How are young Europeans coping in times of crisis?
July 8, 2022
It's summer vacation season in Poland and 18-year-old Aleksandra Piasecka, Lena Kubisa and Kinga have traveled to the city of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea for a break. The three friends started planning their trip half a year ago — well before war broke out in neighboring Ukraine. It has changed their lives, too.
"Every now and then I remember there is a war going on and then I get something like a panic attack because it is so close. I have a feeling that this fear will not go away until the war is over," Zuwała tells DW on the phone from Gdansk.
A Ukrainian family has moved in with Kubisa's family, seven people now live in the apartment next door, which belonged to Kubisa's grandmother and fortunately stood empty. "Sure, it's a big change for us. But of course, it's an even bigger change for the refugee family," says Kubisa. The teenagers will graduate from high school next year and their sentiments are shared around Europe.
More than 60% of young Europeans perceive the war in Ukraine as a turning point. This is one result from the study"Young Europe" published by the TUI Foundation. The opinion research institute YouGov surveyed more than 6,200 people between the ages of 16 and 26 in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Poland in April 2022.
More than anywhere, young people in Poland, Germany and Greece say they perceive Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a personal threat. And young people across Europe all acknowledged being very willing to provide humanitarian aid and take in refugees (68%).
"Before the war, older people used to say to us how we teenagers have it so easy. But now I have the feeling they feel more empathy for us, they see that we have to study in such difficult circumstances with so many stress factors," says Kubisa.
After all, the Ukraine war is not the only crisis. Climate change is still perceived as the biggest threat by young Europeans.
Climate change remains the top concern
"Climate change is something that affects us all as human beings. That's why I hope we all wake up and start to really do more," says 25-year-old Javier Fabra Rodriguez. He lives in the Spanish city of Cadiz and has just finished his master's degree. He wants to teach history and will now prepare for the exam one has to take in Spain to become a teacher.
He describes himself as an optimistic person, "Actually, I always focus on the positive." Rodriguez considers himself a European first and a Spaniard second. He likes to travel through Europe, he tells DW, and he has friends from different countries.
Now, as he sits in a bar with his friends, they talk mostly about being afraid of not finding a job. Also — more and more often — they talk about climate change: "We've always blamed the big companies for not caring so much about climate protection. And the government should also take action. But then at some point, we agreed that each of us could also do more. Like, for example, stop eating meat, recycling the trash, stop driving the car so much."
It turns out that climate change is the one issue for which young Europeans are most willing to cut back on their own living standards. More than 60% say they would. And an even greater number — 69% — see a high level of individual responsibility in the fight against climate change. Moreover, 58% expect their governments to take more decisive action, like raise higher taxes, and impose regulations and bans.
More than half of the young people polled believe the EU should prioritize the fight against climate change over securing energy independence. It is striking that southern European countries in particular see the responsibility as lying with the EU and not just with their national governments.
The role of the EU
"Europe is for me a place where I can develop my personality and make my dreams come true. Here I have rights. That's important to me, also because of my background," Daniela Cappuccio says with a laugh. She is currently living back in her hometown in northwestern Italy. She is half-Colombian, she says, so she has always understood how many rights and freedoms come with a European passport.
The 25-year-old has just finished her law studies and is now working and preparing for the licensing exam to become a lawyer. For many years she has been giving talks in schools to teach young people about EU institutions.
For the majority (69%) of respondents in the TUI study, the EU is above all an economic union and an area with open borders where people can travel and work without restrictions. Sixty-two percent see the EU as an alliance for peacekeeping. Young people in Spain and Italy, in particular, would like to see the integration of EU member states go further.
"I feel that we expect the European Union to solve many big problems," says Daniela. "But at the same time, national governments don't want to give up their powers. I hope that in the future we actually give formal powers to the European Union to better deal with the challenges."
Generation Compromise
When it comes to dealing with these challenges, the study finds young Europeans to be pragmatic. For example, 71% agree with the statement that compromises are needed to achieve success in climate protection.
And 66% see measures against climate change as securing freedom for the future. Young people consider it more important to combat climate change than to ensure more economic growth.
As to responses to the war in Ukraine, 62% support weapons deliveries and 43% support economic sanctions, but when asked about their acceptance of price hikes across the EU for fuel, food and energy, support hovers at around 35%.
"The study results show a generation that is levelheaded in its analysis of the situation, as well as constructive and pragmatic when it comes to the question of how to shape the future," says Thomas Ellerbeck, chairman of the TUI Foundation, in summing up the results of the study.
War, climate crisis, pandemic — and participation?
Kaussar Wahazzida is 16 years old, a student in Hamburg. "Many young people — some of whom I also witnessed in my own surroundings — did not cope well with the pandemic. It was no different for me," she says, talking about how many struggled with depression and the feeling of hopelessness.
More than three in five respondents across Europe say the pandemic has put their mental health at risk. It has made young Europeans less optimistic than ever before.
Older people did not seem to appreciate the young peoples' problems, says Wahazzida. "They said its because of the young people that COVID-19 numbers are going up."
The Hamburg student has been involved with the center-left Social Democratic Party's youth wing for three months. She is concerned about refugee policy, education policies and climate change: "We young people don't have a voice. I have the feeling that politicians just make assumptions about how young people must feel and then decide things without asking for our input," she says.
European Year of Youth
The EU seems to have recognized the problem, at least to some extent, and has declared 2022 the "European Year of Youth."
"I haven't heard anything about that," says Aleksandra Piasecka, laughing, "But that's cool."
Then she adds, "I still have the feeling that Polish politicians prioritize old people. But with the war, the climate crisis and all the other crises at the moment, that's begun to shift. The pace of change is still too slow, but things are definitely happening," Piasecka says.
This article was originally written in German.
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