Regional Sessions of EYP Finland in 2013 Kuopio | Turku | Oulu | Tampere
2 880 MINUTES the length of a Finnish regional.
Issue 1
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Regional Sessions of EYP Finland in 2013
EUROPE OF CHANGES
So what about changes?
The word carries importance, a sort of finality. Yet there are very few terms that can have such a multitude of interpretations. Changes for example could refer to how many changes of clothes you brought to the session. Of course, this is nonesense when ‘changes’ is associated with Europe, automatically giving the term a bigger dimension. However, let us assume that the reasoning does make sense, so I can talk about changes in programmes. Unexpected things happen. When working with media, they are inevitable. In this case, the changes were caused by a lack of proper printers, forcing us to split Issue 1 into two. The following articles are the journalists’ personal reflections on your topic. We hope they will allow you to gain a new perspective, or spark new ideas on your problematic. Thus, they had to be imperatvely printed before the end of committee work. However, the issue is not done. There are four more aricles, waiting for you online, on our shared Facebook page. By the time you will be holding this
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booklet in your hands, the final Issue will already be online. In it, you will find the Presidential interview, an analysis of how EYP changes people, a reflection of how silly the Finnish language can be, and a feature article on how to de-stress before GA. We recommend using the wonderful technology that is a smartphone to access these articles, and wish you a great read. –Giada Benfatto (DE), Editress Editresses Mathilde Pascal (FR) Giada Benfatto (DE) Journalists Riccardo Passarella (CH) Lauri Lahtinen (FI) David Soler Crespo (ES) Marek Haisl (CZ) Maria Browarska (PL) Mari Ylivaikko (FI) Saara Rissainen (FI) Marja Pentikäinen (FI)
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CONTENTS STNETNOC Old (Voting) Habits Die Hard
The Egyptian Choice The Nuclear Divide
The Spirit of the Iron Curtain
The Harvest of the CAP Growing Old
Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds Cutting on Red-Tape
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Regional Sessions of EYP Finland in 2013
Old (Voting) Habits Die Hard 2014 will be an important year for the European Union. In May, with the elections to the European Parliament (EP) and the Commission, the two institutions representing the interests of the EU will be completely renewed. For the first time the Lisbon treaty will apply in its entirety, thus changing, for instance, the allocation of seats in the EP.
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Have you ever wondered about the meaning of European elections? In times of high skepticism towards the Union, this is a question that could scare a few. As the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states, all nationals of a member state are citizens of the EU, and thus eligible to participate in the elections both as candidates and voters. This only applies to citizens residing in any of the 28 member states, cutting out a good number of people living “abroad�. It is still arguable whether the impact of the European Parliament, and through it of citizens, is remarkable. However, considering the enormous progress made by the EP since the first direct election in 1979, its influence is bound to increase. This means that the voice of the people of Europe will become louder and louder.
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Nonetheless, the future lies in the hands of the youth, but the youth does not seem keen to pick up the loudhailer. Data from the 2009 elections show that the participation of youngsters decreased by 4% compared to 2004: less than 30% of the young people allowed to vote exercised their rights. This can be blamed on the uncertainty spread by the new versions of the treaties amended by Lisbon, which in 2009 had not entered into force yet, or on the crisis,
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which was a new event, but still frapping, but are these the actual reasons? Individuals between 18 and 24 might simply have lost their interest in politics, both at the national and international level. It seems like they do not feel represented by political parties or do not think to be listened to. This is an issue that concerns not only youngsters. As shown lately by polls of the European Commission, 50% of respondents feel European, but fewer have the impression that someone is there for them. The problem could come from the secondary role of the citizens in the decisional process. Back to young people, what can we do to raise participation in the European elections? Many suggest e-voting, while European bodies highly value the role of programs such as the EYP. However, e-democracy is more a platform than a real way to get people interested in politics, and political youth organisations are mainly attended by those who have already planned to vote. The political laziness of youngsters has kept philosophers busy since the Antiquity. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that anyone has tried to solve the issue by taking into account the opinion of those involved. It is time to show that young people are able to tackle their own problems. - RP
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The Egyptian Choice The situation in Egypt has turned into a very worrying, difficult and urgent one. The country is now a politically divided state after the first democratically elected president was deposed by a military coup. Should the EU act upon this situation to safeguard democracy in Egypt? On 3rd July 2013, Mohamed Morsi, the first president of Egypt’s democracy and member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was removed from power by a military coup. The army saw it as its responsibility to depose the president after numerous protests against his authoritarian way of ruling. The army announced that free elections would be called soon in Egypt. Meanwhile it started to arrest members of the Muslim Brotherhood, killing people, violating human rights and threatening democracy. The EU, in the name of democracy, should condemn these acts and work towards the restoration of peace. In a statement on 18th August 2013, the EU made its position clear: “There is no alternative to dialogue. All the Egyptian political forces must recommit to the country’s democratic future”. However, telling Egypt what to do is not the way to go. Egypt is an independent, sovereign country that can decide for itself. The EU should not act as an imperialist regime. Instead it must be responsible over Egypt and quickly take steps towards safeguarding democracy and human rights, without taking sides in the conflict. The way out should be dialogue.
