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The Europe of tomorrow: 5 scenarios for our future

From October 18th to 20th 2019 took place in Riva del Garda, Trento (Italy) a seminar about “The Europe of tomorrow: 5 scenarios for our future”, organized by Associazione Trentini nel Mondo o.n.l.u.s., in the name and on behalf of UNAIE (Unione Nazionale Associazione Immigrati e Emigrati), with the support of EZA and of the European Union.

Representatives of workers’ organisations from Greece, The Netherlands, Croatia, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Romania, France, Germany, Albania, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria participated in the seminar.

The seminar started with the authority speeches by Alberto Tafner (Trentini nel Mondo president and UNAIE vicepresident) and Piergiorgio Sciacqua (Co-president of EZA).

The moderator of the seminar was the journalist Maurizio Tomasi.

The seminar was structured in 4 sessions:

  • Topic introduction
  • European challenges: work and communication
  • 4 topics for Europe of today and tomorrow
  • Reflection, conclusion and debate

First session: Jozef Pacolet (Professor at HIVA Ku Leuven Univesity, Belgium) opened the seminar speaking about the evolution of the Union from the Charcoal and Steel league to the nowadays institution of the European Labour Authority. He spoke about the European Pillar of Social Rights and about the 5 scenarios of Juncker, explaining the background and the development. Jonathan Kingham (immigration solicitor for Lexisnexis, Brexit expert, United Kingdom) explained the development of brexit since the referendum and the hard relation between UK and European institution, he tried to fix possible future scenarios connected to the 5 Juncker hypothesis. Eva Boka (professor to Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary) talked about the “Union” concept and its development among Europe, since medieval time to nowadays. The modern concept takes place from the ancient philosophy and the XVI sec. visual idea of “Europe”. Rumen Valchev (professor at the Open Education Center Foundation, Bulgaria) spoke about the emigration from East Europe to West Europe and the meaning of this diaspora in socio-economic terms and the cultural loss for the leaving countries, that slowly depopulate because of the departure of the young part of population.

Second session:Adriana Ciacaru (president of Young commission of CNSLR-Fratia union, Romania) talked about the youth’s challenges in an ageing society, and the difficulties to have access to a static labor market. She explained also the issue about standardization and about old labor system without turnover. Christine Aumayr (Research unit manager of Eurofound, Ireland) spoke about working life balance connected to the workers psychophysical health. The balance between private and working life is in crisis because of the new forms of employment and the new technology. The speaker analyzed  the different difficulties depending of the worker age, speaking about the “rights to disconnection”. Chiara Moroni (Professor at Tuscia University, Italy) spoke about the cognitive-cultural-social process that lead the way to understand and analyze the news. She explained how some informative campaigns failed, even if were done following all the right steps, that because the institutions ignore the real mental process behind the transmission of content. Bad way to communicate generate fake news spread, skepticism and disinformation with the consequence of increasing distance between citizens and European institutions. Rachele Berlese (PhD student to Bergamo University, Italy) spoke about social dialogue connected to continuing education in private firms. She analyze the organization difficulties and the low support of the legislation comparing the different European realities and the future steps.

Third session:Frederic Spagnoli (Professor to the Franche-Comte University) spoke about cultural minority in Europe and in Italy, with a short focus about the linguistic minority of the Trentino Province. He explained the legal protection of the European Union (“unite in the diversity”) and the risk of loss that the minority can fall-in nowadays. Maria Reina Martin (FIDESTRA, Vice-president of PICM, Portugal) spoke about refugees issue by a organizational and human point of view. Massimo Amato (Professor to Bocconi University, Italy) talked about EURO, it’s development and condition, the future prospective and the problem of the common economic system. He explained the scheme to apply for solving the possible collapse. Nikos Papadopoulos (Researcher at Maastricht University, Nederland-Greece) spoke about Troika and Austerity, analyzed the process where Greece was and is involved. The speech focusing about social-economic point of view, and about the loss of basic rights of Greece workers and citizens.

Fourth session:Irina Pop (lecture at Oradea University, Romania) talked about Xenophobia in Europe and the difference between racism and xenophobia, how to recognize and how it develop. There is an increase of xenophobia cases when there is the highest integration among European nations. Marco Odorizzi (Manager of De Gasperi foundation, Italy) talked about Alcide De Gasperi, one of the fathers of Europe, and his strong believe in European Union foundation and dream. Vittorino Rodaro (Trentini nel Mondo counselor and PICM board member) did the conclusion, resuming the speeches and the red line of the main topics. He also talked about the development and the achievement of the Union. The final message is that the Europe that the citizen would have, it is the one that not exist yet, and there are so many work to do to build a real European Union.

The speech of Alberto Tafner, president of Trentini nel Mondo Association, closed the seminar with a poetic view about Europe that looks like Peter Pan Island. He closed the speech with the point that could put in major crisis the Union: Brexit, loss of trust in Institution, labor market and social dumping, Euro, Refugees crisis. It’s important that the citizens feel the union closer, and that Union solves cultural and social problems, not only the economic ones.

It’s clear a general loss of trust and delusion, because of a long term stagnation and the gap between institutions and citizens. It seems that Europe works hard on economic interests more than cultural or to solve labor and social issues. An hot topic of the seminar was the communication and the fake news spread, the inadequate communication structure and strategies of the pro-Europe voice against the very efficient anti-Europe one. The pro-Europe voice are discredited because of the attitude to avoid the problem and to try to convince that everything is already perfect. Another hot topic was the European mobility, directional and not circular, that became a problem for both the countries, the one who lost the young workers and the one who have a massive immigration. The main consequence is social dumping, welfare crisis, xenophobia, not-integration, economic problem. Euro and Austerity were other two very interesting topics, where the public demonstrated high sensibility. The very strick attitude of Union was definitive “blind” and “cold”, without a real intention to solve differently the problem. A definition that was given is “2 system Europe” (not 2 speed Europe), where some violation are strong repress in some countries, and totally ignored in others. There is not cohesion in this Europe: a hidden boarder split North-Central Europe and the suburbs. The Dream of a real Union is far, but we have to find the force and the power to change what is still wrong.

Which scenario is the more desirable? More Europe, doing more all together.