"Either Europeans accept to face this challenge together – or else we slide towards irrelevance." These are strong words from the leader of the union. The document presented is called "Political guidelines for the next Commission".
The 41 page document outlines the vision and strategy for the new Commission. Among many other issues he points out the need for youth mobility: "To this end, I propose to expand existing instruments like Erasmus into a new EU youth and mobility initiative, as part of the EU 2020 strategy. By 2020 all young people in Europe must have the possibility to spend a part of their educational pathway in other Member States. Such a "Youth on the Move" initiative would be a decisive contribution to the promotion of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and multilingual learning."
The introduction: " We live in extraordinary times. The crisis that we face is not just a financial or an economic crisis. It is also a crisis for the values of our societies. At the same time, it shows to what extent the world of the 21st century has become interdependent. It confirms what may become fundamental changes in the relations and the balances between world powers. This is why we need a far-reaching reflection about the kind of society we want to live in. For Europe, this is a moment of truth. Europe has to answer a decisive question. Do we want to lead, shaping globalisation on the basis of our values and our interests – or will we leave the initiative to others and accept an outcome shaped by them? The alternatives are clear. A stark choice has to be made. Either Europeans accept to face this challenge together – or else we slide towards irrelevance."
Press release
The whole document can be downloaded here
