A European story of success on the day of Europe

63 years ago, 9 May 1950, Robert Schuman made one of the most important steps towards an utterly new form of European cooperation. Today, the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community is considered to be a crucial milestone of the humpy road leading to nowadays European Union. Although the lengthy story of the European integration process has seen many downturns, it significantly changed the modern economic, social and political landscape of the continent. The European model gave example to many other international cooperation in the world, however many of the achievements are being faded away in the shadow of the rapidly changing world and the recent economic crisis. May 9 is a great occasion not only to celebrate the concept of Europe, but to think about the prospects of  the continent and all the young European people who will shape its future.

The achievements and successes of the European Union are many, however there is one which definitely emerges from the line. This is the success story of the youth mobility programmes implemented by the European Commission. The boosting inter-communitarian commerce, the higher level of economic cooperation and rising GDP are all useless things without lasting results in the field of society. The concept of development also contains the advancement of the society which cannot be achieved without a greater level of social cohesion. In the case of Europe - which is formed by a huge variety of nations and languages - social cohesion occupies an even more important role. One of the greatest ideas of the former leaders of the EU was the creation of  programmes like Erasmus and EVS, without which, the greater level of European social cohesion would be an unrealistic dream.

In the time of a fierce global economic competition, Europe - without any doubts - needs unity and a higher level of understanding and collaboration. Europe’s social cohesion has always been on the Union’s agenda, however there is still a long way to go to accomplish the goals. On the way to achieve the common objectives, the new European youth will have a significant role. The Community and its citizens have invested an enormous amount of money into specific mobility programmes in order to take advantage of its benefits in the future. The prospective progress will be promoted by the new European youth who absorbed the main principles of tolerance, fraternity, and mutual understanding during their Erasmus or EVS time. As their time rapidly approaches, the new leaders of this old continent will definitely face harsh challenges with regard to several recent problems like the ageing of the society, the reform of welfare states, the sustainability of the economic development,  the reinforcing national interest and the emerging intolerance and racial hatred in some parts of Europe just to mention a few of them.  

As an ex-Erasmus student and a present EVS volunteer, I feel privileged that I could learn in a formal and non-formal way in the school of the European Union. “Once Erasmus, always Erasmus” – those ones who have ever participated an Erasmus exchange programme know what I am talking about. For more than 25 years several thousand young European students take the chance to study few months abroad. Young people from all over the continent come together to share their ideas, languages, costumes and whatever they can share, while making friendships (or even love) for a lifetime. For the majority of them the experience turns out to be unforgettable which leaves its mark on their lives. With the best semester of my uni career in Verona behind my back, I am only one of them. Now, I’m sitting here in the office of Via Angera in Milan where the other mobility program of the EU, the EVS led my way. Although not many young people know about this latter called the European Voluntary Service, it’s even a better chance to get known with another country while contributing to a social case. If you didn’t use any of this possibilities, now it’s your time to do it.

And what about the future of the above mentioned mobility programmes? Seemingly, the world economic crisis has only strengthened the faith of the European leaders who are destined to drive the community towards a higher level of integration. Starting with the commence of the next long term EU-budget (2014), the so called “Erasmus for All” programme will unite the advantages of the old time’s Erasmus and EVS. The “Erasmus for all”  strives to involve more European young people than before and it also has a special budget to increase the mobility in the field of sport. Despite the harsh financial circumstances, the Community invests even more money to continue its most successful story in order to pave the way for a higher level of social cohesion without which the real development of Europe is not obtainable. The words of Jose Manuel Barroso seem to be adequate in this relation: “More European Unity is the best answer to globalization”