Author: Morris Hillebrand

  • Words of Welcome from the President of Delft 2022

    Dear Participant,

    As President of the Delft Regional Conference, it is my honour to welcome you to this event.

    For many months, both my team and the other teams have been working diligently to make this session possible. Dedicating much of their free time to the success of this session, my team has been hard at work researching, writing the Topic Overviews and becoming experts in their respective subjects. Subjects ranging from inflation and ecology to defence and foreign policy. All of them are highly relevant issues which Europe is facing now, and which we will have to deal with in the short term. Soon, by doing your own research and with the guidance of the Topic Overviews, you’ll have the opportunity to dive into those subjects and become experts yourself.

    Working under the theme of ‘New beginnings: turning crises into opportunities’, it has been my vision from the start to help create an environment wherein participants can meet new people, grow their mutual understanding and are handed the tools for change. You’ll have the opportunity to develop yourself, gain ownership and grow academically. Your views will be challenged, and you’ll be challenging the views of others. However, rather than letting that divide us, through debating in good faith and opening yourself up to other points of view, it will bring us closer together. Over the course of this conference, I am looking forward to seeing what progress you make, what new skills you learn and what valuable experiences you’ll be taking home.

    For now, I wish you the best of luck in preparing yourself for the session, and I am very much looking forward to meeting you all very soon.

    Yours Faithfully,

    Tim van Woezik

  • EMPL

    Motion for a Resolution by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

    Submitted by: Célestine van Swieten, Engel Sammels, Jakob Schwartz, Marjolijn Webb, Niels van de Laak, Shadia Yoko, Tamar Reuven, Eleni Anayiotou (Chairperson, CY)

    The European Youth Parliament,

    1. Alarmed by the fact that a lower quality of life in Member States is directly linked to a higher youth unemployment rate, as seen prominently in Southern-European Member States that were hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic, 
    2. Deeply conscious of differences in quality of education between private and public schools which results in unequal development opportunities, 
    3. Noting with deep concern that labour migrants and refugees are faced with unfair disadvantages, such as language barriers and lack of qualifications’ recognition,
    4. Bearing in mind that inadequate wages, also caused by a lack of centralised minimum wage policies, make employment prospects for the youth less attractive, leading to under- and unemployment,
    5. Recognising the growing difference between full-time and part-time employees, as well as older and younger employees causing:
      1. disproportionate job offers,
      2. difficulties regarding work experience and increasingly higher qualifications, 
      3. wage differences and a lack of social security,
    6. Noting with satisfaction the guidelines set by the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Adequate Income Ensuring Active Inclusion, which encompasses criteria for transparency and non-discrimination,
    7. Noting further that as a result of the pandemic and a lack of overall mental health support and resources, mental health and subsequent employment rates amongst young people have deteriorated,
    8. Observing that crucial skill shortages lead to the respective specialised shortages in the workforce, that could be filled by currently unemployed youth,
    1. Encourages the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI)1 to continue its course improving access to support services, specifically focusing on European youth in areas where unemployment rates surpass 25%;
    2. Suggests that the European Commission allocates more funds to the European Social Fund (ESF+)2, as to support curriculum enhancements and career guidance programmes, shrinking the difference between public and private schools;
    3. Supports the implementation of programmes like the European Network of Employment Services (EURES)3 to help refugees find jobs in the Member States by decreasing language, bureaucratic, legal, and cultural barriers for those participants;
    4. Reiterates the importance of the implementation of a minimum wage policy on a national level, guided by the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Adequate Income Ensuring Active Inclusion and the Reinforced Youth Guarantee;
    5. Emphasises the importance of creating a secure position for young people in the workforce through the support of the YEI, by:
      1. creating better conditions for short term job offers by ensuring paid internships,
      2. implementing measures to close the wage gaps based on age, 
      3. appointing  an independent Young People’s Commissioner;
    6. Strongly suggests Member States to properly implement ALMA4 by integrating it into their respective national agendas, thus ensuring active inclusion and transparency of eligibility criteria;
    7. Urges the ESF+ to fund companies to incentivise investment in mental health experts for employees to prevent mental issues such as burn-out or anxiety, which lead to unemployment;
    8. Seeks that YEI redirects young unemployed people towards traineeships and internships with current skills shortages, promoting entrepreneurship, thereby realising the potential of green and digital transitions.

