In this edition, we look at the far right's victory in German local elections, and the EU's efforts to get more women in top jobs
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00:00Hi there, welcome to Brussels My Love, Euronews' weekly talk show that takes a closer look
00:18at news across Europe. I'm Maeve McMahon, thanks for watching.
00:22Coming up this week, well it was back to school for the Brussels bubble. The EU institutions
00:27opened their doors again after their summer slumber. Tanned, relaxed faces could be spotted
00:33around the EU quarter. But, stressing people out, last weekend's regional elections in
00:38Germany.
00:39For the first time since World War Two, the far-right AFD won a major election, shaking
00:45the Berlin establishment and leaving Brussels with a serious hangover.
00:49And it's a man's world, in politics anyway. EU governments have proposed their candidates
00:55for the EU Commission. Their deadline was last Friday.
00:58But, much to the dismay of the Commission President, there are more male names than
01:03female.
01:04We take a look at Ursula von der Leyen's obsession with having a gender-balanced team,
01:08and ask why we need more women at the top table of European politics.
01:12A warm welcome to our guests this weekend, Petros Vassilis, Secretary General of the
01:18European Movement, Anja Sierpek, Director of Research and Training at FEPS, and Peter
01:24Wiese, German MEP from the European People's Party. Thank you so much for joining us.
01:29Are you happy to be back here in Brussels?
01:31Yes, I am.
01:32Ish! But before we hear more from you, let's just tell our viewers why last weekend's regional
01:39elections in Germany were so talked about here in Brussels.
01:48The results were symbolic. Germany's far-right will not control either of the two eastern
01:52states where they scored huge victories. But they take the country into uncharted territory.
02:00Chancellor Schultz called the results bitter. He urged the other parties to keep the AFD
02:05from power. But to do that, they would be forced into ideologically abnormal coalitions.
02:14There doesn't seem to be any alternative.
02:19The AFD is routinely flirting with Nazi rhetoric and is being monitored by Germany's security services.
02:27No other party wants to work with them, but one out of three voters in East Germany preferred
02:32the AFD over the country's political establishment and spin-offs of the old Communist Party.
02:40One thing is certain. Germany's party system is increasingly fragmented, and stable governments
02:45are ever more difficult to build.
02:52Well, let's look at our German around the table. Peter, Lisa, what is going on? I mean,
02:56has the far-right success left Germany in a real mess?
03:00It's a serious situation, and we need to draw consequences. But it's very important for
03:08the European audience. The two regions where the AFD has unfortunately got a lot of votes,
03:17that's not Germany. You know, at the European election, we had a different result.
03:24There was a pro-European majority. Clearly, in Germany, my party, CDU, had twice as many votes
03:32than the AFD. And we need to look at it, but nobody should now think that Germany is turning
03:41like Hungary or Slovakia. So we are still having a pro-European majority in the country.
03:49But one thing is clear. The far-right is in Germany, and it's not going anywhere.
03:52How have you been reacting to the outcome there?
03:55This is not something new. There has been a trend. The mere existence of AFD demonstrates
04:01that there is a section of the population that has these kind of political views.
04:07But then there are also systemic issues there that are fuelling additional votes to be
04:12channelled to the support of these unsavoury parties. And I think we need to not panic,
04:18like Peter said, but take a view and understand what are the reasons, the economic, social,
04:24geographical, political reasons that are making people lose faith in mainstream parties
04:29and look for answers to the challenges they face to people, political parties,
04:33that don't care about them really.
04:35And it's worth pointing out on the 22nd of September there will be elections as well
04:39in Brandenburg that we should keep an eye on as well. What could all this mean
04:43for next year's elections taking place in Germany, the federal elections?
04:46I think if you want to really speak about dismantling this trend of the rise of
04:52right-wing radicals and populism, you have to disqualify them and you have to
04:56disqualify them by their specific answers. And the answers, and I think that's perfectly
05:00right, that there are different types of elections. European elections have told us
05:05that people are vastly concerned about the standards of living and the quality of work.
05:10But these elections have told us that people want certain answers.
05:14What we are going to do about migration and what we are going to do about the issue
05:18of ensuring peace in Ukraine and how we are going to go about that.
