TALK TO THE STUDENTS OF THE IES SIXTO MARCO DE ELCHE ON THE OCCASION OF EUROPE DAY

Last Tuesday, May 9, Javier Zarzalejos gave a talk to the students of the second year of high school of the IES Sixto Marco of Elche, on the occasion of the celebration of Europe Day.

The MEP began his speech by emphasizing that the European Union is a great structure of peace. Zarzalejos emphasized that while the current situation in Ukraine is very worrying, this was a common situation and on a larger scale in the Europe of the last century. “A century ago, Europe was synonymous with war,” the MEP stressed.

On the other hand, Zarzalejos highlighted the various areas for which the European Union is fundamental, such as the Erasmus program; that we do not have to pay extra telephone charges when traveling within the EU; that we can travel freely throughout the Schengen area without having to go through customs; that we can pay with the same currency; that our farmers have guarantees of their incomes and that, therefore, Europeans can have access to food; that, in the face of an unprecedented pandemic, the members of the Union have access to vaccines or that the member states can have access to recovery funds after the pandemic crisis, among others. The MEP pointed out that no single member state could achieve all this on its own.

In addition, the MEP welcomed the principles of democracy and freedom that characterize the European Union, noting also that the European Parliament is the largest in the world. Likewise, Zarzalejos indicated the importance of the European Parliament, emphasizing that 60% of the law and norms that are applied in Spain come from the legislative activity of the European Parliament. The MEP also celebrated the fact that 69% of European citizens have a positive assessment of the European Union, compared to 11% with a negative assessment.

Finally, Zarzalejos stressed the importance of the commitment of young people to the European project as a project under construction that will fall to the new generations. The MEP pointed out that, although we have several challenges ahead of us, we have the obligation to preserve the peace project that is the European Union, as an area of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, as well as an area of prosperity based on the welfare state.

Finally, Zarzalejos gave way to several questions from the students, who were interested in the various current issues that the European Union has to face, such as the accession of Ukraine, environmental policies, the influence of China in the world order, or Europe’s position on immigration.