Tercera Época | Editado desde 1992 | Nº3 | Diciembre 2018
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Prestik 2018: Bilbao es Erasmus
Entrevista a Charles Williams
Parlamenter 2018, taking up the challenge
“Erasmus” un programa intergubernamental pero con efectos federales
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uiero recordar que Eurocampus nació hace veinticinco años, poco después de los programas Erasmus y, precisamente, en la ola de interés que se despertó en el País Vasco en torno a este programa. Hace unos días, ha vuelto a aparecer en los medios de comunicación que, del Programa Erasmus han nacido un millar de niños. También, en otra información, se mantiene que de los nueve millones de participantes en el programa, al menos, un cuarto de los mismos son matrimonios o parejas estables. Es conocido que en la Declaración Schumann del 9 de mayo de 1950, se señalaba que la federación europea se conseguiría “a través de una solidaridad de hecho”. ¿Hay algo que exprese mejor esta “solidaridad de hecho” entre ciudadanos europeos pertenecientes a distintos países, que el que entre ellos mantengan relaciones estables y que fruto de las mismas tengan “hijos Erasmus”? Posiblemente, el Programa Erasmus tiene muchísimas insuficiencias y muchas veces nos quejamos de que es un programa básicamente intergubernamental aunque, apoyado por la Comisión Europea y, por lo tanto, con cierta dimensión comunitaria. A mi juicio, lo importante es resaltar que el programa está consolidando el proyecto federal europeo al menos, tanto, que cualquier otra de las decisiones importantes que se han tomado en el ámbito comunitario.
He tenido oportunidad de estar los pasados 19, 20 y 21 de octubre invitado como observador en el Comité Federal de Otoño de las Juventudes Europeas Federalistas (JEF), celebrado entre las ciudades de Estocolmo, en un barco y Turku (Finlandia), organizado por la sección finlandesa y donde participaban más de un centenar de jóvenes federalistas pertenecientes a 34 secciones de diferentes países de la Unión Europea incluso, de países candidatos o vecinos. Dicho encuentro representaba a más de 12.000 jóvenes federalistas (se entiende por jóvenes según las diferentes secciones nacionales a los menores de 30-35 años) y suelen celebrarse periódicamente varias veces al año en distintas ciudades pertenecientes a las secciones participantes. En los últimos años, este movimiento está tomando gran relevancia en la vida política europea debido, entre otras cosas, a la importancia de sus resoluciones, ya que son tenidas en cuenta por las instituciones. En esta ocasión, el tema central fueron las próximas elecciones al Parlamento Europeo de mayo de 2019, donde establecieron varias resoluciones en torno a la relevancia de las mismas, así como a un conjunto de acciones, con objeto de realizar movilizaciones de jóvenes con alcance europeo, es decir, no sólo cada uno en su estado miembro, sino de una forma conjunta. Hay que resaltar que estos jóvenes federalistas per-
tenecen a los principales partidos políticos europeos democráticos si bien, algunos a ninguno. Dos hechos quiero subrayar de esta reunión, que tuvo lugar en un ambiente de gran europeísmo y con importante rigor. En primer lugar, los participantes, casi todos ellos se habían conocido a través de diversos programas Erasmus, en muchas universidades europeas, consiguiendo una red de operatividad y conectividad verdaderamente sorprendente. Sus relaciones tienen lugar a través de redes sociales pero también se encuentran físicamente en distintos lugares, más allá de las reuniones formales a las que me he referido anteriormente. La otra cuestión que me llamó poderosamente la atención era su arraigado sentimiento federal. Nadie de los reunidos tenía la menor duda de la necesidad de avanzar hacia la federación europea. Veían que esa salida es algo natural, y que ellos, están inmersos en unas relaciones sociales federales y tratan, por tanto, que a nivel institucional se consolide el modelo federal europeo. Para ellos, lo que se juega en las próximas Elecciones Europeas y, por tanto, en la próxima legislatura es si damos un paso más en la construcción federal europea o si por el contrario, ésta se queda como está y tiende a diluirse. Francisco Aldecoa Luzarraga Presidente de Eurocampus
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ÍNDICE 01 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Editorial 02 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... Centros de información europea en el PV 03 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... Estudiantes internacionales en Bizkaia 04-05 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Entrevista a Gorka Orueta 06 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Prestik 2018 07 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Programación Prestik Cuadernillo Central ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... Parlamenter 2018 08 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ Protección de datos a golpe de multas 09 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... La FP vasca, referente en Europa 10 ............................................................................................................................................................................................... Una oportunidad para el federalismo europeo 11 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Red EURES 12 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Entrevista a Charles Williams 13 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... El inglés en la Europa post-Brexit
CENTROS DE INFORMACIÓN EUROPEA EN EL PAÍS VASCO Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad del País Vasco
Lehendakari Aguirre, 83 48015 Bilbao Tel.: 94 6013651 Fax: 94 6013899 E-Mail: cde@ehu.es http://www.ehu.es/servicios/CDE
Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad de Deusto
c/ Ramón Rubial, 1 48009 Bilbao Tel.: 94 4139417 Fax: 94 4139284 E-Mail: bprado@iee.deusto.es http://www.iee.deusto.es Gobierno Vasco Álava
Dirección de Asuntos Europeos c/ Navarra, 2 01007 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel.: 945 01 81 28 Fax-a: 945 01 81 58 E-Mail: unioneuropea@euskadi.eus Diputación Foral de Álava
Plaza de la Provincia, s/n 01001 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel.: 945 181818 E-Mail: asuntoseuropeos1@alava.eus http://www.alava.eus Diputación Foral de Bizkaia
Capuchinos, 2 y 4 48013 Bilbao Tel.: 94 4068000 E-Mail: francisco.javier.lecanda@bizkaia.eus http://www.bizkaia.eus Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa
Plaza de Gipuzkoa 20004 Donostia-San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa)
Tel.: 943 112 290 E-Mail: igoiria@gipuzkoa.eus http://www.gipuzkoa.eus
EUDEL (Asociación de Municipios Vascos)
Plaza del Ensanche, 5 48009 Bilbao Tel.: 94 4231500 Fax: 94 4243947 E-Mail: eudel@eudel.eus http://www.eudel.eus
Cámara de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Bilbao
Basque-Enterprise Europe Network Gran Vía, 13 48001 Bilbao Tel.: 94 4706509 Fax: 94 4156275 E-Mail: eenbasque@camarabilbao.com http://www.camarabilbao.com http://www.eenbasque.net Cámara de Comercio, Industria y Navegación de Gipuzkoa
Basque-Enterprise Europe Network Avda. de Tolosa, 75 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián Tel.: 943 000300 / 943 000309 E-Mail: eenbasque@camaragipuzkoa.com http://www.camaragipuzkoa.com http://www.eenbasque.net Cámara de Comercio e Industria de Álava
Basque-Enterprise Europe Network Eduardo Dato, 38 01005 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel.: 945 141800 E-Mail: eenbasque@camaradealava.com http://www.camaradealava.com http://www.eenbasque.net
JUNTA DIRECTIVA DE EUROCAMPUS: Francisco Aldecoa Luzarraga(Presidente) Eusebio Cadenas Cordero (Socio-fundador)
Eurobask
c/ Prado, 8 – 1 01005 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel.: 945 12 35 38 E-Mail: eurobask@eurobask.org www.eurobask.org Europe Direct Bizkaia
c/ Simón Bolivar, 8B 48010 Bilbao Tel.: 946 072 528 E-Mail: europedirect@fundacionede.org www.europedirectbizkaia.org Centro Europe Direct Donostia
c/ Prim, 14 – 2 D 20006 Donostia-San Sebastian Tel.: 943 47 09 62 E-Mail: europedirect@kaebnai.net www.kaebnai.net Europe Direct HAZI
Granja Modelo Arkaute s/n 01192 Arkaute (Álava) Tel.: 945 00 32 08 E-Mail: jfernandez@hazi.es www.hazi.es Europe Direct Navarra
Ansoáin, en la Calle Berriobide 40, Oficina 001 Tel.: 948 20 66 97 E-Mail: europadirect@cederna.es http://www.cederna.eu/europa/ Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad de Navarra
Edificio de Derecho, Campus Universitario, 31080 Pamplona Spain Tel.: 948 42 56 34 E-Mail: cee@unav.es
COLABORADORES: Jon Lasa, Nuria Gil DISEÑO Y MAQUETACIÓN: Irene Urizar
Javier Sánchez Marcos (Socio-fundador) CONTACTO: SOCIOS: Irene Urizar, Ekain Rico, Juan Acedo, Nerea Marín, Pablo Jauregui, Leire Moure COORDINADOR: Javier Sánchez
C/ Licenciado Poza nº31, planta 7 48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia Depósito Legal: BI-2116-95
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Estudiantes internacionales en Bizkaia Bizkaia acoge cada año a centenares de estudiantes procedentes del extranjero gracias al programa Erasmus+
E
Jon Lasa
rasmus+ es el programa de la UE de apoyo a la educación, formación, juventud y deporte en Europa. Su presupuesto de 14.700 millones de euros ofrece oportunidades de estudio, adquisición de experiencia y voluntariado a más de 4 millones de europeos y europeas. El programa Erasmus+ se extiende hasta 2020 y no se dirige solo a los estudiantes. En él se han fusionado siete programas anteriores y ofrece oportunidades a una amplia variedad de personas y organizaciones. Así, Erasmus+ ofrece a personas de todas las edades la posibilidad de desarrollar y compartir conocimientos y experiencias en instituciones y organizaciones de distintos países. Asimismo, ofrece oportunidades a un amplio abanico de organizaciones, como universidades, centros de educación y formación, grupos de reflexión, centros de investigación y empresas privadas. Erasmus+ contribuye a la Estrategia 2020 para el crecimiento, el empleo, la justicia social y la inclusión, y a los objetivos del marco estratégico para la cooperación europea en el ámbito de la educación y la formación. Dentro del programa se plantean los siguientes temas específicos: reducir el desempleo, especialmente entre los jóvenes; fomentar la educación de adultos, especialmente en las nuevas competencias y calificaciones exigidas por el mercado laboral; animar a los jóvenes a participar en la vida democrática de Europa; apoyar la innovación, la cooperación y las reformas; reducir el abandono escolar; promover la cooperación y la movilidad con los países asociados de la UE.
Datos
El número de estudiantes procedentes del extranjero en Bizkaia supera ampliamente el millar, tal y como informan desde ESN Bilbao, la Red Internacional de Intercambio de Estudiantes Erasmus. Según ESN Bilbao, son 1257 los alumnos y alumnas venidos desde los cinco continentes a Bizkaia a cursar sus estudios, sin bien de los cuales 719 provienen de la beca Erasmus+ y los 538 restantes pertenecen a otros programas de movilidad. Lo cierto es que el número de visitantes Erasmus+ ha aumentado de manera significativa en los últimos años. Como se puede apreciar en la gráfica de a continuación, 111 alumnos y alumnas más de Erasmus+ estudiaron en el campus de Bizkaia de la UPV/EHU en el curso pasado, 2017-2018, en comparación con 2015-2016, a pesar de que hubiera un ligero descenso en relación a 2016-2017. Por otro lado, cabe señalar que en la década del 2000 hubo entre 100 y 200 estudiantes de Erasmus en la UPV/ EHU de Bizkaia y que ha sido en los últimos años cuando ha habido un repunte de visitantes internacionales en esta universidad.
PROGRAMA DE MOVILIDAD
ALUMNADO EXTRANJERO RECIBIDO PROGRAMA ERASMUS
2017/2018
ARABA
2016/2017
BIZKAIA
2015/2016
GIPUZKOA
TOTAL
Feliz Erasmus
Los y las estudiantes procedentes del extranjero en Bizkaia cuentan con varios lugares a los que acudir para saciar todo tipo de necesidades como visitantes. Uno de ellos es el anteriormente citado ESN, y el otro Happy Erasmus Bilbao, una asociación de estudiantes que busca promover la comunidad estudiantil de intercambio en Bilbao. “Creemos en la multiculturalidad y su riqueza, por lo que desde la asociación se promueven diferentes actividades para los estudiantes, así como viajes para que los estudiantes que visitan nuestra ciudad puedan enriquecerse con más conocimiento sobre nuestro país y sus gentes” cuentan desde Happy Erasmus Bilbao, integrada en la red nacional de Happy Erasmus. A lo largo de todo el año, la asociación organiza
todo tipo de actividades de ocio y culturales para
que los y las Erasmus+ pasen un año inolvidable. Viajes a ciudades y localidades de alrededor como
Azken bi urteetan, UPV/ EHUko Bizkaiko campusak 400 nazioarteko ikasle baino gehiago izan ditu unibertsitatean, beren ikasketak egin dituztenak bertan Erasmus+ programari esker
In the last two years, the Bizkaia Campus of the UPV /
Gijón, Oviedo, Lagos de Covadonga, Pamplona,
EHU has had more than 400
Marruecos…, cursillos de surf, kayak, semanas de-
international students in the
Zumaia, Burdeos, Portugal, Francia, Madrid, Toledo, portivas, barbacoas o cenas de Navidad son algunas de las propuestas a las que podrán apuntarse.
Pero no solo eso, ya que desde esta asociación
ayudan también a buscar alojamiento y a hacer la estancia más fácil a los y las estudiantes internacionales.
Más información: www.happyerasmusbilbao.com
university, who have completed their studies thanks to the Erasmus+ program
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“El Brexit nos afecta a todas las universidades que ofrecemos programas de movilidad con el Reino Unido”
Entrevista a Gorka Orueta Estibariz, Director de programas de movilidad de la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU) Markel Bilbao García Gorka Orueta Estibariz es el director de progra-
mas de movilidad de la UPV desde enero de 2017. Antes de ser nombrado para ese cargo, fue el vicedecano de movilidad de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y la Comunicación durante cinco años.
¿En qué consiste tu trabajo como director de programas de movilidad de la UPV/EHU? Mi trabajo como director consiste en la gestión de los diferentes programas de movilidad que tiene la UPV/EHU y que ofrece a la comunidad universitaria en general (alumnado, Personal Docente Investigador, Personal de Administración y Servicios, etcétera). Además, promovemos la colaboración de la UPV/EHU con otras universidades y siempre intentamos que dicha colaboración vaya a más. Por lo tanto, nos encargamos de las Relaciones Internacionales de la universidad con una función muy específica; la gestión y la promoción de la movilidad de estudios.
¿Cuáles son los distintos programas de movilidad que ofrece la UPV/EHU? ¿En qué se diferencian?
