On Wednesday 13 April, Student Forum Maastricht opened the SFM 2016 conference with a round table discussion on ‘European Solidarity: Where Are We Today?’ in the context of the financial and refugee crises. The discussion was moderated by Dr Petar Petrov (FASoS) and included Dr Ignacio Peralta (Podemos), Dr Ulrike Guerot (European Democracy Lab, Berlin), Prof Henri de Waele (Radboud University) and Ms Sixtine Bouygues (European Commission).
Student Forum Maastricht is a proponent of raising awareness for the importance of solidarity in the European Union as this concept corresponds to all fundamental values that unite the EU. Moreover, the students hold that there is an acute need for translating solidarity from a powerful concept into a lived experience and this demands political responses. The discussion was moderated by Dr Petar Petrov (FASOS, Maastricht University) and included a diverse set of speakers: Dr Ignacio Peralta (Senior Economic Advisor to the Spanish left-wing political party Podemos), Dr Ulrike Guerot (European Democracy Lab at the European School of Governance in Berlin), Prof Henri de Waele (Radboud University, Nijmegen) and Ms Sixtine Bouygues (Director for strategy and corporate communication at the European Commission).
The debate touched upon questions such as: What is European solidarity and what are the different dimensions of it? Does the declining of the political center pose a limit to European solidarity? Is the rise of populism a counterforce to European solidarity? What are possible trust-building mechanisms to encourage European solidarity? Can grassroots solidarity among European citizens spill over to institutional solidarity? The debate was followed by a lively discussion between the round table participants and the conference delegates – students from across Europe, including an English Language and Literature student from Syria.
This discussion provided valuable food for thought in the 4-day SFM 2016 conference, allowing students to produce Policy Proposals in diverse policy areas such as: Foreign Policy, Development and Humanitarian Aid; Health; Gender Equality and the EU-Citizens relations.
