National Youth Council due to meet President Sarkozy
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) are delighted to be given the opportunity today (July 21st) to meet with President Sarkozy in his capacity as President of the European Council. This meeting will give NYCI the opportunity to give our views and the perspective of young people in Ireland in relation to the outcome of the Lisbon Treaty, although we acknowledge and will outline to President Sarkozy that we do not claim to speak for all young people on this matter.
As a representative body for 54 national youth organisations, some of whom supported the treaty, some of whom didn’t and many who took no position, NYCI did not take a stance on the Lisbon Treaty. However, we did take an active role prior to the referendum by launching a campaign which encouraged young people to vote and informed them of the details of the Treaty itself.
Data from the EU barometer immediately after the Lisbon Treaty vote indicated that two-thirds of young people aged 18-29 voted against the treaty. This is a significant change from the second Nice treaty in 2002 when young people were more likely to vote yes than older age groups. “In our view there are a number of reasons for this. Firstly the proponents of Lisbon focused on the fact that the treaty would make the EU more effective, efficient and streamlined. While this is important at an institutional level, such arguments to improve the EU bureaucracy were not very attractive to young people. In comparison the Nice 2 focused on the importance of the treaty as one about breaking down the barriers between East and West and healing the divide. Therefore Nice had a vision which young people could relate to, which Lisbon lacked,” Eddie D’Arcy, President of NYCI commented.
“In addition those leading the Yes campaign were primarily politicians from a different generation, who really did not engage with young people. Also there was no organisation from civil society or individual whom many young people could relate to and as a result the Yes campaign failed to engage with young adults and they felt they were being lectured to vote for a treaty they did not understand. Due to these factors we believe many voted no as a backlash against being told how to vote and not being explained the full details,” Mr. D’Arcy continued.
“Many young people are concerned that the Irish Government is not addressing the issues that affect them, such as housing, education, cost of living, transport issues along with increased youth unemployment in working class areas. In light of this we believe that the fact that many young people voted no, should send a strong signal to Government about the urgent need for them to address the issues affecting young people and develop an effective and coherent youth policy.
We will also be telling President Sarkozy that the European Union has an important role to play in the development of a more coherent and effective youth policy when we meet him later today” he concluded.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Clodagh O’Brien, Communications Officer at the NYCI on 087 781 4903 or 01 425 5955 or email communications@nyci.ie
Notes to Editors:
National Youth Council of Ireland
The National Youth Council of Ireland is a membership-led umbrella organisation that represents and supports the interests of 51 voluntary youth organisations and uses its collective experience to act on issues that impact on young people.