La UPV/EHU ofrece cuatro programas de movili-
dad, 3 de ellos internacionales (Erasmus+, UPV AL y
Otros Destinos) y uno nacional (SICUE). Respecto a los internacionales, tanto UPV AL, como Otros Destinos, son programas propios de la UPV/EHU que se
gestionan como el programa de la Comisión Europea conocido como Erasmus.
Sin embargo, existen diferencias en distintos as-
pectos. Por un lado, UPV AL (América Latina), Otros
El Director de programas de movilidad de la UPV/EHU, Gorka orueta Estibariz
de Crédito. La UPV/EHU también participa en este
programa y tenemos movilidad con Rusia, Georgia, Ucrania y Corea del Sur, entre otros.
pueden llevar la marca “Erasmus”, término que en
¿Cuántos estudiantes de la UPV/EHU participaron en programas de movilidad el año pasado?
Los países que participan en el programa Eras-
mino que se utiliza en la jerga de movilidad), en el
ropea, más Islandia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia del
Destinos y SICUE no tienen la ayuda económica que
ofrece el Erasmus. Además, estos programas no muchas ocasiones se utiliza mal.
Respecto al alumnado saliente u Outgoing (tér-
Respecto al alumnado entrante o Incoming, con-
seguimos que 1.415 estudiantes de universidades
de todo el mundo vinieran a la UPV a estudiar a tra-
vés de los diferentes programas de movilidad. De
los 1.415 estudiantes, 744 lo hicieron a través del Erasmus, 344 a través de UPV AL, 148 a través de Otros Destinos y 179 a través de SICUE.
mus+ son los Estados Miembros de la Unión Eu-
curso académico 2017 - 2018 conseguimos que 1.911 estudiantes de la UPV/EHU participaran en los
¿Cuántos profesores de la UPV/EHU participaron en programas de movilidad el año pasado?
Norte, Noruega y Turquía; también conocidos como
diferentes programas de movilidad que ofrecemos.
países del programa. Además, desde hace un par
De los 1.911 estudiantes, 1.141 colaboraron en el
El año pasado, alrededor de 70 profesores partici-
de años, el programa Erasmus+ permite la movili-
Erasmus, 385 en UPV AL, 74 en Otros Destinos. Los
paron en estos proyectos. En el caso del PDI (Perso-
dad con países de fuera de la UE, este programa es conocido como Erasmus+ Movilidad Internacional
311 311 alumnos y alumnas restantes participaron en el programa SICUE.
que suelen dar clase durante una semana. Este año
nal Docente Investigador), son estancias cortas en las ha incrementado la cifra y alrededor de 100 docentes
eurocampus van a poder impartir clase en diferentes universidades que formen parte del programa Erasmus+.
¿Cuáles son los países más solicitados en los programas de movilidad?
Italia es un país muy solicitado por el idioma y porque existe una relación histórica. Sin embargo, países como Alemania y Francia están siendo cada vez más solicitados. Todo depende de las aéreas de estudio del alumnado. Por ejemplo, Italia es un país muy solicitado por estudiantes de Educación y Alemania, en cambio, por los alumnos y las alumnas de las enseñanzas técnicas de la UPV/EHU.
¿Si fueras estudiante de la UPV/EHU y tuvieras que elegir un destino, ¿Cuál sería? ¿Por qué?
Yo elegiría una universidad de Norte de Europa en la que pudiera estudiar en inglés. Países como Holanda, Dinamarca y Reino Unido serían mis principales destinos por el habla inglesa y la calidad de vida. Pero, sobre todo, analizaría el programa de estudios de cada universidad para que hubiera una adecuación con mi carrera.
¿En qué consisten las becas que otorga la UPV/EHU a los estudiantes que deciden hacer un programa de movilidad?
En el programa de movilidad Erasmus, el estudiante va a recibir una ayuda en función del país de destino. Estas ayudas suelen ser de entre 200 y 300€ al mes, con un máximo de 7 meses. Si el año anterior a la realización de la movilidad el estudiante fue per-
ceptor de la Beca General de Estudios del Gobierno Vasco, tiene un suplemento extra de 200€ al mes durante el periodo que dure la beca (máximo 7 meses). Además, el Gobierno Vasco publica una convocatoria de becas de movilidad internacional cada curso académico, en noviembre. Estas ayudas pueden solicitarla solo los estudiantes que realicen movilidad ese curso académico. El objetivo del Gobierno Vasco es completar las becas Erasmus+ hasta los 330€ y proporcionar una ayuda económica a los estudiantes que participan en los otros programas de movilidad internacional. Por ejemplo, si un estudiante recibe 250€ de ayuda en el programa de movilidad Erasmus, el Gobierno Vasco le dará otros 80€ para completar su beca. Y si un estudiante recibe 200€ de la beca Erasmus, el Gobierno Vasco le dará 130€. También hay entidades privadas como Kutxabank que otorgan becas al alumnado que participa en los programas de movilidad. Aunque para recibir estas ayudas, es necesario reunir ciertas condiciones, como ser cliente de la entidad.
En las universidades privadas son pocos los estudiantes que optan a hacer un programa de movilidad ¿Por qué ocurre lo contrario en la UPV/EHU?
No sé cuáles pueden ser las razones. Hay que tener en cuenta que la UPV/EHU tiene muchos más alumnos y alumnas que las universidades privadas como Deusto y Mondragón. Pero también es cierto que, si fuéramos a la proporción de alumnos que
Diciembre 2018 participan en los programas de movilidad en las diferentes universidades, seguiría saliendo una cifra bastante más alta en la UPV/EHU que en los demás centros. En cualquier caso, lo que sí está claro es que tiene que haber una voluntad por parte de la institución para promover la movilidad del alumnado, cosa que ocurre en la Universidad del País Vasco. Asimismo, en todas las facultades hay trabajadores que apoyan y asesoran a los estudiantes en estos temas.
¿En qué aspectos le puede ayudar a un alumno participar en un programa de movilidad?
En término generales es una experiencia muy gratificante para cualquier estudiante, ya que mediante estos proyectos los alumnos y las alumnas realizan una estancia de estudios en una universidad de prestigio y otra cosa no menos importante: salen de su zona de confort. Y es que, cuando una persona cambia de aires y decide ir al extranjero a estudiar, aprende a valerse por sí misma. Además, los alumnos y las alumnas que deciden ir fuera a estudiar, tienen que abrir su mente y buscarse la vida. Son muchas las cosas que cambian: amigos, compañeros, profesores, método de estudio y de trabajo, etcétera. También aprenden a trabajar en contextos distintos y eso les ayuda a desarrollar una serie de competencias muy demandadas en el mercado laboral. Por lo tanto, la mayoría de los alumnos y alumnas aprenden y maduran mucho con esta experiencia.
¿Qué importancia tiene el idioma en un programa de estos?
El idioma es muy fundamental. Por eso, recomendamos a los estudiantes que nada más obtengan la plaza Erasmus estudien el idioma del país en el que realizan la movilidad o el idioma de instrucción de la clase. Por ejemplo, en el caso de un alumno o una alumna que va a ir a Italia a estudiar, es muy importante que empiece a practicar el italiano de antemano. Puesto que, las primeras semanas de adaptación en su nuevo destino pueden llegar a ser difíciles, y más aún si no controla bien la lengua.
Cuando un estudiante llega a su destino, ¿Qué es lo primero que debe hacer?
Una vez haya llegado a su destino y en el caso de que tenga alojamiento de antemano, lo primero que tiene que hacer un alumno o una alumna que participa en un programa de movilidad, es ir a la universidad de acogida. En dicho centro, tiene que reunirse con el coordinador de movilidad, con el que ya ha estado en contacto antes de ir. También tiene que asegurarse de que se ha matriculado correctamente y debe firmar los documentos de llegada y el acuerdo académico.
¿Qué recomendarías a un alumno o a una alumna que ha decidido ir a otro país a estudiar a través de uno de estos programas?
Es importante tener en cuenta que Erasmus+ es una movilidad de estudios. Por lo tanto, yo le reco-
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mendaría que aproveche al máximo la experiencia académica, pero también la personal. Por un lado, tiene que estudiar, trabajar y mejorar su expediente. Pero también tiene que aprovechar el cambio en su estilo de vida. Puesto que, para el estudiante todo es nuevo y tiene que aprender a buscarse la vida. Además, es una manera excepcional para mejorar y practicar un idioma. Por todas estas razones, y como he mencionado anteriormente, participar en un programa de movilidad incrementan tus posibilidades de encontrar un empleo. Por eso, el estudiante debe dar el 100% y beneficiarse de esta experiencia.
¿Cómo crees que puede afectar el Brexit en los programas de movilidad como el Erasmus+?
Poco a poco van llegando noticias positivas desde Reino Unido. Theresa May, primera ministra del Reino Unido, ha firmado un acuerdo con la Unión Europea sobre el Brexit y el Parlamento lo va a respaldar. En el caso de que no hubiera acuerdo con la Comisión Europea, el 30 de marzo de 2019 el Reino Unido abandonará la UE y dejarían de participar en el programa Erasmus+. El Brexit nos afectaría directamente a todas las universidades que ofrecemos programas de movilidad con el Reino Unido. Puesto que, todos los alumnos que están estudiando ahí a través de estos proyectos, tendrían que volver a su país de origen. Todo sería muy complicado y habría que analizarlo correctamente.
¿El Brexit, supondría un problema a la hora de intercambiar alumnos y profesores con el resto de los países europeos?
Este caso es muy parecido al de Suiza, que mediante un referéndum aprobó medidas que no facilitaban la libertad de circulación de personas. Como estas medidas iban en contra de la normativa Europea, se quedaron fuera del programa Erasmus. Las universidades suizas expresaron su voluntad de mantener los acuerdos que tenían con los demás centros universitarios del mundo y pasaron de hacer convenios Erasmus a hacer convenios bilaterales. Con el paso del tiempo, Suiza ha rehecho dichos acuerdos y ha pasado a formar parte de otro programa de movilidad llamado Otros Destinos. Dependiendo las formas en las que Reino Unido abandone la Unión Europea, las universidades de Reino Unido ya no podrían estar dentro del programa Erasmus y eso supondría un cambio importante en este tipo de proyectos. Al igual que hicimos con las universidades suizas, tendríamos que rehacer las relaciones con los centros universitarios de Reino Unido, y, por lo tanto, rehacer los convenios.
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Vuelve Prestik, con Erasmus como protagonista
Se celebrará los días 12 y 13 de diciembre en el Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao y reforzará su oferta dirigida a Erasmus y al emprendimiento Jon Lasa
La Feria de Empleo Prestik, que se celebra cada dos años, se desarrollará los próximos 12 y 13 de diciembre, miércoles y jueves, que en esta edición vendrá reforzada por una amplia oferta destinada a promover y defender el Erasmus, y un Salón de Emprendimiento de la Red Sarekin. El Palacio Euskalduna acogerá esta feria organizada por la Agencia Foral de Empleo y Emprendimiento DEMA (dependiente del Departamento Foral de Empleo, Inclusión Social e Igualdad) en la que se esperan alrededor de 10.000 visitantes, con un marcado compromiso por la igualdad en el empleo. La Diputada responsable del citado Departamento foral, Teresa Laespada, explicó recientemente que “Prestik y el Salón Sarekin serán un encuentro entre ciudadanía y agentes implicados por el empleo”. “Un encuentro a través del cual generar y difundir entre la ciudadanía conocimiento sobre la situación actual del empleo y del emprendimiento en Bizkaia, por la que pasan en cada edición cerca de 10.000 visitantes”, agregó. Esta será la sexta edición de la Feria Prestik, que este año cuenta con el apoyo financiero de Puerto Bilbao, Euskaltel y BBK Fundazioa. La feria se dirige a las personas de Bizkaia que deseen conocer las posibilidades de desarrollo profesional y laboral que existen actualmente a su disposición; a profesionales del sector del empleo y de la formación para el empleo que quieran estar al día de las novedades en su sector; y a empresas del entorno que quieran incrementar su cartera de perfiles profesionales conociendo profesionales que ofrecen sus candidaturas.
Erasmus
Esta sexta edición de Prestik estará también protagonizada por el programa de movimiento estudiantil Eramus+, con la participación, por ejemplo, de la Red Eures y Happy Erasmus, asociaciones dedicadas a facilitar su estancia a los y las estudiantes Erasmus. Así, el día 12 de diciembre un grupo de estudiantes Erasmus contará sus experiencias en un plató de televisión, estando la zona amenizada por un DJ, aperitivos y bebidas, para darle un ambiente festivo a esta localización. Pero también habrá diversas charlas sobre el tema, a cargo de Franciso Aldecoa (Presidente de la Asociación Cultural Eurocampus y Catedrático de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, “Erasmus. Un éxito de la UE”), Rafael Balparda (Coordinador de Formación de Centros de Trabajo, Emprendizaje y Orientación Laboral, “FP Erasmus+”), Humeira Shahid y Rana Nasim (“El nuevo eje económico del siglo XXI: oportunidades de empleo e inversión Asia-Europa”) y Alex Ramos (Happy Erasmus Bilbao, “Bilbao-Bizkaia es Erasmus”). Aldecoa, Ramos y Balparda participarán después en una mesa redonda con representantes de la UPV/EHU, Deusto y Mondragon.
Igualdad Para esta edición de Prestik, DEMA y el Departa-
mento Foral de Empleo, Inclusión Social e Igualdad
apuestan por poner el foco en el compromiso con
Bizkaiko lanaren eta ekintzailetzaren egoerez aritzeko aukera bikaina
la igualdad en el empleo a todos los niveles. Es por
da Prestik, non 10.000 pertsonen
mación, con actividades conferencias destinadas a
bisita espero den, ikasle, ekintzaile,
esto que la Feria Prestik contará, dentro de su progradifundir, pero también a tratar y debatir sobre la con-
profesional eta interesatuen artean,
La zona expositiva de la Feria de Empleo Prestik
abenduak 12 eta 13an, Euskalduna
secución real de la igualdad en el empleo.
contará con una amplia zona donde se representarán
los grandes hitos del itinerario hacia la empleabilidad que debe recorrer cualquier persona en búsqueda activa de empleo para conseguir el éxito.
Jauregian, aurten Erasmus izango delarik protagonistetako bat
En estas zonas expositoras se impartirán talleres
abiertos específicos, y habrá mesas de atención personalizada de orientación laboral, atendidas por las principales entidades que operan en el empleo en Bizkaia.
