The Academic Preparation Kit of the 1st Digital Session of EYP Cyprus by EYP Cyprus

Welcome Words To the participants of the first Digital Session of EYP Cyprus, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the session on behalf of the academic team. We are so happy to have you on this journey with us and we are delighted to share the academic preparation kit with you! The theme of the session is ‘Building resilience; more than just overcoming crises’. Resilience can mean many things to many different people. We all know what it is like to do something that we are not that fond of doing, yet we do it because of that feeling inside that we must. Sometimes that feeling is as trivial as simply getting up early on Monday morning for school or work, or it can be as complex and abstract as trying your best to forgive a friend or foe for something they have done. These acts are both tough in their own right however the reason we do them is really quite similar. We are aware of the bigger picture. We know that some things in life are worth the short term struggle for the long term gain. In the European context, the last year could be seen as quite a struggle. Life as we know it has been attacked on all fronts, whether that be through the very real and ongoing threat that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to countries across the globe, or the more subtle subversion of democratic principles through authoritarian regimes and Euroscepticism. With all these problems, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we walk away from these crises and start afresh, giving up on the European ideals, or do we show resilience and take a proactive approach to solve the problems we face. At this session, we will be resilient, and speak out about difficult and sensitive issues to make sure that the world is a better place. This is the first digital

session of EYP Cyprus, and by making the switch online, and not allowing for your voice to be silenced, you are showing resilience by simply being here. So take this opportunity that you have been given, give this session your best. During teambuilding, try to step a little outside of your comfort zone. In committee work, speak up on the important issues you care about, even when nobody else will, and at the General Assembly try to inform yourself about what is going on in the world around you so you can be a catalyst for change! You have been given this fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded people in times where socialising and finding your voice can be so difficult. So while you are socially distant, this session is an opportunity to become closer to making a change in the world. It might not change the world, but it may change the people who one day will. Be that person! See you very soon, Luke Cunningham President of the 1st Digital Session of EYP Cyprus

Importance of Research

KNOWLEDGE OF THE EU AND THE UN

Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) Turning the Tide: In light of recent events in States such as Belarus, how can the EU develop its neighbourhood policy to promote European values in the Balkans and ensure stable long-term institutional frameworks?

By Stefanos Charalampous, CY

Topic at a glance Western Balkan countries have been candidate countries for years, with many nearing 2 decades of being candidate countries. The EU, while seeming to be inviting and interested in integrating its applicant countries, is so far unable to present a united front. Minor Member State coalitions, with the leading countries being France and Bulgaria, appear to be against the introduction of new Member States coming from the Western Balkan Region. The inability of the newest Balkan additions to the EU, namely Romania and Bulgaria, to fully integrate and keep up with the EU’s economy has created a new wave of doubt when it comes to accepting Balkan countries in the EU before they are ‘fully ready’. Additionally, the pandemic has only worsened the situation, with Western Balkan countries being left disappointed after the EU’s initial failure to deliver the promised COVID-19 vaccines to fight efficiently and effectively the pandemic. This has created a new wave of Euroscepticism and Euro-sceptics in the region. Bearing this in mind, is it too soon or is it already too late for the 6 Balkan applicant countries to become EU Member States? If so, how can the EU promote its European values in the region, for a smoother transition of the applicant countries?

Key Words and Core Concepts

●

The Balkans: The Balkans are usually characterized as the cluster of states comprised of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia—with all or part of each of these states being located within the peninsula. Portions of Greece and Turkey are also located within the geographic region generally defined as the Balkan Peninsula.

●

EU Enlargement: The EU's enlargement policy deals with the countries currently aspiring to become members of the European Union. There are strict conditions, also known as the Copenhagen Criteria, for membership to ensure that new members are admitted only when they are fully able to take on the obligations of EU membership.

●

EU Accession Process: Once a country applies to become an EU Member State, the accession process begins. There are 9 main steps to EU accession, that focus mainly on negotiations between the applicant/candidate country and the European Commission.

●

European Values: According to Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union, the EU is ‘‘founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities’’.

●

Euroscepticism:

European

political

doctrine

that

advocates

disengagement from the European Union. Political parties that have a Eurosceptic viewpoint tend to be broadly populist and generally support tighter immigration controls in addition to the dismantling or streamlining of the EU bureaucratic structure, in order to avoid the loss of their national identities. ●

Candidate Countries: Currently, there are 5 candidate countries that are in the process of integrating EU Law into their national legislation. These countries are Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.

Additionally, there are 2 potential candidate states – Kosovo1 and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ●

Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA): The Instrument for Preaccession Assistance (IPA) is the instrument through which the EU has been supporting reforms in the enlargement region with financial and technical assistance since 2007. Its aims are to enhance the efficiency and coherence of aid to strengthen institutional capacity, cross-border cooperation, economic and social development and rural development.

●

General Affairs Council Configuration (GAC): The GAC is responsible for the EU

enlargement and

accession

negotiations,

the

adoption

the multiannual financial framework (the EU's 7-year budget plan), cohesion policy, and matters relating to the EU's institutional set-up.

KEY CONFLICTS Covid-19 The year 2020 was set to be a very important one for the EU’s enlargement plan in the Western Balkans. On the 25th of March 2020, talks were to be resumed between the EU and 2 candidate countries, North Macedonia and Albania. However, after repeated delays due to the pandemic’s outbreak, leading a small group of EU Member States, France refused to further entertain any enlargement ideas until ‘a new negotiation methodology was agreed’ upon. This has led to Western Balkan governments selective application of restrictions in response to the pandemic, often using said measures to silence their critics and opponents, after noticing the divided stance of the EU and its inability to present a united form when dealing with the Western Balkans and the EU’s future.

1 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

During the EU-Western Balkans Summit on 6 May 2020, EU leaders reaffirmed the European Union’s determination to further intensify its engagement with the region and welcomed the pledge of the Western Balkan partners to carry out necessary reforms thoroughly and vigorously. However, the focus quickly switched to fighting the pandemic, and not so much to the Western Balkan countries joining the EU. If this continues, it could have a long-term effect on the accession of Balkan countries, since it could lead to the backsliding on the EU’s political criteria. Conflicts in the Balkans: the complexity of Balkan geopolitics After the Bulgarian veto on the accession talks between North Macedonia and the EU, the world finally understood the extent and the complexity of Balkan politics. Additionally, the Bulgarian caretaker Foreign Minister, Svetlan Stoev, confirmed that no change can be expected in his country’s position regarding North Macedonia, during a meeting with EU officials. The reason behind the Bulgarian veto seems to be no other than Skopje’s failed delivery on a bilateral treaty with Bulgaria in 2017, effectively blocking the work of a joint committee tasked to sort out the issues of “common history”. In response, Sofia flagged a fresh wave of anti-Bulgarian hate speech in North Macedonia. However, Bulgaria has failed to deliver an official explanation of the real issues behind Skopje’s hostile attitude. Several EU members, including Austria, have criticised the Bulgarian stance, even characterizing it as ‘absurd’. In March of 2021, a letter was sent to the EU’s chief diplomat Joseph Borrell, co-signed by 9 EU Member States (Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), in which letter they encourage the EU to ‘bring Western Balkans back on the agenda’.

Euroscepticism Right after Brexit, many Western Balkan countries were flooded by a new wave of Euro-skeptics. A major force that drives the Euro-skeptics is that administrative and economic integration of the EU, which according to them causes the loss of national sovereignty, exceeds greatly what they, as European citizens, are willing to tolerate. This is because they see themselves as citizens of their respective nations first, and only secondly as citizens of the EU. The result of this is that until the loyalty of these citizens is transferred from nations to Brussels, the EU needs to slow down integration, rather than extend it, to avoid causing a larger backlash to the idea of joining the EU and the European values that are being promoted. Timeframe for joining the EU: Too Soon or Too Late? In 2007, 2 Balkan States (Bulgaria and Romania) joined the EU. Around 6 years later, the United Kingdom stated in the House of Lords (the highest British Court) that the newly admitted Member States were wrongfully admitted in, since tackling corruption and judicial reform had not been fully administered yet, therefore, the countries did not meet the Copenhagen criteria fully. At first, such statements may have been seen as hostile coming from one Member State towards 2 newly admitted Member States. However, 3 years later the UK’s statement was backed up by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The ECA admitted that it had initially opposed to the admittance of both Romania and Bulgaria, in order to avoid similar situations occurring in future EU enlargements. It didn’t take long for more research to emerge, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) even claiming that the Western Balkan economies could take up to 200 years to catch up with EU.

Understandably, the Western Balkan candidate countries weren’t pleased by such statements, seeing that back then (2018-2019), North Macedonia had already been waiting for 14 years, Montenegro 11 years, and Serbia for 10 years for their applications to be reviewed and accepted. This situation has resulted in many critics stepping up and insisting that the EU is not to blame, since rushed (wrong) decisions, such as accepting Romania and Bulgaria when they were not yet ready have not worked in favour of future enlargements, especially since Balkan disputes were not fully resolved. Instead, the critics invited the region to take responsibility and reform accordingly, highlighting that no more time should be wasted and ‘real, truly indigenous reforms based on the tenets of EU democracy should be implemented’.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

●

European Commission: The Commission helps to shape the EU's overall strategy, proposes new EU laws and policies, monitors their implementation, and manages the EU budget. It also plays a significant role in supporting international development and delivering aid. Olivér Várhelyi is currently serving as the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement. Amongst his duties are strengthening relations with the EU’s neighbouring countries, ensuring a credible European Union perspective for the Western Balkans, including progressing on the accession process, such as thorough merit-based country assessments, and supporting proposals on opening enlargement negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Albania.

●

European External Action Service (EEAS): The EEAS is the European Union's diplomatic service. It helps the EU's foreign affairs chief – the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – carry out the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy. The EEAS works closely with the foreign and defence ministries of the Member States of the EU and the other EU institutions, such as the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament. It also has a strong working relationship with the United Nations and other International Organisations.

●

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP): The High Representative shapes and conducts the EU’s common foreign and security policy (CFSP), including its common security and defence policy. They preside over the Foreign Affairs Council, head the European Defence Agency, and are one of the vice-presidents of the European Commission. The HR is supported by the European External Action Service (EEAS) — the EU’s diplomatic service.

