A Look Into the 2024 European Youth Debate

On May 2nd 2024, the participants of the ninth edition of the European Youth Debate gathered in front of Palazzo Lombardia, to engage in a three-day discussion about the opportunities and challenges the EU is facing and will face in the near future. The EYD, taking place each spring in Milan since 2015, is the biggest event organised by European Generation, in collaboration with entities such as the European Parliament and the European Commission. Each year, roughly a hundred participants of different nationalities, studying in universities from all around Europe and the rest of the world, come together in a spirit of curiosity and collaboration. They are divided among four roundtables: each one represents an area of policy that has been of particular interest during the last year. In the 2024 edition of the EYD, participants could choose among Foreign & Security Policy, the European Energy (R)evolution, AI & Digital Policy, and Human Rights Protection. 

The EYD 2024 started with an inauguration conference, where the President and Vice President of the association for the second semester of the 2023/2024 academic year, Iorgus Serghei Cicala and Lorenza Demicheli, greeted the participants with their opening remarks. They were followed by presentations by Prof. Carlo Altomonte, Professor of economics of European Integration and Director of the PNRR Lab, and by Prof. Catherine De Vries, Professor of Political Science and Dean of International Affairs at Università Bocconi. Lastly, one guest speaker for each roundtable delivered valuable insights to prime the discussion and elaboration of policy proposals of each group. 

In this article, some members of European Generation and participants of the EYD 2024 recall their experience for either the preparation or the participation in the debate. We begin with Dzianis and Alberto, who will illustrate the preliminary research that went into the preparation of the Foreign & Security Policy roundtable; secondly, Martin will give an in-depth example of the policy proposals elaborated by the Energy (R)evolution roundtable; lastly Beatrice and Laura will give you an idea of what the three days of the debate look like, drawing from their experience on the AI & Digital Policy and on the Human Rights Protection roundtables. 

Foreign & Security Policy 

By Dzianis Rabchuk 

- “What do you mean the EU has armed groups?”

This was my natural reaction to my co-researcher sharing the information about EU battlegroups. And this was the best part of being in the research team: discovering novel things and finding the ways to tell the debate participants about them.

Our work consisted of three main steps. First, we brainstormed the topic of European security – the subject of our roundtable – and, after outlining four main subtopics, we divided them among our team of four researchers. The next step involved delving deeper into them. This task may seem less engaging since it is performed alone, but this opinion would be wrong: in fact, we had a lot of communication among each other, sharing our findings and collaborating on parts that were belonging to more than one subtopic. One of such collaborations is where the citation above comes from. The ultimate and most heated was the last part, where we had to cut a lot of materials to merge it into a single guideline. Why would we do it? First, not to make it too long - the original draft was 50 pages, it was later cut down to around 12. Second – to keep the focus of the reader and underline the most vital parts, omitting less important details. 

In the end, we have managed to make a comprehensive guide on European Security that revealed a lot of hidden mechanisms and unused opportunities. Being a part of the research taskforce was like charting a map: you discover new things and put them on a paper for the others to use them. Then, during the debate, it was rewarding to see the participants sharing the information that we have found to produce their ideas, defend opinions, and constructively criticise the others’ view. 

One may think that the research taskforce is not that engaging: you basically work with the documents and write summaries. However, this role has a profound impact on the conference and can shape its flow and progress. And yeah, the award comes in the shape of new discoveries and the effect that you see your work having on the debate.

By Alberto Yunus Perrella

The theme of European Foreign and Security Policy has become more and more important over the last few years. 

In order to properly inform the participants of the EYD about this topic, we prepared a short but detailed overview of different aspects that we wanted to focus on during the actual roundtable works and debates.

First of all, we gathered information from different sources about the topic of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP): we looked for example at the Treaties, at documents published by European Institutions and national government, articles, papers, and others.

Then we decided over which particular topics we wanted to discuss in our document, and we outlined its structure. We chose to divide the paper in four chapters, which were an historic overview of CSDP, a description of the CSDP Decision-making process, an analysis of the new European Defence Industrial Strategy, and an overview of Europe's foreign partners and challenges.

We divided the workload among the four of us, and chapter by chapter we summarised the information we gathered and reported them in the paper in a concise manner, highlighting particularly relevant knowledge. We wanted to make it easy for the other members of the roundtable to browse through the guide and access information quickly, in order to facilitate the work during the EYD. To this end, we also divided each chapter into different paragraphs. 