Además, habrá otras actividades como: ‘Tour del
Empleo’ , photocall de foto profesional para CV y grabación en video-speech de presentaciones profesionales; un ‘Tour del Emprendimiento’, que repre-
sentará a través de una charla dinámica e inspiradora el camino vital que debe recorrer cualquier idea de
negocio que quiera desarrollarse y conseguir el éxito
empresarial… Y también habrá una zona expositora dedicada al ámbito internacional, tanto de la forma-
ción como del empleo, con las instituciones más relevantes en este ámbito.
Prestik is a great opportunity to talk about Bizkaia’s work and entrepreneurship, where a visit of 10,000 people is expected, between students, entrepreneurs, professionals and interested parties, on December 12 and 13 at the Euskalduna Conference Center, with Erasmus as one of the protangonists
Programa área internacional Prestik 2018 Organiza:
Conferencias 12 de Diciembre Palacio Euskalduna
Patrocina:
Colabora:
09:30
10:00 “FP Erasmus +”
“Bilbao-Bizkaia es Erasmus”
Rafael Balparda
Inauguración institucional
Coordinador de Formación en Centros de Trabajo, Emprendizaje y Orientación Laboral
Alex Ramos
Happy Erasmus Bilbao
11:30 “El nuevo eje económico del siglo XXI: oportunidades de empleo e inversión Asia-Europa” Humeira Shahid y Rana Nasim
13:00
12:30
Mesa redonda: Erasmus + Presente y futuro
“Erasmus. Un éxito de la UE” Francisco Aldecoa Luzarraga Presidente Asociación Cultural Eurocampus y Catedrático de la UCM
10:30 - 11:30
Francisco Aldecoa (Asociación Cultural Eurocampus) n Alex Ramos (Happy Eramus Bilbao) n
Rafael Balparda (Coordinador de Formación en Centros de Trabajo, Emprendizaje y Orientación Laboral)
n
Xabier Txopitea (UPV) n Asier Ruiz Ramírez (Deusto) n Modesto Mateos (Universidad de Mondragon) n
Durante la mañana, un buen número de Erasmus pasarán por el plató de TV para contar su experiencia al mundo: “Bilbao-Bizkaia es Erasmus” Y por la tarde, de 16:00 y a 19:00: “El reto Erasmus: quedada Prestik18” Be happy, be Erasmus
PARLEMETER 2018
TAKING UP THE CHALLENGE FROM (SILENT) SUPPORT TO ACTUAL VOTE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With seven months to go, the Parlemeter 2018 shows a growing appreciation of the EU by Europeans and an improved awareness on the forthcoming EP elections. This well-founded optimism expressed by a silent majority can be the core of a
of the UK referendum to leave the EU and the still ongoing
is taking the wrong direction. 33% of respondents believe that
negotiations between the EU and the UK on both the with-
things are going in the right direction in their country, 28% be-
drawal agreement and the framework of the future relation.
lieve the same for the EU.
The Parlemeter 2018 takes stock of citizens’ opinions should a
Just over half a year ahead of the 2019 European elections,
similar referendum to leave the EU be held in their own coun-
the image of the European Parliament remains stable. While
positive European narrative that connects its citizens. One that
try. The positive attitude towards the European Union is clear-
32% of respondents hold a positive view of the European Par-
a broad majority of its citizens could back in a broad majority
ly reflected there: With a convincingly broad majority of 66%
liament, a relative majority of citizens remain neutral with 43%.
of Member States, delivering a contrasting narrative to a po-
Europeans would vote for their country to remain a member
A negative view towards the EP is held only by 21% of respon-
pulist clamour. The Parlemeter 2018 presents the results of the
of the EU. Only 17% would vote to leave, with 17 % showing
dents. Equally stable are results on the question whether citi-
survey as an opportunity to take up the challenge: From (silent)
as undecided.
zens would like to see a stronger role for the EP in the
support to actual vote. More than ever, European citizens see their country’s membership to the EU as a good thing. Not since the peak recorded between the fall of the Berlin Wall 1989 and the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty 1992 has this indicator reached as high a level as in the present survey: 62% of respondents on EU average believe that their country’s membership to the EU is a good thing. A majority of respondents in all 28 Member States also considers that their country has benefited from its EU membership. This opinion grew since the last survey in April 2018 by one percentage point and now registers at 68%, the highest result ever measured since 1983. Asked for the reasons why their country had benefited, on EU average economic factors top the list, together with the belief that the EU helps to maintain secure relationships with
future. After rather significant moves between 2015 and
A more ambivalent picture Trends over time also show a reinforcement of the Europeans’ level of satisfaction with the way democracy works in the EU (49%, +3 since April) - but also in their own country (58%, +3). This result comes together with a strengthened view by respondents that their voice counts in the EU. For the second time after April 2018, on EU average 48% of respondents agree with the statement that their voice counts in the EU. However, this stability at EU average is hiding a decreasing trend affecting more than half of EU Member States. In this vein and in contrast to the positive results from the above-mentioned indicators, other results from the Parlemeter 2018 also paint a more ambivalent picture. In spite of their significant support for their membership to the European Union
2017 calling for a stronger role of the EP, opinions are stabilising on EU average: Today, 48% of respondents would like a more important role for the EP in the future while 27% would prefer a less important role and 15% see no need for a change. Against this backdrop, the Parlemeter 2018 returns the highest support for the Euro as common currency recorded since 2004. On the eve of its 20th anniversary, Europeans confirmed their broad and constant support for the Euro: 61% on average across all EU countries are in favour of the Euro. This level increases to even 77% in the euro area itself, a plus of three percentage points since March 2018. The lowest level of support is recorded in seven countries all outside the euro area.
Bigger awareness about the European elections
other countries.
in general, half of respondents find that things in the EU are
The 2018 Parlemeter also takes a closer look at citi-
going in the wrong direction. In a reversal of the trend after its
zens’ views on the upcoming European Parliament elections,
Brexit, not the best choice
upturn in spring 2018, the share of respondents believing that
showing an overall increased awareness about the next ballot
Nearly all general indicators measuring support for the Eu-
things in the EU are going in the wrong direction is increasing
while painting a multi-coloured picture of opinions and attitu-
ropean Union showed a significant firming up in the aftermath
to 50% (+8pp), while 52% (+4pp) believe that their own country
des about the elections. In September 2018, 41% of Europeans
1
could call the correct date for the European elections in 2019,
to 7,5%), Croatia (from 10,9% to 8,5%), Greece (from 21,3% to
migration flows from outside the EU (including people risking
an unprecedented 9 point-increase over the last six months on
19,1% between June 2017 and June 2018) and Portugal (from
their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat) falls dispro-
EU average, boosted by two-digit improvements in ten Mem-
8,8% to 6,8%). Furthermore, this summer, Greece has turned a
portionately upon them as direct border countries. At the Salz-
ber States. It must be noted – and seen as wake-up call, that at
new page by bringing the stability programme to a suc-cessful
burg informal summit (18-19 September), EU leaders discussed
the same time on average 44% (-6 pp) of Europeans could still
close. The solidarity shown by the European partners and the
the latest developments in this com-plex area. Taking note that
not say when the next European elections would take place. In
efforts of the Greek people have laid the basis for this sustai-
the number of irregular arrivals of migrants had been reduced,
addition, the expressed likelihood to vote in the next European
nable upturn.
the heads of state or government agreed to deepen their mi-
elections remains extremely stable since April 2018. In Septem-
Spitzenkandidaten processNine months ahead of the Eu-
gration cooperation with Egypt and other African coun-tries,
ber 2018, 31% say they would certainly vote (scoring 10 on a
ropean Elections 2019, and just over a year before a new Eu-
fight illegal migration and strengthen the external borders.The
scale from 1 to 10) and another 18% would be likely to do so
ropean Com-mission takes over from Juncker’s team, the race
European Parliament, for its part, had several times called for
(scoring 8 or 9). Conversely, 33% say that they will most likely
to become the next European Commission president formally
an overhaul to ensure a robust, fair sys-tem for the future and
not participate in the ballot (scoring between 1 to 5).
began in September. Several candidates have officially announ-
urged EU governments to reach a common position on the re-
In September 2018, 51% of the citizens declare to be in-
ced than they would seek the nomination of their European
vamp of the Dublin system6.
terested in the forthcoming European elections overall stable
party to become its official Spitzenkandidat. First established
in a majority of Member States yet within a very wide range of
in 2014 during the selection process that saw Juncker emerge
expressed levels of interest. Citizens’ campaign priorities, on
as President of the European Commission, this renewed Spit-
the other hand, have evolved over the past six-month period.
zenkandidat process aims again at ensuring that, based on the
Today, immigration (50%), economy and growth (47%) as well
results of the European elections, a lead candidate will be elec-
as combatting youth unemployment (47%) top the list of Eu-
ted President of the Commission by the European Parliament,
ropeans’ most salient campaign topics. Terrorism moves down
after being for-mally proposed by heads of state or govern-
the list from first to fourth at 44% (-5 points). Here again, it is
ment, who will take account of the outcome of the European
indispensable to look behind the European average figures at
elections.In February, the European Parliament confirmed its
the national results, as the order of topics not only changes sub-
position to only elect a Spitzenkandidat as Commission Pre-
ject according to international context but even more so in the
sident4. At the time, Members warned that Parliament will be
context of the various national settings.
ready to reject any candi-date who was not appointed as a ‘Spit-
Asked about policy topics citizens would want the Euro-
zenkandidat’ in the run-up to the European elections.
pean Parliament to give priority to, economic and social issues come out top, together with the fight against terrorism. With a
Brexit
stable 41% of citations, combating poverty and social exclusion
As for the United Kingdom and the ongoing Brexit negotia-
is the first most cited item, followed by youth unemployment
tions, despite some progress on post-Brexit security and defen-
(33%, +2). The results are thus quite in line with the campaign
ce arrangements between Britain and the European Union, the
priority topics as expressed by respondents.
issue of the Irish border and trade ties remained unresolved. At
When it comes to the values to be defended by Parliament
the informal meeting of the European Council in Salzburg (18-
as matter of priority, 46% of Europeans choose protection of
19 September), while the United Kingdom and the European
human rights worldwide, followed by equality between men
Union both maintain that a deal is the most likely outcome, EU
and women (40%), freedom of speech (38%) and solidarity be-
27 leaders reconfirmed their full unity in contrast with UK’s po-
tween Member States (30%).
litical class.After the Salzburg summit, the decisive moment for Brexit negotiations will be probably the October meeting of the
CONTEXT As with every survey of this kind, understanding context at a national, European and international level is key to a proper placement and thus understanding of the results.On Wednesday 12 September 2018, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, delivered his last State of the Union Address at the European Parliament1. This speech came ahead of the 2019 European elections and in the midst of the ongoing debate about the future of the European Union at 27. Economic recovery President Juncker started his address in Strasbourg underlining that “ten years after Leh-man Brothers, Europe has largely turned the page on an economic and financial crisis which came from outside but which cut deep at home. Europe’s economy has now grown for 21 con-secutive quarters
European Council. Another, extraordinary summit meeting in November is likely, leaving just enough time for a ratification process by EU Member States and the European Parliament.
Terrorism The number of terrorist attacks resulting in fatalities in the European Union has considerably decreased over the last months. While the reinforced cooperation between EU countries on information sharing might have helped to prevent further attacks, stop them or limit their impact, continuous vigilance remains required.
Data protection The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adopted in April 2016 at EU level, applies fully in all EU Member States as of 25 May 2018. The rules aim to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches in an increasingly data-driven world, while creating a clearer and more consistent framework for businesses. These stronger rules will allow EU citizens to have more control over their personal data while protecting them from abuse.
Natural disasters The summer of 2018 saw unpredictable weather events moving from one extreme to the other, causing both heatwaves and flooding in various European countries. An intense heat wave swept over Europe, triggering deadly fires in several Member States. In Greece, a state of emergency was declared. Roaring temperatures and weeks of drought contributed to major wildfires in Sweden, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK were affected by heavy rain, with hail, snow
Until then, the UK and the EU hope to have solved all remai-
and strong winds in some areas between 29 April and 30 April.
ning open issues in order to find agreement on the With-drawal
Later this sum-mer, several countries in central Europe were hit
Agreement and a political declaration on the framework for the
by severe flooding. Extreme rainfall caused rivers across the re-
future relationship, thus avoiding the risk of a no-deal Brexit.
gion, particularly Danube and Elbe, to break their banks. People
On 14 March 2018, the European Parliament adopted, with 544
living in affected regions in Austria, Bulgaria Czech Republic,
votes in favour and 110 against, a resolu-tion5 setting out its po-
Germany, Hungary and Slovakia were evacuated from their ho-
sition on Brexit. The text makes clear that the United Kingdom
mes. A summer of temperature extremes with record heat wa-
cannot receive the same benefits from the European Union
ves and extreme rainfall and flooding keeps the debate about
when it is no longer a member.
climate change and its consequences also in Europe fully alive.
Migration
Climate change is gradually becoming understood as something that might impact on many aspects of Europeans’ lives.
.Jobs have returned, with almost 12 million new jobs created
Along with Brexit, migration has dominated the European
since 2014.”2 Indeed, according to Eurostat3, the EU28 unem-
news of the last months. The Austrian gov-ernment has made
ployment rate was 6,8% in August 2018, stable compared with
this issue a top priority of its European Union Council presiden-
During the past months, several elections and major poli-
July 2018 and down from 7,5% in August 2017. This remains the
cy. Three years after Europe’s biggest influx of migrants and re-
tical changes took place across the EU. On 21 May, Italy’s an-
lowest rate recorded in the EU28 since April 2008.Among Mem-
fugees since the Second World War, and although the number
ti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League
ber States, the lowest unemployment rates in August 2018 were
of migrants arriving in the European Union has sharply declined
proposed Giuseppe Conte, a civil lawyer and academic, as the
recorded in the Czech Re-public (2,5%), Germany and Poland
from their 2015-16 peak, divergences of opinion between EU
country’s new Prime Minister to lead their government. A few
(both 3,4%). The highest unemployment rates were observed
Member States over how to handle irregular immigration from
days later, on 1 June, Giuseppe Conte was sworn in as Prime
in Greece (19,1% in June 2018) and Spain (15,2%). Compared
outside the EU welled up again this summer.Especially sou-
Minister of Italy after a last-ditch coalition deal had ended mon-
to a year ago, unemployment rate fell in all EU Member States.
thern EU countries (including Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and
ths of political deadlock and narrowly avoided snap elections.
The largest decreases were registered in Cyprus (from 10,5%
Spain) increasingly highlighted that the burden of coping with
The government won confidence votes in the Senate (171-117)
Elections and other political developments
2
on June 5 and the Chamber of Deputies (350-236) on June 6.A
donia’s Zoran Zaev agreed that the former Yugoslav republic’s
than six respondents in ten, find that being a member of the EU
motion of no confidence in the Spanish government of Mariano
new name for both domestic and international purposes would
is a good thing for their country (+2 percentage points since
Rajoy (PP) was held between 31 May and 1 June 2018. Maria-
be “Republic of Northern Macedonia”.
