The Spark General Assembly Edition
Fribourg 2014 - National Selection Conference of EYP Switzerland
Con tent The Spark
Media Team of Fribourg 2014 Editors Veronika Datzer, Germany Sabrina ariana Mellerowic, Germany William Goyet, Video Editor, France Journalists Julia Badertscher, Switzerland Anna Barkemeyer, Germany Jacqueline Björklund, Sweden Amy Campo mc evoy, Spain Siebe Geerts, Belgium Andreas Selvig Ødegård, Norway Manon schürch, switzerland George ross, United kingdom Emirhan tekin, turkey Paula Villalba, spain
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4 A letter from the editors 6 Welcome to EYP Switzerland 8 EMPL: Attaining quality? 10
LIBE I: Fighting against all odds.
12 ECON: Aiming to improve and sustain the economic situation of the European Union
14 AFCO: The pursuit of self determination 16 DROI: Roma truths revealed 18 AFET: The kashmir dilemma 20 LIBE II: Behind the screen - data protection 22 DEVE: A grading system to enforce labour standards LIBE III: Quotas against benefit tourism 24 26 ENVI: Our health. our initiative.
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A letter from the editors
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Generation Procrastination? Generation Y? Generation EYP? “You are now the Fribourg Generation.” Throughout the past few days, you have experienced a new world with altered rules, with inspiring people that cheer, challenge, change, but without a box to think in. Often, throughout an EYP session, one commences to question much more than his on her actual committee topic. Scrutinising may expand to ideals and values and it may even approach the ultimate question: “Who are we?” According to Oxford Dictionaries, a generation can be defined as “all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. As ideals and values adapt to the circumstances, so do generations. We are often referred to as the Generation Y, the Generation X, the Generation Procrastination. We are criticised for a lack of commitment, materialism, and increasing narcissism. We are far from being perfect, yet there is no point in being pessimistic. Being part of a new generation is a chance for progress. We believe in the fact that our generation may use the altered conditions of communication, learning, and living wisely. Spreading new ideas and questioning the state of art is something rather common in EYP, for it is home to many idealists. In EYP, we define a generation as the participants who start
EYP together. There are therefore many EYP generations and let us hope that there are more to come. More experienced EYP generations usually remember their first session as truly unique. Yet, every session is unique, for it is the people that make it so special. Dear delegates, You are now the Fribourg generation, which is organised by the memorable Riccardo and Matthieu, and presided by Niall. Fribourg 2014 is hosting 17 European nationalities, many experienced and new EYPers. Mostly, it is your first session, it shaped your notion of the EYP and it, at least we hope, inspired you to see the beautiful, to be active, and to stay active. You might wonder, “who are we”? You are the new generation. Now it is up to you to decide how that will look like. With this edition we encourage you to make use of the last two days of the session. To not sit in General Assembly and hold back your voice because you feel you are not confident enough, not strong enough, not inspired enough. The only way of overcoming your fears is to listen actively, make that point, hold that speech. With this edition we want to support you by overcoming your personal barriers and taking this microphone to speak up.
Yours, Sabrina & Veronika
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Welcome to EYP Switzerland! By Delia Berner - vice-president of EYP Switzerland
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hen you say farewell to this session Sunday night, we say hello and welcome you as official Alumni of EYP Switzerland. You have experienced five days as a delegate of the European Youth Parliament – congratulations! However, there is much more to discover in our organisation, a network of 27‘000 young people from all over Europe. If you are interested to stay active, the following will provide you with further information about the opportunities we can offer. Membership of EYP Switzerland
Travel grants
As Alumni of this session, you automatically receive our membership until the end of this year. Our members not only get a monthly newsletter about upcoming sessions and opportunities in the EYP, they are also invited to attend our free trainings and social events. In order to extend your membership from 2015 onwards, you will be asked to pay an annual fee of 30 CHF. To facilitate this procedure, you have the possibility to pay this sum already during the GA. We are awaiting you at the at EYP Switzerland desk.
Once you become a paying member of EYP Switzerland in 2015 (s. Membership), you will be able to benefit from an annual travel grant of 80 CHF which covers some costs for EYP sessions abroad. If you are good at maths, you may have realised that subtracting the 30 CHF membership fee still makes you profit from 50 CHF every year!
