Resolution on renewable energy

The World and the European Union are facing a historically challenging moment. On the one hand, there is the difficult task of bringing the health emergency under control. On the other hand, there is the need to continue stimulating the economy and introducing major recovery measures. For that, two main pillars have been chosen by the EU, the green and digital transitions. Both will help creating a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient economy.

 

It is very important to align hand in hand short-term recovery efforts with the medium-and long-term objectives, such as the Paris Agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Agenda or the EU Climate targets. Besides the governments and the political parties, there is a growing willingness shown by society to transform our economy into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly wealth. There is a decarbonization desire that we need to deal with.

 

 

  • A widespread technology that aims to reach our carbon neutrality goal

 

Renewable energy presents a golden opportunity because it ticks in all the boxes. Renewable energy is directly linked to the green and digital transitions. The benefits of renewable energy in terms of releasing lower or no carbon emissions and reduced air pollution are widely known. This is directly linked to society´s health. Having good air quality in our towns and cities ensures our wellbeing. Nevertheless, it is to point out that renewable energy is much more than saving CO2 emissions.

 

Renewable energy is also about economy. Unfortunately, its numerous socio-economic benefits have only become apparent specially in the last decade when the deployment of renewable energy technologies has become more widespread. Every year, renewable energy creates a significant and growing number of jobs worldwide due to rising investments. Moreover, the sector is constantly improving and innovating, and this has led to technological upgrades which resulted in falling costs. The whole Manufacturing Industry is developing in all its manufacturing base, innovating continuously their products.

 

Apart from the cost decline, infrastructure development has allowed the integration of variable energy sources in safe and feasible way. Moreover, renewable energy provides the needed resilience making it less prone to large-scale failure since some renewable energy technologies are installed in a distributed, modular fashion. At the same time, renewable energy gives more independence in terms of not depending on the oil or gas imported usually from countries outside Europe.

 

 

  • Europe, a fertile ground for the deployment of renewable energy

 

Needless to say, in order to install and benefit from renewable energy natural resources such as wind, water, sun, biomass etc. are needed and after a proper cost-benefit analysis the right technology should be chosen for each location, in order to make best of it. Europe is affluent in the mentioned resources and it has become a leader in driving the deployment of renewable technologies and there is the goal to become the world number one in renewables.

 

The industry is thoroughly working on technological developments such as floating wind turbines, wind-hydrogen hybrid projects etc. Governments and politicians from our side would need to push an innovation on the market legislation to follow up with the speed of integration of renewable energy. There is a lot of money willing to invest into renewable energy and the governments should establish regulatory frameworks which give investors confidence to go in. And last but not least, we need more projects.

 

Costs have come down dramatically and the field of application has really broadened, renewable energy innovation is really changing. This is a moment of opportunity, alignment of all stakeholders will define the success of the green and digital transitions. Let’s make the best of it.

 

This is the reason why we, the Young Democrats for Europe, call for a consultation of all the stakeholders in order to quickly increase renewable energy in our energy mix. Green transition won’t go with the consent of the people. If economic inputs are already foreseen, we need to get the European citizens on board with a transition that will change their way of consuming as well as their landscape.

 

In order to so and relying on the leading European companies, we also encourage the launch of an “Airbus” of renewable energy. Cooperation and integration are at the root of the European process ongoing for 70 years. We want to strengthen it with the goal of the XXIth century: achieving the quicker that we can carbon neutrality.

 

Resolution for a true European citizenship

At nearly 30 years old, European citizenship is still being sought. The political union that was to come into being with the European Union is constantly being called into question by the difficulties of coordination between member states. The financial crisis, the reception of migrants or the management of the COVID-19 epidemic have shown that behind the concept of union lie many realities.

This is why we Young Democrats for Europe are working to make European citizenship a reality for the 450 million European citizens.

The Maastricht Treaty provides that “Every national of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union”, which we interpret it in a broad sense: as the quality of a citizen, belonging to a community greater than the sum of the States that constitute it and representing a set of values and rights that provide access to participation in a transnational public space.

More than a definition, we believe that European citizenship must now become a reality.

 

● Making effective the rights granted to European citizens

We, Young Democrats for Europe, welcome all the rights acquired by European citizens since 1992. However, although they are numerous, we regret the fact that European citizens have very little knowledge of them.

As a political party, we believe that it is essential that the right to vote in European and municipal elections, the right of petition and the right to launch an European Citizens’ Initiative become more widely exercised.

This is why we will strengthen our communication and training actions on these rights. With the aim to ensure that the modalities for exercising these rights are clearly accessible and that citizens can effectively make use of them.

More than pedagogy, we will work, in collaboration with the other European political parties, to implement tools that citizens can use to raise awareness about these rights, which are essential to European democratic life.

Finally, we do not forget all the other rights given by European citizenship. Freedom of movement, consular protection or access to European documents and to the European Ombudsman are real advances for all citizens of the Union.

We therefore keep in mind that it is all these rights that must be known by European citizens in order to make them effective. To deprive oneself of them is to renounce to one of the foundations of the European Union, and therefore the exercise of one’s full and complete freedom within a State governed by the rule of law.

 

● Giving primacy to the values of the EU over its policies

The values of the European Union are multiple and subject to many political interpretations. This is why we will rely on those which are at the heart of the ideological corpus of our member parties as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), i.e. “human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities”.

Because we are democrats, we cannot tolerate any violation of the rule of law. Freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, independence of the judiciary or government control are the foundations of our society. Aware that promoting them around the world is essential, we must first ensure that these principles are guaranteed within the 27 member states. This is no longer the case.

This is why we, the Young Democrats for Europe, are in favour of making European funds conditional on respect for the rule of law. Indeed, legal measures as vigorous as those provided for in Article 7 of the TEU cannot remain without effect. Although it is true that the financial argument does not solve everything in itself, it will act as a new tool to ensure respect for democracy in Europe.

 

● Ensuring the legitimacy of the EU through the participation of citizens in its functioning

The 2019 European elections saw an increase in citizen participation, especially among young people, for the first time since they were held. This is a first victory and we celebrate it. However, we must continue to invigorate European democracy with all the means at our disposal.

To do this, we will set up exchange times for young people with the ten MEPs who represent us in the European Parliament. They are our strength and our legitimacy; we will be able to rely on their skills to strengthen a European democratic system that is often far from its citizens.

In addition to relying on our elected representatives, we will provide position papers for each current European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) in order to make them more accessible and to democratize their functioning. Debating them means making them exist. And on the basis of the many petitions posted online, we want European youth to take ownership of the ECI, which allows us to mobilize all European citizens.

Finally, and because a democracy cannot be envisaged without the confrontation and debate of ideas, we want the next Conference on the Future of Europe to be open to as many people as possible. The agoras envisaged will have to cover all the subjects for which the European Union is competent, including those for which it shares competence with the States. These agoras will have to be physically distributed in each Member State in order to reach all citizens and not just an already informed public.

As a youth organisation and because we are the future actors of Europe, we also insist on the need to dedicate an agora to youth. This would be held both online and it would travel throughout the Member States to diversify the audiences that can be reached.

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.

Contact us

    OUR PARTNERS