EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT GREECE
33rd National Selection Conference Athens, 22-24 April 2016
Committee
Topics
EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT GREECE
COMMITTEE TOPICS
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs I - LIBE I Refugees in a fortified world; what steps should the EU take towards a common European asylum policy? While the EU Member States have failed to address the consequences of the refugee crisis, over 3,700 refugees and migrants have lost their lives trying to reach the European coasts in 2015. With the dysfunctional European asylum system (see Dublin Regulation) having collapsed, and the proposed quota schemes for the redistribution of refugees having failed so far, the Schengen Agreement is now showing signs of unravelling (reintroduction of border controls, erection of border fences). While the EU is focusing on measures to keep refugees away or accelerate their return to their countries of origin (joint action plan with Turkey, reinforcement of Frontex), the demand for safe passage is more relevant than ever. Is the political game of Member States between indifference, hostility and solidarity set to last? http://ec.europa.eu/news/2016/02/20160210_en.htm http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911
Committee on Foreign Affairs - AFET After a decade of accession negotiations, what should the political framework of EU-Turkey relations look like? Turkey is a key partner, neighbour, and has been a candidate for EU membership for over 15 years. While the European enlargement project is stagnating, Europe is seeking further cooperation with Turkey in light of the refugee crisis, with an EU-Turkey action plan agreed in 2015 and the involvement of NATO in the Aegean Sea. At the same time, concerns have been raised over human rights and press freedom violations, combined with violence in the country’s eastern and southeastern regions. How can the EU remain committed to intensifying the political dialogue with Turkey, whilst keeping in mind the latter’s ongoing conflicts such as its involvement in Syria? http://eeas.europa.eu/turkey/ http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey/index_en.htm
Committee on Security and Defence - SEDE Revisiting the Common Security and Defence Policy; how should Europe act to ensure peace, stability, and security in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region? As the EU is struggling to handle the migration flows at its borders, and hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing from war, is Europe de facto in need of a strategy to tackle the enemies of the West in the Middle East? While the possibility of the Kurdish population to realise some sort of statehood or independence remains open, is the call for a ceasefire going to de-escalate the Russia-Turkey tensions? Are the security threats presented by the likes of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)/Daesh a call to rethink the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)? http://www.eeas.europa.eu/csdp/ http://eeas.europa.eu/mideast/index_en.htm
COMMITTEE TOPICS
EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT GREECE
Committee on Legal Affairs - JURI What Europe needs to do after Snowden vs. what Europe needs to do after Paris; in light of the new EU-US ‘Privacy Shield’ agreement, on what legal basis can the EU guarantee the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection of its citizens? In October 2015 the European Court of Justice declared the ‘Safe Harbor’ agreement, a previous agreement governing the collection, handling, transfer, and storage of user data between the EU and the US, illegal. Based on concerns raised after Edward Snowden’s leaks on US mass surveillance programmes, the court ruled that the US side not only has to become compliant with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, but also produce legislation “equivalent” to European law in the commercial sector. In an attempt to fill the legal gap, the European Commission has now presented the ‘Privacy Shield’ agreement. Can the EU protect the privacy and data of its citizens within this new framework? Are EU data protection laws enforceable in practice? Can EU fundamental rights be respected and transparently enforced against tech giants over the Atlantic? https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/safe-harbor-troubles-max-shrems-by-noelle-lenoir-2016-02 http://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/information-society-privacy-and-data-protection
Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection - IMCO In the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal, how can the EU reinforce the credibility, accountability, and effectiveness of its regulations? In order to improve regulation, it is important to recognise that no internal market is complete without effective and independent oversight. However, how can regulators be equipped with the technical expertise so as not to be hoodwinked into writing loopholes and grey zones into the rules, whilst taking corporate concerns into account? In order to ensure that the burdens regulations impose are proportionate to their aim of societal benefit, the European Commission has introduced the ‘Better Regulation’, a mechanism aimed at cutting administrative burdens at the EU level. In a world without clean Volkswagens, will Better Regulation lead to more credible, accountable, and effective regulations, whilst avoiding a next Dieselgate? http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/index_en.htm en.htm
