Carina
"I expect the EU - after the European elections - to treat women in the labor market on an equal footing with with men."
SoykanWo Europa nicht genug tut ist, dass die Kita Plätze nicht genug Unterstützung bekommt indem die Erzieherin nicht genug vergütet werden. Die Gruppen werden immer größer und damit ist die Aufsicht nicht genug für die Kinder. Where Europe is not doing enough is in kindergarten. They do not get enough support, and the educators are not being paid enough. The groups are getting bigger and bigger, so the supervision is not enough for the children. Christoph
Mein Name ist Christoph. Bin 20 Jahre alt. Ich bin gebürtig EU-Bürger. Das ist immer eine schwierige Frage. Das passiert manchmal wenn ich auf meinen Reisepass schaue da steht immer die EU mit drauf. Wenn ich aber über mein Gefühl reden würde würde ich sagen: Nein. Aber für mich ist die EU weniger Verbund als eine politische über-organization. Ich glaube persönliche Sicht würde ich sagen diese organization ist wenig greifbar für einzelne. Nicht so komplex aber zu groß in dem Sinne. Städte Strassen menschen sind verbunden mit Gefühlen. Momentan Zum Beispiel Sozialsysteme interessieren mich. Ich glaub das laesst sich schwer bewerten. Man muss auf jeden fall interstaatlich miteinander arbeiten muss um die probleme unserer zeit anzugehen. Die Arbeitnehmerrechte zum beispiel. Es gibt keine konkrete Zweifel daran dass die EU an sich nicht mehr besteht. Ich bin mir nicht sicher ob die rolle der Nationalstaaten sich nicht ändert. Einige politische Parteien vielleicht mehr Souveränität von den Staaten verlangen. Aus einer direkten Zusammenarbeit wieder ein Staatenbund wird. Ich glaube man muss Kompromiss machen. Ich denke Zusammenarbeit ist immer positiv aber ich kann auch verstehen dass einige Menschen das nicht ganz dieses System verstehen. Vielleicht mehr Arbeit muss daran ersetzt werden. Ich höre haeufig das Argument die politischen Institutionen der EU seien nicht transparent genug. Ich kann das nicht bestätigen oder abweisen. Dazu müsste ich mich mehr damit beschauftigen. Ich bin sehr dankbar dafür dass wir erstens die EU nicht verlassen. Ich hab immer Urlaub in EU Ländern gemacht oder die Organization nicht verlassen. Ich bin sehr glücklich darüber dass ich frei reisen kann oder wenn ich in einem anderen EU-Land studieren möchte es wird relativ leicht gemacht. Mit der Währungsunion kann man auch besser reisen planen. Das freut mich einfach dass man einen kulturellen Austausch haben kann. ———————- My name is Christoph. I am 20 years old. I am a native EU citizen. That's always a difficult question whether one feels connected to the EU. This sometimes happens when I look at my passport because there is always the EU on it. But if I talked about my feelings I would say no. But for me, the EU is less composite than a political supranational organization. I think according to my personal view, I would say this organization is not very tangible to individuals. It is not so complex but too big in a sense. Cities, streets are connected with feelings. Currently, for example, social systems interest me. I think that's hard to evaluate. In any case, one has to work together with states to tackle the problems of our time. Workers' rights, for example. There is no concrete doubt that the EU will cease to exist. I am not sure if the role of nation states will not change. Some political parties may demand more sovereignty from the states. From a direct cooperation again becomes a federation of states. I think you have to compromise. I think collaboration is always positive but I can also understand that some people do not quite understand this system. Maybe more work needs to be replaced. I often hear the argument that EU political institutions are not transparent enough. I cannot confirm or reject that. For this I would have to work more with it. I am very grateful that, firstly, we are not leaving the EU. I always vacationed in EU countries or did not leave the organization. I am very happy that I can travel freely or if I want to study in another EU country it is relatively easy. With the monetary union you can also plan to travel better. It makes me happy that you can have a cultural exchange with those whom you would not have been able to meet normally. Furkan
My name is Furkan. I am a native German. I have German citizenship and therefore I am an EU citizen. I think from an economic point of view it is advantageous to have a common Europe. For the people themselves, living in Germany, it is an advantage. Except the economy and what else do I know. I'm 21. I'll say so when I travel to other European countries I feel at home but not all European states. France and Spain, for example, are similar to Germany. You may notice this connection more there about the same laws and so on. It makes you feel safer. Since one dares to travel more. For example, as the Middle East and so one has no idea how is governed there. I am a student and I believe that it is advantageous for students that exchange can take place within the EU countries and so on. So I think as a student there are benefits. The question is if that would do any good if they acted together in foreign affairs. Because we also see in the United Nations, which is not so well built in the structure because they cannot do much. Such a new institution under the name of Europe interfering with foreign policy, I think that's not something that should happen. Not much will change there. First of all, the institutions, how it is structured, how many members of parliament are sitting in the parliament, and of which states… We have learned it in school, at least it was with me the case in political science. As you already said the people are less interested in the elections. For example, how the states are represented, depending on the population, there are so many members of parliament, I do not think that this is representative of small states like Luxembourg and so on. To be honest, I do not follow what is being decided on laws I have always heard if something big triggers interest in the people as the EU Court voted that more control should prevail on the Internet. Because that has a big impact. But other laws that are passed are what I am concerned I do not believe that people have any idea. Üsame
