on June 9, 19°°

@Phoolan

Rue du Luxembourg 43, 1000 Brussels

rsvp to:

Adam.Mouchtar@europarl.europa.eu

EU40 hosts in the European Parliament a public hearing about the way  democracies in Europe, the Middle-East and South Asia react to terror, and key speakers:

-Efraim Halevy-                                     - Gilles de Kerchove -                              -Vikram Sood-

On Thursday 10th June

9h – 10h45

ASP5G3

for access badges, please send complete name and date of birth to adam.mouchtar@europarl.europa.eu

We have the pleasure to invite you to a lunch meeting on the 3rd of February from 13:00 – 14:00 in the European Parliament.

We would like to create a cross-party board of EU40 MEPs and speak about the opportunities of developing EU40 with our old and new EU40 partners. We very much hope that you will be able to make it to the meeting.

EU40 is the network of Members of the European Parliament addressing those under forty years. EU40 seeks to gather those who are young, share a generation and are ambitious about politics. We believe in an approach towards European politics that is not merely based on party politics or national issues but generation-based and future-oriented. We believe we do not only have the great opportunity to shape the future of Europe but furthermore that we have the responsibility to do this in a sustainable way, giving future generations the possibilities and tools to determine their own future. EU40 brings together those who change the face of Europe.

Every two years the Bavarian Representation in the EU organises this small version of the famous Oktoberfest. To give it real authenticity, there is “Wies’nbier” – the beer brewed especially for the festivities, Bavarian specialities and the obligatory brass band.

EU40 will participate for chat and a beer, some “intercultural dialogue”, “Cheers”, “Prost” and “Santé”!

Register to the event

MEP ‘young guns’ set to take on traditional EU policymakers

German MEP Alexander Alvaro has launched a new parliament group aimed at addressing the concerns of MEPs under 40 years old.

The ALDE deputy hopes the informal network, called EU40, will galvanise the parliament’s 126 young deputies under the age of 40 into a cross-party political force capable of influencing future EU policy. The new group, which Alvaro has been developing over the last two years, was unveiled on Wednesday in the European parliament when members met with commission president José Manuel Barroso for a private question and answer session. Alvaro told this website following the ‘in camera’ meeting with Barroso that he hoped the network could develop an approach to European politics that was not solely focused on party politics or national issues, but generation-based and future-oriented.

“I had setting up this group in mind when I originally became an MEP aged 29,” he said. “I’m part of the generation that although born into a divided Europe, was brought up in a united Europe, so I along with many younger colleagues have a different perception of the world than someone aged 50-60.” Alvaro also heads the assembly’s campaign for parliament reform group. And he said the under-40 generation was more inclined to seek cross-party consensus to political issues. “We favour a more cooperative approach, rather than a stiff party approach, and we are more open to different communication tools and new technologies,” he said.

Alvaro, who was instrumental in setting up the one seat campaign calling for the scrapping of parliament’s Strasbourg seat, said the so-called ‘young guns’ network was an opportunity for younger MEPs to shape Europe’s future. “We are not setting up a committee, or a formal parliamentary group, but an informal network that we hope can influence parliament’s main political groups,” he said. “There is no guarantee that it will work, but we have had a strong response from parliament’s younger deputies.”

Alvaro said that MEPs were still in the process of coming together in parliament following the elections, and that he is yet to find out how many members want to become involved. But he added that he was “amazed” that over 40 members had confirmed their attendance at Wednesday’s reception following the meeting with Barroso, where more than 30 MEPs turned out to quiz the commission chief. “Today was the first time we got the network together in the parliament to discuss political issues,” he said. “Now we can look to develop EU led policy papers and other more long-term projects. We now have young ‘heads’ within the political groups.”

Former Dutch MEP Michiel van Hulten, now a Brussels-based consultant said he fully backed the principles behind the EU40 network. “My experience, joining the European parliament in 1999 aged 30, was that there was a big divide in the post war generation of politicians,” he said. “I don’t believe that traditional party sympathies are as relevant to the younger generation.”

Bulgarian MEP Metin Kazak, aged 37, also backed the EU40 initiative. “It’s a very good idea to bring together policy makers from different countries to give a youthful push to EU policy,” she said. Newly elected Dutch deputy Marietje Schaake, 31, agreed that the younger members “see politics in a different way” from the older generation, and welcomed the EU40 network as a “unique opportunity” to foster more political transparency and accountability.

http://www.theparliament.com/

EU40 is a network of Members of the European Parliament addressing those under forty years.

EU40 seeks to gather those who are young, share one generation and are ambitious about politics. We address those who are already playing a leading role in politics and who are most likely to do so in the future. We believe in an approach towards European politics that is not merely based on party politics or national issues but generation-based and future-oriented.

We believe we do not only have the great opportunity to shape the future of Europe but furthermore that we have the responsibility to do this in a sustainable way giving future generations the possibilities and tools to determine their own future:

It is not purely our generation we are doing politics for but it is our generation doing politics today and tomorrow. We want Europe to be at its best. Therefore we seek to connect the best. EU40 brings together those who will change the face of Europe.

We therefore hope to see you there.

The venue is 5 minutes on foot from the Parliament. Fine tunes, an open bar and a dinner await you.

The adress: Brewers of Europe on Rue Caroly 23

Register to the event