  • JURI

    Motion for a resolution by the Committee on Legal Affairs

    Submitted by: Feline Ligteringen (NL), Fenne Huizer (NL), Julia Cieślikowska (PL), Lyan Fruneaux (NL), Mia Kuzmanovska (NL), Raphaella May (NL), Sarah Siegenbeek van Heulekom (NL), Tuur van Berge Henegouwen (NL), Julia Grajewska (Chairperson, PL)

    The European Youth Parliament,

    1. Concerned about the data in the 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard, according to which only 24% of the general population in Poland perceives the level of independence of courts and judges to be fairly or very good,
    2. Noting that despite several measures being taken by the EU to tackle the judiciary crisis in Poland, it is still not fully complying with the EU’s requests and recommendations,
    3. Aware that Polish judges who oppose the changes in the judicial administration are being targeted by the government and can face repressions,
    4. Cognisant that procedures described in Article 7 of the Treaty of the EU (TEU)1 require unanimous voting from other Member States, which has been proved to be difficult to reach,
    5. Deeply alarmed that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal issued a ruling that directly challenges the primacy of EU law2
    6. Concerned that the offices of Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General in Poland are occupied by the same person, leading to the erosion of the rule of law protection,
    7. Deeply alarmed by Poland’s recent decision to lower the retirement age of judges to 60 years for women and 65 years for men, undermining the EU’s core value of equality between men and women,
    1. Calls upon the European Commission to set a comprehensive and concise action plan for the Polish government to meet milestones by which they will restore the independence of their judicial branch;
    2. Strongly urges the European Council to only approve Polish government’s €35.4 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility plan once it has fully complied with all recommendations in the field of the rule of law;
    3. Proposes the European Council initiates the procedure to amend Article 7.2 of the TEU and change the unanimity-based procedure to a 90% vote threshold;
    4. Recommends Member States to create media campaigns, similar to the I Vote Europe campaign, encouraging their citizens to take part in elections;
    5. Strongly urges the Polish government to:
      1. separate the offices of Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General,
      2. make the judicial system independent from the executive and legislative branches,
      3. set an equal retirement age of judges.

  • CULT

    Motion for a resolution by the Committee on Culture and Education

    Submitted by: Anouk Bus, Basmala Abdelwahab,  Fayrouz El Hamus, Jahan Omari, Pien Smits van Waesberghe, Shanady Mac-Intosh, Jelle Zegers (Chairperson, NL)

    The European Youth Parliament,

    1. Appreciating the European Parliament’s research which acknowledges endangered languages,
    2. Noting with deep concern that Regional or Minority Languages (RMLs) account for linguistic and cultural diversity in the European Union, a loss of which can cause people to lose their identity,
    3. Alarmed by the fact that intergenerational language transmission of RMLs is declining, due to a lessened connection to the RML caused by prejudices connected to speaking them,
    4. Pointing out that education on RMLs is underdeveloped for speakers as well as non-speakers of RMLs,
    5. Bearing in mind that the overpowering need to speak the official state language within a state can cause people to abandon RMLs,
    6. Acknowledging that racism and social inequality are pressing issues that make people from RML communities abandon their language,
    7. Observing a negative attitude towards RMLs – both from people outside of RML communities as well as from the RML communities themselves – that is dependent on their connection to said RML,
    1. Strongly recommends Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission to prevent the loss of knowledge by establishing research centres dedicated to documentation and archiving of RMLs in areas where RMLs are spoken;
    2. Encourages Member States to create a more positive attitude towards RMLs and build an environment where they are learned and respected more by giving  RML communities the opportunity to celebrate their culture;
    3. Hopes Member States will battle the extinction of RMLs by stressing their importance and encouraging the teaching of and about RMLs to younger generations;
    4. Requests Member States to expand their language education and to ensure a good understanding and positive perception of RMLs among younger generations through an elective course on RMLs in the EU, a mandatory course on RMLs in their respective countries which are both supported by correct education materials based on research done by the JRC alike;
    5. Urges Member States to encourage and enable their citizens to speak their RMLs instead of the state language by ensuring the representation of RMLs in public spaces and governmental positions;
    6. Proposes the European Commission to decrease dependency on the official state language by creating a research group through the JRC that focuses on creating translation engines for RMLs that do not have one.