The EU cannot try to restore peace by using armed forces, as it is not a military union. Dialogues should start with the leader of the Egyptian army, the General Fattah el-Sisi, to call for early elections and stop the persecution of the Muslim Brotherhood. This process will not be easy. General Fattah Al-Sisi will not simply agree to do what the EU tells him to. As the process will be long-lasting, the EU must not desist in its pursue of stability and take further steps if this objective is not met. This would represent a clear statement of its intentions towards the public. Only then will Egypt agree to cooperate. If the country is internationally isolated, the government will face serious economic problems and be in the horns of a dilemma.
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If the EU does not achieve its objective of reconverting Egypt into a democratic country, it will be seen as a failure of democracy. If this is not to happen, the EU must recognise the urgency of the situation in Egypt and be aware of the possible consequences of a return to an authoritarian regime. Egypt cannot take a step back to the past. The EU must help the country to take a step forward to building a real democracy. - DSC
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Regional Sessions of EYP Finland in 2013
The Nuclear Divide On 16th June 2013, a world record was achieved in Germany. For the first time in history, wind and solar power plants generated more than 60% of the national power supply capacity during a few hours. Germany’s investments in renewable energy seem to have paid off, possibly meaning that nuclear power, along with other dirty and dangerous fossil fuels, can finally be abandoned. Even though the aforementioned record seems astonishing, overall only 22% of energy in Germany is produced using renewable sources. Besides, wind and solar power require an adequate weather. On some days the power plants will provide massive amounts of electricity but on other days absolutely nothing. When renewable energy proved insufficient, more coal and natural gas had to be used for energy production and heating. To be fair, the research led in Germany on renewable energy still makes the country greener than many others. It is even said that there are more photovoltaic panels installed across Bavaria than in the entire United States. The goal of the program is to phase nuclear power out completely by 2020 in favour of renewable energy. Eight power plants have already been shut down, while nine are still operational.
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The Energiewende, in English “energy transition“, also has its own drawbacks. Currently German citizens pay the highest electricity bills in Europe. It has been predicted that the costs of the Energiewende will be paid for years to come. Europe’s other extreme is France, where 76% of the electricity is generated using nuclear power, of which about 17% is produced from recycled nuclear fuel. The French public opinion on nuclear power
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has traditionally been accepting, even positive, though the Fukushima disaster has somehow affected it. In 2012, President François Hollande urged a partial nuclear phase-out. A nationwide debate was held from November 2012 to June 2013. Later, a parliamentary commission called on the government to delay its planned reduction of nuclear power. Though France will also move towards green energy, it will not embark on a similar crusade as Germany. In September 2013, the OPECST, a scientific commission of senators and MPs, warned that a rapid nuclear phaseout in France could cause a power price shock. As the world’s largest net exporter of electricity, which is made possible by the low cost of generation, France gains over three billion euros annually from its energy exports. French electricity bills are also among the cheapest in Europe. Both strategies have their advantages and disadvantages. However, there is a major concern that a nuclea catastrophe might happen in France. The French government wants to evolve slowly towards more sustainable electricity. Their interest should speed up renewable energy projects and lead to an energy conversion as soon as possible. - LL
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SOS: youth unemployment Over the past years, young Europeans have faced a desperate situation where no jobs are offered, due to the economic down-turn. The situation is getting worse as unemployment rates keep rising. In August 2013, 26.6 million people were unemployed in Europe. These rising rates have a huge impact on society as a whole, for example when it comes to diminishing tax revenues.