Go abroad as delegate or official
Alumni Weekend, 18th – 19th of October 2014, Sörenberg
Some of you will be invited to attend a session abroad after this National Session. However, if you are not among the chosen ones, there are many sessions you can apply to individually. Furthermore, you are invited to apply for the roles of officials, as a journalist, or a chairperson, to sessions. For upcoming events, stay tuned via our Facebook group „EYP Switzerland“ (https://www.facebook. com/groups/547546528664369/) and our newsletter, or simply talk to Anna, our Alumni Officer.
Reunite with your friends from this session and meet other alumni of EYP Switzerland! We will not only socialise but also offer different training modules including how some about going abroad in EYP, an academic training about the institutions of the EU, and a module on journalism. Sign up at the EYP Switzerland desk during GA or later online.
Regional Sessions 2015 - become an organiser!
Alumni Officer
In spring 2015, four Regional Sessions of EYP Switzerland will take place. These events each last for two days and introduce new students to the EYP. Join the organising team for one of the regionals in order to learn more about the events happening backstage. In addition it is a great opportunity to get to know the EYPers of your region in Switzerland. Stay tuned for the call for organisers that we will announce on Facebook and via e-mail in less than two weeks.
Anna Zellweger, Chairperson of DEVE, is the Alumni officer of EYP Switzerland. She has experience as delegate, organiser, journalist and chair, and therefore she is the perfect person to advise you regarding your next steps in EYP. She can inform you thoroughly about the different roles and how you can apply for them. Talk to her here in Fribourg or contact her via e-mail: anna.zellweger@eyp.ch
Links The EYP on an international level: www.eyp.org Alumni Portal of the EYP on an international level: alumni.eyp.org EYP Switzerland: www.eyp.ch Like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/eypswitzerland, www.facebook.com/fribourg2014
Anna Zellweger Alumni Officer of EYP Switzerland
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EMPL
Attaining Quality? Unpaid internships - are they simply a means for companies to avail themselves of free labour or are they a great opportunity for young citizens, willing to enter the labour market, to gain working experience? During Often, interns work as full time employees without any sort Committee of financial compensation. Employers, on the other Work, the terms hand, struggle to provide quality internships. ‘apprenticeship’ and Alarmed by this issue, the Committee on ‘internship’ were mentioned frequently, but what is Employment is searching for a means the exact difference? to tackle this unsustainable situation. Here are their Tarik: They are profoundly different. An apprenanswers on some key ticeship aims at training someone professionalWhat questions rely. The aim is to be employed by the company is the one has an apprenticeship in. An internship, on garding the major prob- the other hand, has the purpose to gain active topic. lematic when tackling this topic? Adrian: The main difficulties are the grey zones in our topic. Some claim that interns are of no value for a company, mainly because of the costs that they bring about. Others say that they are of importance as they are cheap work forces. The difficulty lies in finding a balance between both stances.
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work experience for a future work career.
Which measures are already in place on a national or international level? Marc: There are some that exist, yet only a few countries have adapted them. Therefore, these measures do not cover all Member States of the EU. Subsequently, there is a high chance of facing problems when having an internship abroad.
Lucius: We believe that there should be an international platform that aims at improving the quality of all internships on an international level.
How do you seek to convince companies that they will also benefit if they improve the working conditions of their internees?
After seeing the costs that internships arise, do you still think it is worth it?
Lisa: In our resolution we introduce a rating system that provides companies that offer quality internships with a quality label. Thereby, companies without the label indirectly receive bad publicity. Thanks to this social pressure, they are likely to be more willing to improve the working environment of their interns.
Ekaterina: Of course. We want to safeguard that the transition from internship to job becomes easier. Thereby, we aim to reduce the high rates of youth unemployment drastically. Marc: Improving the working conditions is a big step towards reaching that goal. We can only aim at raising the quality of internships because it would benefit both, employers and interns. Are there currently any laws protecting internees from exploitation? Tarik: There are none existing on a European level. In France however, there is a law that limits the maximum timeframe of an internship to six months. Furthermore, it regulates that companies have to pay a salary to interns if their internship lasts longer than 2 months.