April 2018).
no Rajoy, who refused to resign before the vote, became the first Spanish Prime Minister to be ousted by a no-confidence motion, while Pedro Sanchez (PSOE) became the first Spanish Prime Minister to be appointed without previously having won an election. The motion passed with 180 deputies voting in favour and 169 against (one abstained).Furthermore, on 14 May, a new president of Catalonia, Joaquim Torra, was voted in, by the slimmest of mar-gins, with 66 votes to 65, with four abstentions, ending months of political stalemate and legal wrangles over the formation of the region’s government. In his investiture speech, Torra called Carlos Puigdemont, who fled the country shortly after the unilateral declaration of independence in October last year, the true President of Catalonia.General elections were held in Sweden on Sunday 9 September 2018 to elect the members of the Riksdag. With all ballots counted, the governing centre-left coalition came out marginally ahead of the centre-right Alliance, with around 40% each. The Sweden Democrats (SD) have won about 18% of the vote, up from 12,9% in the previous election. On 25 September, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (Social Democratic Party) lost a vote of confidence in the Riksdag. Having been Prime Minister for four years, he will continue in a caretaker role until a new government can be formed that has a majority support in the Riksdag. The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS),and his leader Janez Janša, emerged in first position from parlia-mentary elections held in Slovenia on 3 June 2018. Almost three months later, on 17 August, Slovenia’s parliament approved former comedian Marjan Sarec as new Prime Minister, after five parties had joined forces to keep SDS out of power. The elections had originally expected to be held on 10 June 2018, but after the resignation of Prime Minister Miro Cerar on 14 March 2018 all parties had called for snap elections. In Czech Republic, President Miloš Zeman formally appointed Andrej Babiš as Prime Minister on June 6, ending eight months of political deadlock. Babiš, whose ANO party was the runaway winner of an election in October 2017 but lacked a majority, had been ruling in a caretaker capacity since January when his one-party minority cabinet lost a confidence vote in the lower house.During the month of August, tens of thousands of Romanians who live and work across Europe gathered in the centre of Bucharest to protest against alleged government corruption. While similar demonstrations took place in every major city in Romania, only in the capital police resorted to force. Romania has been seeing frequent protests over the past eighteen months. During the fieldwork of this present survey, the European Parliament voted on 12 September in favour of triggering an Art.7 procedure against Hungary. After a lively debate with Prime Minister Viktor Orban in plenary, Parliament voted for the first time to trigger this procedure against a EU Member State. On 8 May, Viktor Orban had been re-elected as Prime Minister by the Hungarian parliament, starting his third consecutive and fourth overall term as leader of Hungary. On 25 May, Irish voters overwhelmingly, with two-thirds in favour, backed repealing Ireland’s abortion ban, paving the way for lawmakers to pass new legislation on one of the most divisive issues in the history of the country. Last, but not least, FYROM and Greece have reached a deal to resolve their 27-year old dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name. On 12 June, Greece’s Alexis Tsipras and Mace-
3
International stage At June’s Turkish presidential elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected president and thus granted more sweeping powers than ever before. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has won a new five-year termafter securing outright victory in the first round, receiving nearly 53% of the votes, while his closest rival, Muharrem Ince, only received 31% of the votes. On 1 July, Mexican voters overwhelmingly backed Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the presidential elec-tions, with at least 54 percent of voters casting their ballot for the candidate of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA).
A look at a closer timeframe shows that this indicator has had a positive trend since 2011, and in particular since autumn 2014, after the last European elections. The EP’s eighth legislature has thus witnessed an almost continuous improvement of this result. Compared to the most recent measurement in April 2018, some significant moves are visible at a national level. EU membership is increasingly perceived as positive in 18 EU countries, reaching or exceeding the 75% threshold in Luxembourg (87%), Ireland (85%) Germany (81%), Netherlands (78%), Sweden (77%) and Denmark (75%). A significant evolution can be measured in Sweden, where the EU is seen as a good thing by
On 7 May, Vladimir Putin was sworn in for his fourth term as
an additional 9 percentage points. This is not only the most im-
President of Russia in a ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace.
portant evolution of this indicator over the past six months, it
He has been in power for 18 years, both as President as well as
also marks Sweden’s highest ever recorded level since 2007.
Prime Minister.
Positive developments can also be noted in 9 of the 14 Member
On 6 August, Donald trump reimposed economic sanctions on Iran which the Obama administration had lifted when it signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on 14 July 2015, the anticipated next step following Trump’s announcement to leave the deal on 8 May. The Iranian Nuclear agreement had been signed by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (Chi-na, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) plus Germany and the European Union. On 12 June, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have become the first sitting US president and North Korean leader to meet, an unprecedented development after a year of exchanging threats. After the Singapore summit, the leaders signed a comprehensive document, promising a new relationship between the nations.
EVER GREATER SUPPORT TO EU MEMBERSHIP
States that currently rank below the EU average. In Croatia the EU as a good thing is now seen again by a majority of 44% of respondents (+8 pp vs. ‘neutral’ at 41%, -8pp), +6 pp in France (61%) and +5 in Czech Republic (39%) although not inversing opinions in this case, as 42% of Czech respondents have a neutral perception of EU membership (-4). On average in the EU, just above one respondent in ten sees their country’s membership in the EU as a “bad thing” (11%, -1 pp) while a stable 25% continue to hold a neutral view, believing it is “neither a good nor a bad thing”. Support for EU membership as measured by this indicator deteriorates in seven countries, mainly in Ro-mania where it loses 10 points (49%) with the negative view increasing by 7 points to 21%. This drop in support in Romania is particularly unprecedented over the last decade, coming from a level of 71% recorded in the country in 2007 while since then fluctuating through the years. Support for membership remains stable
One of the traditional key indicators to measure European
in Greece, Cyprus and Poland. The relatively largest proportion
citizens’ attitude towards the European Union is the question
of negative views on EU Membership are returned in the United
whether country’s membership of the EU is a ‘good thing’ or a
Kingdom (22%, -1), Romania (21%, +7), Greece (20%, 1) and in
‘bad thing’. In the Parlemeter 2018, the share of respondents
Italy (18%, +1). A neutral view, i.e. “neither a good nor a bad
believing that their country’s membership in the EU is a good
thing” reaches its highest levels in Czech Republic (42%, -4),
thing reaches its highest value since 1992: Today 62%, more
Croatia (41%, -8) and Italy (37%, -1) and Slovakia (37%, -1).
Being a member of the EU is a benefit for my country, say citizens ... While the above discussed indicator measures support for EU membership rather on an emo-tional level, the following indicator adds a more reflective line to the picture. Being asked whether respondents believe that their country has benefited from EU Membership, results show, in line with the record support for ‘EU membership being a good thing’, that an increasing share of Eu-ropeans also consider that their country has benefited from being a member of the EU. Indeed this indicator again returns, after April 2018, its best results since the question was first asked in 1983. A majority of European citizens in 27 Member States believe that their country has benefited from being a member of the EU, reaching 68% on average (+1 pp since April 2018). One European respondent in four considers that their country has not benefited from being an EU member (24%, +1). Only in Italy this view holds a relative majority with 45% (+4) vs 43% “benefited” (-1). In all 27 other EU countries, a majority considers that their country has benefited from its EU membership, ranking from a maximum of 92% in Ireland to 54% in Greece - still well above an absolute majority.In 18 EU countries this view remained stable or improved; to its largest extent of both +7 points in Sweden (73%) and the United Kingdom (60%). While this increase in the UK it worth noting on its own, it is equally interesting to see that the British share of “don’t know” answers has been decreasing significantly on this question, possibly indicating that more and more people express an opinion on whether or not their country has benefited from its EU membership. Potentially asked for the last time on this topic in a Eurobarometer survey, the share for “don’t know” dropped by 9 points in the UK to 10%. 30% (+2) of British respondents consider that their country has not benefited from the EU. This is amongst the highest scores for the negative view among all EU Member States, together with Romania (30%, +7 for ‘not benefited’) and following Austria (31%, -7), Cyprus (37%, -3), Greece (40%, +3) and Italy (45%, +4).
... and they also say why As the question whether or not respondents believe that their country has benefited from being a member of the EU necessitates a certain amount of reflection, it is only logical to also ask, as a follow-up, for the concrete reasons citizens might have to believe their country has indeed benefited. While results differ from country to country, on EU average economic factors top the list, together with the belief that the EU helps to maintain secure relationships with other countries. Among those who believe that EU membership has been beneficial (68% on EU average), the most often expressed reason is that ‘the EU contributes to economic growth in their country’ with a support of 38% (+2 pp compared to September 2017). At least one respondent in two in the Netherlands (57%, +1), Estonia and Lithuania (both at 51%, respectively +2 and +9 percentage points since 2017) named this argument first. Significant increases for this answer over the past year can be noted with a +10 pp for Portugal (38%), +9 pp for Poland (46%),
The good cooperation between EU Member States matters
rrency. Moreover, the euro has be-come a tangible part of
most for Dutch respondents, with 61% of ci-tations (-1), while
European identity and one of the greatest achievements of
being least cited in Romania (16%, -2). ‘The EU brings (NATIO-
European integration.
NALITY) people new work opportunities’ is the most cited rea-
Since 2004, the Eurobarometer monitors European citi-
son in Bulgaria and Croatia (both 59%, respectively +7 and +13
zens’ support for their currency. The long-term trend shows
since 2017). This answer also reaches 57% in Czech Republic (+6), but is the least cited in the Netherlands with only 15%. The contribution to maintaining peace and strengthening security is most mentioned in Greece (51%, +2) and in Germany (45%, +2). The next cited reasons are as well related to stability and economy: Europeans citizens mention at 22% on average that ‘the EU gives our people a stronger say in the world’ and ‘the EU improves our people’s standard of living’. The former answer is most mentioned in France, at 34% (=) and the least in Latvia
Croatia and Sweden (both 37%) and +8 pp for Luxembourg
(9%, -3). The latter is most cited in Ireland at 42% (+1) and the
(45%). The two following arguments equally record 31% on
least in Sweden, at 5% (+1).
average, namely ‘membership of the EU improves co-operation between our country and the other countries of the EU’ and ‘the
Strongest support for the Euro since 2004
that despite highs and lows European citizens have never lost confidence in the euro. Results from the Parlemeter 2018 survey now return the highest support within the Eurozone area since 2004 with 77% of citizens being in favour of “a European economic and monetary union with one single currency, the euro”, a plus of three percentage points since March 2018. Only 18% of respondents within the euro area declared themselves against this statement. Looking at the average responses from all EU Member States, support for the Euro remains stable at a high, near-record level of 61%, while 33% of respondents on EU average voice their opposition to the euro, almost stable (+1 since spring 2018), on a relatively low level compared to the
EU brings (NATIONALITY) people new work opportunities’, fo-
Shortly before its twentieth anniversary, the euro is enjo-
long-term trend.From these data it seems clear that the single
llowed with 30% of replies on average by ‘the EU contributes to
ying wide and stable support among European citizens. The
currency indeed offers protection and opportunities to Euro-
main-taining peace and strengthening security’.
single currency has become the world’s second reserve cu-
peans, and that a strong and stable euro area is essential for a
4
majority of Eurozone citizens as well as for the EU citizens as a
and by 12 points in the UK (to 71%). There is also a 7-point
positive development in Spring 2018, is mirrored also in the re-
whole.
increase in Estonia (62%).
sults for the situation on national level. The indicator measures how respondents assess the way
Individual country level support for a European economic and monetary union with one single currency vary considerably between countries of the EU as a whole and the Eurozone member states. A majority of respondents support the euro in 21 EU Member States, led by Ireland (88%), Luxembourg (87%), Slovenia and the Netherlands (both 86%). Majorities of respondents against “a European economic and monetary union with one single currency, the euro” can be found in seven EU Member States, all outside the euro area: Czech Republic (75%), the United Kingdom (69%), Sweden (63%), Poland (62%), Croatia (60%), Denmark (59%) and Bulgaria (53%). Since spring 2018, support for the single currency has gained ground in 14 EU Member States, namely by 13 points in Malta, 6 points in Austria, Netherlands and Luxembourg, 5 points in Denmark and Spain, 4 points in Finland, France, Ireland, Italy and Sweden, 3 points in Slovakia and 2 points in Greece and Slovenia. Conversely, support for the Euro lost ground in 11 EU Member States, namely by 11 points in Romania, 10 points in Croatia, 6 points in Lithuania, 5 points in Poland, 4 points in Hungary and the United Kingdom, 3 points in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Portugal, and 2 points in Bulgaria.
Citizens see their voice counts in the EU As in April 2018, and for the first time in over more than fifteen years, a majority of Europeans consider that their voice counts in the EU. This average figure, however, is hiding a decreas-ing trend that affects more than half of EU Member States. Although by a slim margin only, the Parlemeter 2018 confirms the inversion of curves as already shown in April 2018 with regard to citizens’ opinion on whether or not their voice counts in the EU. The September 2018 results stabilize at 48% on EU average, whereas 47% believe that this is not the case (+1). This
things are going in both their own country and in the EU. Answer options include ‘in the right direction’, ‘in the wrong direction’ or ‘neither one nor another’. Since 2015, the share of respondents chosing the third option, i.e. not positioning themselves, decreased, resulting in an increase of optimistic answers constituting a solid share of views expressing that things in the EU were indeed going in the right direction. This positive trend was noticeable until April 2018 and could have been attributed to a renewed sense of optimism about the economy and the future. Yet the latest results for this indicator show a suddent
year’s scenario is a first, as far as the question was asked in the
reversal of trends: The share of respondents, on EU average,
Eurobarometer: Back in 2002, only 21% of respondents consi-
believing that things in the EU are rather going in the wrong
dered that their voice counted in the EU. Over the last sixteen
direction is increasing up to an absolute ma-jority. This holds
years of measurement, the EU democracy therefore witnessed a
true for both variants of the questions, i.e. when being asked
slow but steady increase of citizens feeling that their own voice
to consider the EU and their own country. The view that the EU
indeed counts in the EU. A trend analysis reveals that also the
is taking the wrong direction now constitutes a majority in 18
response rate7 increased over time, benefit-ing mainly the po-
Member States. Increases for this opinion are recorded in 26
sitive opinion on this specific question. As this study will show in
EU Member States, with the exception of Hungary (42%, stable)
the next section when discussing citizens’ opinion on the direc-
and Croatia (minus 4 points for ‘wrong direction’ to 42%).
tion things are going in the EU, an increased response rate does not always reinforce positive views.