05:21Well, indeed, these elections, the main issues were migration, indeed,
05:25weapons as well being given to Ukraine. Climate change was very low down
05:30on the list, not really a priority of voters. But let's just bring in a voice
05:34from the party, the AfD, and take a listen to Alice Weidel.
05:37She is the co-chair of the party and a member of the German Bundestag.
05:43What we have seen is a dramatically poor performance by the coalition government.
05:48This was the vote in favour of voting out the traffic light government.
05:52The voters also want new elections at federal level.
06:00We are preparing for this and accordingly Chancellor Olaf Scholz
06:04should draw the consequences and together with his coalition partners
06:08pack his bags and vacate the chair because the voters want a different government.
06:12They want a different policy.
06:18Peter Liese, does she have a point there?
06:20Is it time for Olaf Scholz to pack up his bags and leave the building?
06:24First of all, I think it's very important that all the other democratic parties
06:31keep the firewall to AfD.
06:34My judgement of the situation is independent on what this lady says
06:40or anyone else from AfD.
06:42They are out of any option to get to the government
06:47and that's a good thing also after this election.
06:50My friends in Saxonia and Thuringia, they keep the firewall.
06:55On the other hand, there is a problem with politics in Germany
06:59and partly also in Europe, in Brussels,
07:03so we need to listen better to people.
07:06I spent also time in my constituency during summer
07:10and sometimes I feel I'm in different worlds
07:13when I'm inside Brussels and in my constituency.
07:16So, migration is an issue.
07:18We need to do better and Europe and Germany need to work together.
07:22Economy is a problem, bureaucracy...
07:25We've been hearing this for so long, Peter Liese.
07:27We've been hearing this for so many years.
07:29Brussels needs to do better, it needs to listen to the people.
07:31Yeah, it's true.
07:32And meanwhile, AfD are mopping up the votes.
07:34No, no, please.
07:35We have a different parliament, we have a different commission,
07:39hopefully in the end of this week,
07:42and we have different Council of Ministers
07:45and I'm sure that we have better opportunities
07:48to address the problems and everybody needs to understand this.
07:52It's not the same thing like we are telling 10 years,
07:56we will take that serious and we have to take it serious
08:01and people inside Brussels need to listen better
08:04what average people on the ground think.
08:07Indeed, people here love to talk, but are they good at listening?
08:10That's exactly a key question
08:12because we are talking about listening
08:14or we are talking about talking too,
08:16but we are not talking about the conversation
08:18and I think you've been trying to make a point about the TikTok.
08:21At first, we have been doing a number of studies
08:24why young people actually vote the right-wing parties
08:27and what's happening around there.
08:28And on one side, it's, of course, this question of creating bubbles
08:31in which these parties were particularly successful
08:34in infiltrating them.
08:35But the other thing is the different patterns
08:37of political participation.
08:38You've mentioned, you know, climate change
08:40has been quite low on the agenda,
08:42but that's because the other concerns have gone higher,
08:45not because climate change is suddenly less important.
08:48And I think the problem there is,
08:50especially with this segment of the generation,
08:52we need a very different way of approaching the conversation
08:55in order to reconnect.
08:56So I think that that's rather the issue than listening.
08:59We know what they are saying.
09:00And Petrus, the messaging of the AFD party in general,
09:03who are also known, I think, as the TikTok party,
09:05it's very emotional.
09:06I saw Maximilian Krah, the German AFD MEP,
09:09he's reaching out to people on his TikTok,
09:11even giving them tips on how to get a girlfriend,
09:14saying, you know, you need to be a strong man,
09:16you need to be a patriot.
09:17And that's the way to get a girlfriend.
09:19You need to be far right, he said.
09:21They try to poison the political discourse.
09:24They try to undermine the very fabric of society.
09:27These political parties are not interested in creation.
09:29They're not interested in solutions.
09:30They want fragmentation.
09:31They want chaos.
09:32They want political instability.
09:34That's why the calls for elections
09:36or the efforts to undermine fundamental institutions
09:39that underpin democracy,
09:41we've seen the lessons from history.
09:43The intention of AFD and authoritarian fascist parties
09:47is to destroy, to undermine,
09:49and emerge as the only saviour
09:51out of the chaos that they created.
09:53So it is very important,
09:54and just to echo what was just said,
09:56to make sure that we don't start squabbling,
09:58we don't run away from our fundamental
10:00pro-democratic, pro-European principles,
10:03adopting the rhetoric
10:05or even some of the prescriptions that they offer,
10:07whether it's about immigration or the economy.