What is already being done? In 2004, the EU launched The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to foster and support stability, prosperity, and security, and to better the relationship with its neighbouring states. However, it focuses on countries excluding the Balkans. The European Neighbourhood Policy governs the EU's relations with 16 of its closest Eastern and Southern Neighbours. To the South: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia, and to the East: Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Russia takes part in Cross-Border Cooperation activities under the ENP, but is not part of the ENP as such. In 2018, the European Commission adopted the strategy for 'A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans',

which

highlighted

the

need

for fundamental

reforms and good

neighbourly relations. In December of 2020, the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement was quick to reaffirm the close relationship between the Balkans and the EU, by stating that “Throughout the pandemic, the EU has shown that we treat the Western Balkans as privileged partners. We continue to act in this spirit also in the case of vaccines, by taking steps to enable a quick start of vaccination campaigns to critical staff and most vulnerable groups in the region early on.”, right after the European Commission adopted a €70 million package for early access to EU COVID-19 vaccines in the Western Balkans. Inevitably, the vaccine shots were late, something which caused disappointment in the Balkan Region. In February of 2020, the European Commission announced a new approach to the accession process for the Western Balkans, which included the 2020 Enlargement Package and An Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. The main aims of the Enlargement Package were to start the long-term recovery of the region, adopt a green and digital transition, further enhance economic regional cooperation, boost economic growth, and support reforms required to move forward on the EU path. In May of 2021, an internal EU document prepared for the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States, which was seen by Reuters, mentioned that "We [the EU] need to acknowledge that despite the steadfast commitment to EU integration ... the people in the region are experiencing a sense of deep disappointment in the enlargement process," Lastly, the document mentioned that "A perception of tardy EU delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines has further fed a narrative of disillusionment".

In June of 2021, as part of the Berlin Process, Germany’s Foreign Minister Maas hosted a virtual meeting with his counterparts from the six Western Balkan countries

(Albania,

Bosnia and

Herzegovina,

Kosovo,

Montenegro,

North

Macedonia, and Serbia), the United Kingdom, and a number of EU Member States. The meeting’s agenda included discussing approaches to improve connectivity and current negotiations in the region, reform processes for improving the countries’ EU perspective, unresolved bilateral issues, and how health and the economy are faring in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU-Western Balkans summit is set to take place on the 6th of October 2021. An agenda has not been set yet.

Key Questions

●

Should the EU reform its criteria on accepting new Member States? Or should the current approach be kept while reviewing new applications?

●

How can the EU further invest in fighting corruption and help with judicial reform in the Balkan region, without interfering with the countries’ national sovereignty?

●

Is enlarging funding in the region through Enlargement Packages the solution? Or should more Summits and talks be held before, to ensure that EU Member States have settled all conflicts with applicant countries, before continuing with investing in the region?

●

Would inclusion of Balkan States in the European Neighbourhood Policy be a step towards achieving the goal of promoting European values in the region?

●

Should the EU review its EU veto policy on foreign policies, characterized as ‘hostage taking on foreign policy’ by Germany’s Foreign Minister? If yes, would making foreign policy decisions by majority voting be a better alternative?

Links to Further Reading ●

‘Enlargement, security, EU in the world: Areas in which WB can contribute to Future of Europe debate’ by EWB (2021) - for more insight on the Conference on the Future of Europe and its relation to the Western Balkan enlargement.

●

‘EU Neighbourhood initiative in the Western Balkans’ by European Cluster Collaboration Platform - for cluster policies and cluster development in the Western Balkans.

●

‘Enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans’ – for updates regarding negotiations between the Western Balkans and the EU.

●

‘For a renewed EU leadership in its neighborhood. Bring a new life to the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans’ by the Institute of European Democrats (2021) – for more details on the Western Balkan states and the Eastern Partnership states.

●

‘Opinion: Western Balkans joining EU would be wrong move for wrong reasons’ by DW.com (2018) - opinion on why the Western Balkans shouldn’t join the EU.

●

‘France, the Western Balkans, and the EU: on the wave of scepticism’ by Antoine Laurent (2021), and ‘Majority of French still against Balkans’ EU integration’ by Mathieu Pollet (2021) - how the French veto in 2019 on further talks about the accession of North Macedonia and Albania has created a new wave of Euroscepticism in the Western Balkan region.

●

‘My Europe: Balkan countries joining the EU — unwanted or unwilling?’ by DW.com (2019) - a comparison between the unwillingness of Balkan countries to change their ways in order to become eligible to join the EU and the EU’s unwillingness to accept them in the EU.

●

‘In the Western Balkans, ethnic nationalism threatens the path to Europe’ by Orlando Crowcroft (2021) - an article on how nationalism in the Balkan region has affected the integration of Balkan countries in the EU.

Committee on Constitutional Affairs II (AFCO II) Step out Speak out - During COVID 19 young people continued to speak up in the face of injustice and wrongdoing. What can the EU do to ensure young people’s long-term involvement in democratic processes throughout Member States and encourage participation in local and European governance?

By Irida Aikaterini Kamperoglou, GR

Topic at a glance

Young people certainly have a lot to say, but are their voices always heard? Young people are very active in democratic life. According to a survey conducted by the European Commission in 2019, 3 in 4 young people have participated in some form of organised movement or volunteering and 72% voted in local, national or European elections. However, they are often underrepresented in Parliaments and therefore have no immediate way of making an impact on decision-making.

Without a solid plan for their inclusion in democratic processes, young people’s long-term participation on both national and European level cannot be ensured. Given that young people are affected by the whole political agenda and they have a new and fresh perspective, their engagement and involvement in finding responses to today’s challenges are essential. Both the European Union and Member States need to cooperate in order to strengthen their connection to the youth, offer more opportunities for active participation of young people and create a long term plan for their inclusion in democratic processes.

Key Words and Core Concepts

●

Democratic processes: Democracy is a system of power controlled by the people. Modern societies follow the system of indirect democracy, in which all citizens have the right and duty to vote for their representatives. However, people's participation in government doesn't end with voting. It includes continuous involvement in social and political issues, monitoring the actions of the government and expressing their opinion, as well as taking initiatives and protesting against violation of human rights.

●

Democratic processes in the EU: Democracy is a fundamental principle of the European Union. The European Parliament plays an important part in strengthening democratic participation in the EU. Members of the European Parliament are elected directly by the citizens of each Member State every 5 years. The Parliament acts as a co-legislator, sharing with the Council the power to adopt and amend legislative proposals and to decide on the EU budget. It also supervises the work of the Commission and other EU bodies

and cooperates with national parliaments of EU countries. Apart from electing their representatives, European citizens have the right to directly take part in the legislative procedure by proposing or supporting a European Citizen's Initiative. A minimum of 7 European citizens can merge their ideas for solutions on an issue concerning various fields, such as energy, environment, agricultural activities, humanitarian aid etc. If their proposal finds support from 1 million citizens, it will be introduced to the European Commission and debated in order to become a piece of legislation.

●

Youth political participation : Political participation of young people often differs from this of adults. Young people prefer alternative types of political participation, such as youth councils, youth-led media and youth-targeted political organizations. They seem to be keener in non-institutional ways of participation, such as volunteering activities and taking part in NGOs rather than the "traditional" political activities, like participating in political parties.

Key Conflicts

When it comes to participation in democratic processes, voting is the first thing that comes to mind. There is a debate surrounding the lowering of the voting age to 16, as a means of encouraging young people to actively take part in the elections. It is said that enabling citizens to build a habit of voting at a young age and engaging them in decisions that affect them, allows them to become more active, informed citizens throughout their lives. Belgium has recently lowered the voting age for European elections to 16, following the example of Austria and Malta. However, there are still doubts about 16 year olds’ maturity in order to receive such an important responsibility and it is questioned whether they have adequate civic education to seriously and independently form a clear view on political matters.

Moreover, youth’s voices need some kind of representation inside the European Union. Young people are starkly underrepresented in parliaments. Despite the fact that they make up over 20%, and in some countries 30, 40 or even 50% of the eligible voting age population, young legislators only make up less than 10% of the elected members in national parliaments across the globe. The same goes for the European Parliament. The average age of the Members of the European Parliament is 50 years. It is debated whether more young people in European institutions could be a solution regarding the empowerment of youth’s representation. On the other hand it is also thought that the stronger presence of young people in the institutions is not necessary as long as there are various youth’s organisations, which focus only on issues affecting young people and have the ability to communicate with the official bodies and express their opinion. For example the European Youth Forum is a platform that gathers youth organisations all over Europe and tries to advocate and represent young people’s needs and interests. Should the EU focus more on empowering such youth-led organizations

or trying to increase the number of young representatives in the European Parliament and other EU bodies?

Social media play an important role in young people’s lives and they could become a very useful tool for their participation in democratic processes. Social media can be used for the expression of young people’s opinion on political and social issues, as well as for information and the exercise of criticism. Additionally, personal communication via social media brings politicians and parties closer to their potential voters and helps young people form a political identity. For instance, Members of the European Parliament aged under 40 have created the eu40, a network of young MEPs which is very active on social media. However social media hide many threats for democracy. Misinformation and fanaticism are only some of the concerns around the extended use of social media. Is there a way to exploit their benefits without exposing their users to serious threats and endangering the function of our democratic societies?

Key Stakeholders

European Parliament: The European Parliament is the only body of the European Union, which directly represents European citizens. The minimum age to be eligible to vote and to stand as a candidate in the European elections is established by national law. While the age to be eligible to vote is 18 years in all Member States (except Greece, where the voting age is 17, and Austria, Belgium and Malta, where the voting age is 16), the minimum age necessary to stand as a candidate in the European elections varies considerably, ranging from 18 to 25 years old.

European Commission: The European Commission is the politically independent body of the EU. It proposes new laws and implements policies decided by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The European Commission proposed the establishment of an EU Youth Coordinator within the European Commission, with the objective of enhancing cross-sectoral cooperation, as well as knowledge development and exchange on youth issues within the European Commission services. The EU Youth Coordinator will cooperate with various stakeholders to ensure a coherent communication towards young people. Ms Biliana Sirakova has been nominated as the first EU Youth Coordinator.

Council of the European Union: The Council of the European Union adopts legislation together with the European Parliament and coordinates the policies of all Member States. It consists of ministers from national governments. The Council of the EU has approved conclusions regarding the European youth and some of them shape a strategy about young people's involvement in European affairs.

National Democratic Institute: NDI is an international nongovernmental organization with the aim of strengthening and safeguarding democratic institutions, processes, norms and values, as well as securing a better quality of life for all. NDI especially supports youth political participation and organizes various activities and programs, which build young people’s skills, knowledge and confidence while helping them more effectively express their voices, build relationships with political leaders and break down sociocultural and institutional barriers to participation.

What's already being done?