Largest increases for the opinion according to which the EU is going in the wrong direction are measured in Romania (41%,
Nevertheless, the true picture as always only emerges when
+15 pp), France (59%, +13 pp), Germany (52%, +13 pp) and
wStarting from 85% support for remain in Ireland and Lu-
looking in detail at national results. The stable result of 48% for
Slovenia (42%, +13 pp). This view increased by ten percentage
xembourg, three quarters of respondents answered ‘remain’ in
the EU average is actually backed up by increases in a hand-
points in the Netherlands (44%) and by nine percentage points
Sweden (83%), Germany (82%), the Netherlands (80%), Den-
ful of countries only. At the same time, positive returns for ‘my
in Belgium (61%), Italy (58%) and the UK (54%). A similar develo-
mark (77%) as well as in Poland (75%). An absolute majority
voice counts in the EU’ have begun to decline in many more
pment can be observed in Austria (45%, +4), currently holding
would vote in favour of remain in 26 Member States. Noticea-
countries - currently 16 out of 28 EU Member States.
the rotating Presidency of the EU Council, and in Sweden (48%,
A view on Brexit and its consequences
ble here is again the result for the UK, where 53% of respon-
And it is again Sweden that stands out with the strongest
+3) where all other EU indicators have been skyrocketing over
dents (aged 15 and above) would vote in favour of remain, 35%
improvement of positive results: with an increase of +10 per-
the last 6 months. Looking at the perception citizens have about
would vote in favour of leave and 12% said that at the point of
centage points the share of respondents believing that their
the direction things are taking in their own country, views take
the interview they were not sure what to do. This share for the
voice counts in the EU now registers at 90%. 83% of Danish
an equally negative trend across the board, although to a so-
undecided respondents in the UK - the seventh-smallest com-
respondents (+3) and 76% of Dutch respondents (-3) share this
mewhat lesser extent than regarding the EU.
pared with the other EU countries - might well be a sign of a
view on the top of the list. More than fifty percent of respondent
A deeper analysis indicates that economic factors would
settling of views after the preceding months of negotiations.
are registering in a total of 13 countries sharing this positive
not seem to impact the way people evaluate the direction in
view, includ-ing France and Malta, where this position has be-
which the EU is going. No statistical correlation can be found
come an absolute majority (respectively 53%, +4 and 51%, +2).
between positive views about the direction of things in the EU
Democracy works, both in the EU and back home Europeans share an improved feeling of satisfaction with the way democracy works both in the EU and in their country. This feeling of satisfaction with democracy - in both instances - improved the most in the United Kingdom since April 2018. Close to every second respondent across the EU believes that the European democracy works well (49%, +3 since April 2018), further supporting the overall increasing favourability towards the EU. While results for satisfaction with the way national democracy works are traditionally higher, with 58% (+3) in this survey, it is worth noting that an equal share of respondents are not satisfied with democracy in the EU or in their country, respectively at 40% (-2) and 39% (-3). At the same time a larger difference can be observed in the share of ‘don’t know’ answers, reaching only 3% for the national level and 11% for the European level. Two countries stand out when analysing results: Sweden returns an 8 pp improvement of the level of satisfaction with European democracy to
However, the positive trend does not seem to reach as many
and the GDP per capita in the EU Member States.
countries as in April 2018. Indeed, six months later the propor-
There is also no clear correlation between ‘going in the
tion of respondents who consider that their voice does not
right direction’ and the perceptions citizens have on social in-
count in the EU is increasing in 18 Member States overall. While
equalities in their country. As economic indicators would not
changes are within the margin of error in eight of these coun-
seem helpful to understand the overall picture, political fac-
tries, in some others the negative trend is stronger pronounced:
tors might possibly corroborate the decreasing trend. Indeed
For instance, in Italy 72% of respondents (+11) believe that their
a cross-analysis reveals that both the image of the EU and the
voice does not count in the EU. Similar results are recorded for
satisfaction about the way democracy works in the EU play a
Portugal at 60% (+9), Romania (58%, +8) and Greece (83%, +7).
role when it comes to evaluating the way things are going in the
A socio-demographic analysis indicates that the level of educa-
EU. Conversely, the interest respondents have for politics does
tion has the biggest impact on the feeling whether one’s voice
not enter into account.
counts in the EU. Respondents with such a positive view would predominantly also have a very open attitude towards the EU, be satisfied with the way de-mocracy works in the EU, and tend
The next two bar charts illustrate the diversity of attitudes among EU Member States and the impact of national context on citizens’ perceptions. Sweden stands out throughout this re-
to trust political parties more than the average.
port with a significantly improved favourability towards the EU:
Trend reversal for things going in the right direction?
EU’, ‘EU membership is a good thing’ or ‘satisfaction with EU
since April 2018, key markers such as ‘my voice counts in the
61%, the UK an even more marked improvement of 9 pp to
The warning signs regarding citizens’ views on whether
democracy’ increase drastically. The legislative elections that
47%, close to the EU average of 49%. Similar improvements
their voice counts in the EU are com-plemented by the results
took place on September 9, at the very beginning of the field-
can be observed in the Netherlands (58%, +7), Luxembourg
on citizens’ assessment whether things are going in the right or
work, might have played a role in these marked improvements
(68%, +6) and Portugal (61%, +6). Results for Sweden and
wrong direction. Contrasting the positive trends on EU mem-
in answers.
the UK also return the largest developments across the EU
bership and citizens’ satisfaction with the way democracy works,
In Romania, which will be the next rotating Council presi-
for the level of satisfaction with the way democracy works
half of the respondents seem to find that things in the EU are
dency, the turbulent national context that the country knows
in their country, improving by 7 points in Sweden (to 87%)
going in the wrong direction. This trend reversal, after a slight
since August seems to be affecting also its traditionally higher
5
sh respond-ents want a more important role for the institution, believing to the level of 90% that their voice counts in the EU.
TAKING UP THE CHALLENGE: FROM (SILENT) SUPPORT TO ACTUAL VOTE While the support for EU membership keeps on rising and perceived favourability towards the EU project is back on track, feelings of uncertainty about the future remain high, coupled by distrust in institutions and political parties. In this context, the upcoming European elections in 2019 are both a challenge and an opportunity. Looking at the challenge, developments in both political landscapes and public opinion show that a pop-ulist clamour, distrust in politics and expressions of discontent seem to dominate the public discourse. At the same time, recent Eurobarometer data demonstrates that citizens are also clearly aware that everyday matters relating to their personal life and circumstances indeed relate to wider contexts surpassing mere local and EU support indicators. Ro-mania is shaken by various protests
next European elections, 32% of respondents have a positive
against the government to denounce corruption and the judi-
image of the European Parliament, while 43% of respondents
ciary overhaul. The national discontent seems to reflect on the
contin-ue to hold a neutral view. As in 2017, only one in five
perception Romanian respondents expressed about the EU in
respondents has a negative image of the EP (21%).
this survey, illustrated in the decreasing indicators showed below.
Perceived social inequalities, today and tomorrow Despite economic indicators turning green again, Europeans still perceive social inequality as a pressing issue. They also have the feeling that this will not improve in the near future. At EU level, 81% of citizens believe that currently social inequalities are still important. 64% feel that these social inequalities will be even more important in 5 years’ time. At national level, a majority of citizens in all Member States considers that inequalities are deep-rooted in the society although at a different degree: scores range from 91% in Spain and France to 56% in Czech Republic. The outlook towards future inequalities is uncertain and differs from country to country. Interestingly, Member States where perceptions are very strong today are not always among the ones having the most pessimistic view of the future. In this context, it is worth comparing these results with Eurostat data on cur-rent income distribution. This indicator puts in perspective the proportion of the 20% richest segment of the population with the 20% of the population with the lowest income. This comparative analysis shows that the perceptions of inequalities do not match with real economic disparities. While public perception and realities may often diverge, in this specific case the concept of social inequality most probably opens up to impressions which encompass different social factors not always easy to gauge.
However, these European average figures again hide major evolutions at a national level, where in 25 EU Member States the positive image of the EP in the eyes of their citizens outweighs the negative image, with the exception of France, the UK and Czech Republic. A massive 18 point-increase is recorded in Sweden, where an absolute majority now has a positive image of Parliament (50%), on a par with Ireland (50%, -2). 48% of respondents want the European Parliament to play a more important role in the future, a nearly stable result compared to 2017 (+1 pp). 15% of respondents spontaneously declared that they want it to remain as it is now (-1 pp), 27% would like the Parliament to play a less important role in the future (=). The call for a more important role is the majority position in 23 Member States. National variations are again very present
national spheres. Confirming this framework, the last European Parliament Eurobarometer pub-lication ‘Delivering on Europe’ clearly showed that citizens increasingly keep on calling for more EU action in a broad range of policies, notably those that matter most to them. At the same time, they expect the European Union to be a united and strong actor when responding to international challenges8. The up-coming European elections are therefore also an opportunity for the European Union to take even closer heed of citizens’ expectations and turn their wishes of a rather silent majority into loud voices in the ballot. In the light of these reflections, this chapter sheds light on the knowledge that citizens have about the upcoming European elections and their attitudes towards them. While exploring the level of interest in the ballot, the analysis focuses on the topics Europeans would like to see debated during the now starting electoral campaign and points out the multi-coloured picture of opinions across the different countries.
EE19 date: Public awareness is on the rise
compared to April 2018. They reach +7 points in both Belgium
An increasing share of European citizens seem to be aware
(70% in favour of a more important role) and in Czech Republic
of the upcoming elections and can cite its correct date: 41% of
(31%). Conversely, they drop by 11 points in Slovenia (46%).
respondents know that the next elections to the European Par-
Last, but not least, only less than a third of respondents want a more important role for the European Parliament in the UK,Czech Republic and Denmark. As the next map shows, a more important role for the EP saw an increase in public support in 12 countries since April 2018. This call for more European democracy could be driven by different explanations as well as by the national political context. In about a third of Member States, a high wish for a more important role for the EP is pretty correlates with a low level of satisfaction with the way democracy works in the EU.
liament will take place in 2019. This amounts to an increase of 9 points since April 2018. Sociodemographic insights reveal that older generations as well as population segments with a higher level of education overall have a better knowledge of this date. This holds true as well for people having a stronger political interest and a more positive image of the European Parliament. Yet when looking at the individual national results a more differentiated picture emerges. The rise of awareness about the election date is widespread across all Member States, with the unique exception of Spain, where the share of correct replies has not increased over the last six months.
This is mostly the case in Cyprus, in Spain and in Greece
Evolutions are nevertheless very different from country to
where twice as many respondents call for a more important role
country, as is the percentage of citizens knowing the year of the
The perception Europeans have about the European Par-
for the EP than are satisfied with democracy in the EU. A simi-
next elections in each Member State: Hungary and Greece top
liament stabilizes after significant pos-itive increases between
lar scenario applies to a lesser extent in seven other Member
the list of countries with regard to improved knowledge of the
2015 and 2017.
States, including Romania, France and Italy. Yet there is also the
date (+22 and+20 percentage points respectively). Double-fi-
Parlemeter surveys traditionally measure citizens views on
opposite relationship in 17 countries, when the result for a more
gure increases are also recorded in Italy (+15), Denmark (+15),
the European Parliament itself with the help of two indicators.
important role for the EP is inferior to the level of satisfaction
Finland (+14), Estonia (+13), France (+12), Romania (+10), Slo-
The first one deals with the image of the European Parliament in
with the way the EU democracy works.
venia (+10) and Croatia (+10). Contrasting these results with the
Stable trends for image and role of the European Parliament
the eyes of European citizens, the second one asks whether Par-
When comparing with results for “my voice counts in the
state of play at a similar point in time ahead of the last European
liament should play a stronger or lesser role in the future. Both
EU”, the same two patterns appear, both similarly telling: On
elections in 2014, data indicates that the current knowledge of
perception markers seem to stabilize, on European average, af-
one side, 61% of respondents in Greece call for a more impor-
the date of the next European ballot is already relatively high at
ter a significant increase for the positive im-age of the EP and
tant role for the EP while only 16% of them feel that their voice
EU level, as only 34% of citizens could respond in a correct way
its desired role between 2015 and 2017. In the year before the
currently counts in the EU. On the other end, only 34% of Swedi-
in June 2013.
6
As shown in the next chart, in only a minority of countries,
difference to electoral momentum and the issues debated, as
citizens said to be interested in the European elections. Com-
led by Belgium and Latvia, a larger proportion of people see-
proven in all relevant research, whether the European elections
pared to the last election period, a similar level of interest at EU
med to have been better aware in 2013 about the date of the
take place at the end, the beginning or in the middle of a natio-
level was only reached in April 2014, i.e. one month ahead of
European elections than they are today. In sixteen countries, on
nal legislative cycle.
the actual election date.
the other hand, respondents show a better level of knowledge
Eurobarometer results also confirm the longstanding view
Compared to the previous Eurobarometer survey six mon-
of a majority of citizens in all Member States that voting in Eu-
ths ago, when citizens had expressed a similar level of interest
Diversity among Member States is notable not only in the
ropean elections is less important than voting in national elec-
(50%), trends remain stable in the majority of Member States
evolution of these trends but also in the share of respondents
tions. When asked about the importance they attach to both
within a wide spectrum across the EU. Scores range from 68% in
mentioning the correct answer. In September 2018, the propor-
elections, 68% of respondents consider the national elections
the Netherlands to 22% in the Czech Republic. Moreover, while
tion of citizens who already know the date of the next European
highly important, while only 50% share this view with regard to
in twelve Member States more than half of the respondents feel
ballot ranges widely from 75% in Hungary to 25% in Latvia. No
European elections.
already interested in the European elections, in fifteen Member
today of the upcoming ballot in 2019.
less important is the fact that on average 44% (-6 percentage
In April 201810, 49% of respondents attached a high impor-
points since April 2018) of Europeans simply do not know when
tance to the European elections, 68% held this view about the
the next European elections will take place. This is the case for at least one in two respondents in Portugal (63%), Latvia (59%), France (58%), Spain (56%), Bulgaria (52%) and Germany (50%).