10:09The European Union
10:11and the governments at the national level
10:13are doing a lot.
10:14We need to offer leadership,
10:16tell people that there are difficult decisions to make,
10:19but offer them a solution to those.
10:22You need to take into account your party, don't you?
10:25Yeah, I want to come in,
10:26because you've asked,
10:27they are demanding elections,
10:28but demanding the election doesn't mean at all,
10:31and we've seen that in the European context
10:34in the recent months.
10:35Demanding elections doesn't mean
10:37that exactly the same results
10:39that have been noted in Turin and in Saxony,
10:41that they are going to be repeated.
10:43So this is kind of projecting fear,
10:45projecting pressure,
10:46keeping people hostage
10:47to sort of abide by
10:49the defined, predefined political discourse,
10:52but it is not a guarantee that we will see a change.
10:55We've seen it in France recently.
10:56Absolutely, and we're keeping,
10:57of course, a very close eye
10:58on the situation as well in France.
11:00But just back to Germany,
11:01not everyone in Brussels
11:02is worried about the success of the far right.
11:04For another view,
11:05we spoke to Richard Schenk
11:06from the conservative think tank MCC.
11:10Many parties and many media outlets
11:12spend most of their efforts
11:14in criticising the AFD,
11:15even demonising them.
11:16Actually, what we saw,
11:18that the trust in these institutions
11:20and media outlets
11:21often fell to record low levels,
11:23but the AFD now enjoys
11:25record high results at the elections.
11:28So this strategy clearly didn't work
11:30and what the AFD and also the BSW
11:33had an answer to
11:34what many other parties did not
11:36is migration.
11:37The AFD used to be a protest party
11:39and many other parties
11:40should be worried about now.
11:41Richard Schenk there
11:42with a different point of view.
11:44Peter, are you worried?
11:45Of course I'm worried
11:46and it's also part of the problem
11:49that we have a weak government.
11:52The Greens didn't understand
11:54that we need to take care
11:56about jobs and economy
11:58much more than we did before.
12:00The Liberals are not interested
12:02in success
12:03but only in getting their profile
12:05against the other parties
12:07including the government
12:08and the Chancellor
12:09is not managing this conflict.
12:11So there is a big problem
12:12and that must be solved
12:14in the next German election.
12:16But on the other hand,
12:18the AFD,
12:20they are more far right
12:22than many other European parties
12:25even Le Pen doesn't want
12:27to work with them
12:28and in my speeches
12:30I always criticise the government
12:32but I criticise even more the AFD
12:35and that's the right thing.
12:36They have no solutions.
12:38We need to tackle the problems
12:40and despite migration
12:42I think bureaucracy
12:44is such a big issue.
12:45Whenever I come to my constituency
12:47people complain.
12:49We are in favour of
12:50you mentioned climate change
12:51we are in favour of the Green Deal
12:53but we need to do it
12:54with less bureaucracy.
12:55It is impossible
12:57the paperwork
12:58and the detailed micromanagement
13:00so that has to change
13:02and then I am optimistic
13:04that for the next national election
13:06we will have a quite good result
13:08for the pro-European parties.
13:10We will see.
13:11But this idea of bureaucracy
13:12how do you tackle that?
13:13It just feels a bit like
13:14Mission Impossible.
13:15Well it's one of those words
13:16that are easy to use
13:18and difficult to define
13:19because of course
13:20we need bureaucracy
13:21we do need a process
13:23we do need paperwork
13:24to make sure
13:25that things are done properly.
13:27But not as much
13:28as we have now.
13:29Sometimes perhaps
13:30the focus is
13:31on the wrong end of the scale.
13:33But again this is a challenge
13:34I think for policy makers
13:35also to articulate
13:36the necessity
13:37of certain measures
13:38and the reason why
13:39those measures hurt
13:40is because we took
13:41a bit too long
13:42to implement them.
13:43So we need to be careful
13:45because by bureaucracy
13:46our fellow citizens
13:47might understand
13:48even elected politicians
13:49they might understand
13:50even the city councillor
13:52who is there
13:53to help them.
