My candidature for LYMEC Vice-President 2008-2010 

After serving nearly two years as the treasurer of LYMEC, my mandate is ending at the upcoming LYMEC congress in Barcelona. From the very moment I started being part of the bureau, I knew that it was not going to be my first and last term in the bureau. I have given a lot of myself to this organisation and I believe I can do more than that for a longer time. That is why I decided to ask JOVD to candidate me for the position of Vice-President at the congress in Barcelona.

During the last 20 months in the LYMEC bureau I have learned from and contributed to this organisation. I have not only been in charge of the finances, I have taken my bureau membership to a broader perspective and contributed as any other member to the political – and organisational work of the organisation. In the field of the finances I have professionally managed the treasury of LYMEC: transparent in terms of information, ambitious in terms of fundraising and efficient on the overall management. On the organisational side of the bureau I have been working hard. I have been the bureau’s responsible for three out of the four statutory events that took place, co-organised seminars and conferences from Brussels to Vienna and from Chisinau to Pristina.

Politics is what matters in LYMEC, after all we are an organisation with political aims! During my time in the bureau I have contributed to political statements, resolutions, speeches and publications on especially the following topics: the Future of Europe, the EU’s External Relations, Human Rights (sexual rights, freedom of expression…), Economic Policies, Mobility in Europe, Youth Employment, Globalisation and more. I am also very proud of my commitment and work for IFLRY,  Europe has a responsibility when it comes to global liberalism too!

Working on a LYMEC Policy Paper for the upcoming congress on Youth Employment, I am amazed by some figures about the situation in various European countries. Unemployment under young people from 15-24 lies around 17% at the moment. You should think that it is therefore at the top of the EU agenda, though we need to realise that it is not exactly an EU competence. If the EU however wishes to reach all these ambitious goals in all the agenda’s it launched, serious attention should be paid to youth participation at the labour market.

In my work in the European Youth Forum where I sometimes represent LYMEC there is a vivid debate around this issue. Amongst youth groups in Europe there is a different perception on how to tackle youth unemployment. It is quite a surprise to me that young people have a very socialist approach to the issue: blaming employers and governments. In addition they also want to create a lot of rights in order to protect themselves. This is really the place for LYMEC to present a different view. I hope the policy paper will be a start for a good debate in LYMEC.

Age discrimination on the labour market, transit from education to employment, high employment costs and many more issues are at stake. I would be very happy to receive some comments on the policy paper once I post it here!

Meanwhile a very nice article about the Russian elections last Sunday from The Economist: An ugly victory.

Though I am not living any longer permanently in Brussels, I still try to spend 1-2 days a week there. This week was a good example when by political youth organisation from the Netherlands, JOVD, was visiting the EP and NATO for two days. I guided the group in Brussels and joined for some very long nights… Yesterday there was a meeting with the external auditor. He was with me to go through the finances of 2007, after which he will report his findings to the LYMEC members at the congress in Barcelona. His assessment is very important to my work, as he legally signs for our finances to third parties such at the EU institutions.

Almost a week ago already elections in one of the most far-away and unknown former Soviet republics took place, Armenia elected its new president. Once more it got clear that democracy is not fully working yet in the Southern Caucasus. This might not be something entirely new. The most alarming about the elections from a European perspective is however the reactions from the OSCE and the European Commission. They both expressed the idea that the elections were more or less free and fair but that however smaller improvements were needed.

As it is the case with Russia, the EU does not really know how to handle Armenia. Everybody that knows a little bit about Armenia can tell you that the elections were completely rigged. What should a young person that fights for his/her rights in Armenia think one week after the election? Their hope that the European values they believe in are defended by the EU is gone for good…

Though millions of people are enjoying the growing online social networks such as Facebook, I felt like I needed to revamp my blog in order to show the world what keep me going.

I hope you will enjoy my updated blog!

Jeroen Benning