The members of the Committee on Employment had an intricate topic to tackle, yet these answers prove that they certainly mastered this challenge. Not only have they managed to analyse the problem, they have also found methods that could improve the current situation in the long term. Thereby they provide concrete measures to lower the high unemployment rate that exists among the European youth.
By Siebe Geerts
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LIBE I
Fighting against all odds. By Amy Campo Mc Evoy Facing the current situation of flows of refugees, LIBE I debated how to maintain human rights, how to sustain a just and common policy throughout the union, and how to support EU institutions that already strive to solve the issue of asylum seekers. Having the pressure to solve a problem that affects not only almost half a million asylum seekers in the European Union and but also draws a thin line between balancing a country’s moral duty to citizens and focusing on their economic wellbeing, the committee has been able to complete a resolution that tackles the addressed issues. Here is a close insight as to what has been happening in the committee room.
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What were the main problems you had to solve as a committee? Michelle: “Distribution. Asylum seekers usually arrive from North Africa or the Middle East to Southern European countries and they usually stay there. They apply for refugee status there and they do not go to the Northern countries. The Southern countries have too many asylum seekers while the Northern countries have a lot less.” What is the approach you have taken towards the topic? Cédric: “We want to help asylum seekers but we also have to respect the countries and Member States.” Naila: “We aim to work in a way which broadens people’s knowledge on the topic” Louis: “A strong focus has been given to helping European bodies, which deal with asylum seekers financially. We do think, however, that we do not need too much money to make the system more efficient, seeing as the bodies already exist.” What issues were you not able to solve? Cédric: “We cannot solve the problems abroad which bring the asylum seekers to the European Union”.
Louis: “We also have no solution for those who smuggle into the EU. We do not know how to protect the asylum seekers from not drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.” Michelle: “In our resolution, we want to have representatives from different Member States, who have the duty to watch the people who come on boats, make sure they are treated fairly, and that they are given the adequate help” What issue was the one that triggered most debate during committee work? Loris: “The financial side of it. We probably treated it as the central issue of our resolution, for we linked financial issues to all the other aspects” Michelle: “Whether we could do anything about civil conflicts. In the end, we realised that it is not in our power to change civil wars in other countries” Why do you think the topic of asylum seekers is so important? Anouk: “We are facing a lot of conflicts in the world, and Europe now has more asylum seekers than they have had in the recent past. Solutions cannot wait.” Michelle: “People are affected by this situation, it is happening right now” The committee concluded by saying that their topic is an issue of human rights, and if human rights is what the EU is about and what their beliefs are based on, this issue cannot be postponed.
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Aiming to improve and sustain the economic situation of the European Union
ECON
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he effects of economic recuperation in the European Union after the financial crisis several years ago are still visible. As the austerity measures that have accusatively undermined civil rights of EU citizens stay implemented, delegates of the ECON committee tackle the issue of sustaining civil rights whilst working towards an economically sustainable EU.
Can you summarise the most important points that you have focused on in three What was the most heated discussion words? about? One of the most important words is definitely civil rights. It’s the main concept of this whole session and especially our committee topic approaches a really relevant civil rights issue in the EU. Another main point of our resolution will be short and long term solutions, because we want to focus not only on one of them, but on the combination of both. The last word that needs to be mentioned is sustainability, which is what we are aiming for in our resolution. The way the crisis was handled was nowhere even nearly sustainable, and neither was the way the economy was dealt with before the crisis. Our resolution will try to create an economy that will enable both, short and long term sustainable solutions. Could you explain austerity? Austerity, in its simplest terms, is making the government spend less in order to save more to pay its debts. Austerity can be anything from lowering wages for public workers to spending less money on, for example, the military. During the financial crisis, some austerity measures implemented were tax increases, salary decreases, and spending cuts. Austerity can be beneficial for a country, yet as we have seen, it can also be harmful. This can of course vary depending on the country’s situation.