13:54So we need to be able
13:55to avoid using
13:56the terminology
13:57in a negative term
13:58the way others are using
13:59because as we have
14:00all agreed
14:01they don't care about
14:02solving the environmental crisis
14:03they don't care about
14:04solving migration
14:05their prescription
14:06is actually
14:07worsening the situation.
14:08We need to be confident
14:09and follow the policies
14:10that we adopt here
14:11democratically
14:12collectively.
14:13And of course
14:14for FEPS
14:15a priority for you
14:16is that inequality
14:17of course
14:18is addressed as well
14:19and then we could see
14:20different turnouts
14:21In that sense
14:22I would disagree
14:23a little bit
14:24because I think
14:25that after the last
14:26regional elections
14:27in those two regions
14:28we've run instantly
14:29to bang on the fact
14:30that the government
14:31is unpopular
14:32that it's facing
14:33difficulties
14:34that's all very true
14:35but we are one year
14:36ahead of the elections
14:37and we are after
14:38many years
14:39a very different government
14:40in the times
14:41of post-unification
14:42of Germany.
14:43So I think
14:44it's not resonating
14:45strongly enough
14:46we had the
14:47conservative governments
14:48in Germany as well
14:49those things
14:51don't happen
14:52overnight
14:53I mean
14:54this is a trend
14:55that has been noted
14:562017 and before
14:57something to reflect
14:58about how
14:59unification process
15:00has happened
15:01because many say
15:02that the eastern
15:03states of Germany
15:04are voting more likely
15:05like the central
15:06and eastern Europe
15:07than they vote
15:08like the rest
15:09of Germany
15:10in fact.
15:11If I may react
15:12I mentioned
15:13my criticism
15:14to the government
15:15only in the fourth
15:16intervention
15:17Thank you
15:18The first thing
15:19is to keep the fireball
15:20and dismantle
15:21the far right
15:22and by the way
15:23we have also
15:24this other
15:25new party
15:26which is
15:27in some areas
15:28far right
15:29and foot in front
15:30and in social areas
15:31very left
15:32in economic areas
15:33led by Sarah Wagenknecht
15:34they are also
15:35a big problem
15:36and we should
15:37criticize them
15:38more than we do
15:39criticize
15:40the government
15:41but on the other hand
15:42there is a problem
15:43with the government
15:44and
15:45you know
15:46if we just point
15:47at the 16 years
15:48of Angela Merkel
15:49again and again
15:50and don't see
15:51the mistakes
15:52of the current government
15:53then we don't want
15:54we will not solve
15:55the problem
15:56there has been
15:57serious mistakes
15:58by this government
15:59for example
16:00on banning
16:01heating
16:02and
16:03many other issues
16:04that
16:05created
16:06a big increase
16:07of these two
16:08right
16:09or left
16:10right parties
16:11and if
16:12the Greens
16:13and others
16:14in the government
16:15don't understand this
16:16then we will also
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20:39life, been fighting for women having access to decision-making position and
20:45leading position and my experience is that if you don't ask for it you don't
20:53get it. It's a tough journey without any question but that does not at all
20:59change my conviction and my determination. Ursula von der Leyen there
21:04on a topic she's clearly very passionate about it and yet is she right to push
21:08hard for this or would she just annoy EU capitals? Well absolutely she's right to
21:12push for that because the principle of representative democracy is that it
21:16represents and hence it's inclusive and on the level of the leadership we have
21:20equal amount of men and women. That being said this whole discussion I have to say
21:25she says it's making her passionate it makes me incredibly angry because I
21:29think we are back at the same side of the table and even more so today I think
21:34that the situation that has been created about this outcry because the member
21:37states decided not to promote the parity among the nominees many actually
21:43majority went for one nominee and men only may have put a gamble forward in a
21:48way of if we put a man and then we have to go back maybe we get a better
21:52portfolio. This sort of bargaining makes me incredibly upset not to mention that
21:57I'm really afraid we have a lot of qualified women right now on the table
22:00and their credentials might be underestimated just because we have been
22:05dominated by the parity discussion absolutely frustrating. Yes so far only
22:08nine female names have been forwarded but a lot of governments argue we just
22:12had a female Commissioner previously so we don't want to have and well now where
22:16do you weigh in in this conversation? I think there is a problem of
22:19representability across the board it's not just a question of gender equality
22:22we need more young people we need more people of color we need more people with
22:26diverse backgrounds we know people with disabilities we need whole of society to
22:32be represented in our politics and it really starts at the bottom you know
22:36the amount of people that go into politics are almost out of a production
22:41line of a Ford car in the car factory a hundred years ago they look exactly the
22:46same so we need to be more we need to be able to attract people in politics