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The lowest unemployment rates among young Europeans are observed in Austria and Germany, where it is under 10 per cent. At the same time in Greece the rate is over 50 per cent. These differences amongst member states have led to an increase in mobility on the international labour market. People who face difficulties in their home countries are getting more willing to move to another EU country to improve their perspectives of finding a job. It is vital to recognise the challenges in the unemployment in different areas, as it might lead to a brain drain in countries with higher unemployment rates.
Even though the European youth is highly educated, they face difficulties when looking for a job suitable for their education. The inability to get employed in their own field in their home countries explains why so many young people have to emigrate to other countries. This might lead to a brain drain in countries where the unemployment rates are higher, which would be followed by a loss in competitive labour force. Because they cannot find a decent job, young people have to either accept temporary positions with low wages and struggle to make their ends meet, or find suitable job from somewhere else.
When it comes to the high rates of unemployment, one of the main challenges to tackle is making sure that unemployment among young Europeans does not become a permanent phenomenon. Otherwise the current generation of European youth might become irreversibly excluded from the labour market, posing a big threat for the structure of European societies. On today’s labour market, experience is getting more and more important, making unemployment a serious threat to young people trying to start their careers.
Even though the EU has started projects to prevent the rise of unemployment rates, a lot more should still be done at the international, national and regional levels. Supporting projects such as the Youth Employment Initiative and the Youth Guarantee, encouraging employers to generate new opportunities for young people and co-operating are key actions that must be implemented to help youth on the labour market. As the economic crisis has affected some regions more than others, the EU should make a priority of supporting job-seekers in those financially weaker countries. - MY
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Regional Sessions of EYP Finland in 2013
The Harvest of the Common Agricultural Policy Food shortage is not considered as a major threat in EU member states. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is therefore often seen as an unprofitable project with more cons than pros. However, as there are many questions regarding imported food, decisions concerning future food supply in the EU should not be made in haste.
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The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was established in 1962 with a target to guarantee a reasonable income for farmers and affordable food for Europeans citizens. Even though the goals are approved in modern EU as well, criticism towards CAP has been increasing. In the recent years, the CAP has been reformed to match the modern world, but the criticism has not subsided. Despite its flaws, is the CAP still the best way to guarantee food supply in the EU?
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As subsidies are vital for the agriculture in the EU, the CAP eats 40% of the EU budget, even though this percentage has been decreasing during the past decades. This has caused a debate on the appropriateness of this way to spend the EU’s money. The importance of increasing competitiveness of Member States in other sectors has gained attention especially with the recent economic crisis. Member states should invest more in the economic growth of the EU rather than waste money on unprofitable agriculture. At the same time, relying more on imported food may be extremely risky. The United Nations have estimated that the demand for food will increase by 70% worldwide by 2050. Despite the more and more modern technology used
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in agriculture, the growing population poses challenges for food supply all over the world. It has also been claimed that, as climate change will likely harm agriculture in many parts of the world, member states should strive for self-sufficiency as much as possible. Experts have estimated climate change not to be as harmful for cultivation in Europe as it is for instance in many parts of Asia and Africa. The safety of imported food products has also been under review. Pesticides are closely monitored in the EU and the growth of more ecological food is seen as one priority of the future food production. Yet, the EU has been able to monitor the safety of imported food so far. This leads to wonder why further supervising imported food in the future as well. Staying self-sufficient in food supply is a critical challenge for the EU. It takes money away from other fields, causing well-justified criticism. However, in an uncertain and unpredictable world, the Common Agriculture Policy might be the only option to guarantee that future generations will not have to struggle with such a basic necessity as food. - MP
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Growing Old At least 35% of the world population will be aged 65 and above by 2050. This expectation has created a discussion about the impact of an ageing population. Is the world ready to deal with such a composition of the society? The fact that the world population is ageing has been common knowledge for many years. The improvement of the living conditions enables today’s people to live much longer than their ancestors used to. The average life expectancy in the EU has reached 82.4 years for women and 76.4 for men. These numbers are still expected to grow. Although an increased life expectancy might be an indicator of development, birth rates have strongly decreased at the same time, leading to a rapid decrease in the EU population. Elderly people are slowly moving from the minority to the majority of our society. Unfortunately, this transformation also has negative consequences. Let us get older for a while. Imagine you are 60 years old and you just got fired. Usually at this age, people go into retirement. However, because of the lack of active working people, retirement age has increased. Even if one overlooks the issue of unemployment, it would be nearly impossible to find a job in such a situation. Most of your applications will be rejected due to age discrimination. Even though the society of the 21st century is considered as highly developed, age discrimination on the labour market is still a major issue. Your job opportunities
are also limited. Only a small minority of elderly people are able to take a full-time job and be as productive as they used to be. There is a shared opinion that elderly employees are less innovative, not flexible, often ill, and lack enthusiasm. Those stereotypes are only making the situation even worse for you. So the most probable way that this situation is going to end is early retirement or social benefits. Not a great perspective, right? It is true that the improvement of living conditions that we have known gives us the opportunity to experience long lives full of unforgettable experiences. However, changes are required, especially in the fields of health care, pension schemes and labour market. Otherwise the whole process of improving living conditions will become useless. - MH
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Regional Sessions of EYP Finland in 2013
Structural fund + cohesion fund = a more united Europe? The European Union uses structural and cohesion policies to fund the peripheral areas of Europe. It allocates one-third of its overall budget to these funds. However, in sight of the current economic situation in Europe, this money could be allocated more efficiently.
