Posted on 22 January 2018
Luciana Castellina, former member of the European Parliament, inaugurated the first session of the 2018 educational programme of the Historical Archives of the European Union, which brings together students and EU politicians.
The programme, organized jointly by the Educational Programme of the Historical Archives of the European Union and the European Parliament Former Members Association, invites former members of parliament to speak to the Florentine students about their experience as MEPs.
As well as spending 20 years in the European parliament, Luciana Castellina is also a journalist and the author of multiple books about the European Union. During her career as a member of the European parliament, she worked in multiple committees, including the Committee of Development and Cooperation, and enquired into the situation of women in Europe and external economic relations.
On the occasion of her visit to the Archives, Luciana Castellina, who was part of the first ever directly elected European Parliament in 1979, spoke about her experiences in European politics and the future of Europe.
Ms Castellina says she decided to come as she believes this is a great initiative for students: “I think that people, students especially, know very little about Europe. So I think any opportunity to talk to them is useful because the way Europe is explained is very theoretical. At the end young people are not interested at all because it’s so far away from their concrete experience.”
She added that hearing from real politicians can make a difference: “The students can be confronted with different approaches, different ideas and different opinions, as it happens in the parliament.”
She also believes that future generations need to do more to keep the EU relevant. “I think Europe is a necessity but only if it changes, otherwise it will collapse. In 1957, when the European Community started, having a common market was a good idea but today this is not enough,” she adds.
“I hope that we will change Europe in a way that there will be solidarity. But if you want a Europe where there is solidarity among the member states, you need to build a community of people that feel like Europeans and not just German, Italian, etc.”
When asked how this could be achieved, Ms Castellina said: “I think that the University [EUI] could have a very important role, helping the development of forms of collaboration on a social level: the level of society, not just on the level of governments.”
She adds, “Erasmus has been a very good important experience. But I say that they should have similar forms of cooperation at every level.”
Ms Castellina’s visit to the Archives ended with a discussion of the students’ resolutions for key European crisis, such as Brexit, the rise of nationalist sentiments and the migrant Crisis. In the following months, three more Italian and two international former MEPs will also take part in the HAEU’s educational programme.