#he President of the European Council "onald #us$ 2eneral !ecretariat of the Council of the European .nion ;EF Europe 3ue de la 4oi5%etstraat 176 0nternational *rganisation (0!B4 26 !9uare de -ee<s 1048 Bru/elles/Brussel 1000 Brussels , Belgiu' Belgique/Belgi: =>2 2 612 00 6> info?@ef)eu A &&&)@ef)eu 3egistration 1B CBED E 728)602)>7F 0B(1 E BE>6 0011 1287 F781 B0C5!%0F# E 2EB(BEBB Brussels, 17 February 2016 Presidents of pan-European youth organisations call upon the European Council to preser e the !chengen principles Dear President #us$, %e are &riting to you today as representati es of fourteen pan-European youth organisations - representing 'illions of young people across Europe - because &e are seriously &orried about the future of the !chengen (rea) *pen borders are one of Europe’s greatest 'ilestones , &e &ant to $eep it that &ay) #he increased 'igratory pressure in recent 'onths has led to a gradual suspension of the institutions of the !chengen (rea) -ost notably, &e ha e seen temporary reintroductions of border control between !chengen countries) #his is in line &ith the !chengen Borders Code that allo&s for these 'easures only if they are in proportion &ith an established serious threat to public policy or internal security and are li'ited in ti'e) #his de elop'ent goes to sho& that &e ha e failed in gi ing up internal borders &ithout putting the necessary effort as a .nion to secure our external borders) #his has resulted in our go ern'ents not really trusting each other nor the European agreements and their effecti e enforcement. 0t is our iew that none of these unilateral actions by -ember !tates &ill be able to pro ide sustainable solutions to the current challenges) 1or does suspending !chengen 'a$e Europe safer) *nly by strengthening the policies that are co''on to us all, such as securing the external borders of the !chengen (rea through co''on efforts, &ill &e be able to preserve the funda'ental principles and the public good of the European .nion) 1 Go&ever, &hen European solidarity is needed 'ore than ever, so'e -e'ber !tates seem eager to stay out at all costs) %e are troubled by this helplessness, this lac$ of ision and creati ity in leadership that our heads of states and go ern'ents ha e sho&n) %e believe that closing borders leads to closed 'inds) %e could not be clearer: &e &ant a European solution to a European challenge) Faced &ith pressure of 'igration and our responsibility to pro ide refuge to people fleeing conflict and terror in the neighbourhood of Europe, 'any ha e unfortunately started to question our European pro@ect. But our challenges are not only in finding solutions for the proble's &e confront today, but building capacity to be able to respond also to'orro& and years to co'e) 0t is unli$ely that pressure of 'igration to Europe &ill ease or disappear in the future: on top of armed conflict, future dri ers of 'igration &ill increasingly include en iron'ental disaster and cli'ate change) Further, already no&, children and young people are often a'ongst the 'ost affectedH according to the E. Funda'ental 3ights (gency 7>I of the &orld+s refugees are children) #his is &hy &e call upon the European Council to debate and adopt co'prehensi e, long-term and co''on European solutions to 'anage 'igration and security issues &hile 'aintaining the core principles of the European .nion) #hese should be grounded in funda'ental rights, and 'ust include an E. border force and stronger cooperation between European police and security forces, but also a co''on European asylu' policy &ith better legal channels to ensure the rights of 'igrants and refugees and a per'anent redistributi e quota system to replace the Dublin 3egulation) For our generation, border controls in Europe are a 'emory of the past , li$e blac$ and &hite television or telephone bo/es) #ra elling across borders &ithout noticing it has beco'e a part of everyday life for 'any , on the daily co''ute to &ork or study, for leisure or to see friends and fa'ily across Europe) *pen borders are also ital for trade and pro ide huge econo'ic benefit, &hich in turn help to $eep peace between nations) *pen borders are the strongest sy'bol for a united Europe) %e do not &ant to ever be di ided again) ( recent online ca'paign by the Joung European Federalists hit a social 'edia reach of &ell o er 1 'illion people &ith the hashtag KDont#ouch-y!chengen in @ust a few days) %e believe this is a strong 'essage to the European Council to ta$e responsible and long lasting decisions for Europe and the generations to co'e) 0n the na'e of the pan-European youth &e demand solutions for the future, not fro' the past. 2 Jours sincerely, Christopher 2lLc$, President of the Joung European Federalists C;EF) Europe ;ohanna Ny'an, President of the European Jouth Foru' (YF;D Monstantinos Myrana$is, President of the Jouth of the European PeopleNs Party (YEPPD 4aura !li'ani, President of the Joung European Socialists (YES) Oedrana 2u@ic, President of the European 4iberal Jouth C4YMECD 2erard Bono 0 Fonoll, Secretary-General of the European Free (lliance Jouth (EF(y) (le$sandra MlucP$a, President of the European !tudents Foru' C(EGEE) Safi Sabuni, President of the Eras'us !tudent Net&ork (E!1D MatthQus Fandre@e&s$i, President of ConfRdRration EuropRenne des !yndicats 0ndRpendants ;eunes (CES0 JouthD -ichael Boris Mandirola, %orld Esperanto Jouth *rganisation (TE;*D 4iese Oandenheede S (nnette %ahle, Presidents of the 0nternational Federation of Catholic Parochial Jouth Move'ents (F0MC(PD Paolo Emilio (da'i, Chair European Non 2overn'ental Sports Organisation Jouth (ENG!* JouthD Brendan Po&er, Board Me'ber of Organising Bureau of European School !tudent .nions C*BESSUD Martin Mas$a, #reasurer of European Jouth Press - Net&ork of Joung Media Ma$ers, e)O) (EYPD 3.