Young people currently in their 20s will play a decisive role in what concerns the future of the European Union, affirms MEP Iuliu Winkler (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, EPP) in a meeting held on Thursday at the European Parliament with a group of students from the European Studies Faculty of the Sapientia University of Cluj (Kolozsvár).
“The EU is witnessing a time of unrest, with Europe seemingly entering an era of volatility. If we try to make a list of the EU´s challenges, unprecedented in the last decades, starting with the situation in Europe´s east, with the Ukrainian crisis, the unparalleled threats to the Baltic States, Poland, Hungary and Romania, if we look at the Mediterranean region, noticing the EU´s unsatisfactory response towards the migration crisis, if we evaluate the results of the 2014 European Parliament elections and the success of extremist, anti-establishment, xenophobe and anti-migration parties, then we notice that the euro-optimism that was dominating a decade ago, has transformed, today, in an amalgam of anti-European sentiments”, pointed out the EPP MEP. Winkler further mentioned that, at the societal level, the scepticism concerning the capacity of the European project to tackle the challenges of the 21st century is increasing.
“My opinion is that for us, the Hungarian community living in Transylvania, the European future in which we can maintain a consolidated community on our native land is represented by the vision that returns to the values of the EU’s founding fathers. On their own, the EU nation-states, cannot tackle our contemporary challenges. Only together, rediscovering the sentiment of solidarity, and coming back to the funding values, those of a citizens’ Union, will we Europeans be able to build a prosperous and secure future. In all of these, you, 20 year-olds, will have a decisive role to play. The future of Europe lies in your hands”, declared the MEP.
Iuliu Winkler further talked to the students about the study and internship opportunities offered by the EU, mentioning the Erasmus+ program, as well as the traineeship possibilities within the EU institutions. He added that more information for those interested in possible interning opportunities at the European institutions can also be found on his website, www.winklergyula.ro.
“For you, it is important to obtain as many competencies as possible, along with foreign language knowledge, as these can prove to be vital assets. This is a contest where, both at the individual and community level, the winners are those that are better informed, more competitive, braver and have the most initiative”, added the EPP MEP.
The students from Cluj, with the support of the parliamentary office of the MEP of the European Peoples Party, further had the possibility to visit the European Parliament.