The EU Youth Strategy is the framework for EU youth policy cooperation for 20192027. It has developed 11 European youth goals, focusing on the engagement, connection and empowerment of young people. In May 2021 the Council of the European Union approved some conclusions aiming to equal opportunities for all young people regarding participation, involvement and empowerment in relevant decision-making processes. Among others it stresses that young people are mostly affected by policies for both their present and future. Therefore, it is essential to consider their point of view and their ideas on those policies. Additionally, it highlights the importance of education, youth organizations and digital tools, when it comes to promoting new types of democratic participation.

The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique initiative aiming at the empowerment of people's voices regarding all aspects of the European Union. The conference has already begun and it will have been completed by the spring of 2022. Everyone and especially young people can participate in various debates and events, exchange ideas and share their thoughts on the way the EU should deal with multiple issues, including climate change, health, foreign affairs and education. There are multilingual digital platforms, discussion panels and decentralised events, so that every citizen has the opportunity to actively take part and speak their mind. The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission have committed to listen to Europeans and to follow up within their sphere of competences on the recommendations made. Moreover, a feedback mechanism will ensure that the ideas expressed during the Conference events result in concrete recommendations for EU action.

Another conference, focusing especially on young people's participation is the EU Youth Conference, that took place in March 2021. This conference has been jointly organised by the Portuguese Sport and Youth Institute and the National Youth Council, under the patronage of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU. A digital tool has been used to enable the participation of young people from all Member States. Participants had the opportunity to discuss with policymakers about the problems most related to youth and share their opinion.

Key Questions

●

Should the EU take more actions in order to connect with young people?

●

Would lowering the voting age boost young people’s involvement in democratic processes?

●

How could young people acquire equal opportunities to participate in the EU institutions?

●

Should social media be used to engage more young people in European affairs?

Links to Further Reading

●

EU Youth Dialogue by European Youth Forum (2021) It is an excellent example of how young people can participate and contribute to

EU's

development. ●

Five European Opportunities You Can Find on the European Youth Portal by Young Scot (2021). It is about an official EU online platform for everything related to young people’s position in the EU.

●

EU Youth Dialogue and the European Youth Goals (2020): A video that explains the importance of the youth strategy the EU is following.

●

Policy Paper on quality youth participation and representation in institutions by the General Assembly of European Youth Forum (2020).

Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) A home for all: with border control often the focus of debates, issues of integration are often neglected. With refugees and immigrants in all Member States facing many challenges once they enter Member States, such as housing and social exclusion, what can be done to help migrants, both future and present, integrate into local communities?

By Daniel Kelly, IE

Source: European Parliamentary Research Service

Topic at a glance

In 2015, the European Union experienced a migrant crisis, with over a million immigrants arriving in the period of 2014 to 2019, mainly coming to the Mediterranean Member States, such as Cyprus, Greece, Malta, and Italy, whose systems quickly became overwhelmed. This has led to a new issue - their integration into society. What should the EU do to help them integrate into European society? This issue falls primarily on the individual Member States, with the European Union having a shared role on the matter when it comes to asylum seekers, and only having a supporting role in the rest of cases. As a result, the rate of successful integration varies between Member States. Hard-line anti-immigration politics hinders integration efforts, and ignores the fact that, when integrated, immigrants can boost local economies by significant levels. Keeping all of this in mind, what should the EU do to solve the issue and help immigrants integrate? Should the EU focus on assimilating immigrants into our European way of life, or instead focus on fostering tolerance of different cultures? Is Europe ignoring the potential of immigrants, focusing instead on xenophobia and a desire to preserve the European way of life?

Source: European Commission

Key Words and Core Concepts

●

Cultural assimilation is the process whereby minority groups, such as immigrants, are, effectively, culturally absorbed by a larger group. This involves minority groups adopting the values, behaviours, and beliefs, either partially or fully, of the larger group, so that cultural differences are reduced.

●

Discrimination is defined as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, sex, or disability. In the context of the migrant crisis, it is when immigrants are side-lined, excluded, or disregarded in areas such as employment, education, and various other areas of life.

●

Ghettoisation is the process whereby migrants or other ethnic minorities group together to live in neighbourhoods/ghettos where they are the majority. This can be indirectly forced, as migrants facing underemployment and other forms of economic discrimination cannot afford to live in other areas, or a choice, as migrants may feel more welcome in areas where they live with other members of their nationality and/or cultural background. Such neighbourhoods are generally impoverished and act as a barrier to integration or assimilation.

●

Immigrant - A migrant is a person who has come to live permanently in another country, usually by choice, as opposed to refugees, who are forced to move by factors such as war, famine, or persecution. The term immigrant, however, can also be used as a catch-all term to include refugees and asylum seekers too.

●

Integration is defined as the process of successfully joining or mixing with a different group of people. In the context of the migrant crisis, it refers to the process of immigrants mixing with the native population of their host country, to the extent that they feel that they are immersed in the culture, have built solid social ties with the native population, and that they belong in the host country.

●

Refugees are people who have been made to flee their home country for a wide variety of reasons; it can be due to facing danger in their lives, in the

form

persecution,

discrimination, war, famine, or natural disaster.

Having

reached

host

nation, refugees will apply for asylum and will then be legally referred to as asylum seekers. ●

Xenophobia is the extreme dislike or fear of foreigners or immigrants. It is a major barrier to the integration of immigrants.

Key Conflicts

Assimilation vs Multiculturalism One major conflict when it comes to the integration of immigrants is that of the conflict between the two approaches to integrating immigrants: assimilation versus multiculturalism. When we talk about the integration of immigrants, do we want them to be absorbed by the majority and completely adopt the culture of their

host country, or do we want them to conserve their native culture and live in harmony with, but distinct to, the culture of the host nation? Perhaps a mixture is the best approach? Assimilation could help immigrants to integrate with their host culture as it involves learning local languages and customs and bridging divides, making it easier for them to build relationships with local populations. However, immigrants may identify more strongly with their national identity and would like to preserve their culture. The approach of pursuing multiculturalism, on the other hand, could lead to xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiment, as natives see immigration as an attack on their own culture. There is also an argument for using a mixture of both, allowing immigrants to preserve their culture to an extent whilst also adopting elements of the host culture.

Opportunity vs Problem Another conflict facing the integration of immigrants is whether it is an opportunity or a problem. There is evidence to suggest that, if integrated quickly, immigration can boost the economy. However, many people believe that immigrants ‘take jobs away’ from native-born workers and that, being willing to work for lower pay, they contribute to lowering wages, or even take advantage of public services. The fact is that immigrants to the EU are over-represented in low-paying sectors, such as cleaning,

personal

construction,

whilst

service they

work, are

and under-

represented in high-paying sectors, like public administration, human health, and the financial sector. Are their economic potential and ability to contribute to the local economy being largely ignored? Research shows that immigrants

face

higher

levels

unemployment when compared to EU or native citizens, with, as of 2019, the EU (at the

time, including the United Kingdom) average unemployment rate at 12% for nonEU immigrants but 7% for EU-born immigrants and 6% for the native population. Nevertheless, right-wing hard-line anti-immigration parties, such as Germany’s AfD, Italy’s FdI, and France’s RN continue to perform well in polls and elections.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

European Asylum Support Office (EASO): The EASO is the European agency set up to help Member States cooperate on asylum matters, to improve the implementation of the Common European Asylum System, and to give support to Member States under pressure. Member States, such as Cyprus and Greece, are facing the brunt of immigration into the EU, and are struggling to provide asylum and integration services. As such, in order to help the integration of immigrants, it may be helpful to move them out of migrant camps, which can be dangerous and do not aid integration, and into local communities across the Member States, which is where a Common European Asylum System becomes useful.

Member States: The Member States are the stakeholders with the primary responsibility for social affairs such as the integration of immigrants. Although the European Commission may support their work, it is ultimately up to the Member States to decide on a policy, and, as a result, the perceived rates of successful integration differ between Member States. Member States must decide on issues such as how much money and effort to spend on the integration of immigrants, and what policies to adopt to aid their integration. It must be noted that the numbers of immigrants are not evenly spread out across Member States, with countries like Cyprus, Malta, and Greece facing the highest number of refugees per capita.

The European Commission: The European Commission does not have the legal competence to act directly and exclusively in matters of social integration, it only has a shared competence on humanitarian aid, allowing it some influence on the topic As such, its role is supportive; it coordinates the actions of the Member States to help them tackle issues effectively. The EU can, and does, establish funds, legislation, and other measures which can support the actions of Member States. This includes, for example, the European Social Fund and anti-racism legislation. Additionally, the Commission has created the office of The Commission’s Coordinator on Combating Racism, which helps Member States to deal with the xenophobia and racism which many migrants and other ethnic minorities face.

What's already being done?

The EU has created the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion, which will aid immigrants to integrate by funding inclusive education and training and working with employers and other stakeholders to improve employment opportunities and skills recognition, as well as promoting and funding access to health and housing services.

Furthermore, funding is available for projects to help immigrants to integrate through the European Social Fund. The EU also supports projects and reports which aim to help the integration and acceptance of immigrants, such as research disproving the link between immigration and crime. In terms of legislation, the Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implemented the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, a principle which the EU continues to protect via its other efforts. In 2017, The European Commission launched the Employers together for Integration, to give visibility to what some employers are doing to support the integration of immigrants into the labour market. In September 2020, the European Commission proposed the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which, in addition to overhauling the asylum process, also aims to support effective integration policies.

Source for Infographics: European Commission

Key Questions

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What can the EU do to help Member States integrate immigrants?

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Is immigration something to be welcomed or feared?

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Are Member States right to push hard-line anti-immigration policies?

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Is the ‘European way of life’ under threat from rising immigration?

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Should the EU strive for assimilation or multiculturalism?

Links to Further Reading

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‘Learning the hard way’ by The Economist (2016) - a look into the issue of educating immigrants and how that can aid their integration

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‘Is migration a threat or an opportunity for Europe?’ by Katinka Barysch, World Economic Forum (2016) - an article discussing the economic opportunities that immigrants present

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‘Integration of immigrants in the European Union’ a Eurobarometer poll (2017) - a poll surveying European citizens in all Member States on their attitudes towards the integration of immigrants - also provides a breakdown on each Member State

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‘Atlas of Migration’ by the European Commission (2020) - a source of infographics and statistics on various aspects of the migration issue, including the integration of immigrants

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‘Britain’s genius is its ability to integrate newcomers’ by The Economist - an article discussing how some Polish immigrants both assimilate and conserve their national identity whilst living in Britain

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Out of the Darkness - With the world cautiously beginning to bounce back from the COVID-19 fallout, what can the EU do to reduce the long term negative financial implications caused by increased government spending during the pandemic, learning from previous financial crashes?

