Europe Day (May 9) is approaching and the European elections are beginning their countdown, on June 9. The European Parliament - the only European (and world) institution directly elected by universal, supranational and legislative suffrage - this year, due to the adjustments derived from Brexit in 2019, will have a composition resulting from the elections of 720 MEPs, 61 of whom are Spanish from the different political forces competing in a single constituency. So, I could not miss this opportunity to address all the citizens of Lanzarote and, in particular, those who make up my generational mesh: the young people of Lanzarote (the young people, hereinafter), and expose some reasons to encourage them to participate on June 9.
The reality is that, according to the latest Eurobarometers, there is a general awareness among the young population that they feel part of the European project, although we do not understand its institutional framework or what each of them consists of, we have no problem belonging to the European Union. However, there is still much to be done to overcome the barriers to detachment between young people and the European Union.
As a young, conejero, Spanish, European and pro-European of Generation Z (those of us born between 1997 and 2004): the most educated, the ones who have obtained the most benefits from our membership of the European Union and the ones who have moved the most, we do not feel that the European institutions represent us, seeing them as an abstract, distant and inaccessible entity. The truth is that, on the contrary, its role is remarkable, since about 60% of the legislation adopted in Spain has its roots in resolutions or laws approved by the European Parliament.
Let's think about the young British people, when "from one day to the next" they were deprived of the rights that belonged to them on the scale of European citizenship when Brexit took place in 2019. So, thinking that what happens in the European Union does not affect us, makes us more vulnerable and unaware of a multiplying scale of rights. Alone we would not get anywhere. We lose out if we do not assume our responsibility and exercise our satisfaction - or dissatisfaction - through the vote, giving democratic legitimacy to the decisions taken in a changing, threatening world that needs globally relevant actors.
Now I will outline the reasons I referred to for voting on June 9.
First, because we young people have reached adulthood and it is imperative to wake up from innocence and face uncomfortable truths in order to rectify and improve. We have long ceased to be that hope for the future to become the most rabid present. We, the young people of today, will live longer in this constantly changing and unstable world. So, to aspire is in our life script and to project the course we want in the next legislature is our responsibility.
Second, because we live in a fragmented environment with characteristics that require differentiated treatment. European law refers to the Canary Islands as "Outermost Regions" which, located in their remoteness and insularity, are an integral part of the European Union on an equal footing with the rest of the territories. In this sense, the European Parliament takes decisions to guarantee us opportunities in the present and stability in the future. Rural areas, our fields, our biodiversity, our maritime or air connections, and even subjects such as mental health, programs as successful as "Erasmus", housing or salary, are discussed within it. Young Canarians, but not only, have benefited from "The Minimum Wage Directive" or "The Intern Statute", consolidating our rights as students and young workers.
Third, because democratic quality is at stake. More and more countries feel disturbed by full democracy as a form of coexistence and, in the European Union, we are not exempt from reopening the wounds of the past. The paradigm, in force since the Second World War, which ensured peace, prosperity and exchange, has been broken. Today, terms such as "war", "insecurity" or "Europe of Defense" resonate with frequency and concern. Our generation needs to guarantee its survival in the coming years, because believing that everything will maintain its "status quo" and taking the good state of opportunities and well-being for granted is a mistake. I insist, let's think about our British colleagues, they wanted to stay in the European Union, but they put it on Instagram and did not reflect it at the polls.
Fourth, because difficulties are part of the process of every person - physical or legal - and this strengthens us and makes us mature. The same understanding lies in the European Union of this legislature 2019/2024, as it has reacted to unexpected contingencies with resilience and unity. Brexit, the pandemic and a conflict on European soil were not foreseen in the established script. Measures such as vaccines - which did not differentiate an arrecifeño/a from a milanés/a; the sanctions against Russia for the illegal aggression against Ukraine or the activation for the first time of the Temporary Protection Directive for refugees from Ukraine, allowed the European Union to wake up and mature at an accelerated pace. So, we young people have the obligation to decide in what world we want to live and how we want to face these challenges in the most immediate present.
Fifth, because the world has changed and we cannot turn our backs on it. Globalization and its consequences will be our unmistakable hand luggage for a long time. Living isolated, worried exclusively about the local without looking at the world means living disconnected from reality. Nothing is far away anymore, everything affects us now. Our approach must change. If we aspire to continue being a population based on values, guarantor, defender of the
Rule of Law and with freedom we must contribute our dose of commitment on June 9. The European Union belongs to us, and there is still much to be done; much to build. With optimism, Lanzarote, get your shoes on and vote on June 9, European elections.
