The right step forward - will you join in?

Your youth is supposed to be the best time of your life, where you can enjoy the best things the world has to offer and start figuring out what the future holds for you, gaining your independence. However, at a time when Europe is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, prices are only going up, wages don’t match the costs of living, and the world is experiencing the consequences of the worst climate crisis, you can only wonder where to begin. How can I have my independence, my house, a good job and still enjoy my life when the future is so unpredictable?

For the past few decades, young people across Europe have been weathering numerous storms that make starting adult life a whole lot harder. Like a turbulent sea becoming the only sailing condition we know, the crisis has become the new norm for younger generations. But should it be like this? Should you have to have more than one job, most times not in the area you dreamed of working in, to have a liveable salary? Should you always have to be looking for either a partner or a friend to share a house that you can afford or as a last resort, should you have to leave your home country to find something better? In addition to all of this should you also have to worry if there will even be a future, when world leaders are failing to tackle climate change?

Young people can and deserve to have a chance to work in their areas of expertise, leave their parents’ house whenever they want and decide where and how they want to live.

We in the EPP Group believe that this is not the only way. Young people can and deserve to have a chance to work in their areas of expertise, leave their parents’ house whenever they want and decide where and how they want to live. However, although it isn't the younger generations who have brewed these storms, we understand that it also falls on the youth to help navigate them. We hold the compass and the map; all we ask is for an opportunity to steer the ship together.

During this turbulent era, Europe has seen political shifts and earthquakes, with new parties, promising easy, but unfeasible and unreliable answers to complex problems. And, yet, time, the ultimate arbiter, has shown that the consistency and experience of the European People's Party (EPP) continues to guide Europe and Europeans through the storm. But we still want to do better.

It's time to chart a new course for Europe. We must journey together across all generations, investing our faith in the youth to shape our present, not just our future. Today's youth are not mere passengers on this voyage; they are already at the helm, crafting a brighter horizon. That is why the EPP has decided, for the second year in a row, to welcome 800 young people to the heart of Europe and hear first-hand the opinions and proposals of the younger generations, so that we can turn the current problems into solutions together.

With these convictions, the EPP has cast its vote for the youth. The EPP’s Youth Week in September will actively engage young citizens, enabling them to contribute to Europe's future actively. Through initiatives that promote the European way of life, foster economic growth, ensure a sustainable future, and enhance the quality of life, we defend each individual's pursuit of happiness.

Our goal is clear: we want to turn your hopes and aspirations into reality. The EPP is placing its bet on you. Therefore, we challenge you to take that step forward together to keep Europe sailing in the right direction.