By Mina Nazaretyan, TR

Sources: ECB and ECB calculations

Topic at a glance

With the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some industries and countries were more harmed than others, creating an asymmetrical growth. For example, a large part of the digital industry has performed even better, and so has the healthcare industry. Despite the initial shocks, the automotive and textile industries appear to be on a recovery path since the first lockdowns. However, sectors that

depend on physical interaction, such as the cultural and creative and the aerospace industries, have experienced critical hits by the crisis, due to a decrease in tourism, and will probably suffer for the longest time. Even though the pandemic seems under control with the widespread vaccination plans, it is hard to say that life has turned back to normal. The Eurozone's economy shrank by 0.6% in the January-to-March period. Although the economy is bouncing back and recovering, it is clear that, with another crisis, due to the new variants of the virus, the aforementioned fragile industries could collapse. That is why the European Parliament should consider solid solutions to these problems rather than short-term solutions.

Key Words and Core Concepts

Debt: something, especially money, that is owed to someone else, or the state of owing something. Fiscal: related to taxation or public debt. In the COVID economic crisis context, fiscal benefits were given to SMEs and independent workers so their businesses were not affected as much by the pandemic. Funding: money given by a government or organization for an event or activity. During the covid pandemic economic crisis governments funded many sectors and business. Government Deficit: the amount by which a government's spending is more than the money it receives. Due to the pandemic, the government deficit is to spike to 7.5% of GDP in the EU, compared to 0.5% two years ago. Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs): a company, or companies considered as a group, that are neither very small nor very large. SMEs make up 99.8% of all nonfinancial companies in the EU and these were particularly affected by the pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP): is the total monetary or market value of all the

finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. Due to the pandemic the GDPs of many countries decreased in 2020 and 2021.

Key Conflicts ●

Last year, the EU’s economy took a tumble of 6.3%, this being, so far, the worst in EU history. As the governments’’ spending continues, debt is rising all throughout Europe. Debt ratio differs from country to country, depending on population density and economic resources. For example, Greece is heading for a debt ratio of 200%, while in Italy it is close to 180%. If this had happened before the COVID crisis, it would be alarming. But this time, experts aren't too worried about Greece. They believe the country has sufficiently restructured its economy over the last decade. Overall, the EU and its 27 member nations together have recovery measures in the works to emerge from the pandemic totalling around 4.8 trillion Euros, and debt is peaking this year. Government deficit is to spike to 7.5% of GDP in the EU, compared to 0.5% two years ago. All EU nations except Denmark and Luxembourg are on track to have deficits exceeding 3% this year. The drastic difference between Member States is quite concerning.

Source: Eurostat(2020)

●

Some industries, such as the digital industry, had the chance to grow, and so had the healthcare industry during the pandemic. Additionally, automotive and textile industries are on a recovery path since the first lockdowns. But, sectors that depend on physical interaction, such as the cultural and creative industries, such as the tourism, music, art and education sectors, and the aerospace industry, have experienced critical hits by the crisis, and will probably suffer for a longer time. Additionally, spending by tourists declined 64 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, while the overall contribution of travel and tourism to Europe’s gross domestic product was halved to €0.94tn. Across the continent, 3.6 million people have lost their jobs in the sector, which is almost 10 percent of the 2019 workforce. Even though the pandemic seems under control with the widespread vaccination plans, it is hard to say that life has turned back to normal, especially for workers from certain sectors. Although the economy is bouncing back and recovering, it is clear that, with another crisis, the fragile industries could collapse.

Key Stakeholders European Commission: The European Commission is coordinating a common European response to the Coronavirus outbreak. The European Commission provides funds, proposes measures, recovery plans and policies to improve the economy.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility: The Recovery and Resilience Facility will make €672.5 billion in loans and grants available to support reforms and investments undertaken by Member States. The aim is to mitigate the economic and social impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.

The Red Cross EU: The Red Cross EU is a membership office representing the 27 National Red Cross Societies in the EU, the British Red Cross, the Norwegian Red Cross, the Icelandic Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). It coordinates relations between the members and EU decision-makers and stakeholders, sharing their extensive experience and expertise in supporting vulnerable people and communities within and outside the EU.

The Directorate‑General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN): is the European Commission department responsible for EU policies promoting economic growth and recovery, higher employment, stable public finances and financial stability. The Directorate-General is in charge of helping the European economy emerge from the coronavirus crisis more resilient and better prepared for the green and digital transitions.

What's already being done?

Supporting the tourism industry: on May 13th, 2020, the European Commission proposed a series of measures that would allow for a gradual and coordinated reopening of tourism services and facilities such as:

●

Liquidity for tourism businesses, particularly small businesses: Flexibility under State aid rules allows Member States to introduce schemes.

●

EU funding: The EU continues to provide immediate liquidity to businesses affected by the crisis through the Coronavirus Response Investment

Initiative2, under shared management with Member States. In addition, the Commission has made available up to €8 billion in financing for 100,000 small businesses.

●

Protecting European assets and technology: On March 26th, 2020, the European Commission issued guidelines for Member States on foreign direct investment. The guidelines urge Member States to make full use of their investment screening mechanisms to address cases where the acquisition of European companies by investors from outside the EU would create risks. These encourage Member States to screen direct investment from outside the EU in particular areas, such as medical research, biotechnology and infrastructures.

2 The initiative seeks to mobilise all existing EU budget resources to provide financial support to Member States for their immediate response to the Coronavirus crisis and its long-term impact. This includes advancing payments, redirecting cohesion funds and assisting Member States in channelling money where it is most needed as quickly as possible.

●

Flexibility under the EU’s Fiscal Rules: The European Commission has, for the first time ever, activated the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact 3as part of its strategy to quickly and forcefully respond to the coronavirus outbreak. This enables national governments to better support the national economies as the budgetary rules have been significantly relaxed. On 3 March 2021, the Commission adopted a Communication providing Member States with broad guidance on the conduct of fiscal policy in the period ahead. The Communication sets out guidance for coordinated fiscal policies in Member States, essential to support the economic recovery. It also proposes the application of the general escape clause from 2022, until 2023.

NextGenerationEU: The NextGenerationEU is the EU's plan to emerge stronger from the pandemic, transform the European economies and societies, and design a Europe that works for everyone. It has been agreed to invest €750 billion for this plan. Main goals are making Europe more green, digital, healthy, strong and equal. On the days 26 and27 of May 2021, the digital European Social Economy Summit was co-hosted by the European Commission and the City of Mannheim to discuss the challenges and opportunities of a European social economy among stakeholders, including National Red Cross Societies. By providing support services and needs-based assistance, the Red Cross Societies across the EU aim to improve the situation of people in need, making them essential contributors to the social economy.

3 The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is a set of rules designed to ensure that countries in the European Union pursue sound public finances and coordinate their fiscal policies.

Key Questions

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How can the EU ensure similar economic recovery from the pandemic in each Member State?

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Should the EU take new measures to protect us from the future economic crisis? If so, which measures?

●

What can be done to support smaller and medium sized businesses?

●

What can the EU do to help the struggling sectors?

●

What could have been done differently before to prevent this crisis?

●

Links to Further Reading

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COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and the EU's response (a brief explanation to EU’s response to the economic crisis)

●

EU-Monitor COVID19: Economic consequences of the pandemic (Interactive graphics and statistics on the impact of the pandemic)

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How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the economy in Europe? (the effects of the pandemic on the European economy)

●

European financial integration during the COVID-19 crisis (what has been done financially)

●

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on EU industries (an in depth data collection of the impact of covid on certain industries)

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Working 9-5: With an increase in working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, what can the European Union do to provide employment protection for workers, ensure businesses remain competitive and achieve an acceptable work-life balance. By Togay Ata Gokalp, CY

Source: Public Office of European Union (2020)

Topic at a glance “If you take care of your workers, they will take care of your business” The topic at hand is one that holds great importance as it affects the whole European economy and the 230 million workers it holds within it. During the pandemic, jobs have been affected badly as seen by the ILO report on jobs during the pandemic. There have been job losses, decreases in income and a deterioration in the facilities offered to workers. This has caused some workplaces to dismiss the required employment that their workers deserve as seen by the Rogers vs Leeds

Laser Cutting lawsuit. As the pandemic accelerated worsening work conditions through lower pay and lower income groups being pushed into poverty due to low employment protection, this is a topic that is of high importance as it threatens the whole EU economy and the 230 million workers that could be pushed into poverty. A problem that is prevalent with the topic is the lack of finances available within the EU due to the pandemic. As the EU has been tasked with financing many different sections of life and has found it even more difficult to collect taxes to spend, it has become extremely hard to uphold the working condition of its workers, or the businesses that are losing their competitiveness. Thus, many businesses have had to file for bankruptcy, leaving their workers unemployed. Those that have not, do not have the funds to offer the same working conditions, forcing them to decrease their level. The EU has currently tried to offer financial support to businesses in order to keep them running and to keep working conditions high, which are both within the 3.7 trillion euro spending on the economic response to COVID-19. Even though this is a quick solution, it does create zombie businesses, which do not allow the economy to produce at its maximum potential level. Thus, the EU must also take into account market-oriented solutions as well, as these will not need the spending of the EU and allow for businesses to stay competitive during the pandemic. All in all, the topic aims at using different legal and economic aspects in order to achieve a better working situation for workers without endangering the competitiveness of businesses in order to better adapt to the difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Words and Core Concepts ● Employment Protection: Employment protection is regarded as the checks that allow for employees to be protected from any inhumane working conditions. It is usually in the form of legal protection as there are laws that protect

workers

from

any

economic,

hygienic,

sanitary,

social

organisational wrongdoings from their employers. These allow workers to have a set standard of measures that will allow their working conditions to not fall below a certain level. ● Competitive Business: A competitive business is one that is able to produce goods and services whilst doing so at a favourable cost and quality, so much that when compared to other goods in the market, they are able to compete on a price and or quality basis. A competitive business is usually one that is also making healthy profits as their competitive production methods allow them to have low costs. ● Labour Productivity: Labour productivity takes into account the amount of a good a worker can produce at a given time. Mathematically it is calculated by the total output divided by the number of workers. Theoretically speaking, labour productivity looks into how efficient a worker is, and how many goods they can produce with the given resources at hand. A productive worker will be using their own resources, this includes time, in an efficient way where none of the resources goes to waste. ● Neoclassical economics: Neoclassical economics is an economic theory that uses supply and demand for the basis of its theories. It believes that the economy will always reach full employment, arguing that the government spending money in the economy only creates inflation if it is not used for supply side policies solely. In the modern era, Neoclassical economics is mostly adopted by right-leaning parties and conservatives.