I have been an EU citizen for 5 years. I used to live in Hannover, but I’ve been in Berlin two years now. To be honest, I have no idea about the EU; I live in my own world. I think that's mostly the fault of the EU because the EU elections take place regularly, but nobody knows anything about it. I think they are not that active. They do not reach out to citizens. I have many German friends who have no interest in the EU and we never talk about it. The European idea may be a good idea but as it currently works it does not work so well. If it gets any better it can become something good. Right now I do not feel connected to the EU. I honestly have a lot of other stuff to do and I'm not interested in it. They are not active on many issues, so they can even make young people interested? No idea. But [they can] be more active in several topics, yeah. I also think that the EU is not so optimal about religion. At any rate, I sense that Islam is not so welcome in the EU. Personally, I have not experienced it but I hear things like that in the news. What I now see as another problem in politics is racism, which is getting worse. I had already read that [there would be European elections]. If I'm honest where this takes place or which states partake in it I do not know. [Asked whether he would vote if this interview had not taken place] I do not think so. [laughing] Seit 5 Jahren bin ich ein EU Bürger. Ich habe in Hannover gelebt jetzt aber zwei Jahren in Berlin. Wenn ich ehrlich bin habe ich keine Ahnung darüber ich lebe in meiner eigenen welt. ich glaube das ist eher der Fehler der eu weil es finden Regelmäßig die EU Wahlen statt aber keiner weiß davon etwas. Ich bin der Meinung dass sie nicht so aktiv sind. Die bürger können sie nicht erreichen. Ich hatte viele deutsche freund selbst die hatten sich nicht beschäftigt wir haben nie darüber gesprochen. Die europäische Idee kann eine gute Idee sein aber wie es gerade Läuft es klappt nicht so gut. Wenn es irgendwie verbessert wird kann es was gutes werden. Jetzt gerade nicht so fühle ich mich verbunden mit der EU. Ich hab ehrlich gesagt viel mehr andere Sachen zu tun ich habe keine Interesse darin. Die können vielleicht keine Ahnung so viele Sachen tätig werden auch junge Leute interessieren, keine Ahnung. In mehreren Themen aktiver sein, halt. Ich bin auch der Meinung dass die EU sich bei Thema religion nicht so optimal verhält. Da spüre ich jedenfalls so, dass Islam in der EU so nicht willkommen ist. Ich persönlich hatte nicht erlebt aber ich höre in Nachrichten so. Was ich jetzt als weiteres Problem in Politik sehe ist der Rassismus das wird immer schlimmer. Das hatte ich schon gelesen. Wenn ich ehrlich bin wo das stattfindet oder welche Staaten daran teilnehmen weiß ich nicht. [Wenn dieses Interview nicht stattgefunden hätte] ich glaube nicht [laechend] Agnes
Karina + Yulia
Alexander
I am Alexander [...]. I am from France and I have been living in Berlin for two and a half years. I work as a Project Coordinator in a European Cultural Center in the north part of Berlin, Wedding. As a French citizen, I have to say I have a lot of privileges. I can...I am allowed to come to Germany, and to work in Germany without any problems. Everything is easy. It is another system but…another system than in France but it is quite easy to get included in the system and I didn’t really know my luck before, while…now I am working in the cultural center and we are running youth exchanges with a lot of…always with France and Germany but also with third countries or fourth countries and third countries are often out of Europe and so I had the opportunity to work with a lot of people from outside Europe who are arriving here. We do everything for them, like visas and buying the tickets, reserving…booking hotels, all these things, and this is really hard, I have to say, when you see how much obstacles there are for people who come just for 10 days or for 7 days in Europe for projects which is ran by German organizations. T.he worst thing for me is to see that these people when they arrive, sometimes we run European Voluntary Services and this year we had a person from Armenia and she has to fight and fight and fight to be able to stay more than her time here in the EVS. When I see these things, sometimes I ask myself “why is it so odd?”