The central principle of whether or not to go towards a stimulus implementation or to continue with reduced austerity measures. It was very difficult to decide because these are two complete opposites with incredibly different up- and downsides. Is there anything already implemented that you wish to keep? We believe that the growth and stability pact is one thing that should be kept by the European Union. The growth and stability pact sets limits for national debts. When this limit is passed, the European Commission and Council of the European Union are allowed to monitor Member States and provide advice on their economic situation. We believe that this is a good tool to prevent future crises. If you were able to tell the other committees anything about your topic, what would it be? We would like everybody to keep in mind that there is never a smooth transition when leaving a crisis. Every crisis is different and needs to be solved in its own way, and it is never going to be perfect for everyone. However, we do believe that our resolution tackles the main issues, and we are confident that our solutions will be a step in the right direction.
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AFCO
The Pursuit of self determination By Julia Badertscher
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In 12 days time, the Scottish people will have to make a decision that could change their lives forever: They will decide whether Scotland should be an independent country. Yet, it is questionable whether and if so, how the European Union should interfere in order to make sure its citizens can take full advantage of their right to self-determination. The Committee on Constitutional Affairs has tackled this problem. Why are you interested in the topic of AFCO? The posed problem demonstrates a real dilemma, as there is, especially in Scotland’s case, no right or wrong. The question whether a region should become an independent state is highly controversial. As the Scottish referendum is unique in history, nobody really knows what is going to happen, whether the Scottish citizens decide to leave the UK. Thus, the debate has been the centre of media attention for quite some time. Additionally, our world has become immensely globalised. The trend goes towards greater markets and more transparent borders. During the past decades, the world has unified drastically and therefore, we found it astonishing that separatism still exists. What are the problems your resolution aims to solve? It was very important for us to explore what the EU can actually do in a situation like Scotland’s, as something comparable has never happened before. Our goal was to find a procedure on how newly founded states can become members of the EU.
Keeping in mind the motto of the EU is ‘united in diversity’, how do you think the EU should support regions which want to become independent without promoting separatism at the same time? The EU should only support cases in which the specific region has a valid claim for independence. It is important to us, that the European citizens can express their right to self-determination. However, we do not want to support separation because of minor reasons. Briefly explain how a newly founded state would become a member state. Firstly, the Directorate General for Enlargement of the European Commission is ensuring that the region’s claim for independence is feasible. The region can then vote on the matter. Should the citizens approve, the newly founded state becomes a temporary Member State of the EU. The new country’s constitution is then analysed according to a standard procedure and adapted to meet the requirements of the European Union. Subsequently, the Council of the EU will officially accept the new state as a member.
DROI
Roma Truths Revealed By emirhan tekin In our modern and globalised world, the Roma, once known for their nomadic lifestyle, have settled for a more sedentary lifestyle. Sadly, this change brought about even more discrimination and prejudice against their folk, especially inside European borders. The EU strives to eradicate the bias against Roma, yet it is questionable by which means it may accomplish the task. I had the opportunity to interview the Committee on Human Rights (DROI) in order to obtain an insight into their resolution. Can you give insight as to what the conflict is about? The Roma population is the largest minority inside the EU. The citizens of Europe are antagonised by the cultural and categorical differences among the two groups. To the native population, the Roma quickly became stereotyped and known as thieves and criminals. Every group might have its bad eggs, yet we cannot conclude from the actions of a few to a population size larger than 10 million human beings.
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Can you explain the approach you took to solve the problem at hand and why you chose it? We chose to utilise an integration strategy rather than an assimilation strategy, however there will be a small degree of assimilation which is indeed inevitable. By this, we expect the Roma population to respect and obey EU law. Still, we want to emphasise that their culture is their right, and that they are entitled to practice it. We cannot and we do not expect folks to abandon their origin. After all, the EU
is a multicultural establishment with a variety What was the part that you were able solve of traditions and cultures. the easiest? What was the toughest obstacle on your path We all had different ideas and perceptions to creating the resolution? and therefore, we argued at times. These arguments turned out to be very productive: The Generally, the topic is rather controversial debates usually resulted in numerous perwhich was out major problem. Although our spectives which we collected, discussed and team agreed on the solution of integration, we then proofed. each had different approaches towards the objective. In the end, we had to find multiple com- Therefore, we believe that our diverse outlook promises in order to satisfy the entire team. on the subject coupled with our reliable sources, accurate statistics, and solid facts will be able to persuade our fellow delegates to vote for our resolution.