● Keynesian economics: Keynesian economics refers to an economic model created by John Maynard Keynes. This theory believes that the government has a big role in the economy and it must spend tax revenues during a recession to push the economy out of it. The two main components of this theory are taxes and government spending, where they act in opposite fashions, with high taxes and low spending during a boom and low taxes and high spending during a recession. Nowadays, left leaning parties tend to follow this theory as it has brought about pensions, childcare benefits, free healthcare to the modern economies. ● Work life balance: The concept of a work-life balance revolves around the entirety of a worker's life. In this scenario, we are not only interested in what a worker faces at their job, but also how their life is affected by this job as well. For example, a worker may be given favourable hours at work, but they become so tired from all the excessive labour they go through, that once they finish work, they are unable to do any other activities that they desire, meaning that their work-life balance is damaged as their job heavily interferes with their recreational life.

Key Conflicts The biggest conflict that arises from the topic is the issue between keeping competitive and having adequate employment protection. On the one hand, employment protection means that a worker is receiving, at least, the legal minimum wage and that their workforce offers them the means to have a healthy work-life, such as paid days off, sick days and acceptable facilities. However, these all come at a cost, as in order to finance these, the business must spend its revenues and as more costs arise from all of the above mentioned, businesses lose out on profits that would have been invested into the business otherwise. Due to this, the

business becomes less competitive as it has to offer higher prices in order to compensate for the high labour and labour related costs it endures. To make matters worse, it is believed that globalisation has accelerated this issue as nations outside of the EU have much more relaxed employment laws, meaning that businesses can pay less of a wage and offer a fraction of the benefits they offer to their workers if they had been operating in the EU, which allows them to have fewer costs, thus, making the business more price-competitive than businesses located within the EU. On the other hand, some argue that better working conditions allow businesses to become more competitive as seen by the ILO report that was tasked with discussing the topic. In general, it states that there is an upward trend in the satisfaction that workers receive and the competitiveness of the business they operate in. This can be explained by a plethora of ways, such as the fact that workers spend a third of their day at work, and the work they put in depends on how they are mentally and physically during the day. If a worker feels that they have good working conditions, they may work harder as they are pleased about their situation. This automatically increases their productivity as they are working more efficiently by producing more goods in the hours they work. This would allow the businesses to spread costs over a greater level of output, meaning that the businesses can become more price competitive. Furthermore, they may be able to come up with innovative ideas as they are able to work under conditions that allow them to do so. On the contrary, a workplace that does not offer acceptable conditions may create workers that are constantly fatigued or unpleasant. This would mean that they have less of an incentive to work at an efficient level, meaning that they are less productive. On the other hand, the pandemic causes a great conflict as well. Due to the pandemic, most workers have been forced to work from home, which in some cases decreased their working conditions as they do not have the facilities they have at work in their own homes. Moreover, working from home and being on a screen all day, away from human interaction has seen to create mental and physical exhaustion, which has led to workers saying that it has become even harder to keep a work life balance as they were not prepared to work from home for such a

long time. However, a conflict arises as we cannot expect all workers to be back at work, seeing that the pandemic is still threatening lives. In addition, businesses have been affected by the pandemic as well as they have lost their competitive edge. Some businesses have seen that working remotely has decreased the effectiveness of their labour, whilst making simple tasks like asking a question to a co- worker even harder as they have to do this by email. Moreover, workers have been working overtime and are mentally exhausted as stated above, which does not allow them to produce at their fullest potential. These have meant that businesses have found it less efficient to work from home and thus, have been able to spread their costs over a smaller amount of goods. This has decreased their competitiveness, especially against nations such as China, who opened their economy before every other nation. In conclusion, the main conflict on the topic revolves around the choice of competitiveness through less employment laws or more. Neoclassicals believe that with less regulation comes more competitiveness, whereas Keynesians believe that less regulation will dry up the labour market and that competitiveness is created through better working conditions for workers. Key Stakeholders The European Commission: The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, enforcing EU laws and directing the union's administrative operations. It has also created the European employment strategy (EES) which is aimed at creating better and more jobs within the EU, through targets set. These targets tend to create conflicts between member states and the European Commission as some member states believe that they should not be following these targets as they have different employment structures, such as Greece’s dependence on tourism and Germany’s high involvement in manufacturing.

Trade Unions: A trade union is a group of workers who act as an entity in order to achieve aims that they see fit, such as further protection for labour or better pay. Some trade unions partake in industrial disputes by not attending work or filing lawsuits to ensure better treatment in the workplace. In some cases, the demands of trade unions (higher pay, fewer working hours) cause businesses to become less competitive and force them to fire workers, thus, member states face many disputes with trade unions. This can specifically be seen in France with many instances such as the wave of industrial disputes (Not attending work until wanted terms are agreed) in 2016 that caused a significant part of workers to protest until better work terms were agreed. The European Labour Authority: The European Labour Authority is aimed at upholding all the regulations that have been intact for workers around the EU. They are also tasked with inspecting businesses in order to assess if these groups are adhering to the regulations set by the European Commission, whilst also announcing the news on Member states and the EU’s legislation and any other issue related to employment through their website and many announcements done on social media or newspapers. This is helpful for the workers of the EU as they are able to get knowledge about their rights, new legislation that is beneficial for them or any other news that will help workers in their workplace. Thus, the European Labour Authority is the body that allows workers to be protected and have insight into matters related to them. Business owners: Business owners are in charge of the businesses they run. They are important as they are tasked with offering workers the conditions that they face and are in charge of what happens in the workplace. Even if the EU creates initiatives, it is up to business owners to take into account and put this legislation in place. Thus, business owners are one of the main stakeholders of the topic as, without them, most workers would not even be able to find a job, regardless of working conditions and legislation that is written on it. They act as the middleman between the working conditions offered and the government.

What’s already being done? As highlighted before, the EU has enacted the European Employment Strategy(EES) which aims at creating more and better jobs within the EU. This strategy was put into action in 1997 and is now under the European semester goals of the EU. Specifically, it takes into account aspects to improve the labour industry. Firstly, the strategy aims at going over the employment guidelines through coordinating the work within the EU and member states. Secondly, it forms the Joint Employment Report (JER) which gathers information on the employment structures and statistics of each member state. Lastly, it compiles National Reform Programmes (NRP) which are tasked to find weaknesses in member states employment structures and tries to work with them in order to improve employment within the certain member state. Currently, the EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 20212027 is put into place and is tasked with keeping workplaces safer by anticipating, mitigating and preventing any unsafe practices that could take place in the workplace. Furthermore, in regards to employment during COVID-19, The COVID Relief plan has been set up to monitor workers that have been temporarily or permanently laid off during the pandemic. The act offers financial assistance to such individuals and is currently spending 540 billion euros on safety nets for workers. The plan works on many aspects but aims at keeping businesses competitive by covering some of their costs and in this way allowing the businesses to uphold the working standards they had before the pandemic. On another note, some businesses have found that they can transition to remote work through the funds available on the plan.

Key Questions ● What do we prioritise, workers well-being or the competitiveness of Member States economies? ● How do we address the needs of all the stakeholders involved in employment?? ● How has COVID changed the way we approach employment? Links to further reading ● ‘This is what makes employees happy at work’ - A TED talk - A video that quickly explains how a better working environment can be beneficial for all. ● European Labour Authority - The European labour authority that will be tasked with investigating and publishing reports on the matter of our topic. ● Strategies for Enhancing Competitiveness of Firms, Industry Sectors and Country/Sujata Rao & K.J. Soumya - A snippet from a book on improving competitiveness. Try to focus on the first 5 pages to get a few ideas on a few ways that firms can become more competitive. ● The importance of a work-life balance by Joe Wedgewood (2019) - This article is aimed at showing what we should be achieving when we want to have an improved work-life balance. ● Can better working conditions improve the performance of SMEs? By the International Labour Organisation Geneva - This article talks about firms becoming more competitive through better working conditions, the conclusion offers a great summary of the whole article.

Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Are you going to eat that? - It has been reported that 30 % of the world's agricultural land is used to produce food that is later lost or wasted. With covid19 affecting the global food supply chains, what can European states do to prevent food waste and promote more sustainable means of consumption?

By Julius Hehakaya, NL

Source: European margarine association

Topic at a glance

From farm to fork, our food goes through an extensive process before it ends up on our plate. However, this process has not been proven to be sustainable and with reports from the EU finding that 20% of food that is produced in Europe will get wasted, the European Union is facing a food waste crisis that poses a significant threat to our society on an environmental and economic scale.

What should the European Union do to combat this crisis and secure its food supply? This issue can be combated on a European scale as well as an international scale because Member States and non-EU Member States are all interconnected through their supply chain. However, this also results in many of the persisting issues being hard to combat due to food waste being of varying importance throughout Member States and the global community. Furthermore, the recent Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated food waste as supply chains have slowed down and come to a halt. Lastly, it should be noted that the European citizen plays the crucial role of the sole consumer, thus it is their choice whether or not to sustainably consume and manage their food waste. How can all these actors be included in a solution that effectively solves this issue? The EU should find a solution that is truly sustainable and does not endanger future generations.

Key words and Core concepts

● Food waste is the decreasing quantity and quality of food, specifically the discarding of still edible parts, though it should be noted that Member States, Fusions and the European Commission might use other terms. This waste can take on many different forms but throughout the four stages of food production, food safety risks seem to be the overarching cause of food waste. ● Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock. It also includes the preparation of products, both plant and animal based, for further distribution and eventually consumption on the market. This is the first part of the food supply chain and holds the second largest share in the amount of food that is wasted.

● Consumption is the using up of a resource, food consumption is therefore the using up of food and other resources that are used during the manufacturing process. This includes the consumption of grains, dairy products and meat by humans, in addition to consumption by livestock and biofuels. In recent years, increased demands, climate change and the Coronavirus pandemic have had an impact on price, origin and food safety risk, thus heavily influencing which products consumers use and which they do not. ● Sustainability is the ability to maintain production at a certain rate. Solutions combating food waste ought to take sustainability into account as it will ensure a constant supply of food for upcoming generations which is of critical importance. It should also be noted that our food is produced in varying ways, thus requiring different measures to achieve sustainability. ● The food supply chain encompasses all the aspects from producing, processing and consuming foods, including all the actors involved with these processes. For the EU it is also important to address their varying incentives. It should also be noted that these actors are not solely in Europe, as many foods are imported from non-EU states as well. This further complicates the supply chain and causes many solutions to be hard to implement.

Source: UN Goal 12

●

A circular economy is an economic system where resources are recycled, repaired, shared and reused to minimise waste. This system is an alternative to the linear economy where resources are taken, made into products and disposed of after usage. The circular economy is part of the Circular economy action plan that paves the way for a cleaner and more competitive Europe aiming to make sustainable products the norm and ensure less waste.