. I understand that there are some rules, things can not be too easy but when I see all the procedures for people who are actually working and…are able to work here in Germany and in Europe and I don’t understand why it is not facilitated and I don’t speak about immigrants who came in an illegal way or just arrived here because they had to…I don’t really have contact with a lot of these person but I know some and I know people who are engaged also in the…maybe you know the association “Weddingenheime?” A lot of district in Berlin, they organize themselves in order to welcome the refugees and to run a lot of projects with them and when I hear how the law is done here in Germany, how it is, you know, like there is no immigration law, I have to say I am a bit disappointed. Q: You mentioned some obstacles and what would you expect from the elected MEPs in May, and in general from the EU in terms of migration policies? I would…maybe to…it’s too…it’s not realistic I know but maybe a more human way to handle with this problem because we know that the people…most of the people who are not wanted here, they didn’t come because they wanted, they had to come. It should be more easy for them to…we want them to integrate and to be included in our society but the rules how they are now, they don’t enable these people to integrate at all. The first thing to integrate is for example, to find a shelter but also a work and all the policies how they are made they are not enabling this easy integration and this I don’t like and also there’s another point I really don’t like, it’s a…the whole that….and FRONTEX and all these institutions which has been created to block people at the gate of Europe, this I wouldn’t like to see anymore in Europe. Europe is something that I really believe in and something that I really like. Also as a construct where a lot of nations…we are put together and where we have Schengen and we can go wherever we want, I really don’t like this picture of being close behind the barriers, so there should be something else to control entries and exit of Europe, but how I cannot really say but just for the imagine also the principle that, like the essence of Europe, you cannot be closed, especially when we think about the people we need to come to us. Alexander declined to take a photo. Konstantinos
My name is Konstantinos Papanikandros, I am 28 and I am an engineer. I want to talk about the…my expectation of the MEPs for the following terms in this area, basically this is the question. And… Q: So the environment, right? We are talking about the environment? A: Yeah, about the environment. So basically, I think this is not a central problem, this is a global problem and the only way to really attack it is through globalization and connection. We need more connection. I mean if we are here doing our best to be as environmental as possible and leaving a small footprint it doesn’t make big difference in the global state with our climate and the environment. Q: Which discipline you are working in? Are you just an engineer or an environmental engineer, maybe? A: I studied with renewable energy and then changed more like computational engineering, but basically, I am in the direction of mechanical engineering. Q: As someone who studied this topic, what would you suggested to the MEPs to make it better? A: More issues in recycling. We are species which uses so much stuff, we have to learn to recycle, otherwise we are going to die out…Under plastic basically, which has already started, yeah, and…it is like the plastic hand of Midas, where whatever you touch it becomes plastic. Konstantinos declined to take a photo. Anonymous voices
Works in gardening and landscaping “I expect that family and social policy are adjusted, so that in every country there are the same labor conditions and the same options for family-related part-time work. I have a colleague who is from Poland and works in Germany, and he cannot earn the same money that he earns in Germany in Poland, so that should be adjusted as well. Things like insurances should be standardised European wide, so that its easier to insure your children, for example when you work abroad. Student/nursery school teacher “In general I expect families in Europe to be supported financially. I work in a kindergarten and I want parents to have more options in childcare, possibly more common standards so that the possibilities for people in Scandinavia, Germany,, Great Britain, and Italy and are similar because there are always comparisons about where childcare is better. It should be harmonized towards a common high standard. There are also possibilities for people to bring children into childcare or keep them at home, but I want people to have the more financial support to truly make a free decision about that, because at the moment I believe that is not the case. Employee in the Marketing/advertising sector “I am not as young but relatively young, I know how things were before [the EU]. It used to be that in every country you had show your passport at the border and wait for three hours and there were different currencies in every country. The fact that the countries grew together through the EU is a positive thing, I think how it used to be before was a lot worse, we are definitely on the right path. And those tendencies that there are to reverse all of this and to just care about one’s own problems I really abhor." Freelancer “There are different nationalities and different mentalities, and overall things should get easier, but it sometimes seems like things get more complex. There should be for example a lot less bureaucracy, there is too much bureaucracy, that’s my main point” Confectioner “What I expect from Europe is that it achieves its policy aims and does not postpone them. For example in climate policy, that countries follow-up on their promises and goals in that area." |