22:51that come from a diverse set of backgrounds. And if you look at the names
22:54in fact of the list of proposed there's not much diversity in there and it's
22:57something that Margarita Vestager the outgoing Danish Commissioner is really
23:02strong about you can take a listen to her. It's a really a pity that member
23:07states do not follow through of course you should tap into the talent of both
23:13half of the population and not focus on one part of the population only the male
23:20part of the population and you also need different life experiences to be
23:24reflected in the Commission and you need to show boys and girls that this is what
23:31leadership looks like men and women leading together. This is what leadership
23:35looks like Peter Liese you've been in politics for decades what do women bring
23:39to the table? You know first of all it's good that we have the first ever female
23:46Commission president re-elected and from the top three we have two women so we
23:52have the High Representative and Kaya Kallas and Ursula von der Leyen and only one
23:58man Kosta. I'm Roberta Metzola, President of Parliament. That's yeah she's great all
24:04these women are great all these women are great I think and that's what the
24:08public will see. On the Commissioners I also regret that it's not more women and
24:15as you mentioned some countries said we had a women now it's time for a men
24:20Ireland for example they have a brilliant acting Commissioner Mariette
24:25McGuinness and just for party politics coalition deals she has to leave and
24:31they bring a man I regret that and I wouldn't exclude that some of the men
24:38are challenged during the hearing much more than some of the women because not
24:44all the men are qualified so we have qualified women in the team I appreciate
24:52very much for example Henna Vierkonen a colleague from Finland she will make it
24:57but if all the men will make it let's talk about the Maltese candidate maybe
25:02it's fixed this week or it's maybe fixed in the Parliament. And of course the all
25:07these Commissioners will have to go through what we call these
25:09grillings which could take place much later in the year we're hearing perhaps
25:12November and then the new Commission would start in December. Are you agreeing
25:16with what you heard there? About what do you mean if I'm agreeing? I think you were
25:20kind of you look like you were disagreeing with what he was saying
25:23there. No I think that we have excellent women around the table that's for sure
25:27I mean Teresa Ribeira is one of them and I think she's going to make a huge
25:30difference in the next European Commission once of course the European
25:33Commission is there but I think that you know the whole process is pointing to a
25:38larger structural problem because you've said you know we need more diversity but
25:42the diversity comes from the fact that different people can engage in politics
25:46and at the moment if we look and we have a report for example about the
25:49engagement of women in the civil society organisation it's very difficult
25:53for women to get engaged in the voluntary work on the top of everything
25:57else that exists gender pay gap and the like which brings me to my last point I
26:00want to sort of put in this round of the debate is that while we are discussing
26:04gender parities when it comes to the composition of the institutions we are
26:09not discussing about the gender mainstreaming or in fact the
26:13intersectional discriminations that we are having and how the existing roadmap
26:17that we have when it comes to the empowerment specifically of women in
26:20this case should translate in the representation in the board in the
26:24company boards and everything else that the Parliament has been working on in
26:27the past mandate. And of course you have to pick your battles don't you when
26:30you're in a top job or you're the boss do you think she's picking the right
26:33battles there or will she really kind of peeve off member states because we're
26:37seeing it's getting quite serious and some countries have said publicly that
26:39they will not do what they're told by Brussels. Yes and it boils down to the
26:44inter-institutional fight we often experience here in Brussels especially
26:47for us insiders we we see it every day there is indeed a conflict between the
26:51Council, the Commission, the European Parliament and unfortunately in an ideal
26:55world perhaps the President of the Commission would have the authority to
26:58select her own team rather than expect other people to give her who she should
27:04appoint. So the the problem can be resolved by structural changes too. And
27:09the problem can be also that 26 Commissioners is a lot of people around
27:13the table no? Too many people to invite even over for dinner. It depends on the
27:20table but of course we'll have to wait and see over the next few weeks and
27:24months as they get their names confirmed and of course have their
27:28greetings in the Parliament yourself and your colleagues will have to say yay or
27:31nay to them. But I'm afraid that brings this conversation to an end. Thank you so
27:36much to our guests for being with us and thank you so much for watching. Take care
27:39and see you soon.
