is Greek as well. It is about Zeus who falls in love with the princess Europa. In order to be with her, he transforms into a bull and takes her to the island
Crete. Other peoples’ identity was evolving later. For example the Franconians were defined through their leaders and their religion (Christianity), they had the feeling of belonging together and therefore the obligation to be loyal. So completely different than the Europeans today? To find an answer to this question I have asked some of our EYP participants how they feel about the European Union. Azza Kushaib from the Netherlands said that she does not necessarily feel as an European. But she does think that the Europeans have one thing in common which is the unity. It exists because we are constantly sharing our cultures. Whereas Phillip Girvan thinks of himself more as a German than as an European as he sees big differences between the cultures. He still says that being half German and half British makes him part of the big mix of cultures in Europe. The European Commission has their instrument of public opinion measurement called “Eurobarometer”. It shows that the European’s interests in other EU countries has even slightly increased since 2006. Therefore the Europeans definitely became
yasmin kartes DE
2% 5% 49% 44%
more open minded towards other nations as the intercultural exchange gets fostered through modern technologies. The European Commission found out during their Eurobarometer studies that the majority of European citizens think of themselves as Europeans. But there are different levels of feeling european: In 2013 47 % thought of themselves as firstly citizen of their home country and European while only 5 % thought about it the other way around. Not more than 42 % didn’t think of themselves as European at all.
Only European European and Nationality Nationality and European Only Nationality
European Union and make it a crucial part of the education. Phillip does not think that the citizens need to feel an European identity and that the Member States need to grow even closer. For him the solution to the current conflicts would lie in acceptance and appreciation towards other cultures. n
It might be interesting as well to listen to those EYPers who come from beyond the borders. Veronika Tikhomirova from Russia said that firstly the EU was made to create stability by taking care of the economy but now it’s there to unite the Member States. She thinks that the reason that there are many differences in how the EU is seen is that it isn’t the same thing anymore than it was ten years before: People want to change it but everyone wants to do it differently. For Azza a solution to the conflicts and sometimes missing unity is to teach more about the
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A history of When debating in EYP we often talk about European values. Defenitely one of those is ‘Democracy’. Journalist Dora esplored the history of this institution. Democracy, originated from the Greek word δημοκρατία (“Demokratia”) which literally means “people-power”, refers to a type of political system in which the people or their representatives lawfully govern themselves, rather than being governed, say, by a mili-
6th century B.C.
594 B.C.
Primitive democracy in the Ancient Mesopotamian Sumer Empire: In the major city states, a council of elders and young men that possessed the final political authority, were consulted for radical decisions.
The reforms of the lawgiver Solon were devised to avert the political, economic, and moral decline in archaic Athens and gave Athens its first comprehensive code of law. The constitutional reforms eliminated enslavement of Athenians by Athenians, established rules for legal redress against over-reaching aristocratic archons, and assigned political privileges on the basis of productive wealth rather than noble birth. Some of his reforms failed in the short term, yet he is often credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy.
1215 C.E.
1689 C.E.
Magna Carta: In medieval England, King John had total control and his subjects had no freedom or say whatsoever. The Magna Carta took some of the king’s power away and gave some rights and freedom to the people. The Magna Carta is a historical document that means ‘Great Charter’ (great paper) in Latin. It was written by the barons of England who were unhappy that the king was abusing his power and increasing taxes.
English Bill of Rights: It forbidden any monarch to make or suspend laws, or maintain an army without the consent of the Parliament or interfere with debates in the Parliament which limited King’s power in England.
1893 C.E.
1951 C.E.
New Zealand is the first nation to introduce universal suffrage by awarding the vote to women (universal male suffrage had been in place since 1879).
The European Coal and Steel Community promised an upcoming European Union.
Democracy
Utkan Dora öncül TR
tary dictatorship, totalitarian party or monarch. This pioneering ideology increased its popularity vastly in the last century and it is accepted to be the regime that fits the universal principles of the modern world. However, in spite of getting smothered by the monarchies and theologies in the course of history, its presence might be far earlier than you think. n
3rd century B.C.
10th - 13th century C.E.
The Birth of Political Philosophy: Raised by Socrates, and further addressed by Plato, the question of relation/position of an individual within a community speculated the minds of the philosophers.
Communes around Mediterranean, especially Italy, were electing their own municipal counselors.
1789-99 C.E.
A.D The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon that rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe and beyond. Inspired by liberal and radical ideas, the Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and liberal democracies. 1990’s
After the fall of Socialism regarding the consequences of the cold war, much of Eastern Europe, Latin America, East and Southeast Asia, and several Arab, central Asian and African states moved towards greater liberal democracy.
