Manifesto: keep the internet open!

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Access to a free digital network is essential. All data should be treated on the Internet equally and not discriminated or charged differentially by user, content or mode of communication. We sign the Youth4NetNeutrality manifesto to guarantee freedom of speech, safeguard equality and open internet principles.

 

For the first time in history, the youth of Europe is united from conservative to progressive, from left to right, from North to South and from East to West to stand up together for an issue that we deeply care about.

We stand up for the open internet. An internet without censorship. An internet where all data is treated equally. An internet without network discrimination. An internet without anti-competitive agreements.

As youth of Europe, we therefore call upon the Council of the European Union to preserve network neutrality in the Telecoms Single Market Regulation proposal as drafted by the European Parliament. We strongly urge the Council to define net neutrality clearly – and without any loopholes – in order to safeguard equality, facilitate fair competition and foster innovation.

Find more about the initiative here

Hope for the future, pride to be European

V Hope

Young Democrats for Europe have hope for the future.
Europeans like Europe but regret its inability to solve problems such as unemployment which stays one of our key concerns. Hit by the crisis, unable to fix an effective strategy, European leaders have failed.
They are the ones Europeans consider guilty, not the European Union. Nevertheless, the European project is a victim of this failure.
Young Democrats for Europe want to pursue the European dream, this is therefore essential that our governments finally manage to re-create growth and employment.

This is the only solution for European youth in particular to reconcile with Europe and its governments.
Therefore, to reach that aim, Europe has to begin a policy of economic stimulation by launching across all the territories projects based on the requirement of environmental protection and the creation of infrastructures tightening links between peoples.

As we know, if Europe agrees to subsidise those important projects, millions of local jobs will be created and the project to bring people closer would be strengthened.

Regarding environment, Europe has to increase investments in renewable energy and in construction of public transport networks in all the European important cities. This will contribute to combating global warming, to the improvement of Europeans’ everyday life and to developing  European metropolises.

Solutions exist. Now we need political courage to implement them.
This is the only way to revive the European ideal…

 

Pride to be European

 

Young Democrats for Europe are proud to be Europeans.

With regard to the history of Europe, Europeans are aware of their role and influence in the world. We know that numerous countries consider the European Union as a model of human development. Health, Culture, Gastronomy, the luxury and high-technology industry, cinema, architecture,… all these areas illustrate the European know-how and contribute to its outreach.
This reality is an opportunity and a resource that we must harness.
Building on these strengths, the European Union finally achieves to create a functional diplomacy capable of defending our interests and promoting our culture in the world.

Thanks to this active policy of outreach, Europe will be able to make “its” citizens proud to belong to a humanist civilization.
By reconciling with its past and its assets, Europe will be able to contribute to the creation of Europeans, ambassadors.
In order to achieve this, beyond its internal political construction, Europe has to play a role on the international stage, in particular on the territories connected to our history. The latter aspire to develop themselves and to another model than those of the United States or China. This is our duty to hear, understand and to answer this call for help.

Wherever States tear themselves, our experience of conflict settlement should be used. To make Europeans proud and confident in the future, the European Union has to assume and accept its role of major power.

A busy December for the European Democrats

 

6ème Congrès du PDE

Following the 2014 European elections, the EDP held its Congress in Brussels on the 10th and 11th of December. Delegates from our organisation attended the Congress and we also organised a Board and Council meeting.

 

Concluding the first 3 months of the new Board team, these meetings were an occasion to end the preparations of our 2015 initiatives and actions. These two days were also a warm gathering of Democrats during this festive period. With more than 80 delegates coming from 17 countries, the EDP adopted a motion supported by the Young Democrats for Europe on the importance of having a Democrat political family and cooperating with Liberals in Europe.