Voting likeliness and feeling of importance still weak Next, this report will analyse how the level of knowledge might affect the declared propensity to vote in the next ballot. Despite an increased awareness of the date, the share of respondents who declare them-selves likely to vote in the next European elections has not changed in the course of the last six months. Asked to express their propensity to vote in the next European elections on a scale from one to ten, around one-third (31%) of Europeans say with ‘certainty’ that they will vote (score 10). Another 18% declare to be moderately likely to vote (scores 8 and 9). Results from the Eurobarometer survey carried out in April 20189 showed the same returns. Nine months ahead of the elections, 33% of the respondents tend to say that they will not participate in the ballot (scores from 1 to 5). In five Member States the share of citizens who are thus not likely to vote reach nearly 50% or more: Cyprus (49%), Slovakia (50%), Croatia (51%), Portugal (53%) and the Czech Republic (58%). Comparing these results with April 2018, significant negative evolutions are observed mainly in Cyprus (-10 percentage points for those saying with ‘certainty’ that they will vote, with a score 10 on the 1 to 10 scale), Romania (-10), Malta (-9) and Bulgaria (-8). At the same time, an equally significant positive
national elections. Looking at this development from specific national results, Sweden again stands out with a significant upturn: 76% of people (+13 percentage points) give today more im-portance to the European elections than they did in April of this year. Similar remarkable evolutions can be found in Greece (+7 percentage points), France, Latvia (both +6), Hungary and Estonia (both +4). In parallel, negative developments are present in Romania, Malta, Austria, Portugal (all with -7 points), Slove-nia (-6), Ireland, Cyprus and Croatia (-5). The elements affecting citizens’ understanding on the relative salience of an election are certainly various and not always predictable: they relate both to contextual socio-economic factors as well as to personal attitudes and judgements. Nevertheless, the analysis of these questions in the light of recent turnout rates show a certain coherence between the significance accorded to different ballots and the actual participatory behaviour in ballots. Although the percentages on perceived importance cannot be compared to the real levels of turnout, citizens’ alleged order of priority of elections is unquestionably in line with past voting behaviours. The next table puts in perspective participation results from the last two European elections and national elec-
States a majority does not express an interest in the ballot. Sweden sees again a positive evolution, with the number of people showing interest in the ballot rising by 8 percentage points compared to April. A similar tendency is observed in Greece and Italy (both +5 points). In parallel, a drop in the level of interest is registered in Denmark (-8), Lithuania (-7) and Croatia (-6). Taking all national differences into account, the average share of Europeans who are interested in the next ballot appear stable, solid and higher than the one expressed in the past European elections. At the end of this section the interest in the elections is contrasted to the two general support indicators for the European Union, namely the marker for the positive image of the European Union and the question whether respondents believe that EU membership has benefited their own country. While respondents having a positive image of the European Union indeed seem generally more interested in the European elections, an increased perception of EU benefits does not directly translate in a higher professed interest in the elections. Not only is, on EU average, the share of interested citizens (51%) lower than the share of respondents believing that their country has benefited from being a Member of the EU (68%).
tions. In all countries without mandatory voting, the difference
The same analysis applies for all Member States except for Italy,
in turnout is patent and shows that Europeans in all Member
where the proportion of respondents who feel interested in the
States are still much more likely to participate in national elec-
next European elections is higher than the share of Italian res-
tions rather than in European ones.
pondents believing that their country has benefited from being a member of the EU.
Interest in the European elections: higher than before, yet not at full potential
Campaign topics: ways to raise the interest?
change occurred in Sweden with an increase of 11 percentage
Against this setting, interest in the European elections
In this context it is certainly necessary to assess how public
points of respondents saying they will “very likely vote”. On this
seems to be higher than in the past. In September 2018, 51% of
interest in the elections might be raised - which leads directly
result, it is worth noting that legislative elections took place in Sweden on the weekend immediately preceding the fieldwork in this country. This specific political setting may well have affected citizens’ response to this question.
Electoral cycle and calendar as influencing factors As widely discussed also at academic and scientific level, national elections and legislative cycles may strong-ly influence participation rates and results in other elections, be they local, regional or European ballots. For this reason, when thinking of the 2019 European elections, it is important to keep in mind the calendar of the main electoral events that will take place in 2019. They may have an impact both on turnout level and on the topical landscape influencing the European vote. This aspect becomes even more pertinent considering that in 2019 eleven elections, either legislative or presidential, will be held next to or simultaneously with the European elections. Moreover, the point in time when the European elections will take place during the election cycle in any given EU Member State is also essential to project the next European ballot: It makes a
7
to the next section of the survey analysing which issues citizens
As for the next European elections and the different cam-
want to see debated during the campaign and which policy
paign fought over the coming months, this di-versity is part of
areas and values they seem to be most concerned about.
the challenge and opportunity. If the adage that all politics is
EU citizens clearly put their trust and expectation in Europe’s
As in the previous survey, citizens were asked to name the
local holds true also for European elections, public interest in
and the European Parliament’s ability to shape the future and to
topics they want to see debated as a matter of priority during
the ballot and consequently turnout might be successfully pi-
support the development of a fair and prosperous society.
this electoral campaign. Compared to April 2018, the order of
qued, at least partially, with campaigns able to match and res-
priorities has changed.
pect the multi-coloured picture of expectations in the different
Immigration (50%), economy and growth (47%) as well as
countries.
combating youth unemployment (47%) now top the list of Europeans’ replies, whereas the fight against terrorism moves from first to fourth position with a decrease of 5 percentage points to 44%. Apart from the order of campaign topics, in the course of the last six months a growing interest can be registered with regard to immigration, economy and growth as well as comba-
AN EU THAT PROTECTS
thuania +8 (66%) and Croatia +6 (53%) and Estonia 42% (+6).
verty and unemployment top this list, right before illegal immigration.
ty of opinions throughout the European Union, which cannot
points at the EU level. The increased appetite for these themes
be conveyed in the same way by European average figures. To
is widespread throughout a majority of all Member State: It is
best illustrate their respective importance at national level, the
the case in 22 countries for immigration, in 24 countries for eco-
following pages displays each of the threat topics tested on a map. Terrorism is the most cited answer in the United Kingdom
Nonetheless, the order of topics has perceptibly changed
(60%) and in France (59%). Poverty and social exclusion is most
following international and national develop-ments and the
mentioned - by far- in Greece, with 81%, as is unemployment,
importance given to them strongly resonates with the different
which ranks even higher among Greek respondents with 83%.
national settings.
Illegal immigration on the other hand is most cited in Malta
As shown in the previous map, immigration is the top
(76%), Czech Republic (69%), Italy (66%) and Greece (65%),
growing topic in nine countries: Croatia, Spain, Mal-ta, the
while also ranking above 50% in Hungary (58%) and Slovakia
At the same time, economy and growth gather the biggest increase in support in eleven Member States: Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Germany (on a par with climate change), Lithuania (with protection of external borders), Hungary (with climate change and promoting human rights and democracy), and Italy. Climate change recorded its highest increases as priority campaign topic in seven countries: France, Den-mark, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Estonia, as well as Hungary. Romania is the only Member State where the greatest evolution touches the protection of external borders. In Greece, this holds true for consumer protection and food safety. In Latvia, Hungary and Luxembourg also the promotion of human rights and democracy has drawn the biggest pick-up of replies.
(56%). Climate change is the highest cited threat in Sweden (62%), Denmark (55%) and the Netherlands (51%). The next items are cited in lesser proportions. Organised crime ranges highest in Sweden (44%), Croatia and Germany (both at 40%). Religious radicalism sees its largest mentions as threat in the Netherlands (44%) and Austria (38%), while political extremism sees highest citations in Germany (36%) and Sweden (34%). Armed conflict scores 38% in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. On European average, the abuse of personal data online as well as fake news and disinformation online return as lowest-
Combating youth unemployment Combating youth unemployment increases in its priority ranking on EU average by 2 percentage points and scores 33% at European level. The largest increases are measured in Italy with +9 points to 52%, the United Kingdom with +8 to 24% and in Croatia with a plus of six points to 57%.
Combating terrorism Security has arguably been a greater issue for Europeans in the past three years than in many years before, contributing to anchoring security and in particular, terrorism issues at the top of Europeans’ concerns. Nevertheless, at EU level a significant decrease by 11 points to 30% can be noted regarding the share of citizens wanting the European Parliament to legislate on ways to fight against terrorism as a matter of priority. This decrease might well be linked to the fact that the number of terrorist attacks resulting in fatalities in the European Union has considerably reduced in the last months. Seen from a national angle, the survey notes a statistically insignificant increase of respondents naming the fight against terrorism as one of Parliament’s priorities only in the United Kingdom +1 (38%). In all other Member States, results show a general and significant decline of the number of respondents asking for this policy to be a top priority, led by Italy -19 (29%), Portugal -18 (28%) and Spain -18 (25%).
Finding a common European response to the issue of migration
ranked threats. On national level, the abuse of personal data
Three years after Europe’s biggest influx of migrants and re-
online scores the highest in Denmark with 26% and 23% in both
fugees since the Second World War, and al-though the number
the Netherlands and Ireland for. In Latvia (25%), Sweden and
of migrants arriving in the European Union has sharply decli-
Romania (both 24%) the threat of fake news and disinformation
ned from their 2015-16 peak, divergences of opinion between
online find its highest relative support.
EU Member States over how to handle irregular immigration from outside the EU welled up again this summer. Differing
WHAT PRIORITIES FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT? The Parlemeter each year measures which concrete poli-
When assessing citizens’ preferred campaign topics at na-
cies European citizens would expect the European Parliament
tional level, it is not only interesting to focus on the change of
to tackle as a matter of priority. Not to be confounded with the
importance over time, but also on the different support that the
previous-ly discussed campaign topics, the policy priorities ne-
same issue receives from country to country.
vertheless largely align by putting economic and social issues
As the next graph shows, the greatest divergences relate to
moves at national level, where combating poverty and social
where they want the EU to protect them from. Terrorism, po-
about it during the campaign has increased by 5 percentage
nomy and growth) and the Netherlands.
ge remains stable with 41%. Noticeable are some significant
countries, led by Bulgaria with +9 percentage points (53%), Li-
nal levels are of utmost importance to un-derstand the diversi-
and democracy), Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy (on a par with eco-
Compared to results from September 2017 the EU avera-
ropeans would predominantly be considering as threats and
three topical areas, the proportion of citizens who want to hear
Czech Republic, Latvia (on a par with promoting human rights
Combating poverty and social exclusion
exclusion is increasingly perceived as priority policy in 12 EU
As is the case throughout this report, understanding natio-
change and protecting the environment.
listed by 33% (+2) as their top issue.
The Parlemeter 2018 continues to explore areas which Eu-
ting climate change and protecting the environment. For these
nomy and growth and in 19 countries for combating climate
for the European Parliament, followed by youth unemployment,
on top of the list together with the fight against terrorism.
perceptions about the reality on the ground be-tween frontline countries and others often reinforce the evident differences in national position to finding a common European response to the issue of migration. Compared to the year before, only Estonia with a minus of 4 percentage points to 25% and Bulgaria (-1 to 18%) return a decrease in priority for this issue. In all other EU Member Sta-
climate change with 57 percentage points difference from the
In spite of significant achievements, many challenges per-
highest value in Sweden to the lowest one in Bulgaria, economy
sist for the European Union. Insecurity and anx-iety regarding
and growth with a difference of 56 points, youth unemployment
their future as expressed by citizens are traceable in Eurobaro-
(56 points difference), immigration (54 points difference) and
meter indicators measuring their attitude on the direction the
promoting human rights and democracy (50 points difference).
EU is taking or with regard to their assessment on the develop-
The combined analysis of the different levels of interest in
ment of social inequalities in the future. In addition, the ranking
campaign topics across the EU and the evolving attention atta-
of policy priorities gives a clear indication of the deep marks
ched to them points out how national angles clearly shape citi-
left in people’s lives by the economic crisis and the uncertainty
zens’ views and expectations. This would hold true even more
about one’s future. With 41% of citations, respondents put com-
The European Parliament has a well-recognized reputation
for a detailed sociodemographic microanalysis.
bating poverty and social exclusion on top of their priority list
as a dedicated defender of people’s basic rights and democra-
tes, except Romania (12% unchanged), citizens increasingly want the European Parliament to give priority to finding a EU common response on migration issues. This development is the strongest in Spain (+11 to 20%), Czech Republic (+9 to 41%), Luxembourg (+9 to 22%), Greece (+8 to 25%) and Italy (+7 to 32%), Malta (+7 to 42%) and Slovenia (+7 to 19%).
VALUES TO SHARE
8
cy, both within the European Union and worldwide. Moreover,
ment defending the value of solidarity at EU level, and those
it supports human rights through its annual Sakharov Prize for
who return the least support. This spread reaches, in the latest
Freedom of Thought, established in 1988.
Parlemeter results, 42 points, with an EU average of 30%.
The European Parliament does not believe that people’s
Solidarity between Member States as a value to be defen-
basic rights end at the EU’s borders. In its last res-olution of 13
ded receives top priority in Greece by 56% of respondents,
December 2017 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and
Bulgaria (46%) and Croatia (42%). Countries with the least
Democracy in the World 201611 and the European Union’s po-
amount of support are the United Kingdom (14%), Malta (20%)
licy on the matter, Plenary “expresses profound concern about
and Spain (22%). Respondents more likely to support solidarity
the pushback against democracy, human rights and the rule of
between Member States are mainly men (33%), the 65-74 year
law, which continue to be under threat worldwide; recalls that
olds (35%), and managers (36%). This is also the case for res-
the EU has committed to promoting the universality and indivi-
pondents with a positive image of the EU (37%) and who think
sibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms and values,
that things in the EU are going in the right direction (35%).
as well as to advancing democratic principles, which must be enhanced worldwide.”
TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE IMPACT OF THE GDPR
The protection of human rights worldwide
came into force. The GDPR imposes strict obligations on Kantar
The results from the Parlemeter 2018 see public opinion squarely backing up Parliament on this issue: The protection
In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its supply chain. GDPR implementation also impacts the implementation of Eurobarometer studies in several ways.
of human rights worldwide is seen as the top value to be defended as matter of priority for almost one in two Europeans (46%). At least half of respondents in eight Members States, led by Cyprus (67%), Sweden (57%) and Finland (55%), consider this value essential. Moreover, respondents who support this EU value as a priority are predominantly women (48%), 15-24 year-olds (50%), students (53%), managers (48%) and manual workers
Higher standard for consent Consent to participate in a survey and to process personal data must be unambiguous and by a statement or clear affirmative action – and capable of withdrawal at any time: inactivity, silence and pre-ticked boxes cannot constitute consent (art. 7). For this reason, for all Eurobarometer surveys, explicit consent is now sought from the respondents on the basis of a privacy
(47%).
policy (in the language of the respondent) and reassuring them
Equality between men and women
and all identifiable information will be removed”.
that “the collected responses will be thoroughly anonymised,
Equality between women and men is a fundamental value of the European Union and one of its objec-tives. Moreover, the European Parliament has always been a fervent defender of the principle of equality between men and women. According to this survey, 40% of respondents on EU average share this view. From a socio-demographic point of view supporters are mostly women (46%), young people (15-24 year olds, 45%) or students (46%) as well as house persons (45%). On a national basis, respondents in France (58%), Spain (53%) and Sweden (52%) are the most likely to mention this issue, while in Latvia (17%), Lithuania (20%) and Greece (21%) the lowest shares of citations are measured.