We included a brief introduction, a list of abbreviations, some graphs and a complete list of sources. We also included a relevant quote by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Joseph Borrell.

We worked on this brief introduction to the topic of CSDP over different weeks, producing in the end a document of about 20 pages. It was really useful both before and during the EYD, as it helped some participants to better understand the topic they would discuss, and also played an important role in the organisation of work during the two days of roundtable activity.

European Energy (R)evolution

By Martin Dimitrovski 

Europe is living through an energy evolution, making its industry more sustainable and green, a true leader in cutting greenhouse emissions. The EU is providing an example on how to mitigate the issue of climate change in the global arena. However, is it truly revolutionary? This year’s Energy (R)evolution roundtable’s policy proposal aims to provide solutions on how this ongoing transition can be truly revolutionary for the economy as well as for the people of the EU and beyond. The proposals aim to provide answers to help ensure a just green transition, increase the effectiveness of renewables by tackling demand and supply mismatch in the electricity markets in the EU, as well as provide innovative green incentives for the financial sector.

Firstly, the proposals recognise the challenges of individuals employed in industries that are going to be affected by the green transition, such as fossil fuel, coal mining, combustion engine manufacturing and certain agricultural industries. The closure of these industries is expected in the mid-term and it is imposed by the creative destruction forces of the green economy, as well as the legal obligations taken by member states and EU as whole.

The proposal advocates for the establishment of specialised forums to serve as platforms for experts to identify potential paths for reemployment, ensuring that workers affected by the shift towards sustainability are not left behind, as well as help member states avoid structural unemployment issues. It advocates for the establishment of the Employment Transition Mechanism, which provides training and re-skilling opportunities for workers transitioning from “brown” industries, as well as promoting voluntary industry career changes to employees from the aforementioned industries. It is proposed to include an income support scheme for employees during training, and fully finance “green” companies to provide tailored training programs to equip the transition workers into the green economy, according to their firms and industry’s needs. The Employment Transition Mechanism would be funded by redirected subsidies previously allocated to the fossil fuel industry. It would also promote fostering of union organisation by including collective labour agreements as a pre-qualification criterion for tenders covered by the Just Transition Fund.

Secondly, the proposals aim to acknowledge the need for storage solutions, as, without them, the intermittency issue of renewable energy would hamper the subsequent full electrification of the EU economy. The intermittency issue is to be solved with energy storage technologies, trading and more efficient management. It also recognises that most materials for energy storage solutions are dependent on China, and aims to diversify suppliers of critical minerals and incentivise R&D of other types of storage solutions.

The proposals advocate for the implementation of pilot-scale projects through the EU innovation fund, such as the adoption of community-level models of energy storage to smooth potential mismatches between demand and supply, encourage energy sharing and create opportunities for EU citizens to contribute to the common grid through V2G technology. 

Finally, the proposals aim to ensure the financing of the green transition with bonds/loans issued by the EU, expanding on the NGEU. To increase the attractiveness of the green bonds, member states are encouraged to provide tax incentives such as no tax on capital gains for investors in green bonds. In addition, enhancement of the controlling instruments regarding this type of financing such as penalty rates and other covenants to ensure regulatory compliance and eradicate greenwashing have been proposed.

During the plenary session of the EYD, after the amendments to the proposal raised by EYD participants the

proposal was adopted with an overwhelming majority. This should be a signal to the fact that the youth of Europe demands this transition to be truly revolutionary.

As chair of the Energy (R)evolution roundtable, I would like to add that it was an honour to be a part of an extraordinary team, one extremely passionate about the future of the EU. It was very insightful to hear and expand on your ideas and concerns, while also being a fun experience with getting to meet all the participants, as well as spend time with you.

AI & Digital Policy

By Beatrice de Waal

The development of digital and, more recently, AI technology is set to disrupt the way we go about life: from the value we place on our privacy, to the reliability of our electoral processes, to how we will be able to develop our careers. At the EYD 2024, the Digital & AI Policy Roundtable came together to discuss and elaborate new policy proposals: their aim is to allow the EU to strike the delicate balance between growth and security, developing an institutional environment that fosters innovation, while controlling for who will bear the positives and negatives of the AI revolution.

This is no easy challenge; to provide useful insights to the participants, three guest speakers enriched the conversation: during the opening conference, Stefano da Empoli, Professor of political economics at Università Roma Tre and President of the think tank i-Com, assessed the risks and benefits of AI for the workforce, and explained their geopolitical dimension. Later on, during the first roundtable work session, Francesco Amadei, Regulatory Affairs Consultant for Open Gate Italia, presented the state of the art of European and Italian regulation of artificial intelligence. Lastly, Valerio Usella, Professor of public policy at Università LUMSA and Senior Regulatory Manager of Open Fiber, held a presentation on the recent and foreseeable evolution of the telecommunication sector. 