Source: ScienceDirect

KEY CONFLICTS

Growing population vs limited resources The global population is expected to grow significantly, and this population growth requires a 60% increase in food production to feed the global population by 2040. This is no different from the EU’s situation. Still, the amount of fish in the sea and the total area that can be used for agriculture is decreasing plus the amount of food wasted continues to grow. Furthermore, poor usage of these scarce resources come at an environmental cost. Overfishing and intensive land usage decreases biodiversity and lowers soil productivity. It is estimated that 10% of the world's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are caused by food that is eventually wasted. Besides, many developing countries are seeing an increase in meat consumption which contributes to the emission of GHGs. How can the EU solve this conflict and maintain a sustainable food production for future population growth? Perhaps a more efficient way of producing food is the solution? Due to technological developments that support more efficient ways of producing food, the ever-growing population can be supported.

Source: World Economic Forum

Food safety vs increased waste With food consumption comes food waste. Approximately 20% of the EU's agricultural land is used to produce food that is either lost or wasted down the supply chain. This waste contributes to an abnormal surplus in food needs. Could the solution be found in the way we treat our food once it enters our supermarkets

and

distribution

centres? Many retailers are forced to throw out tons of food every day due to the potential of food safety risks. Moreover, research shows that food that is considered damaged ends up being thrown away as well. Furthermore, the consumer also plays an important part in the supply

chain's

waste.

Many

consumers discard left-over food or food that could have otherwise still been edible or used alternatively. A lack of knowledge seems to be the problem as many home cooks are ill equipped to deal with these situations. Should, and can the EU combat this problem?

Source: ETQ by Tim Lozier

Economics vs Environment Business operators, consisting of producers, processors and retailers of food, are an important actor. Many studies show that economic gain is the most important factor that influences their behaviour. Unfortunately, economic gain frequently comes at an environmental cost. Poor distribution and management, but also overproduction and market functioning seem to be the main causes of business operators' food waste. For example, food that does not meet cosmetic standards is thrown out because it harms businesses' public image and is hard to sell. Countermovements like the Ugly Food Movement are trying to combat this problem, however the EU has remained inactive.

In addition, business operators are disincentivied to care about the environment. Overproduction as a result of poor market predictions can be combated by investing in market predictors, but those investments are expensive. Moreover, during transportation and warehousing food is lost as well due to bad temperature regulation, poor hydration and other conditions. This too can be resolved with technological investments, but they are too expensive or harm profit margins. In short, the EU faces a challenge where economic gains outweigh environmental harms, even though environmental impacts will lead to high costs in the future. Solutions should therefore take into account economic incentives whilst combating food waste throughout the supply chain. Source: ETQ by Tim Lozier

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

Member States: The individual Member States have the ability to hold business operators accountable, (economically) incentivise consumers to buy sustainable food and invest in research that makes the food supply chain more efficient by decreasing waste within the chain. It should also be noted that these individual Member States think of food waste differently and find it of varying importance. This forms a challenge for any solution that might try to combat food waste as these Member States are interconnected.

European Commission: The European Commission’s task lies in finding Europeanwide solutions and reinforcing cooperation with non-EU members. It has the legislative power to create policies and fund projects that aim to gather data and promote technological advancement. However, its legislative power over businesses is limited as food waste is undesirable but does not pose a legal environmental harm. Therefore, it can only incentivise businesses to find more sustainable ways of producing food. Additionally, the European Commission has numerous directives on food safety and quality, farming, sustainable agriculture and even oceans and fisheries that have established many policies to combat food waste and environmental harms.

United Nations Environment Program (UNEP): The United Nations Environment Program is the leading global environmental authority and tackles environmental problems like climate change but also food waste, sustainability and biodiversity. This organization works to accelerate sustainable economies and resource-efficient supply chains. The UNEP can provide numerous connections and set up programs tackling varying aspects of food waste on a global scale enabling solutions to have an even greater impact on the global food supply chain, not just the European

food supply chain. Furthermore it also provides data on a wide range of environmental issues including food waste and sustainability.

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO): The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN sets the global food agenda and aims to provide food security for everyone by combating hunger, inefficient resource usage and environmental hazards. The FAO’s unique ability to create legislation and policies stored in the FAOLEX database ensures that action is taken. These actions include active citizen projects, research and innovation funding and infrastructure funding. In addition, the FAO also educates farmers and fishermen on agricultural practices around the world.

Consumers: Consumers are considered to be the ones that buy and consume food. This includes the European citizen, but also livestock. According to studies, the consumer holds the largest share of food wastage in Europe. This can occur during storage, preparation and scraps whilst the food is being consumed. With these consumers come different needs and varying circumstances. Thus there is a necessity for an adaptable solution that does not harm the consumer.

Source: European Court of Auditors | Special report 34/2016, Food Waste

What is already being done? In recent years, food waste has moved up the political and environmental agenda of

the

European

Union.

However, the measures put into

place

are

still

not

sufficient and are in need of assessment improvement.

and Whilst

making these measures, the European Commission takes into account the food waste hierarchy. This hierarchy prioritises the most preferred ways to combat food waste with prevention, donation and animal feed being the desirable ones. European Court of Auditors | Special report 34/2016, Food Waste Furthermore, recycling and other forms of recovery are areas in which solutions can be found, but these forms are harder to combat and less cost and time effective.

The European Green Deal (EGD) will transform the EU into a modern, resource efficient and competitive economy. It provides an action plan to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy and restore biodiversity and cut pollution. The EC proposed the European Climate Law to write into law the goals set out in the EGD. The EC and the European Parliament (EP) reached a provisional agreement and the final law will include a legal objective for the Union to reach climate neutrality by 2050. This requires Member States to create a national long-term strategy which will cover emission reductions in agriculture, waste and land use.

Furthermore, the First Circular Economy Action plan already stimulates agricultural farmers to reduce food waste with monetary funds and investments in promising technological advancements. However, it fails to address the consumer and their actions with regards to food waste. In addition, the From Farm to Fork initiative has set out multiple goals to create a healthier and more sustainable EU food system. Specific actions include investing €10 billion in research and innovation related to food and adding food labels to help consumers buy sustainable foods. This too, is a cornerstone of the EGD and focuses on organic farming and agro biodiversity. This agro biodiversity is important as it ensures the production of food and allows adaptation to changes like climate change.

Key questions 

What are the causes of food waste and how can we use our knowledge of them to combat the overarching issue?



How can technological advancements be used to reduce food waste?



Should the EU use economic incentives to make the food supply chain more sustainable?



What current measures can be further extended upon to reduce food waste?



To what extent do companies contribute to food waste and how should they specifically be addressed regarding this issue?

Links to further reading 

Quantification of food waste per product group along the food supply chain in the European Union: a mass flow analysis - EC JRC (2019) - an insight on where, throughout the supply chain, food is being wasted.



Food Waste - IFST (2020) - a general overview of food waste, problems and importance.



Circular economy action plan - DG Environment (2021) - a more detailed overview of the European Union's plan to make economies circular and reduce environmental and economic impacts.



Stakeholders' perspectives on the farm

to fork strategy - European

Margarine Association (2020) - short overview of the stakeholders affected by the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy. 

Combating Food Waste - ECA (2017) - a special report by the European Court of Auditors on the EU’s actions so far to combat food waste and possibly areas of improvement. The conclusion and recommendations chapter is most encompassing of the entire audit.



Creating a sustainable food system: the EU's strategy - EP News (2020) more information on the EU’s further strategy to create a sustainable food system.



EU Agricultural Economic briefs - EU (2015) - detailed info slides on price developments and possible causes.



How Avoidable is the Food Waste - Tim Lozier/ ETQ (2016)



Food security - Cheikh Mbow, Cynthia Rosenzweig (2019) - a detailed report on farming and its relation to climate change. Part 5.4 and 5.8 are the most important.



How food waste is trashing the planet - Tom Quested/ UNEP (2021) - UNEP story on environment and biodiversity.



A Guide to the Food Supply Chain - Lauren Christiansen/ ALTA METRICS (2021) - a detailed overview of the food supply chain and key actors involved. It also discusses the current problems within the food supply chain.

Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) A safe space - With incidents of domestic violence seeing a sharp rise in Member States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, what more can be done by the EU to ensure that no person is a victim of violence in their own home?

By Rana Arman, TR

Source for Image 1

Topic at a glance

During the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, “He will kill me” was searched for 107 million times while “He beats me up” was googled 320 million times. New studies indicate that the rates of domestic violence within the EU drastically increased during the times of crisis. In COVID-hit Europe, over 250 million citizens

were in lockdown, following the sequestration guidelines in order to avoid infecting others. However, for many women and children, their own home is the most dangerous place to stay. While the lockdowns saved many lives, they risked the heath, safety and mental wellbeing of victims of domestic violence. Living in lockdown can have a dire impact on the severity of domestic violence in forms of psychological, physical and sexual abuse which may even lead to femicides. Countries such as France had a 32% rise in cases of domestic violence during the first week of lockdown. Furthermore, Lithuania had a 20% increase during 3-weeks of quarantine, compared to the studies made in 2019. Spain witnessed a 18% rise in hotline calls during 2-week quarantine, while Cyprus gathered a 30% increase in helpline calls in the first few days of lockdown. The lockdown made the process of reporting abuse more difficult since support services such as hotlines would often be closed due to the circumstances. During lockdowns, victims also face hardships of reporting violence since their abusers are more likely to be present at home. This leads us to one consequential question: How can the EU ensure the safety of the victims of domestic violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Key Words and Core Concepts



Violence Against Women and girls (VAWG) : defined by the European Parliament as the gender-based discrimination, including threats of such abusive acts, compulsion, arbitrary deprivation of independence and freedom, whether occurring in public or private life.

These acts are

considered as the forms of violence that result in psychological, physical, sexual and economic harm to women. 

Domestic violence: used to refer to the situation in which the perpetrator displays different ways of abusive, coercive and controlling behaviour which causes the victim to fear for their own safety.



Gender equality: the idea of treating men and women equally. It supports the vision of society in which all people have equal rights and opportunities regardless of their gender.



Sexism: identified as the behaviours, norms, attitude, generalisation, language and conditions that promotes gender inequality. Sexism can be displayed in varied forms, such as but not limited to; sexual harassment, comments, jokes, gender-based discrimination.



Femicide: is the key term which is used to refer to the crime or the occasion of killing a woman or women.



Gender-based violence: is defined as the violence against a specific individual because of their gender. This term is often used to refer the term, violence against women although gender-based violence can be displayed against any individual of any gender.