Freedom of speech Freedom of opinion, freedom of expression and the right to information are basic human rights and the European Union sees them as cornerstones of democracy. 38% of respondents share the same view and want this value to be defended as a matter of priority by the European Parliament. More than half of respondents prioritising the defence of freedom of speech can be found in three Mem-bers States, namely the Netherlands (58%), Sweden (55%) and Finland (54%). Looking at the socio-demographic angle, respondents who consider the defence of freedom of speech as a priority can be found predominantly with men (40%), young people (1524 years, 45%) and students (42%) as well as managers (39%),
Age of respondents and parental consent The universe for Eurobarometer studies covers people aged 15 years old and over. The upcoming GDPR regulations state that for all respondents aged under 16 there is a need for consent from their parents or legal guardian to proceed with the contact, though member states can lower this age requirement to 13 if they choose to do so (art. 8).
Consent for processing ‘sensitive’ personal data Under the new GDPR, “processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership”, as well as “the processing of genetic data, biometric data, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation” are prohibited, un-less the data subject has given explicit consent to do so (art. 9). For all Eurobarometer questionnaires, Kantar Public identifies in advance so-called ‘sensitive questions’ that are related to political opinions, religious beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, health, sex life or sexual orientation. During the screener phase, the interviewer informs the respondents that the questionnaire includes some questions that might be considered ‘sensitive’ and asks them whether or not they would agree to be asked these questions. In case the respondents refuse, then these questions will be skipped for them. The consent is asked in a way that allows respondents
other white collar workers (39%) and manual workers (39%).
to selectively agree or refuse to be asked questions about a
Solidarity between Member States
to be asked questions about their political views, but refuse to
certain category of ‘sensitive’ data (e.g. they can give consent
The notion of solidarity is at the centre of the European
be asked questions related to their health). This means that the
project and its integration process. However, solidarity can so-
response rate for the questions that are considered ‘sensitive’
metimes means different things to different Member States ac-
might be lower than for the rest of the questions. The refusal to
cording to their interests or their national policy agenda. There
answer sensitive questions is recorded into a special category,
are thus significant differences to be observed between those
so that we can measure the impact of the new GDPR on our
coun-tries that are the most in favour of the European Parlia-
questionnaires and to take it into account for future studies.
9
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Coverage: EU28 Interviews: 27.474 Europeans Population: General population aged 15 or more Methodology: Face-to-face Fieldwork: 8 to 26 September 2018, survey conducted by Kantar Public
Note The results of a survey are estimates and their accuracy depends on the sample size and the observed percentage. For around 1000 interviews (sample size generally used at the level of a Member State), the real percentage fluctuates between the following confidence intervals.
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Protección de datos a golpe de multas Google+ y Facebook colman la paciencia de Bruselas y comienzan a verse castigadas por la propagación de datos de sus usuarios
F
Jon Lasa
acebook y Google protagonizan los dos últimos ejemplos de filtraciones masivas de datos personales en Internet. Con millones de personas afectadas, la paciencia de las instituciones europeas se ha terminado por la falta de seguridad que muestran los gigantes tecnológicos estadounidenses. La consultora Cambrigde Analytica obtuvo de manera inapropiada los datos de 2,7 millones de usuarios de Facebook en la UE. Google acaba de anunciar el cierre de su red social tras detectar un bug, un agujero en sus entrañas informáticas, que ha expuesto datos personales a las aplicaciones que actuaban en ese Google+. La empresa no puede confirmar “qué usuarios se vieron impactados por este bug” pero sí reconoce que “los perfiles de hasta 500.000 cuentas de Google+ fueron potencialmente afectadas”. La Comisión Europea lleva dos años negociando sin éxito con Facebook para que refuerce sus políticas de privacidad y proteja a sus usuarios. La comisaría de Justicia, la liberal Vera Jourova, se declara “impaciente” y exige a la compañía que corrija los problemas antes de finales de año. “Si no vemos progresos, tendrá que haber sanciones. No podemos negociar indefinidamente, queremos resultados”, avisa Jourova. Desde finales de mayo, la UE cuenta con una nueva legislación para aplicarlas. Es la GDPR o Regulación para la Protección de los Datos Generales en sus siglas en inglés, la que provocó que los ciudadanos europeos viviesen antes del verano un bombardeo de correos electrónicos con peticiones sobre su autorización para permanecer en las bases de datos de empresas, ONGs o fundaciones. Esta regulación incluye sanciones a las empresas por la falta de control en el manejo de los datos personales. Sólo falta que Bruselas apriete el gatillo.
Las multas
Las nuevas reglas permiten imponer multas de
hasta el 4% en los ingresos globales de una empresa si ha vulnerado o permitido el uso ilícito de los datos de sus consumidores. Las sanciones también pueden ser una suspensión temporal de las operaciones de estas redes sociales, buscadores de internet o de los minoristas online en el mercado único europeo. Giovanni Buttarelli, Supervisor europeo de Protección de Datos, advirtió recientemente que “espera las primeras multas de la GDPR en algunos casos antes de finales de año. No necesariamente multas, pero amonestar a los controladores, imponer prohibiciones preliminares o una suspensión temporal”. La Comisión de Protección de Datos de Irlanda mantiene abierta una investigación formal contra Face-
book que podría terminar en multa histórica de hasta 1.400 millones de euros. Está analizando si la red social tomó las medidas de seguridad necesarias para procesar los datos personales de sus usuarios. El reciente escándalo en Google+ aumenta aún más la presión y en los reguladores nacionales que velan por la protección de datos se acumulan denuncias formales contra la tecnológica fundada por Larry Page, contra Facebook, Instagram o WhatsApp. Como ejemplo, Francia o Italia han recibido un 53% de quejas de los consumidores desde el año pasado.
¿Democracia europea en juego?
La red de Mark Zuckerberg cuenta con 380 millones de usuarios en la UE, más que en Estados Unidos, y en abril aplicó unas nuevas condiciones de uso que implicaban la cesión de datos a empresas terceras o quedarse con el copyright de cualquier foto o contenido subido. El Parlamento Europeo acaba de pedir su auditoría completa dirigida desde Bruselas para comprobar si protege los datos de sus usuarios y las medidas puestas en marcha para impedir posibles injerencias en las elecciones del continente a través de las redes sociales. “Facebook es una herramienta de comunicación increíblemente útil, sin precedentes”, explica Claude Moraes, eurodiputado británico, presidente de la Comisión de Libertades Civiles, Justicia y Asuntos de Interior, “pero tenemos grandes preocupaciones sobre la manera en que impacta en nuestra democracia”. La UE está a punto de iniciar la extensa campaña electoral para los comicios europeos de mayo. Hay demasiado en juego y Bruselas no quiere interferencias cibernéticas desde Moscú ni la masiva utilización ilícita de datos de ciudadanos. Google+ y Camdridge Analytica ponen nombre a esto temores. Moraes los expresa abiertamente. “Hemos visto de manera dramática que, en relación con nuestras propias democracias, ante las elecciones europeas, hay cuestiones muy reales que plantear a Facebook”, dice. Para esos comicios todas las encuestas muestran que el hegemónico bipartidismo entre populares europeos y socialdemócratas, piloto del proyecto europeo durante décadas, dará paso a nuevos equilibrios de poder. Los liberales apuntan a un gran salto para convertirse en la segunda fuerza en el próximo Parlamento Europeo al incorporar las filas de Emmanuel Macron en Francia o de Ciudadanos en España y, al mismo tiempo, conservadores polacos, patriotas galos de Le Pen, extremas derechas holandeses y francesas parecen unirse en un frente euroescéptico liderado por La Liga italiana de Matteo Salvini, dando lugar a un gran grupo parlamentario. Hay demasiado en juego.
Facebook eta Google-k erabiltzaileen datuen filtrazio masiboak eragin dituzte eta honek enpresek mota honetako gertakarien aurrean isun handiak ordain ditzatela ekarri du
Facebook and Google have led massive leaks of data from their users and this has caused companies to face large fines for this type of facts
9
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La FP vasca, referente en Europa
La Comisión Europea se inspira en el modelo vasco de FP para el desarrollo de los centros de excelencia europeo
nuevas metodologías activas de aprendizaje, a través de los denominados Ciclos de Alto Rendimiento
(ETHAZI). En la actualidad, el 37% de la oferta de FP en Euskadi se imparte mediante estas metodologías
activas, con cerca de 5.800 alumnos y alumnas y algo
más de 1.600 profesores y profesoras que los impar-
ten, aunque son ya cerca de 3.500 los docentes que han recibido formación para estas metodologías.
El Viceconsejero de Formación Profesional del Gobierno Vasco, Jorge Arévalo
E
Jon Lasa
l viceconsejero de Formación Profesional del Gobierno Vasco, Jorge Arévalo, junto con el director de Planificación y Organización, Nicolás Sagarzazu, mantuvieron el pasado mes de octubre una agenda de trabajo con destacados responsables comunitarios en materia de Empleo y Formación. En concreto, Arévalo se reunió con la Directora de Empleo y Asuntos Sociales de la Comisión Europea, Manuela Geleng, la Jefa de Unidad de FP, Aprendizaje y Educación, Dana-Carmen Bachmann, el Jefe Adjunto de ésta, João Santos, y sus equipos, ambos de la misma dirección de Empleo y Asuntos Sociales. En las citas también participó la delegada de Euskadi para la Unión Europea, Marta Marín. En clave de contraste y constante cooperación con Euskadi, los responsables comunitarios se mostraron interesados en seguir conociendo de primera mano los datos y buenos resultados actuales de la FP vasca, así como el desarrollo de la nueva Ley Vasca de FP y las líneas estratégicas del futuro V Plan Vasco de FP. Todo ello, dentro de una de las iniciativas clave que en la actualidad marca la agenda europea: la Iniciativa Europea de Excelencia en la FP, en la que Euskadi se encuentra bien posicionada, con las experiencias innovadoras y referentes que la excelencia vasca aporta al respecto. Este nuevo encuentro se produce tras los contac-
tos mantenidos los pasados meses de mayo y junio
en San Sebastián –en el marco del Congreso Internacional de FP organizado por el Departamento de
Educación-, y dando continuidad al ya consolidado diálogo existente entre la Viceconsejería de FP del
Gobierno Vasco y la Comisión Europea, en el que
Europako Enplegu eta
papel de referente europeo para este ámbito.
Prestakuntzako arduradunak
Centros de FP de excelencia
interesaturik daude Euskadiko
Euskadi traslada la estrategia vasca para la FP, en su
Durante la reunión, el viceconsejero de FP Jorge Arévalo trató con los responsables comunitarios una de las cuestiones que más interesa a la Comisión: la puesta en marcha de la iniciativa europea de centros de excelencia de FP, y la manera en la que Euskadi
Lanbide Heziketak egun eskaintzen dituen datu eta emaitza onak zuzen-zuzenean ezagutzeko
y la FP vasca pueden liderar, desde su experiencia, esta puesta en marcha en el conjunto de los países europeos.
Como ejemplo de centro de excelencia, el vice-
consejero se refirió a Tknika (Centro de Investigación
e Innovación Aplicada de la FP del País Vaco), e hizo
The European Employment and Training Officers are interested in knowing directly the good data
hincapié en el desarrollo que está experimentando
and results offered by Basque
para dar respuesta, precisamente, a más y diferentes
Professional Training
este centro clave, que amplía su acción a más campos
sectores. Tknika –y con él, toda la FP vasca- trabaja ya en el ámbito de las tecnologías avanzadas, los siste-
mas inteligentes, los entornos 4.0 o la impresión 3D. Pero avanza hacia nuevas áreas como las biociencias, la biotecnología y la sostenibilidad, la electromovili-
dad y la movilidad autónoma, la ciberseguridad o la impresión 3D más allá del campo industrial (en campos como la salud, la alimentación y el textil).
Durante la reunión, Arévalo también trasladó
los avances que se están produciendo en la FP de Euskadi en cuestiones tan importantes como la colaboración entre empresas y centros de FP, el cam-
bio organizativo que se está dando en éstos, o en las
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Una oportunidad para el federalismo europeo Las próximas elecciones al Parlamento europeo se celebrarán el domingo 26 de mayo
D
Eusebio Cadenas
esde el mismo momento de su fundación, en la Unión Europea vienen funcionando como en una corriente de fondo y en modo dialéctico, una doble forma de entender el proceso integrador. En ambos casos estas corrientes metodológicas han ido decantando a los defensores de una y a los detractores de la otra. Nos estamos refiriendo al Intergubernantalismo y al Federalismo. En ocasiones los partidarios de una han intentado deslegitimar a los partidarios de la otra: los Intergubernamentalistas pretendiendo que la realidad del Estado-Nación, era tan fuerte que hacía inútiles los esfuerzos del federalismo. En el caso del federalismo porque o la “unión” se entiende como una unión cooperativa y leal, o llegará el momento en que se estanque.
Como consecuencia de ese nuevo escenario de
la geopolítica mundial, aparece, a pesar de algunas contradicciones, otras políticas llamadas a tener protagonismo en las próximas elecciones: nos referimos a la Política de Seguridad y Defensa. Europa por primera vez con la Política de Seguridad y Defensa y desde la puesta en marcha del Euro, acomete la mayor cesión de soberanía de su historia. En este sentido, el primer elemento significativo fue la introducción en 2005 y posteriormente en el Tratado de Lisboa (2009), una clausula de defensa mutua.
