CONNECTING CITIZENS PROGRAMME
WHAT NEW EUROPEANS REALLY WANT FROM THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS IN 2014?
Roundtable Debate followed by Reception

You are warmly invited to join us at our New Europeans Roundtable, followed by a reception to mark the 57th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

“We, the Citizens of Europe, have United for the Better.”

Berlin Declaration, 25 March 2007

Since 2007, we have seen a rise in xenophobia, social and income inequality and extremism in Europe.

Some predict that the next European Parliament will have one in four Eurosceptic MEPs.

It is against the backdrop of the slow economic recovery that New Europeans seek to reanimate the debate around Europe’s future from the perspective of the citizen.

In the modern world, Europe is more than just an idea or a “geographical location”. For the millions of individuals and families who live and work in Europe outside their home member states, Europe is an everyday reality.

How can we make Europe work better?

At the roundtable we will hear from:

• European Alternatives
• Hope Not Hate
• European Citizens Abroad
• New Europeans
• National Union of Students
• Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex.

If Europe is to remain a reality, then it must work and must be seen to be working for the citizen.

In particular, it must for the most vulnerable groups in our society, for the disabled, for the elderly and for minority groups.

Europe must also work for young people. If Europe is not a land of opportunity for young people today then what is its purpose?

Many issues remain to be resolved on the pathway to a fairer, more equal, more democratic Europe.

We will examine some of these issues in detail with the help of our panel of experts and practitioners.

We will look not just at the need to strengthen our civil and democratic rights as EU citizens but also at issues relating to our social and economic rights and the role that community and political engagement plays in protecting them.