Duncan Roberts: 2022 marks the European Year of Youth. What particular challenges are youngsters facing now and how can the EU help them in concrete terms?
Anne Calteux: I share the perception of the president [Ursula von der Leyen] that the pandemic was very rough on young people. There are many young people who think they have missed out on opportunities. They are the Europe of tomorrow, so we need to cherish them and to give them perspectives. That can be done in several ways. One, specifically mentioned in the State of the Union speech, is the new Alma (Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve) programme which will enable young people to work on a short-term basis abroad. It’s a bit like Erasmus, but for young workers. So it’s a new layer to make them fit for the employment market, to have them diversify their skills.
And on top of that, the Commission has announced in its new working programme for next year that it will invest a lot in digital skills. It aims for digital skills to become an integral part of education programmes at schools and universities.
I am personally looking forward to exchanging with the younger generation on topics which are important to them on the occasion of various initiatives that will be organised by the Representation over the next months.
Indeed, the Commission recently announced a new €1.98 million funding for the Digital Europe Programme. What needs to be done to make Europe more competitive in this field?
The president called it a make-or-break issue, and I find that really to the point. We need to create the conditions so that we have a trustworthy and secure digital environment, but always putting people at the centre of our efforts.
The European Chips Act has been announced for next year, also in the spirit of greater autonomy or sovereignty, as we call it, with regard to the US and China.
The European Chips Act has been announced for next year, also in the spirit of greater autonomy or sovereignty, as we call it, with regard to the US and China. And I think that’s a good thing, because the pandemic has shown us how fragile we are and how dependent you can become really quickly on other countries who have a monopoly in producing certain things. Also, the Commission will increase its investment, from next year onwards, in secure global space communication. So, that’s maybe something that could interest Luxembourg.
If we can return to youth for a moment. A Eurobarometer poll published in September revealed that 55% of youngsters say they don't understand much or anything about the EU. 70% also said they don’t feel as though they have any say in what happens in the EU. So what steps can be taken to a change this perception and get youth more involved?
There is already something happening, which is the Conference on the Future of Europe, which was launched in May and will continue until May next year. The Commission made sure that young people, meaning between 15 and 26, make up at least one third of each panel. So they are over-represented in this exercise in participative democracy, to make sure that their voice is really being heard and taken on board.
Since I took office, we have had a few exchanges with young people on what their expectations are, what they like and don’t like about the European Union… And one criticism, which you just expressed, is that it’s too complicated. So then myself and my team always try to explain in simple terms and also show them concretely what the EU has already done, or does, or will do for people in several fields.
We have recently broadcast a TV campaign called Europe Works, which you can also find on our website, in which people from different areas--the economy, environment, culture--give an example of how the European Union has actually enabled them to start their business or do what they like to do. And that’s something I think that works quite well.
We need to keep on investing in climate diplomacy.
Frans Timmermans said the Cop26 final text keeps alive the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. How can the EU convince other leading industrial countries to follow suit?
We need to keep on investing in climate diplomacy. The EU was a really strong partner in the COP negotiations in Glasgow. The EU delegation participated in really, really long, difficult negotiations, always having in mind the objective of compromise in order to keep everyone on board. I think the text is still quite ambitious. It could have been much less ambitious if the EU hadn’t been there.
But there is still a lot of work ahead, and the EU knows that. I mean, we know this is only a first step. And we need to remain ambitious and keep on intervening with other countries outside the European Union. Because if we are ambitious alone then we would never get close to the CO2 emission reductions we are aiming for. And that would be a big missed opportunity.
One of the major achievements is the Paris Agreement rulebook, which obliges countries to report on what they have done in order to reach the goals.
And if you read the Commission’s 2022 work programme it starts with climate objectives, and there are many. There is a zero-pollution package, for instance. An EU framework for harmonised measurement of transport and logistics emissions. A review of the CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. Carbon removal certification—that’s going to be a legislative initiative. An initiative on the right to repair rather than replace, so talking about the circular economy. Then there is a plastics package and a legislative act on the sustainable use of pesticides. An ambitious agenda which should also inspire other countries outside Europe.
The new German government’s programme is very pro-EU, but it is also urging the Commission to be tougher on rule of law disputes with Hungary and Poland…
So far there has been a lot of dialogue. But there are also other means beyond dialogue--infringement procedures, the conditionality mechanism to withhold financial means, that’s a very strong instrument, and article 7, so you know what that means [to suspend certain rights from a member state]. And the Commission is really willing to use all these instruments if needed.
Because we have come to a point where just watching what's happening is definitely not an option. It’s a direct challenge to the European legal order. People need to be able to have the same rights, to exercise the same rights, wherever they are in the European Union. And we cannot let that be questioned. The Commission is the guardian of the treaty, and it is willing to live up to this role.
This article originally appeared in an edited form in the