Our Constitution for a better Europe!
Who
150 youth representatives from 38 countries
What
The Citizen Constitution to #fixEU
How
4 days in Strasbourg using Syntegration® method
The European Youth Convention sets out to #fixEU
The Intervention
For the past years, the European Union has been unable to deliver for its citizens and therefore is on the way to lose public support. The young civil society got fed up with this downward spiral and decided to do an intervention to #fixEU – the idea of the European Youth Convention was born.
Founding Generation of a Better Europe
150 representatives of youth organisations from 38 countries summoned at the European Parliament Strasbourg in March 2017 to develop the foundation of a better Europe. Their ambition? Think Europe from scratch and take a fresh approach to political processes. To facilitate these objectives, the Malik Institute decided to power the European Youth Convention with their Syntegration® method.
Outcome
The European Youth Convention adopted a 12 chapter strong Citizens’ Constitution, defining a better Europe. The full text will be published probably on Thursday 23rd March; this is an abstract:
A Grand Vision for the Continent
"United in diversity, we, the European citizens", this is how the constitution starts, and it describes a fully developed democratic state capable of delivering for its citizens. While the EYC Delegates give the EU more powers, they also strengthen its democratic legitimacy and accountability: Their Union transforms into a federation of states, whose government would be controlled by a European Parliament and a European Senate. Furthermore, they envision a greener and fairer economy, a universalistic understanding of citizenship and free education for all Europeans.
Overcoming the EU's Current Flaws
The Citizens constitution tackles many of the EU's pressing problems: To solve the migration crisis, a common EU asylum system would distribute refugees according to the capacities of states. On the internet, the European Agency for Cyber Protection would fight crime and guard private data. Regarding external affairs, the European Foreign Minister, EU Embassies and a European army would ensure that the Union finally acts united on the world stage. Concerning the integration debate, future opt-outs would be prohibited, and the freedom of movement be safeguarded.
