Welcome Words

Dear delegate, Yes, YOU! The one reading this digital document. For some reason, that we will never find out and perhaps you do not even know, you have decided to spend this Saturday with us. That already makes you special in a way. You have embarked on a journey and you really donot know what to expect.

Well, welcome to the European Youth Parliament, where providing the unexpected is what we do. We hope ourevent is the beginning of a long journey for you. This may be short and digital–but as we say, good things come in small packages –and we certainly hope to see you again. So, let me now briefly explain to you what this Resolution Booklet is exactly. General Assemblies are an integral part of our sessions. In our events they usually come right after Teambuilding and Committee Work, where teams get formed and discuss the topics each session has. In this event, as we only have General Assembly, the Academic Team has drafted Resolutions for you. A Resolution is comprised by 3 key elements: theaim (the bold letters under the topic), the Introductory Clauses (aka the Bullet Points) and the Operative Clauses (the ones with the numbers). The aim of the Resolution answers to a simple question: “Why have we decided to what we will do?”, the Introductory Clauses are basically “What has made us discuss the topic?”, while the Operative Clauses simply are “What will we do to resolve this issue?”. What you now have in your digital hands is the result of a work of 6+1 remarkable individuals, your Chairpersons, Annemarie, Jo, Katie, Luke, Maria and Victoria, and our Vice-President, Elena, that have spent time and effort drafting and preparing your Topic Outlines and the Resolutions in this booklet. It is also the work of a great duet, our Editor, Anastasia and our Media Team Member, Dimitris, that have visually interpreted your topics.

However, it is also the work of a great network, the European Youth Parliament, as we have been influenced by the innovative ideas and inspired by the outcomes of previous sessions all over Europe. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Young Europe Ambassadors’, working on climate and energy for the amazing work that they did, and I would personally like to encourage you to follow their (and our) work. The European Youth Parliament above all has taught me one life hack: “When life gives you lemons, you enjoy your lemonade and even add a tint of mint.” So, let usenjoy our lemonade this Saturday together.

Sofia Magopoulou

President of the 1st General Assembly day of EYP Greece

Motion for a resolution by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs -LIBE

Flattening the “Infodemic” curve: With over 50% of Europeans believing they have been exposed to disinformation online and the mass wave of misleading or false information on the web, how can we create a safer digital space in which the fundamental rights of all users of digital services are protected? Chaired byAnnemarie Eigemann (DE)

The European Youth Parliament aims to fight mis- and disinformation in digital media platforms by efficiently working with Social Media platforms and all Member States together and by educating the youth and the older generations. More than ever, we have to raise awareness of the dangers of the internet and teach how to research and identify misand disinformation and create a safe digital space.

• Alarmed by the amount of mis-and disinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, • Recognising the serious threat to health by the unofficial online anti-vaccine campaigns, • Gravely concerned by the high risk of coming across and sharing mis- and disinformation unknowingly, • Realizing the use disinformation by various States to create a diversion in opinions and distract citizens to gain a geopolitical advantage, • Recognising the current exchange between social media platforms and the EU and the transparency on active regulations and technologies fighting mis-and disinformation, • Expressing its concerns about the conflicts and violence caused by citizens due to mis- and disinformation, • Appreciating the enlightening work of the European Science-Media Hub through articles and interviews with experts;

The European Youth Parliament,

1. Appreciates the efforts of the European Commission on the implementation of the

Media Literacy Week for two consecutive years; 2. Requests the European Commission to further expand the EU Code of Practice on

Disinformation as an official Directive of the European Union; 3. Encourages the European Commission to draft a legislative proposal on a common

European Union Fact Checking Mechanism, that will work on all policy making levels; 4. Encourages the inclusion of the EU’s Cyber Defence Policy Framework, as a part of the EU's common security and defence policy (CSDP); 5. Calls upon the European Commission to establish a Directorate General that will monitor and debunk fake news on a European level;

6. Calls upon Member States to establish a quick response to conflicts or violence based on mis-and disinformation; 7. Suggests Member States to adapt their penal codes in order to include the spread of disinformation in their provisions; 8. Recommends the further promotion of the official websites and social media of

European Union Institutions on a European and a national level in order to encourage citizens information through official resources; 9. Urges the creation of a platform for all Member States and relevant stakeholders to exchange best practices on innovative technologies and research; 10. Further invites the promotion of digital media campaigns targeting adult recipients to fight fake news and raise awareness on the importance of self-fact checking; 11. Invites Member States to introduce to their official education curricula, classes or coursesaimed at increasing media literacy and developing critical thinking; 12. Recommends the Citizens to use the European Science-Media Hub (ESMH) to research information on COVID-19.