The Young and the Restful: Why young Germans have no vision for Europe

Key points

+ German millennials (those born after 1980) appeared to be unambitious about reforming the European Union. Their focus was on safeguarding what had been achieved rather than creating something new.

+ Data from various surveys and interviews indicated that Germans aged between 18 and 29 held stereotypically German views on European and foreign policy. They maintained a cautious approach to anything related to the military, and a preference for decision-making that involved the whole EU rather smaller groups of member states.

+ Young Germans’ ideal EU would be carefully led by Germany, and focused on European unity, peace, and ecology. It might be more involved in foreign policy, but not militarily. It would also be more welcoming to migrants.

+ In Germany, one of the most striking differences between millennials and other age groups was how little importance they attribute to the Franco-German axis. While 53% of Germans saw France as their country’s most important partner in foreign policy, only 31% of those aged between 18 and 29 held this view.

+ Discontent among young Germans appeared to be sufficiently intense for an inspirational new political movement to capture their imaginations, but there was no sign of such a movement forming.

LSE European Institute, EuroppBlog, 06.02.18: Franco-German cooperation: A compromise between vision and reality? (et al) http://www.europeansources.info/record/franco-german-cooperation-a-compromise-between-vision-and-reality/

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