Our president Miroslava took the floor during the EDP Congress:

“This is not the first time I get the floor at a EDP meeting but today I am honoured to speak as the newly elected president of the Youth of the EDP and therefore to be the voice of all our members. I would like to underline some changes I think are the most important within our youth organisation:

  • the first milestone was the third congress of our organisation in September in Bilbao. I want to thank our Basque organisation, EGI, as well as the Basque national party. This was crucial and helped us to move toward a renewal: a new 10-member Board was elected with me as President and Mathieu Camescasse as Secretary General, new youth organisations were welcomed – our friends from National forum and UDI – as well as individual members. Our internal problems solved, we could now start anew on an improved and stronger footing and help you.
  • Today we also held our third Board meeting. These regular meetings allow me drawing up new policies. Being exemplary is our objective and I am therefore happy to announce that we have adopted a new Code of Ethics. We want to assure you, as well as everybody, we will work to be an example, to share our common values and beliefs, and be responsible and accountable with regard to finances. We will spend public money wisely.
  • These sound bases allow us working on concrete projects, and on specific issues. One of our next challenges is to strengthen our cooperation and work effectively with the Institute of European democrats and the ALDE group. But more especially and first of all to be the pro-active youth organisation of the European Democratic Party and work closely with you, our MEPs, our MPs. We aim at bringing your work to Youths and European citizens. We will be pleased to work with your office and assistants.”

 

©Soazig de la Moissonniere

Romanian presidential elections : a surprise victory and the lessons we can draw from here

Mihai Sebe, PhD

On November 16th 2014 the Romanian political landscape has been shaped by the victory in the second round of presidential elections of Klaus IOHANNIS, the candidate of the Christian-Liberal Alliance (center-right) in front of the social-democrat Prime-minister Victor PONTA.

It was the highlight of a rather dull electoral campaign that has been radicalised between the two electoral rounds due to a series of errors done by the governing party who led to the victory of the opposition candidates with a 54,43%. It is also important to notice the high voting turnout of 64,10%.

This was for many Romanians a reel surprise taken into consideration the difference of public notoriety between the two candidates and their supporting parties as well as the resources used.

But what does this election change?

We have for the first time a minority president, a “New” man: from the ethnic point of view – a member of the German minority – as well as religious – being a protestant – all this on the background of a nationalistic political campaign conducted by his political opponents – this a message of the Romanian people toward West.

The main causes of the victory

Klaus IOHANNIS has won due to 3 elements apparently unrelated:

1) the Romanian diaspora

It was not the vote of the Romanian diaspora in itself that brought the victory of Klaus IOHANNIS but the improper management of the elections abroad by the Romanian government. The inadequate number of voting offices abroad, doubled by the strong emotion produces by the incidents between the Romanian citizens and the law enforcement forces across Europe, due to their impossibility to vote, proven to be a decisive factor for the undecided citizens. Back home there was this impression that we were in front of a “premeditated action” which sought to stop the diaspora from voting. This impression brought up strong emotions and contributed to the victory of the opposition.

2) conflicts from within the Romanian Society

The 2011 – 2012 winter and 2013 protests on topics often alien to the general preoccupations of the society (use of cyanides in mining; fracking) have created an active minority from the civic point of view which, step by step, have succeed in motivating a critical mass of citizens to become interested in the political life while testing alternatives means of communication as regards the traditional medias.

This critical mass of citizens has succeeded in mobilizing itself from a political point of view in the decisive moments – we are dealing with a true civic « storm troop » who successfully uses political guerilla tactics against the authorities and the political parties too large to act in a similar fast way while having as background the support or at least a neutral attitude of the population.

Flag of Romania --- Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

3) civil society campaigns against corruption and the abuse of power

We have assisted these last months to a series of arrests within the ranks of representatives of the political class on the background of the hesitations or even the hostility of the politicians. The population thus had the impression that the social-democrat government and the Parliament where trying to protect those accused of corruption. Thus, as a logical conclusion, a victory of the social-democrat Prime minister would have given the impression that the anti-corruption campaign would have been stalled indefinitely and that he, in his capacity as president, would have tried to limit its actions.