El gran avance, sin embargo, se ha producido en
los últimos tiempos sorprendiendo que la lenta Europa esté tomando decisiones rápidas como lo demuestra la creación en Diciembre de 2017 de la PESCO (Cooperación Estructurada Permanente) en la que 25 países se han sumado al proyecto de poner en marcha dicha coope-
Como en toda relación dialéctica el proceso ha
ración. A la vez, y por iniciativa de Francia, nueve de los
sido productivo y ambas concepciones han sido necesa-
principales países europeos han suscrito una carta de in-
rias. Es posible que el método Intergubernamental haya
tenciones con objeto de poner en marcha una fuerza de
producido buenos resultados, sin embargo en los últimos
intervención y sorprendiendo la decisión del Reino Unido
tiempos se ha ido configurando el federalismo como la
de tomar parte.
concepción política que apadrina la realidad ya presente, pero sobre todo, futura. Esta es la realidad política que parece que se va a ir configurando en el horizonte inmediato de las Elecciones europeas del 26 de Mayo. Todos aquellos temas relevantes y con vigencia y actualidad, están siendo acogidos en el seno del federalismo y articulados dentro del federalismo. Empezaremos por aquel que debe ser el anclaje referencial de todos los demás. Nos referimos a la Soberanía Europea. En la intervención de Junker el 12 de septiembre en el Debate Sobre el Estado de la Unión, parece apuntarse una nueva concepción de la Soberanía Europea. En palabras del profesor Aldecoa “No cabe duda que la utilización de la noción de “soberanía europea” es políticamente muy audaz y que, desde el punto de vista jurídico plantea algunas discusiones técnicas. Sin embargo y sabiendo que es posible que sea necesario la reforma de los tratados, la realidad de una Soberanía compartida de clara inspiración federal es una de las propuestas relevantes para la convocatoria electoral. Eso es lo que parece traslucirse de la “Declaración sobre el Futuro Federal de Europa” del Manifiesto del Grupo Spinelli, suscrito por doce relevantes Eurodiputados de los cinco partidos políticos más importantes, publicado el 5 de septiembre. En él, se defiende la necesidad, la oportunidad y la relevancia de la respuesta federal para Europa” y una concepción de la soberanía que pone el acento en la realidad de La Soberanía Europea como soberanía compartida. Pero no solo pone el acento en esa realidad federalizante de la soberanía sino que además fundamenta y legitima el papel de Europa como actor global con un nuevo rol en el panorama de la geopolítica mundial.
Otras decisiones tienen que ver con la aprobación de un fondo de 13.000 millones para el desarrollo de equipos militares. El mejor ejemplo de que esto va en serio es que, por primera vez, se ha creado un fondo presupuestario destinado al desarrollo de la investigación y las capacidades defensivas. El objetivo es llegar al 1% para
Por último queremos abordar el tema de las
amenazas. Es este un tema que viene siendo tratado en la prensa con perfiles exagerados y anunciando consecuencias casi apocalípticas para el proceso de integración de Europea. Estas amenazas son el progresivo aumento de las posiciones poco entusiastas con el proceso integrador de los populismos de tipo nacionalista y la ruptura del
investigación al 20% en capacidades de los gastos totales
multilateralismo con las nuevas políticas implementadas
de la defensa para que Europa disminuya la dependencia
en el Brexit, la Rusia de Putin y los EEUU de Trump.
tecnológica de EEUU. Hay otras medidas que no especi-
Respecto a la primera de las amenazas el Euro-
ficamos porque el objetivo no es ser exhaustivos pero, el
barómetro viene registrando una clara tendencia según la
proceso parece imparable y con características propias
cual el apoyo europeo sigue creciendo. En el último Eu-
que se resume muy bien en palabras de Juncker; “Europa
robarómetro el 68% de los europeos (el 75% de los espa-
es una potencia suave, pero ni las más sólidas de esas po-
ñoles) considera que la UE ha sido positiva para su país.
tencias pueden financiar a largo plazo sin algunas capaci-
Incluso en Polonia, en la que se concretaban todas las
dades de defensa integrada”
amenazas antieuropeas, se han producido acontecimien-
Otro de los elementos que configuran esa percepción
tos que contradicen esas previsiones apocalípticas. En la
federal, es la confirmación del proceso de selección de los
segunda vuelta de las elecciones municipales los partidos
Spitzenkandidaten de las diferentes familias europeas a la
europeístas ganaron en todas las principales ciudades
presidencia de la comisión. Ha habido algunas voces que
con un especial protagonismo de los jóvenes y el 22 de
vienen manifestándose en contra desde que en 2014 se
noviembre da marcha atrás en el contencioso de la refor-
estipuló que el nuevo presidente de la Comisión debería
mas del Tribunal Supremo.
ser el candidato común de la lista más votada. Algunos
Respecto a la ruptura del multilateralismo se ha pro-
jefes de gobierno y los euroescépticos siguen siendo par-
ducido un hecho paradójico y es que en vez de generar
tidarios del antiguo método de designación a través de
dificultades se han convertidos en federalizadores exter-
sucesivas rondas de negociación. Sin embargo, la mayor
nos generadores de cohesión y haciendo más fácil que
legitimidad que resulta de elegir el presidente a través
nunca la toma de decisiones.
de las elecciones, ha hecho que el Parlamento Europeo
Por lo tanto, en las Elecciones Europeas lo que se jue-
haya dejado claro que no permitirá la investidura de un
ga es si seguimos en la lógica intergubernamental parti-
presidente que no fuera cabeza de lista. El próximo paso
daria del estado-nación o si seguimos apostando por el
necesario en aras de apuntalar la adhesión de la ciudada-
paso hacia adelante y construimos la Federación Europea
nía europea deberían ser las listas transnacionales que, de
ya que como dice el aforismo: “si quieres llegar rápido
momento en las elecciones de 2019 no han sido posibles.
vete solo, pero si quieres llegar lejos vete acompañado.
11
eurocampus
eurocampus
Diciembre 2018
EURES, por el empleo en Europa La red EURES cuenta con más de 100.000 agentes para ofrecer trabajo a la ciudadanía europea
E
Jon Lasa
URES es una red de cooperación creada para facilitar la libre circulación de trabajadores dentro de los 28 Estados miembros de la UE, Suiza, Islandia, Liechtenstein y Noruega. La red está compuesta por la Oficina Europea de Coordinación, las Oficinas Nacionales de Coordinación, los socios de EURES y los socios de EURES asociados. Los socios de la red pueden ser servicios públicos de empleo, servicios privados de empleo, sindicatos, organizaciones patronales y otros agentes del mercado laboral. Los socios facilitan información y ofrecen servicios de colocación y contratación a los empleadores y a los solicitantes de empleo mientras que las Oficinas de Coordinación, tanto europea como nacionales, supervisan la organización de actividades a escala europea y nacional respectivamente. Asimismo, EURES desempeña una función importante en la facilitación de información específica y ofrece servicios de colocación que redundan en beneficio de los empleadores y trabajadores fronterizos de las regiones transfronterizas europeas. En la práctica EURES ofrece sus servicios a través de su portal, www.ec.europa.eu, y de una red humana que cuenta con aproximadamente 1.000 consejeros EURES que están en contacto permanente con solicitantes de empleo y empleadores de toda Europa. Los servicios públicos de empleo de la Unión Europea y del Espacio Económico Europeo operan mediante una red de más de 5.000 oficinas de empleo locales, con más de 100.000 trabajadores que prestan sus servicios a los solicitantes de empleo y los empresarios. A pesar de que los servicios públicos de empleo están estructurados de forma distinta en cada país, todos ellos comparten la misma tarea específica de contribuir a la adaptación recíproca de la demanda y la oferta en el mercado laboral, suministrando información, mediación y apoyo activo.
Misión
Los servicios públicos de empleo ofrecen a todos los solicitantes de empleo, a los empresarios y a las empresas especializadas en selección de personal un acceso fácil al mercado laboral a nivel local, nacional y europeo. A tal efecto, proporcionan informaciones completas y detalladas sobre los puestos vacantes, los solicitantes de empleo y los temas de interés relacionados con unos y otros. Prestan también una amplia gama de servicios activos para ayudar en la búsqueda de empleo y la contratación de personal. Cuando no hay suficientes ofertas de empleo para que todos los solicitantes encuentren trabajo inmediatamente, o cuando las cualificaciones ofrecidas no corresponden a la demanda del mercado, o cuando otros obstáculos impiden una integración adecuada, los servicios públicos de empleo ofrecen acceso a servicios más elaborados para adaptarse a las necesidades individuales. Los servicios públicos de empleo garantizan que ningún solicitante de empleo se vea marginado para encontrar un empleo adecuado y, por otra parte, se anima a los solicitantes a que realicen personalmente esfuerzos suficientes y verificables para encontrar trabajo. Las empresas se benefician de una amplia gama de servicios de calidad que permiten conciliar sus necesidades con las condiciones del mercado laboral. Al ofrecer servicios de calidad a las empresas, los servicios públicos de empleo buscan al mismo tiempo asociarse con ellas para alcanzar objetivos económicos y sociales, en términos de integración de los trabajadores en el mercado laboral.
Ayuda y apoyo
En 2016, más de 1,4 millones de personas de la
UE vivían en un país y trabajaban en otro. Esta cifra ha aumentado de forma constante a lo largo de los
años, con un incremento de ocho puntos porcentua-
les solo entre 2015 y 2016. Estos trabajadores transfronterizos se enfrentan a una serie de obstáculos específicos a diario, tales como las diferencias en las prácticas nacionales, los sistemas de seguridad social, las normas fiscales y
los sistemas jurídicos en general. El sistema de transporte público transfronterizo también suele estar menos desarrollado que los nacionales, lo que obstaculiza la movilidad laboral. EURES ayuda a los trabajadores transfronterizos a superar estos obstáculos proporcionando apoyo financiero a las asociaciones transfronterizas. EURES ayuda a los solicitantes de empleo a encontrar empleo y a los empleadores a contratar personal procedente de toda Europa. El principio de la Unión Europea de libre circulación de los trabajadores se considera uno de los derechos más importantes de los ciudadanos de la UE. Este principio significa que los europeos y europeas pueden desplazarse a cualquier Estado miembro de la UE, así como a Islandia, Liechtenstein, Noruega y Suiza, para buscar y aceptar un empleo. El objetivo de EURES es precisamente ayudar y apoyar a los solicitantes de empleo y a los empleadores en la tarea.
EURESen eginkizuna lana bilatzen duten europarrei eta enplegatzaileei laguntza ematea da
The mission of EURES is to support Europeans who are looking for work and employers
eurocampus
Diciembre 2018
eurocampus
12
“Over 30 years with no - deal Brexit, younger generations will have lost £100k individually”
The British biochemist and PhD student talks about Brexit and the future of the UK
O
Laura G. Iurretagoyena
n the 23rd of June 2016, Charles
Williams voted against the Brexit referendum. He was by then living
in London, but a couple of months later, by the
As a Brit, you may have had a closer look into what has turned out to be misleading campaigns. What was the message that you could derive from the daily news back then? One of the statements orchestrated by the
end of November, he moved to Bilbao for his
Leave Camp, related to funding for the Natio-
with the University of the Basque Country UPV/
pounds were transferred from Britain to the EU
test work achievements and goals at the Inter-
go directly to the NHS. That kind of rhetoric was
conference.
idea of EU courts and bureaucrats having control
Do you think that the decision of the UK to leave the European Union will affect students like you to freely move around the EU countries?
goistic purposes, although EU directives genera-
career. He has been doing his PhD together
nal Health Service (NHS), was that 350 million
EHU for two years and recently set forth his la-
every week, and after the Brexit the money would
national Society for Extracellular Vesicles 2018
pivotal in pushing the Brexit vote. Moreover, the
On paper, surely. Not least purely financia-
lly, as people in the European Economic Area
have all the same University fees, so if you live in England and you are an overseas student, it
can cost up to 30.000 pounds for a master per
year, but for EU students, it´s the same as for UK
students. However, in terms of free movement, probably not. Just more bureaucracy.
over the average person was played up for jinlly protect workers and individuals.
Not long ago there has been a massive congregation of thousands of strikers marching against the decision to leave the EU in London, do you believe that there has been a retraction in the votes of people? Certainly, my grandparents included. Unfortu-
nately, bigger marches have happened in history without enacting any changes. It would be interesting to see a current nationwide opinion poll.
Charles Williams, british student
13
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Diciembre 2018
eurocampus
El inglés en la Europa post-Brexit De los 24 idiomas oficiales, la Comisión Europea trabaja con 3 y publica en 1
“
Ander Jiménez
Lento pero seguro, el inglés está perdiendo importancia en Europa (...)” dijo el presidente de la Comisión Europea Jean-Claude Juncker durante una conferencia en Florencia realizada en mayo de este año antes de cambiar a hablar en francés, a lo que los asistentes respondieron con una salva de aplausos. Aunque no se tratara más que un comentario jocoso, puntualizó más tarde, resalta un extraño hecho que generará la salida del Reino Unido de la Unión Europea: el inglés dejará de ser, de iure, un idioma oficial en la Unión cuando, de facto, es el idioma de trabajo. A modo de contextualización, la UE cuenta aho-
ra mismo con 24 idiomas oficiales en los que, en un principio, todo ciudadano puede dirigirse a las instituciones y que se pueden utilizar durante los plenos del Parlamento Europeo. Cada Estado miembro
puede proponer un único idioma cuando entra en la Unión: español en el caso de España, francés en el de Francia, etc. Dentro de la UE hay tres países que
tienen el inglés como lengua oficial: Reino Unido, Irlanda y Malta pero el inglés es lengua de la Unión de
la mano del Reino Unido ya que Irlanda y Malta pro-
pusieron el gaélico y el maltés respectivamente. Por
tanto, si los ingleses abandonan la Unión, en teoría
también lo haría su idioma. Esto genera un gran dilema para la Comisión Europea que trabaja en tres lenguas: inglés, francés y alemán. Pero la diferencia de uso entre los idiomas es abismal: según estadísticas del 2010, el 75% de las publicaciones de la Comisión se redactaron primero en inglés, algo más del 8% en francés y casi un 3% en alemán y desde entonces la primacía del inglés no parece haber dejado de aumentar y no parece que el Brexit vaya a cambiar nada. Esto molesta especialmente a los franceses para los que el francés es algo casi vital: durante una reunión de discusión del Marco Financiero Plurianual (Multiannual Financial Framework) realizada en abril, ante la propuesta del Consejo de realizar la reunión únicamente en inglés, el embajador francés para la UE, Philippe Léglise-Costa, abandonó indignado la sala arguyendo que él defiende “el multilingüismo y la Francofonía”. Ejemplos de la indignación francesa ante el “favoritismo” de Bruselas hacia el inglés hay varios y no son nuevos. Ya en 2012 el periodista francés Jean Quatremer escribía en el periódico Libération un ar-
tículo muy crítico hacia “el monolingüismo de facto” con el que trabaja la Comisión Europea. “La UE no es la ONU: produce normas vinculantes que se aplican directamente a los ciudadanos europeos. (...) Yo no quiero leer en inglés que la Comisión exige una bajada de salarios o aumentar la duración de la jornada laboral. (...) Si queréis que ‘Bruselas’ se sienta como un cuerpo más y más ‘extranjero’, continuad así”