27:43you
27:48Welcome back to Brussels my love and as you heard earlier there was a real
27:52back-to-school vibe this week here in Brussels. People were physically here but
27:57mentally perhaps still on the beach. You could say the same for school goers
28:00across the continent who are gradually getting back to the classrooms and one
28:04major change for many of them will be a new mobile phone ban. From Denmark to
28:09Greece, France to the Netherlands a number of schools are testing phone
28:12bans to boost focus and of course crackdown on cyber bullying. Here in
28:17Belgium a partial ban is already in place in some regions. To hear if it
28:20works we asked Julien Nekes from the Bologna Educational Board.
28:25A number of schools have already introduced strict rules on the use of
28:29smartphones in schools. Some have banned them. Opinions are unanimous among
28:34teaching staff, headteachers, parents and even the pupils themselves. But I insist
28:38smartphones must be left in the classroom when we are working on
28:42educational activities like artificial intelligence or media literacy. So our
28:46aim is not to ban the smartphone completely but rather to regulate its
28:50use and to define the times when teachers decide to use it with their
28:54pupils. Apart from that the smartphone stays either in the pocket or in the
28:58school bag. So Patrick is it a good idea? First of all we have to separate the
29:03phone from what's in the phone because as we heard the smartphone can actually
29:09be a great tool for learning, for education, for expanding horizons,
29:12communicating with your peers. But unfortunately in that smartphone there
29:16are social media networks, there is harmful content, there is destructive
29:20bombarding of advertising and I think that's the big debate we should have.
29:25At which age our children should have access to that kind of
29:30products and above all whether those products, whether those platforms are
29:35regulated enough and they are safe for our children to use. The answer is
29:39clearly not. I mean France as well they're rolling out a test now for up to
29:4315 year olds. Will it work though? Anya will it be implemented correctly?
29:47That's a question of two things. Number one it's a question of a social contract.
29:52I mean I have been working as a teacher at the Polish school and I've been
29:55teaching actually 14 and 15 years olders and my agreement with them was that out
29:59of respect from them to me and from me to them and out of the fact that the
30:04school is not only a place where you teach the subject but it's a place of
30:08socialising, getting to learn how you live in the society, the mobile phones
30:12stay in the pocket or in the backpacks. That's very important I think especially
30:16not only because as you said not only about what is inside of the mobile phones
30:20but we are talking about preventing the dangers such as cyber bullying, hatred
30:25which is taking place but also looking after mental health which I think
30:29especially after COVID we have to take very seriously when it comes to schools.
30:32And cyber bullying that's a real real problem.
30:35I'm a medical doctor and health politician and I know also the health
30:39effect, the negative health effect of using too much iPhones, using
30:46too much social media that is affecting the health of children and young people
30:52really seriously. So I like all these proposals. On the other hand we shouldn't
31:00regulate from Brussels. So it's a thing that should be regulated on the ground
31:05because there are different situations and of course all these details when are
31:11you allowed to use it and when are you not. We cannot make a European one-fits-all solution.
31:18How do you address that issue and not just among kids and
31:20teenagers but also among grown-ups and adults?
31:22Absolutely it's distorting the focus but also above of that I mean it creates a
31:29sort of the bubbles. I mean we know how it works. You get very selective approach
31:33and what we want education to be about is to create critical citizens that can
31:38choose for themselves. This is why I think I'm coming back to my point about
31:41the social contract why it is so important. But speaking of that I mean
31:45when we were talking about changing of the work culture maybe a little slightly
31:49different topic at that. There is an attempt of regulating when it comes to
31:53the European Union level and there was a discussion in the last European
31:56Parliament about that. The key question is the culture and I think as long as we
32:00don't create the overall culture we will have the teachers battling the students
32:04students revolting possibly against the teachers.
32:07On that point we can bring this discussion to a close. Thank you so much to our panel this week.
32:12Petra Svazulas from the European Movement, Anja Schupek from FEPPS and Peter Liza.
32:17Thank you so much for being with us and thank you of course for watching.
32:20If you've any comments and anything you've heard today please reach out.
32:23Our email address is brusselsmylove at euronews.com. Thanks for watching. See you soon.