European Portal

Europe needs new ideas – ideas and specific measures necessary to bring them to life

Europe needs solutions – solutions which enable everyone to face challenges, and identify opportunities

Europe needs YOU! – and you need each other

To secure long-term stability the EU needs to focus on the economy, sustainable entrepreneurship, employment and social policy. The pace of globalisation will not wait for Europe to catch up – despite having much to contribute towards the development of other economies and communities. The European Union is a source of opportunity for the exchange of experiences; it also offers the prospect of creating a greater European identity – inside and outside of Europe.

Today Europe is comprised of 27 talented, cohesive and productive Member States, with neighbouring countries desperate to join the Union. It has many strengths – peace, stability, diversity, systems of rules, good governance and solidarity. It has a strong respect for social values and its individual boundaries. Economically it has a market of 500m people and its businesses have good potential for growth.

However, today the EU has 20+ million unemployed. Young people, women, aged workers, migrants and other vulnerable groups form the majority of this under-utilisation of human capital. Neither the public sector facing its huge deficits, nor the large companies facing the challenges of the economic crisis and globalisation, will single-handedly have the capacity to create the required number of jobs in the short term. The hope of a quick return to strong EU growth is simply a myth, unless there is a change in structural conditions, because unemployment is primarily a structural problem and not one of the economic cycles.

Now is Europe’s time to maximise its collective strengths. And you are part of that change.

Our Pledge:
To inform policy makers and governments
To recognise your successes
To make culture change happen

Your pledge:
To engage and share as much as possible
To make change happen through support
To commit to promoting entrepreneurship
Together we will turn Ideas into Action