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During the past nine years, the EU has expanded by allowing more and more Eastern European countries to join. The enlargements have resulted in the apparition of great economic differences between member states. Since structural and cohesion funds make up a considerable part of the EU budget, their worth must be reconsidered. There must be a more efficient way to allocate this money while supporting peripheral areas in a different way. These funds are still a very experimental, yet innovative field in the new forms of governance. However, the results of this funding are not as positive as they were supposed to be.
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The objective of the structural and cohesion funds is to connect Europe by diminishing disparities regarding income, wealth and opportunities among EU member states. These funds are meant to play a major role in building a coherent and cooperative Europe in terms of trading and markets. They should result in boosting internal markets and increasing the average gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, the possibility of future conflicts between EU member states could be diminished, fulfilling the
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fundamental goal of the EU: bringing peace to Europe. However, it takes a long time to reach these results. Nowadays the EU spends one-third of its budget in these complicated and, above all, very costly funds, when this money could be used for better purposes, like finding a way out of the current situation. In the long run, the development of these now peripheral – but maybe someday metropolitan – areas of Europe will contribute to build a prosperous EU. Nevertheless action must be taken now, not in several years. Instead of granting funds to converging regions almost too wealthy to receive them, such as some parts of Sweden or Ireland, the EU could concentrate on areas that are truly in need. Funds should be granted for the areas that are truly eligible under the convergence objective and not phasing in or out. The leftover money could be used for helping the countries in need, such as Spain and Greece. The EU should act according to its needs. Funding peripheral areas is important, but using one-third of the EU budget in times of economic decline is a typical example of an inefficient allocation of money. - SR
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Cutting on Red-Tape Three years have passed since the European Commission adopted the Green Paper on the future of VAT towards a simpler, more robust and efficient VAT system. A first proposal has just been announced. International business transactions are both profitable and extremely troublesome for SMEs. Imagine there is a company in country A that buys 78 tons of biscuits, for which it has to pay a value added tax up to 25%. This tax can be later refunded when the company sells these biscuits to another company in country B. The system seems to be fair, but what is wrong about it is the fact that there are no common rules for companies to follow in order to get the refund. Each country has its own rules, which are hard to translate, not to mention to understand. The differences are quite substantial. Irish refund forms have six text boxes to fill whereas Italian ones can have up to 586 text boxes. In some countries a company has to wait several months for decisions that are made in one day in the United Kingdom. The proposal of the European Commission wants to replace the 28 national systems with a simple and uniform EU approach. The intent is to harmonise the return forms. Future forms should have five mandatory information boxes, with the possibility to include 21 additional boxes easier to translate and understand. Further-
more, the deadlines for filling in the forms as well as the period allocated to governments to give their decisions will be unified. The whole procedure will be taken care of via the Internet. Simplifying and uniting the procedure will also improve the level of security since tax frauds are extremely common EU countries. Hopefully the proposal will come into force in 2017 if the member states agree on it. It would be a remarkable improvement for companies operating in different countries but also a challenge for governments that will have to change their standards, putting a lot of effort and, of course, money in this adjustment. All in all, the proposal seems like an ingenious solution that respects different tax systems and simplifies the process. It is a logical step in the effort to streamline and unite the economies of EU countries, after many changes implemented in the Eurozone already. SMEs will be able to focus on the actual transactions and finding new contractors instead of filling in forms and dealing with late tax refunds that can very often lead to cash flow issues. - MB
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