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AFET
The Kashmir Dilemma By Andreas Selvig Ă˜degĂĽrd
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he Committee on Foreign Affairs is dealing with the topic of human rights violations in Indian controlled Kashmir. The turmoil in this area has existed since the establishment of India and Pakistan in 1947. Currently, the EU is negotiating a new free trade agreement (FTA) with India. The EU tries to leverage its partner regarding human rights policies. The big question is, to which extent should the EU use its influence, and is such pressure even just? I have talked to Fabian, Clara, Jan, and Miriam to comprehend their rather complex solution.
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How did you work on the topic? Please describe your process. We started by defining the different spheres of our problem. Our issue is a rather complicated one, for political, social, ethical, historic, religious, and ethnic aspects are all intertwined. In addition, there are several aspects the EU Furthermore, we have also imcannot solve. We concluded with a focus on plemented a political, economic, and human rights and political and social problems. social scope with a broader focus. We want to establish a platform for dialogue for Indian, Could you please summarise your resolution Pakistani, and Kashmiri representatives. Moreand your thoughts behind? over, we wish to help the further development of the Indian economy, and to facilitate trade Our starting point is this: The EU definitely needs and cooperation between India and Pakistan. the FTA, yet at the same time the human rights The last aspect includes the spread of inforsituation in Kashmir is intolerable. Currently, mation and taking measures to include the the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) civilian population of Kashmir in determining is the major problem. It is an Indian law which their own future. is active in several unstable provinces, one of them being Kashmir. AFSPA makes Indian miliWhat were the most difficult parts of your tary personnel immune to prosecution in court work? for offences committed against the civilians. While we absolutely disapprove of this misuse of power, it is important to refrain from meddling with Indian domestic affairs. We must not patronise and force our values on India. That is why we have chosen a combined solution, addressing the issue both in the FTA and outside of it. We are using the FTA as an entrance point to talk human rights with India. Within the FTA, we demand respect for and accurate implementation of human rights, especially regarding the AFSPA. We want this act to be altered, yet we understand that removing it might undermine the defence of the region. We believe that the best solution is a weakened immunity and a gradual outfacing of the act.
There were strong opinions on the topic, especially regarding the AFSPA. It was difficult to determine to which extent we wanted to impose our values on India, and whether we would risk losing the FTA by pursuing though goals. We also needed to take into account that the role of the EU has evolved from being simply an economic union to a social and political one which promotes human rights. What are the measures India should take on its own to secure human rights in Kashmir? India needs to find a compromise between the security of the area and the wellbeing of its inhabitants, and that includes reforming the AFSPA. The solution also implies more committed cooperation with Pakistan. The two countries need to accelerate their joint trade, thus finding a common cause to work for. They need to build trust because only if they do, they will build peace and remove the reasons for human rights violations.
