The Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) have adopted new resolutions calling for a European Convention and immediate integration measures that can be carried out prior to treaty changes. JEF Europe further provides young ideas to empower youth participation and addresses prevalent concerns about immigration by setting out alternatives to the current national systems of migration management.

“While we want to emphasise that treaty change is necessary to fundamentally strengthen the European Union, we outline that some progress can already be achieved within the framework of the Lisbon Treaty. Deeper European integration is essential to address the huge challenges we face in the European Union, of which migration and empowering political participation to win back citizens’ trust are but two examples”, explains Pauline Gessant, JEF Europe president.

JEF Europe’s Federal Committee also expressed its firm belief in the importance of the human right to privacy, particularly in view of the re-negotiations of the General Data Protection Law, innovations in online industry and fears of crime and terrorism. For this reason, JEF Europe will in the coming months draw up a well-informed suite of policy proposals regarding the human right to privacy in the digital age.

Finally, JEF Europe launched its “DemAlert” smartphone app, which lets users attract attention to any breaches as well as empowerment of democracy in Europe. “By offering the app for download in iTunes and Google Play app stores at no cost, we hope to provide a tool that enables organisations and individuals to self-mobilise around the good and the bad practices of democracy on our continent”, says Gessant.

The meeting gathered 51 delegates and 14 directly elected Federal Committee members to represent the 30.000 JEF Europe members in 36 national sections. “This meeting showed that young people really do care about the European society they live in, that they have a vision for their common European future, that they are not only talking about democracy but trying to set the example for democracy themselves, and finally, that European unity is strong among people, even though media often suggest it crumbles between states”, concludes Peter Oomsels, Vice President of JEF Europe.

See our adopted resolutions below:

• Statement on the Human Right to Privacy in the Digital Age
• Calling for a European convention
• Strengthening the economic and political union within the Lisbon Treaty
• Young Ideas to Empower Political Participation in the 21st century
• Managing immigration at European level