9th ESU Congress
Leuven - Belgium
On 4-5 November 2016, the triennial ESU Congress took place in Leuven. Theme: Together for a safe and social Europe.
‘Europe must not fail’ that was the title of the 7th Summer Academy for leading seniors (1-3 July 2016), organized by ESU, the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and the Österreichischer Seniorenbund in the Politische Akademie der ÖVP (Polak) in Vienna, some days after the UK’s Referendum.
Fifty delegates from 22 countries expressed their great concern about what is happening in Europe. The ESU strongly regretted the British voters’ choice to leave the EU and urged political leaders at all levels to stay wholeheartedly committed to the European project, to defend the fundamentals of the EU Treaties and to oppose nationalistic tendencies. Analysing the results of the British Referendum the ESU is very concerned about the striking generation gap shown by the referendum and urged more intergenerational dialogue and strong European leadership for the upcoming crucial phase of the European integration process.
ESU President An Hermans argued: “The older generations of Europe have personally experienced the cruelty of wars and dictatorship and have themselves actively contributed to the reconstruction of their communities and to the build-up of modern welfare states. For them, Europe gave ‘a hope for better times’. Falling back on nationalism in difficult times cannot be an option for the future. We plead for ‘intergenerational dialogues for democracy’ where young and older citizens can bring in their experiences and hopes.”
The ESU will continue supporting the European project and its overreaching goal of preserving peace and security, developing a strong Europe in a globalizing world and promoting a better future for all its generations.