Intimate partner violence: defined as any form of violent or aggressive behaviour by a person in an intimate relationship including current and past dating relationships, marriages and domestic partnerships. Based on the studies, the most common form of violence women experience is intimate partner violence by men against women.



Gender drivers: are also known as the drivers which are identified as the social conditions and norms that drive violence against women. There are some key gender drivers such as but not limited to gender-based roles and stereotyped concepts of femininity or masculinity in society as well as men's dominance and control which is one of the main reasons that limits women’s private lives and independence. Subsequently, there is also the condoning and normalisation of violence against women from the stereotype of men indicating that the male figure is generally aggressive, dominant and disrespectful to women.



Reinforcing factors: can be associated with the gender drivers and are used to describe the main reasons of the increase in cases of violence against women such as: the societal norms regarding male and female figures, harmful and extreme use of alcohol, prior experience of violence, especially during childhood and condoning violence, especially VAWG.

Key Conflicts

Source for Image 2

COVID-19 Restrictions According to the recent studies and EIGE’s articles and reports, it is evident that the need for personal protective equipment such as masks, social distancing laws, sequestration guidelines, mobility limits , closure of specific buildings and establishments are the key factors that severely affect women and children who have been victimised by gender-based or domestic violence since the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Furthermore, both the national authorities and the women’s shelters faced grievous hardships when providing and obtaining essential personal protective equipment (PPE) required to continue their activities. As a result, the shelters were expected to either partially close down the service building or reduce their capacity in order to maintain a safe and COVID-free environment. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 restrictions set to try to contain and reduce the effects of the virus, have also prompted serious problems affecting the inner workings of important bodies such as the medical facilities, justice system and security system. For instance, since the Estonian and French courts have gone digital, the former way of prosecuting domestic and intimate partner violence has been altered negatively . This is due to the new and ineffective digital solutions such as the use of electronic bracelets on violent offenders proposed by the courts. Since these electronic bracelets can even be cut by scissors, this method will fail to prevent some perpetrators from committing a crime. What can the EU do more to find sufficient solutions in order to prevent possible offenders from committing such crimes and ensure women a safe and COVID-free place to stay?

The Digitalisation of Support Services Based on EIGE’s publications, Member States have taken various steps to ensure protection of women from intimate partner abuse however, the assistance provided for the victims of crime is generally insufficient within the EU. Due to the inadequacy of the steps taken to ensure the efficient continuity of the support

services, the staff of these facilities have been dealing with severe hardships during the pandemic. The most important issue the safety providers tackled in COVID-hit Europe was the procedure of determining the risk level faced by the victims and maintaining contact without even meeting physically. Since some victims do not have access to the internet, the digitalisation of support services and safety providers such as helplines made seeking help much more difficult for the victims of crime. Consequently, victims of crime who do not have access to the internet are being excluded from having access to the most common safety providers and protection services. Another issue the victims have been facing throughout the pandemic is the difficulty of reporting violence and seeking help when the perpetrators are usually at home. Many women unfortunately state that they are afraid to speak up for themselves while they are with the offenders but not when alone at home. How can the victims of gender-based and domestic violence reach out for support and help?

General Attitude towards Violence Many women and children are unfortunately being victimised by different forms of violence such as gender-based and domestic violence within the EU and beyond. Regrettably, the public attitude towards VAWG also has numbers of detrimental impacts on the health, well-being and psychology of many women and girls. To begin with, many people sadly believe that men should be aggressive and disrespectful towards women in order to show their dominance in the relationship. Due to these norms and stereotypes of men, society tends to condone violence against women and girls. Furthermore, some people mistrust women’s and girls’ reports of any forms of abuse and violence. Some even think that women and girls are exaggerating when they state that they were victims of violence. Women are often held responsible while the offenders are excused by the society due to the reckless disregard for VAWG displayed by the public. All these acts are some reasons why women and girls feel alone and hopeless when they

are being victimised. Moreover, some political moves on VAWG made by several countries raise questions and concerns about the matter. For instance, many women were confused and felt threatened when Turkey annulled its ratification from the Istanbul Convention. This act prompted a horrific effect on Turkish women and the general thoughts on human rights, especially women’s rights globally. How can the EU change the public opinion on VAWG and ensure gender equality?

Key Stakeholders European Women’s Lobby (EWL): It is the greatest umbrella network of women’s associations, representing over 2000 organisations throughout the EU and beyond. EWL supports women’s rights and gender equality and was established with the aim of creating a society in which all women are respected, recognised and protected. One of EWL’s major goals is to protect women from violence and exploitation.

Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE): It is a feminist legal body and a nonprofit network which aims to end all forces of violence against both women and children. More than 150 WAVE-supported members are operated on a nation-basis level which consists of 46 European countries in order to maintain the exchange of information. It is the only European network exclusively dedicated to the elimination of VAWG, including domestic violence. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA): It is the EU’s main centre of human rights facility and an independent EU agency financed through the EU budget. It advises Member States and the EU Institutions on fundamental human rights, especially specialised in 6 areas: victims’ rights, children's rights, discrimination, racism, data protection, xenophobia and access to justice.

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE): It is the EU Agency thoroughly dedicated to gender equality and was established with the aim to assist Member States on the implementation of legislations regarding gender equality. This EU body also plays an important role in conducting research to achieve social justice and equality between men and women.

European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR): EIDHR was founded to provide financial assistance to civil organisations to ensure the development of democracy for human rights. One of the EIDHR’s goals is to ensure safety and protection to the victims of crime, including domestic violence.

Member States: The Member States play a crucial role in the establishment of protection services and the implementation of legislations, policies and law enforcements regarding VAWG and domestic violence. It is evident that the infraction of law by committing crimes such as domestic violence including physical, psychological and sexual abuse might be punished in different ways depending on the country.

What's already being done?

The EU ensures protection through the implementation of an imperative set of legislations, strategies and feasible measures to women and children who are the victims of gender-based and domestic violence. Article 2 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Human Rights: According to this article, it has been stated that everyone’s right to live shall be protected by law. Based on this Charter, women and children who are the victims of domestic violence shall be defended and protected. The Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025: was adopted in 2020 by the European Commission and aimed to create a vision of Europe in which both men and women, in all ages and diversity, are able to lead regardless of their gender and do not experience any kind of abuse and gender-based discrimination. It targets to achieve some steps that European Commission will consider to implement in order to provide gender equality in the next 5 years. EU Victims’ Rights Strategy 2020-2025: was implemented by the European Commission in 2020 in order to ensure that all victims of crime are always able to count on the law and their rights within the EU. It aims to achieve 2 main goals: empowering victims and band together for victims’ rights. The strategy targets to support and encourage victims of crime to report any kind of violence, ask for compensation and recover from the detrimental effects of suffering and cooperate with any key stakeholder to support and improve victims’ rights. Istanbul Convention: as known as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence was adopted on May 11th, 2011. The İstanbul Convention recognises and considers gender-based violence against women and domestic violence as a violation of fundamental

human rights and a way of discrimination. The Convention aims to implement diverse measures to combat VAWG, gender-based and domestic violence. The Mutual Learning Programme in Gender Equality: is a programme that creates an environment through conferences and seminars in which governmental representatives, stakeholders and experts in this field can have a debate and exchange of ideas on gender equality within the EU.

At the moment, no instrument established within the EU directly addresses the current situation regarding VAWG, domestic and gender-based violence. Nonetheless, the topic is mentioned and elaborated on in several diverse regulations, legislations and directives. For example, an EU directive was established in order to provide essential standards on the rights, protection and encouragement of victims. This directive has reinforced the rights of the victims of crime by providing specialised support and protection to women and children who have been victimised by gender-based and domestic violence.

As declared in the Commission Work Programme 2021, the European Commission plans to make a new legislative suggestion in order to fight against VAWG, domestic and gender-based violence. The main goal of this proposal is to reinforce the actions taken by the Member States within the EU.

Key Questions



What can the EU and its Member States do in order to combat domestic violence and provide the essential safety of the victims during the COVID-19 Pandemic?



What measures should the EU take in order to protect the vulnerable groups in society?



How can the EU and its Member States obliterate gender-based violence?



How can the EU and its Member States ensure the strong coordination of police forces, justice and health sectors in order to prevent the threat of cracks in the system which dramatically affects victims and their safety?



How can the EU ensure gender equality and minimise the detrimental effects of sexism?

Links to Further Reading



'Shadow

Pandemic':

Domestic

abuse

reports

soar

during

Europe's

coronavirus crisis by abcNEWS - an article that mentions the severe increase on domestic violence rates during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown 

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November by UN Women - an article which talks about the serious impact of the pandemic on domestic violence and the reasons why people must eliminate VAWG



Coronavirus: Domestic abuse - ‘You’re with each other 24/7' by BBC - a video which explains domestic abuse during COVID-19 pandemic



Key Terms of the Prevention of Violence Against Women by Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (DVRCV) - a pdf document which gathers the definitions of key terms regarding VAWG



25 Organisations Fighting for Gender Equality by Human Rights Career - an article that introduces 25 different organisations fighting for women’s rights and gender equality

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs (LIBE) The right to die - 2.5 million European citizens die yearly due to terminal diseases. Keeping in mind the ethical, moral and legal dilemmas surrounding end-of-life practices and the varying quality of palliative care across Europe, how can European countries continue to safeguard the dignity of their citizens until the end of their lives?

By Aris Martínez, ES

Topic at a glance

“None of us have the right to tell another how much suffering they can and should bear.” -Unknown author

We cannot define terms such as “dying with dignity”, nor can we ensure that palliative care will be uniform all throughout the European Union because every country has a limited amount of resources, including palliative care quality. This leads to alternatives such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide being some of the most demanded in some Member States.

In an issue where it all comes down to perspectives, decisions are not clear-cut, resulting in difficulties when seeking a pan-European solution that appeals to every citizen. Religion, economics and justice all take part in this discussion, each of them adding valid arguments and adding insult to injury at the same time. It all depends on the core-values one initially defends. By analysing each stakeholder’s viewpoint, some dilemmas will be understood while letting others unresolved. In the simplest

terms, how can we ensure autonomy while safeguarding human integrity and Member States best interests?

Key Words and Core Concepts



Long term illness - An ongoing long-term or recurring condition or illness that may have a significant impact on a person’s life.



Euthanasia tourism - A common practice among “suicide candidates” that travel to other countries where euthanasia is legal just to take advantage of that jurisdiction.

