This weekend, several hundred EU citizens from the 27 EU countries again debated 'the future of Europe' in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Among them were – just like with the two previous EU citizen panels – about ten Dutch people. This time the focus was on climate change, environment and health.
The panel “Climate Change, Environment/Health” addressed the impact of climate change, environmental issues and emerging health problems. Those topics also relate to agriculture, transport and mobility, energy and the transition to low-carbon societies.
“If we want to leave a cleaner Europe to our children and grandchildren by 2050, we have to start changing our own behavior today. The EU could also set a good example there itself," said the Dutch Marieke Lopers (living in Smilde) in a speech to the plenary meeting.
As a change manager in the chemical industry, she told her hosts that vegetarians in the European Parliament canteen should not ask for an adapted menu, but should be vegan as standard on the menu, and meat eaters should ask for their meat.
And conference-goers should not normally be driven by bus from their hotel to parliament. She noted that most participants can walk for 15 minutes. And if necessary, be able to request bus transport.
Lopers, mother of two school-age children, also pointed out the importance of education. “It's about what's standard and what's the exception. Behavioral change starts with you. We can start with that in schools. Look at how in education in Norway or Poland it is very common to let children get acquainted with growing and blooming, of humans and animals, one day a week in the countryside”.
The EU, she says, could well stop with the multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns to promote meat eating. And the European Union could also act a little more forcefully in trade agreements and in agriculture.
“Why do we import millions of kilos of soy as animal feed from the other side of the world, feed and fatten animals with it on a few hectares of Dutch territory, which are then exported to the other side of the world as cattle or meat? What do you think that costs in terms of fuel, energy and environmental pollution?”
According to Lopers, in discussions about European issues, the money, the financial costs, is still too often the first thing to look at. According to her, we should first look at how polluting or wasteful something is. Too much environmentally polluting behavior still has no price tag.
“And that also applies to all that financial support to weak EU countries: we should not support those countries with money, but with our knowledge and expertise. The Netherlands could also benefit from this. Subsidy should only be a third or fourth option, she noted.
Lopers drew a comparison with the often-heard argument about development aid: you should not feed the poor, but a fishing rod, and teach them to fish….
The Conference on the Future of Europe started this spring and will run until the spring of 2022. The participation procedure is organized by the Conference on the Future of Europe, which includes politicians representing EP, EC and EU- Nations. In addition, several EU countries, including the Netherlands, have prepared their 'own' EU vision for the future.
With the citizens' dialogue Look at Europe, all residents of the Netherlands can share their ideas about the future of Europe. Look at Europe is an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is part of the European Conference on the Future of Europe. Ideas from residents from all over the European Union (EU) are used to make future plans for Europe.