June 2016 C.E.
British voters choose to radically distinguish the UK’s paths from the EU and to leave the political and economic union.
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EU values We hear a lot about the importance of European values. History can be divisive (Europeans have, after all, a long history of stabbing and shooting one another) and culture is often tied strongly to national identity. But values are supposedly shared across the continent by all Europeans. In nearly 60 years of its history, the European Union has never seen „European unity“ to this extent. The incredible enlargement it has achieved helped spread democracy, stability, security and prosperity across the European continent. The new Member States are not the only ones who have benefitted from this as this achievement had a positive effect on the countries who were already in the EU. Since 1957 the EU’s ideals have not changed with a peaceful, united and prosperous Europe as the main goal. Today, Europe is faced with issues of such a calibre it has not seen since the 1950’s. With several ongoing crises, such as the great refugee influx, gender inequality, religious extremism, have the European values taken a back seat? But what ARE European values? Democracy, human rights, and solidarity are often cited as examples of European values, but each of them is almost as nebulous a term as ‘values’. Most Europeans could probably get behind ‘human rights’ as a value, but the refugee crisis has caused deep divisions over the ‘universality’ of these supposedly universal rights. And European ‘solidarity’ has been buckling under intense pressure from austerity and the long-running European debt crisis. However, times are changing and they are changing rapidly thus is the traditional view on European values still liable? We, Europeans have to decide whether the values and freedoms we apply for ourselves can or should be
Katarina Stefanovic RS
shared with other human beings who were “unlucky to be born” in the epicentre of war, for instance Syria or Afghanistan. Are the so-called European values reserved and valid only for European citizens? If they lie on the fundamentals of human rights and active citizenships, what gives us the right to narrow them down to a citizenship? We, as conscientious young citizens and members of the European Youth Parliament, are prepared to overlook our origin and focus on a universal problem so as to mend the true European values. This session is led by pioneers who have worked very hard to give you an environment where independent thought flourishes and the true European values are put into practice. If non-EU and by some definitions non-European countries are able to have their own national committees of EYP, this poses a question – what does European in EYP stand for? The answer is quite simple – peace in unity for a greater cause or in the fight against greater odds. If all the values we nurture in this NGO and who have been preached for almost 60 years are this universal why should they be limited to “European”? We are all citizens of some country, not necessarily a Member State or even one in Europe, but yet we all stand here, united and willing to fix things. Maybe it is high time to stop hiding behind the geographical dimension of the word Europe and focus on the hegemonic ideas in its core and then we might reconnect with the true meaning European values we forgot about a long time ago. n
From the previous generations’ point of view, my father and grandfather for example, Europe is not a very discussed topic and they don’t know much about it. Now, we’re here and I’m socialising with people from different countries, of different nationalities. I feel my mind has broadened and I think EYP and EU itself help enlighten other countries that aren’t in Europe or the EU.” Ayhan Satiji, AZ, delegate
“It’s very important for me to be participating in EYP as it helps me tackle my own country’s problems by giving me the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. That’s why the Azerbaijani youth participates in these kind of events so as to gain some new experience and use it wisely back home.” Fidan Yusubova, AZ, delegate
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supporters In order to realise any session the European Youth Parliament relies on partners and sponsors. Fundraising can often seem as quite a difficult task, which makes it even more valuable to have long-term partners at our side. With this page we want to show you a few faces behind the logos you see in your booklets. In the following we have asked some of the supporters of this session and EYP Germany what it is that makes the European Youth Parliament interesting to them. n
Udo Schlüter “I was amazed by the idea immediately. It didn’t take more than 5 minutes to convince me. Also observing that spirit today was great, everyone was concentrated.”
Rüdiger W. Scholz “I find it fascinating that young people are willing to give up so much of their free time for EYP, chapeau! Here, the next political elite introduces themselves. It is important that they get to know the needs and concerns of SMEs.”
Volker Nebrich “It was important for us to create a festival of joy and have some fun. It’s about working, but also about celebrating together, celebrating values. There has to be a flame within you in order to spark a fire in someone else.”
Heinz, Ernst and Tobias Schulte “There are excited Europeans here, who not only talk about the future, but also the present. Thus we can create the future together.”
Maximilian Gantenbrink: “It is always honourable for young people to get engaged. The young people learn leadership skills here. One doesn’t have be asked twice to contribute.”
media coverage This session and its events were not only covered by the EYP Media Team but also by various news outlets from around the region.Theirvv keen interest in the session can show us, the participants, that our work is being appreciated by the “outside world�. n
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THE INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FORUM IN MENDEN IS BEING SPONSORED BY:
GmbH Grundstücke & Immobilien