LIBE II
Behind the screen: Data Protection by GEorge Ross Please briefly summarise the topic in a single sentence. Linda: The topic is about mass surveillance and data protection. Janka: It is a conflict between fundamental rights of individuals and the rights of our entire society. Katia: Our task has been to find the right balance between the protection of individual rights and the importance of national security. What are the main problems the Committee has faced so far? Fabian: I think the National security vs personal freedom debate is very much our biggest question. Felix: The hardest thing to grasp is certainly how to defend citizens’ rights against their own government. Allegra: The right to be forgotten is also important because it is very current. What has been the most divisive discussion over the course of Committee Work? What was it about and why was it so intense? Alastair Payne, Chairperson (UK): The most intense discussion has been the one on the right to be forgotten. This discussion is right at the heart of a conflict between two different rights: individual freedom and freedom of the press. There is also a significant risk of historical revisionism. Simultaneously, for data protection to make sense in the 21st century the inter-
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net cannot remain a permanent record of a person’s activity. LIBE II carefully discussed various scenarios where we felt it would be appropriate for the right to be forgotten to be applied and agreed on a set of criteria which were compatible with the EU fundamental rights whilst avoiding the slippery slope. What solution are you proudest of? Alexander: To me it is idea of discussing laws about data protection every year, as today’s laws about this topic are from 1995. If they had been discussed at some point in the past, a lot of problems could have been avoided. Valentin: I like our resolution very much. At the moment there are very few laws about the internet or online transfer in Europe. I am proud to have done something new. Yuliia: We were able to find solutions for all European countries because we discussed differences in the security services of our countries. We all agreed to found a committee which checks all data protection security in the European countries. What should delegates bear in mind when reading your resolution? Is there anything else that you would like to make them aware of? EugÊnie: They must keep in mind that the technology is here now. It is a problem not just for the future but also for the present. We must also bear in mind how quickly technology changes. The rights we are discussing may perhaps be the most important human rights. Lorena: Bear in mind data protection concerns all of us, especially the youth who is constantly using social media, so pay attention! Please criticise our resolution to help us improve it as much as possible. This is one of the most important topics at the session and everyone can get involved easily due to their own experiences. Katia: We have to act quickly because it concerns us all as we are the generation who sharse the most data. Everyone should understand that even though the question is very general it impacts us all. My humblest apologies to Christina Pallikudiyil (CH) who was unable to take part in this interview due to her early departure from Committee Work. I personally am very much looking forward to what you have to say during General Assembly.
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DEVE A grading system to enforce labour standards all over the world
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By Anna Barkemeyer
The Committee on Development has been discussing how Europe should supervise human and labour rights violations during the production of goods sold in the common European market. How would you briefly summarise your customs reductions. resolution? What do you think are your most imporThe problem we have been facing is the vi- tant solutions in addition to this one? olation of labour laws and the exploitation of less regulated countries by Multi Nation- Our first action will be to have a “Black List� al Co-operations (MNCs) for the obvious of companies who sell products which have reason of the highest profit possible. been produced under particularly unsafe conditions. Our solution for regulating the market with- In addition, we will be starting publicity out directly interfering in countries which campaigns both in Europe, to raise awaredo not belong to Europe is an innovative ness for the poor working conditions and mandatory grading system. Companies exploitation of workers in developing counare rated on their compliance with labour tries, and in the respective developing standards set by the International Labour countries to inform citizens of their rights. Organisation (ILO) and are placed into categories according to this rating. As an in- Also, we want to emphasise our full supcentive for companies to advance to high- port for initiatives put forward by internaer categories, these categories will receive tional organisations such as the ILO and the
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OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-op- cially interesting for companies to improve eration and Development). their ranking and become more attractive for costumers. What are you aiming at with the proposed What was your most controversial disexchange platforms? cussion? The idea behind the exchange platforms is to foster the sharing of knowledge between workers unions from both developed and developing countries. Especially the representatives from the developing countries can gain a lot from this and share the newly found knowledge with their co-workers. In terms of labour standards around the world - what is your long term vision? Our long term vision is for the labour standards set by the ILO to be enforced in every country of the world. We want to achieve this by motivating companies to establish the standards on their own.
We did not really have any controversial discussions, for the reason that the topic is not controversial itself. You cannot really be against human rights. However, we did find the fact that Europe cannot make international laws rather testing. We had to find ways of enforcing our ideas while taking the highly complex legal situation into account. Nevertheless, we managed to propose solutions for the problems we faced within the legal boundaries.
The rankings of our grading system will be accessible by the public which makes it espe-
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LIBE IIII
Quotas against benefit tourism By Manon Schürch In light of the recently established implementation of quotas for immigrants in Switzerland, LIBE III concerned themselves with the question whether free movement within all EU Member States is justified and feasible. The keyword in order to comprehend their topic is benefit tourism. Benefit tourism addresses people who travel to a country in order to live off social security payments while untruthfully claiming to be seeking work. Please sum up the resolution in a few sen- What is your resolution’s stance on the protences. posal of amending Directive 2004/38/EC, which defines the right of EU citizens to move Gaëlle: Our resolution focuses on the situation and reside freely within all Member States? in different Member States; in our clauses we strongly address benefit tourism. Furthermore, Rachid: We propose to amend this Directive we are analysing the EU’s relationship to Swit- to decrease benefit tourism and thereby save zerland. money. Yet, we are generally in favour of the Daniel: Additionally, we are proposing to de- Directive and will defend it against quotas recrease benefit tourism without affecting the stricting free movement. freedom of movement.
