Students from across Europe logged in today for an online conference that placed them at the centre of one of the EU’s most sensitive policy debates: migration. The event, titled “A moving Europe between rights, values and new migration challenges”, was organised by CesUE and Euractiv Italia within the EU-funded Jean Monnet project European Values and Migration (EUAMI).
Connected remotely from Italy (Istituto E. Fermi and Canossa Campus), Spain (Sant Josep Obrer), Poland (Zespół Szkół Administracyjno-Ekonomicznych), and Bulgaria (Emilian Stanev SU), students from partner schools had the opportunity to follow high-level interventions and directly question the speakers.
The session opened with remarks by Dr. Polina Zavershinskaia, Research Fellow in Political Science at University of Padua, who outlined the project’s objective of promoting a deeper understanding of EU values and the political dynamics surrounding migration. Sara Bertolli of Euractiv Italia moderated the event.
https://www.focuseurope.it/migration-politics-and-storytelling-at-euami-summer-school-in-brixen/
Two Members of the European Parliament joined the discussion: Leoluca Orlando (Greens/EFA) and Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D). Their contributions set out sharply contrasting narratives that currently shape the European migration debate.
Orlando centred his speech on the wider cultural implications of migration, describing it as “the thermometer of European culture today”. He warned against a political climate increasingly driven by fear and criticised the EU’s growing reliance on externalisation agreements.
“When you speak about migrants, you are speaking about a person who could be your brother or your sister,” he said, urging the Union to return to its commitment to human rights and interdependence.
López Aguilar, drawing on his long experience as chair of the Parliament’s LIBE Committee, painted a stark picture of the policy environment. “The European Union is moving toward more rigid, strict, regressive and negative policymaking on migration and asylum, that’s obvious,” he told students.
https://www.focuseurope.it/euami-project-lessons-on-the-european-union-and-migration-now-available-on-moodle/
He highlighted the widening ideological divide in Europe, but also defended the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility: “We won’t manage migration by denying our values and violating our own legislation”.
Students engaged actively throughout the session, posing questions on cooperation with countries of origin, asylum rights, and the political use of migration narratives. Their involvement reflected EUAMI’s core mission: preparing young Europeans to critically assess and participate in debates that shape the future of the Union.
The full video of the conference is available here.
