President of EU Parliament Martin Schulz: "Europe is not keeping its promise"

Berlin, Germany -

In an interview for the launch of the Axel Springer Akademie's English-language digital magazine "GENERATION SEPARATION", the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz (SPD), voiced strong criticism of European politics and its representatives. More and more young people perceive Europe as "undemocratic , boring and aloof." Schulz verbatim: "Europe is not keeping its promise for greater fairness."

Young journalists from the Akademie reported live for a period of ten days from 15 countries, representative of the major crises facing Europe, for the website they had developed: www.generation-separation.eu. Their reporting was concerned with the question: Is the younger generation dissociating itself from the idea of Europe, is there a "Generation Separation"? EU boss Schulz admits: "This Generation Separation does exist to some extent." Prospects for the future cannot be positive unless both national and European institutions acknowledge that there is a loss of trust. Schulz: "Many people associate Europe with a message of less security, fewer jobs and risks to peace ( ... ) This continent must finally start to deliver again and keep its promises." Instead of this, populism in Europe has "already become part of mainstream society".

In the in-depth discussion, Schulz positively evaluated the sanctions against Russia. "Putin's message is: Europe is a decadent, declining, soft society. The sanctions are having an effect in Russia and are also proof that Europe does not need to use military power in order to resolve conflicts."

"GENERATION SEPARATION" is a cross-media project at the Axel Springer Akademie in Berlin, Germany's most progressive school of journalism and the publisher's think tank. The Akademie has received many awards for its digital projects, including the Grimme Online Award.

Accessible at Axel Springer Akademie/ www.generation-separation.eu

Contact:

Marc Thomas Spahl, mtspahl@axelspringer.de, 030/2591-78800