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4988_
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs - ECON What steps should the EU take towards democratic accountability, legitimacy and institutional strengthening of the Economic and Monetary Union? Since 2012, the EU institutions have presented various strategies towards a “genuine” Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), with a “deeper and fairer” EMU currently being one of the ten priorities set by the Juncker Commission. Although they stress that any steps towards strengthening economic governance should go hand in hand with ensuring democratic accountability and legitimacy, in times of crisis, regular procedures have been waived. As the lines dividing competences between the EU and its Member States in the area of economic governance remain blurred, which should come first, a deeper or a fairer EMU? Are these two mutually exclusive or could there be synergies hidden there? How can the EU ensure transparency, improve openness and enhance citizen participation in the development of its economic policies? https://ec.europa.eu/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union_en
EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT GREECE
COMMITTEE TOPICS
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs - EMPL A silent emergency in European metropoleis; how can the European Union work towards ensuring affordable, sustainable, and liveable housing for all its citizens? With household costs rising, a growing number of young adults in Europe is living with their parents. The lack of affordable housing is the common denominator in the socio-economic changes European urban areas are undergoing, such as gentrification, spatial segregation, and a rise in homelessness. Together with the lack of social housing, this also raises questions on the impact of the refugee influx, with challenges such as ethnic or racial stratification of the housing markets. Moreover, the house construction industry remains on the low; currently about 35% of the EU’s buildings are over 50 years old, thus less energy efficient. What long-term, system-oriented goals are needed to address these challenges? How should Europe rethink house property? http://www.europeanhousingforum.eu/ http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-468/the-state-of-housing-in-the-eu-2015
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs II - LIBE II A crisis of liberal values in Europe; how should the EU’s Member States respond to the rise of Islamophobia, violent extremism, and hate speech? In a union that claims to be ‘united in diversity”, the refugee crisis was yet another factor in a developing increase in hate crimes and xenophobia. The rise of far-right movements, as well as their political legitimisation through elections, raise questions about the limits in freedom of expression. How does Europe place religion in the public sphere? How secular are the EU’s Member States? The complexity of the issues at stake go beyond tackling religious and ethnic intolerance, as they share an intricate relation with the economy, culture, and politics. http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/racism-xenophobia/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/dialogue/index_en.htm
Committee on Climate Change - CLIM In the aftermath of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), what role should the EU play in the fight against climate change? April 22nd will mark the ceremony of signing of the Paris agreement against climate change. Is the EU in need of new and revised climate targets? How can its 2030 climate and energy framework and Emissions Trading Scheme be aligned with the Paris agreement? What is the road between the former and the 2050 energy roadmap? Taking a step back and evaluating the COP21 results, can Europe fight climate change with its current set of policies, both environmental and economic? http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2030/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/negotiations/paris/index_en.htm
EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT GREECE
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Committee on Industry, Research and Energy - ITRE Catching up with the digitalisation of the energy sector; how should Europe address the challenges rising from the integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to the electricity grid and ensure secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity for its citizens? The road to ‘energy transition’ not only covers the re-design of all key end-use sectors -electricity, heating, and transport- from production to consumption, but also their convergence in technological, societal, and economic terms. This vision is built around the modernisation of the electrical grid, with the gradual development of ‘smart grids’, which use information and communication technologies (ICT) to manage electricity more efficiently while adding new nodes to the electrical grid such as RES, thus turning households into consumer-producer-hybrids. The promise of the smart grid is to enable a new paradigm with reduced energy costs and the environmental benefits of RES. Can the EU pave the way for decarbonisation with this concept of decentralised energy? With the new technological developments in energy storage, is the future closer than we think? http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/energy-union-and-climate_en https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/markets-and-consumers/smart-grids-and-meters