Guiomar Gutiérrez: "The Conference on the Future of Europe has arrived so that young people can feel part of it and talk face to face"

One of the most relevant novelties of the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFOE) is the participation of Young Europeans, who are very active in preparing proposals that can be presented to the Conference and even approved. Guiomar Gutiérrez, Youth Secretary of the European Movement, and Antonio Porcel, representative of Young Europeans, analysed this participation and the role of young people in the European Union during the latest programme of 'De cara al mundo' on Onda Madrid.

What is your experience of this COFOE conference like?

Guiomar Gutiérrez: The experience has been novel, which is the word I would use to describe it because it is the first time that young people have been given the opportunity to participate in the conference and to give their opinion on the future of Europe beyond the elections, but we are also a little disappointed because in many cases we have not been taken into account. We were told that we young people were the centrepiece, but nevertheless, when it came to participating and forming the plenary or the groups, we were always left out or we were the public, who could ask questions but not participate. At the end of the day, it is we young people who have to decide the future we are going to live in because these are our next fifty years.

Antonio Porcel: I think we should be given more importance, but at the same time I think the fact that participatory democracy is being initiated and that the EU is making an effort is quite a positive sign. As a young activist for European integration I already know that I have a place in decision making and that the policies that are being implemented by the European Union such as the green pact or the digital policy is something that affects me directly and I have a say in it. Now, if at some point they try again not to listen to us, I will not allow it. I think this is a good thing and COFOE has given it a little boost.

I see you with personality so that you don't feel overwhelmed by the presence of an MEP or someone who may have more political experience because you can bring new wisdom, right? 

Guiomar Gutiérrez: It is good to create these intergenerational dialogues because it is true that an MEP is necessary, but I think that this Conference has come so that young people feel part of it, so that we can talk face to face, break down the barrier and work together. 

Antonio Porcel: It is true that it can be embarrassing and imposing, but it is a question of perspective: the concerns and interests that I have are not the same as those of the MEP. Therefore, it is my duty to ensure that the vision I have of the problems reaches the decision-makers, because it is possibly the same vision of people of my age. Even if I can impose, there is a civic duty in getting there.

Do you work with the awareness that you have to put yourselves forward with arguments? 

Guiomar Gutiérrez: Yes, it's something we've been working on since the beginning: to look for the problem, to find solutions, but to explain the reasons. I think the clearest example of these new ideas that we young people can give is climate change. The new generation has argued that the way we live is not sustainable: we don't have a planet B, we can't travel all the time by car or take a flight to Valladolid. All these reasons are what we use and what we expose. We are fighting so that the fact that we are young does not condition us so that these reasons do not carry so much weight, even though they are equally well argued.

What do you consider to be the most relevant proposal?

Antonio Porcel: The issue I consider most important is European democracy, not so much in the sense of a formal democracy, but also a democracy in which a European "demos" is created, in which we can feel European and act as such. To this end, it is true that programmes such as Erasmus should be promoted, so that young Europeans can get to know each other, or the security forces, which is European volunteering. I believe that young people are not aware of these programmes and we must reach out to them in order to build this "demos".

Guiomar Gutiérrez: Personally, I think that migration is where we have to act. I think they are the European Union's Achilles' heel because it has not been able to provide an optimal response to the migration crisis. That is where the European Union has to act and be aware that it is a common problem to which a common solution must be found. There is no point in dividing migrants between states or closing borders if it is going to continue to happen. I think this is the point where we have to make a turning point.

Do you have to reach a consensus in your organisations on what you are going to raise at the Conference?

Guiomar Gutiérrez: That is the heart of an organisation. You have to reach a consensus on the issues and reach an agreement, especially in the case of the European Movement, when young people have to negotiate between adults. Having these intergenerational dialogues gives the feeling of a real negotiation of the European Union, because it is the middle ground between two people. The answer is definitely yes, but there is also the exercise of participatory and representative democracy itself, which is to reach the middle ground.

In case you are in a plenary and you have to make an impromptu decision, do you have the capacity to make a decision?

Antonio Porcel: Organisations always listen. It is true that we need to be effective in order to act, but we join forces so that our voices are heard and we have more strength as citizens. 

Often, in the media, a vision of young people is offered that is reduced to a party and there is no information about young people working on projects like this one. Are young people aware of this?

Guiomar Gutiérrez: I think young people are committed and there are many ways of doing politics, such as through social networks. The European Union focuses on young people because it considers that they are participating and the platform is an example of this. The idea of bringing in new technologies and to rely on young people's ways of contributing is something that the EU is doing. There is too much focus on those young people who are in the media, but they may be in the minority. Also, at national level, there are many young people in different associations.

Antonio Porcel: I think that also the negative is always taught, especially in the context of pandemics, but they are probably a minority. I think that young people have a capacity that other generations don't have, and that is that they are very critical of the social body. They are not yet inside it, but they want to rethink it, do new things and create. The impetus that young people have must also be harnessed. From there, they need to get into the decision-making centres, to be heard and to be given the economic capacities to be able to create the society they want.