The roundtable then got to work: after reviewing the current policy framework, the debaters identified some macro-areas of potential intervention. Examples are the enforcement of data privacy regulations and a further harmonisation of cybersecurity protocols for the public sector. Another chapter deals instead with the educational system, to make sure that both students and teachers can gain the right tools to exploit the opportunities created by AI, without completely foregoing traditional methods. Special attention was also paid to the penitentiary system: in a framework of rehabilitation, the debaters advocated for the introduction of digital literacy programs and basic computer skills inside prisons as well. 

One particularly interesting proposal has been the establishment of AI sandboxes, which consist of certain, well-defined controlled environments where private operators can test, for a limited period of time, new technologies and innovative services, under the supervision of a regulator. Such environments can become highly informative about the risks and gains of their tested products, which, should they be safe and successful, can also benefit from a transitional regime, going from experiment to commercialisation. 

The last area taken into consideration is labour and employment protection: some measures discussed have been enhancements of training programmes with the aid of tax credits, job retention schemes, and the integration of the disclosure of potentially harmful-to-employees practices involving AI with already existing company reports, to be subject to external audit. 

Finally, the proposals were presented and discussed during the plenary assembly, where each participant in the debate had the right to propose and vote on amendments. 

Human Rights Protection

By Laura Mirella Corbella

One of the protagonists of the EYD 2024 was the human rights protection roundtable. In a period of turbulence and conflict like ours, it becomes relevant and downright essential to address the deterioration of democratic values and civil rights that the European Union is founded upon. With an emphasis on migration, women’s rights and democratic backsliding, our roundtable covered a wide range of sensitive and complex issues. 

As a possibility to delve deeper into the matters and develop more critical tools to unravel their intricacies, we attended a lecture regarding migration drivers and policies by Emanuel Garavello. The migration expert has gained invaluable skills throughout his consultancy for governments and United Nations agencies, stretching over multiple continents and realities. 

He debunked several myths and common misconceptions. For example, he pointed out that less than 10% of migration flows towards the EU is represented by irregular migration, while most policies adopted to curb or regulate the inflows are defective at best.

Thanks to his intervention, my team set out to define the main priorities of our project, namely reframing the conversation surrounding migration from a rhetoric of fear to informed and productive public discourse, as well as ensuring safe conditions in any phase of the journey to our shores.

In the policy brief, we focused on the need to harmonise regulations, by introducing  Independent Monitoring Mechanisms to safeguard against malpractice and a Central Migration Database (CMD) to manage regular reporting. 

Regarding the processing of migrants at entry points, our main concern was to improve reception centres by setting a 3-month time limit after the first arrival and equip them with comprehensive support, including psychological and healthcare integration services. We also underlined the need for a Pan-European Fund to establish community centres that promote the integration of the refugees. 

Our second broad topic, women’s rights, covered both the right to abortion and the discussion on gender-based violence (GBV). With reference to the first matter, we urged to incorporate the right to abortion into the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and grant universal access to abortion services, providing both financial support and functioning structures. Turning to GBV, all EU nations should include Istanbul Convention provisions into their laws to combat this critical issue. Moreover, we advocated for regular GBV educational campaigns and policies like mandatory police training.

Finally, we shifted our attention to the trend of democratic backsliding and the necessity for free and reliable journalism in member states. We proposed the creation of a European Code of Ethics for journalists to separate news from opinion, drawing on peer-review among journalists to maintain accuracy and ethical standards. Arguably the most delicate and challenging task we have as Europeans is to defend democracy, and, even before, to identify its jeopardies and manipulations that often go undetected for their subtle and gradual nature. After intense discussion and brainstorming sessions related to this concern, we developed the following resolutions: establishing an independent EU Democracy Monitoring Agency (EU-DMA) for constant post-accession oversight, and enhancing sanction mechanisms, including financial penalties through qualified majority voting.

From the initial drafting of the policy brief through to the final reading and decisive vote, an inspiring spirit of collaboration and consensus emerged among the participants, as demonstrated by a nearly unanimous approval. There was a collective emphasis on the fundamental role of education and the importance of staying well-informed, reflecting our shared hope for a more enlightened future for upcoming generations.