Lessons to be learnt from the presidential campaign

1) the role of the traditional media in the political debate

The traditional media have an important role but we must overestimate their force. A good campaign that uses alternates means of communication could be successful. A good campaign that uses alternative communication tools can be successful. The traditional « partisan » media have their role but for a greater effectiveness, impartiality and respect of the truth, the new media guarantee a better access to information.

2) the role of the Internet and of social networks

The new media can change everything like was the case with these elections when the Romanian Diaspora, who was expecting to vote, sent into the country, trough these tools, an important number of discontent to their families and friends, who, spread them even further. We have assisted to a media avalanche where every receptor becomes also a transmitter.

3) the issue of the Diaspora

Until now, the emigrants had a predominantly economic role trough the money they sent to their families. But, on the background of an insufficiently detailed electoral regulations (the absence of electronic and correspondence vote) and on the background of an ineffective organization on the official side, the Diaspora played a key role in the political struggle: from now one the electoral force of the Diaspora is to be fully taken into consideration.

4) the importance of youth

Many electoral strategists often ignore the youth as they are considered to be an unstable electorate, whose support for a partisan cause is difficult to maintain. With this electoral campaign the youth had an exemplary mobilization in regard to other previous elections and their votes change the results. The youth is not receptive to the traditional ways of partisan mobilization and they are quite selective and react better to the new media.

5) the overrated role of the (Romanian Orthodox) Church

The Romanian Orthodox Church, that many perceive as a very influent factor within the rural areas has generally guarded, in my opinion, a politically and religiously neutral attitude and didn’t involved itself, with minor exceptions, in a negative campaign fought upon religious differences.

6) the importance of political values – the fight against corruption and the « system »

It is to be noted that values still count. If we base a political campaign on real values, and if we chose candidates able to respect and promote these universal values (such as democracy, respect of laws, etc.) the chances for success multiply exponentially.

« In making judgments, the Early Kings were perfect, because they made moral principles the starting point of all their undertakings and the root of everything that was beneficial. This principle, however, is something that persons of mediocre intellect never grasp. Not grasping it, they lack awareness, and lacking awareness, they pursue profit. But while they pursue profit, it is absolutely impossible for them to be certain of attaining it.»

Lü Bu-wei 246 B.C., Chinese Prime Minister under Emperor Ying Zheng, The Annals of Lü Bu-wei, Lu Shi Chun Qiu

7) political peculiarities of urban vs. rural areas

The electors from urban area are more unstable and have the tendency to vote for the centre-right. It is this electorate that can make a difference but this requires as a prerequisite a very well organized party and by saying this we arrive to our final lesson of this campaign.

8) the importance of retaining the loyalty of the electoral stronghold and the role of an intensive door to door campaign – the role of activists and of the analyses

Must be developed a political apparatus able to make a door to door electoral campaign, a great network, with members ready to mobilize and who are acting on a professional basis.

Thus, having as basis of research the results from previous elections it is imperative to « personalize » every electoral circumscription and to correctly identify the social and cultural specificities of the citizens from this circumscription in order to undergo a more personalized campaign.

More importantly it is essential to have a well defined direction in order to know the way to go forwards and to respect the vision accompanied this way because even is words may vary, so can the circumstances.

The November 16th vote is yet at the beginning of its effects. It comes to set free a whole range of social and political energies yet difficult to quantify and it requires an in-depth analysis. Are we really dealing with a positive vote, in favor of Klaus IOHANNIS or, most likely, with a negative vote against the Romanian political elite? Is this the signal of a more profound political change? We are about to see as history never sleeps.

Young Democrats for Europe (YDE)
Jeunes Democrates Europeens (JDE)
YDE is the youth wing of the European Party.We embrace the key role of democratic principles, underlined in the Lisbon Treaty and shrined in our political belief: democracy, freedom, equality, participation, sustainability and solidarity.

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