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Daniel: Also, our resolution states that we want What is your resolution’s stance on how to give countries a certain time limit aimed the EU should approach its Member States at restricting benefit tourism, this means that that implement tighter welfare restrictions non-permanent workers cannot reside in a EU for immigrants? country for too long. Antoine: A transition would be taken into acWhat is your resolution’s stance on the EU’s count only for immigrants who want to seek relationship to Switzerland after the success work in the respective country. Already imof the referendum on mass immigration? migrated workers should, on the other hand, have full access to the welfare system while Yves: Our resolution expresses its regret for others have a time limitation. The committee the outcome of the referendum on mass im- guarantees nine months of subsidised welmigration. fare for immigrants seeking a job. Till: If other non-EU countries within Europe expect the same exceptions in the future, the EU should start abolishing their freedom of movement.
How does your resolution approach the already existing consequences or possible further ones that have been evoked by the EU on Switzerland, such as the abolishment of Horizon 2020 and Erasmus +?
Anna: Our committee urges Switzerland to decide whether they still want a partnership with Daniel: We urge the EU to not freeze Erasthe EU. mus+ or Horizon 2020 for Switzerland as long as the result of the referendum is not impleWhat does your resolution state about many mented on a legal basis. As soon as it is, the EU Member States growing dissatisfied with EU and Switzerland will have to negotiate allowing freedom of movement for workers? their future partnership. Gaëlle: Basically, we want to promote free movement of workers but if a new Member State would join the EU, the regulations have to be adapted.
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ENVI
Our health. our initiative. By Paula Villalba
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he excruciating pressure put on the health system by the rising costs of health care deeply concerns the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. The committee has successfully identified the causes of the conflict and has put their efforts into finding solutions which are viable for all Member States. The committee’s resolution is both, innovative and practical. All of their operative clauses efficiently tackle the puzzling health crisis, which, if not solved may resolve in entirely crashing our current health system.
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What does a fair and equal health systemmean to you? Sarunja: A fair and equal health system is one, in which everyone is treated equally regardless of their religion, economic background, and ethnicity. What is a basic health care system? Mina: It is a universal system in which patients get access to a general practitioner at any time and their basic medication costs are covered.
How should the health system protect those sector are extremely expensive due to the elless fortunate? evated costs of technology. Carlo: Our committee believes that a basic health system should be mandatory. This means that all citizens will get equal access to treatment. The system we have envisioned will be funded by using a progressive tax system that decreases the burden of those who are economically disadvantaged.
Which problem was the hardest to solve?
What is the committee’s stance on the Health for Growth Programme, which promotes changes within the national health systems?
What solutions have you found to solve the main problem?
Christian: Although our committee acknowledges the good intention of the aforementioned programme, we found it deficient in the sense that it does not tackle the main issues. The programme is not legally binding, meaning that Member States are not really encouraged to change any of their health care policies. Why are health care costs rising in Europe? Sarah: We have identified the ageing population as the main cause of rising costs. The older generation requires more expensive treatments that consume health care resources. Furthermore, over the past years there has been a trend towards an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity levels are rising. Therefore, more people require medical assistance. On a final note, research and innovation in the medical
Kira: Each Member State has its own health care system which the European Union cannot alter directly. As a consequence, the EU can only act as an advisor rather than being very active.
Kira: ENVI has decided to focus on preventative measures. We have faith that by suggesting health and cooking classes in school curricula and by raising taxes on tobacco and alcohol we will effectively address people to take more care of their health. Consequently, obesity and thus treatment would decrease. In addition, we encourage the youth to a take part in a system of community service to help the elderly. We also promote home care to decrease the number of patients in hospitals. Furthermore, we would like to provide incentives (a decrease in tax) for people performing these services. Which operative clause are you proudest of? Jennifer: We would like to introduce educational campaigns across the EU with the goal of increasing awareness of generic medication and its relevance in saving money.
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