Intrinsic vs moral dignity Intrinsic dignity refers to the value that all human beings have just by virtue of the fact that we are human beings. This is usually regarded as a core and fundamental value that is superior to any other values. Meanwhile, moral dignity is one that cannot be easily defined, as each and every single one of us has its own interpretation of what is moral and immoral. Both of these concepts give rise to different viewpoints regarding this topic. Take for instance France, where intrinsic dignity is highly defended by the Catholic church, resulting in a “pro-life” standpoint. The complete opposite happens with the Netherlands, where a “pro-liberty” viewpoint allowed them to legalise new end-oflife practices.

Chronic illness vs terminal illness A chronic illness is a condition that usually lasts 3 months or longer, and may get worse over time. Chronic diseases often occur in older adults and are often controlled, but not cured. The most common types of chronic diseases are cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and arthritis. Meanwhile, a terminal illness is a disease for which there is no specific curative treatment or ability to delay progression, and which therefore leads to death within a variable time (generally less than six months); it is progressive; it causes intense, multifactorial,

changing

symptoms

and

involve

great

suffering

(physical,

psychological) for the family and the patient.

Palliative care Palliative care is specialised medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of illness. The goal is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and the family. This is done by administering some aggressive drugs such as pain killers, the wellknown morphine. Despite some recent evidence that shows that current pain-killers do not shorten a patient's life, prescribing high dosages could end their life.

Doctrine of double-effect This is a rather theoretical concept that aims to protect the physician from any liability if, by putting a patient in a treatment with the intention of improving its condition, the result is even worse than the initial condition. Even if a doctor gives these drugs knowing that they might shorten their life, it is legal because their ultimate intent is to relieve pain, not shorten anyone's lives. Therefore, if the intention is to make good, what happens then is not the physician's fault. As a result, this and other principles safeguard the doctor’s integrity and apply across every country, as stated by medical ethics.

Active euthanasia Euthanasia literally means ‘good death’ in Greek. Active euthanasia is illegal in most of the countries, with the exception of four Belgium, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Spain, given that morality faces ethics and principles such as justice and autonomy. During this process, a terminally ill patient —with no signs of improvement— asks for a doctor to end his own life by actively injecting a lethal injection or any other substance —such as potassium chloride— that will end their suffering.

Passive euthanasia Consists of withholding action or withdrawing the initiated treatment, avoiding intervening in the process towards death. Currently, withdrawing or withholding from treatment is legal and mistakenly known as “passive euthanasia”, although this term can be confusing. As stated, withdrawing treatment in a patient’s best interest is indeed good clinical practice. Many people would argue that the consequence is the same as with euthanasia, which is true, but the approach to it is not. It is not that continuing to live is not in the patient’s best interest -as it happens with euthanasia-, it is the treatment causing suffering, therefore the intent is to relieve that pain.

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) When the patient is the one taking the lethal beverage by himself, instead of the physician administering it for him, it is called physician-assisted suicide. The physician’s role is to prepare and prescribe the required drugs.

Principle of beneficence & non-maleficence The former implies that doctors should always act on behalf of the patient's best interest by always providing them with the best possible treatment to benefit them.

A doctor aiming to minimise a patient’s suffering could act upon the beneficence principle by helping them die. The latter influences the physician by ensuring that his intention is not to harm. Consequentialism tells us that it is not the action but the consequences of the action that is important.

Key Conflicts Moral & ethical dilemma

There is not a universal way of safeguarding someone’s dignity when reaching the end. This is where the main conflict arises. Bearing in mind the previous concepts, people often see euthanasia as their gateway to peace and end of suffering. Some people claim this to be the case due to a lack of good palliative care, as the ultimate goal is to relieve suffering and symptoms, not treating the disease. This school of thought defends that by having top-notch palliative care, patients would not need to consider euthanasia as a solution.

There is not a clear definition of death, back when technology was not as evolved as in today’s world, death was simple to identify. Nowadays things have changed, with the invention of the defibrillator and other life-changing machines, we can keep someone alive thanks to electricity, not to mention if someone is considered ‘brain dead’. This poses a difficult question when assessing when someone's life is not worthy living, as this is a conclusion to which the patient reaches.

EU-Member States conflict The EU itself cannot make decisions on the topic itself as it has the competence to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States when it comes to protecting and improving human health policies. This is not to say that some institutions have the power to introduce certain rights such as article 8 - right to respect for private and family life, from the ECHR (European Commission of Human Rights). Other institutions such as the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) actively engage with EU policy-makers and other stakeholders to advocate, anticipate and proactively shape EU health and research policies on palliative care issues.

The key conflict to emphasize is that the EU currently does not have competence over each of the Member States’ health systems. This results in the EU lacking the ability to force a Member State to legalize euthanasia or other practices. Each Member State among the EU, with their respective cultural, economic, political and religious differences, has full competence over this aspect. Despite having certain rights such as the right to private life, the EU cannot directly change any legislation in order to safeguard that same right. Each country has their own set of limited resources, making it complex for the EU to act.

Liberty & Justice, two contradictory worlds Individual rights and liberties are there to protect every human being. Such rights are present in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights But just in the same way we accept them, we must acknowledge that this might be a two-way street, where renouncing to the right to live is as morally valid and respectable as not doing so. By denying someone to choose when and how they want to end their lives, some may argue that not allowing someone to, ultimately commit suicide if referring to PAS, is discriminating those vulnerable, as those physically capable have nothing to stop them from

committing suicide but terminally ill patients with physical restraints are not able to do so without help. On the other hand, by legalizing active euthanasia and PAS, vulnerable people might be under pressure to end their lives in this way, as chances are that they will feel as if they were some sort of burden to their family. The aim of medicine is to preserve life. Legalizing one way of death is a slippery slope and the question arises of when the line should be drawn.

Key Stakeholders

The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME): The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) represents national medical associations across Europe. They are committed to contributing the medical profession’s point of view to EU institutions and European policy-making through proactive cooperation on a wide range of health and healthcare related issues.

European Commission: The European Commission is the executive branch of the EU. It can propose laws and performs a lead role within the rule of law framework. In our topic, as the EU only has a supportive competence, it can only intervene to support, coordinate or complement the action of Member States. (has no legislative power). Among the commission, there are different departments and executive agencies such as the commission's directorate: General for Health and Food Safety (Supports, coordinates and complements actions by EU Member States aimed at protecting and improving population health and developing accessible, effective and resilient healthcare systems.)

EU Citizens: Most patients suffering from incurable and extremely painful diseases agree that ending suffering is more important than living in agony. However, adults believe that if euthanasia is legalized, it will affect the mentally ill as well. This concern directly involves EU citizens all across the EU, as deciding on the basic pillars of their lives is a top-priority for some of them.

Member States: As previously stated, Member States hold great power in this aspect, as it is their exclusive competence to protect and improve human health. The EU can only support and encourage changes in their policies but cannot directly influence them. This leaves Member States free to decide if, according to their culture and religion, euthanasia is a viable option or not. Some member states that current lead the ‘euthanasia model’ are the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2011, declared euthanasia accounted for about 1% of deaths in Belgium and 3% in the Netherlands. In 75% of the cases, cancer was the disease motivating the request for euthanasia. In the Netherlands, the number of euthanasia cases reported by doctors in surveys matches the number officially reported. In Belgium, it is believed that there are as many undeclared euthanasia cases as declared ones.

European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC): Recognised by the Council of Europe, the EAPC lobbies and actively engages with EU policy-makers and other stakeholder to advocate, anticipate and proactively shape EU health and research policies on palliative care issues. Some of the actions they have introduced include supporting global advocacy organisations and other initiatives seeking to develop palliative care in resource poor countries around the world, using education to increase awareness, knowledge and skills related to palliative care for health care workers, the public and volunteers, and supporting and disseminating research and development on all aspects of palliative care.

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies: World Health Organisation body which monitors, analyses, assesses, and shares evidence. Acting as a knowledge broker and bridging the gap between academia and practice in Europe in order to support countries in the development of evidence-based health policies.

Informal care sector: Refers to the provision of unpaid care to a patient by their family and friends. In many European countries, informal carers are the major source of long term and palliative care. Their concerns and needs are voiced by associations such as Eurocarers.

What's already being done?

the

Netherlands

euthanasia

applies to patients with unbearable and irreversible pain and it is up to the patient to request it from his or her doctor, who is obliged to consult another

doctor

before

deciding.

Belgium has a similar law. There is also no prior control and only the approval of two doctors is required. In

contrast

the

Dutch

law,

euthanasia can be applied at any age, with parental consent, and also includes cases of irremediable mental suffering.

One country where active euthanasia is not currently legal is France. Some months ago a bill to legalise it went to the French parliament, bringing division among the French parliament to its fullest extent. “On May 17, 2021, 296 deputies belonging to political parties going from right to left, asked you to accept that the parliament can continue to debate on the other articles of the bill n ° 288 presented by the deputy Olivier Falorni. The first article opening the right to medical aid in dying for patients suffering from serious and incurable diseases, suffering from unappeasable pain was voted by a large majority of deputies present (240 for, 48 against).” Letter sent by the French RTD Society ‘Le Choix’ to Prime Minister Jean Castex on May 24.

When it comes to EAPC, they have recently set up a task force on palliative care whose aim is to provide up-to-date, reliable and comprehensive analyses of the development of palliative care within each European country, in order to generate and disseminate an ‘evidence base’ of current provision across the region.

Overall, euthanasia and PAS is illegal throughout the vast majority of countries, with the exception of Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Each Member State has its own culture and predominant religion, which makes it difficult to adapt a pan-European solution to the problem.

Key Questions



How do you determine when a life is not worth living? Should the EU enact guidelines for Member States to follow when diagnosing?



How is mercy killing dying with dignity?



Would legalizing euthanasia and PAS result in an increase of deaths?



Could a top-down approach be taken with this topic? How can the EU adopt measures taking into consideration they do not have the required competences?



If feasible, should the EU demand more competences from the Member States? What impact could a pro-euthanasia Europe have?

Links to Further Reading 

Spain passes law allowing euthanasia by BBC News - Spain has recently legalized active euthanasia, now belonging to the short list of four countries that allows it.



Ethics: Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide by the BBC - A brief introduction to the ethics behind these end-of-life practices.



The Suicide Tourist: Our Right To Die Together by Real Stories - Considerate documentary that provides revealing insights from those who suffer, patients.

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Faces Of Palliative Care by PHCMediaServices - What is palliative care all about?

"Faces of Palliative Care" shows that today, with new drugs and a

collaborative approach to care, palliative care programs can provide comfortable and meaningful end of life experiences for patients and their families. 

The Morality of Euthanasia by Comenius University - Morals are always there, but sometimes pose a difficulty when discussing topics where they come into contact with law.

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