Imagine walking down the street, stopping a random person and asking them what they think about Europe. In the early 1950s, a TV crew did exactly that and an elderly farm woman replied: ‘Well, if it's for Peace, it's fine’. Sixty years later, an elderly Ukrainian woman was asked the same question. We are in the weeks of the ‘Revolution of Dignity’ happening in Kyiv in 2014. She proudly shows a huge expanse of wheat, saying that, thanks to it, the whole of Europe would be fed. Yet, the gentleness with which the word “Europe” was pronounced does not seem so common in the EU anymore.

In the public debate, “Europe” is often mentioned in relation to bad news, contradictions or, at best, major global problems to be tackled. Yet, in recent years, this “Europe” has meant so much when we needed solidarity during the pandemic and coordinated action to face war and climate crisis. This is why, during the 2024 European elections, Europe will be in a drastically different situation than it was five years before. Shaken by those crises and challenges, European society stands at a historical crossroads. We face an increasing number of forces that amplify division, fear and interference acting more and more powerfully against European unity and solidarity. Can we let them proceed without countering those developments? For now, our destiny lies in our hands, but will it tomorrow?

The top three values that Europe should defend, according to a Eurobarometer survey, are democracy, human rights and freedom of speech. However, with the free exchange of ideas comes the danger of disinformation. In a Council of Europe survey, 82% of respondents cited ‘fake news’ as a major concern and a threat to democracy. This is not a new phenomenon, as we have seen foreign interference have an impact on electoral campaigns in Europe and the United States, specifically in 2016 but also more recently.

Since the Second World War, democracy, freedom of movement and speech, economic growth and cultural exchanges, but also friendship and love, are springing up where armies once passed. Yet, there is a possibility that many Europeans find it hard to see all this, to notice that the European Union is an aspirational point of reference for many people in the region. We are the continent with the biggest economic market, with the most comprehensive welfare system; the safest, from every point of view, and all this thanks to this unique political project.

Europe was born on the frontier between states used to fighting wars against each other, which have decided to tear down barriers, face their past and look towards the future with confidence. In fact, paraphrasing the sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad, what happens at the frontiers of a community is a mirror of ‘the deepest contradictions of a society, its political organisation and its relations with other societies’. Those frontiers that once passed through Verdun and the Somme today lie elsewhere, from Cutro to Kyiv. Without forgetting those frontiers between winners and losers of an insufficiently regulated globalisation, often marked by economic centres and European peripheries, the living contradictions that define the new ‘frontiers’ need to be tackled to rediscover the original goal and spirit of the European project.

According to Eurobarometer, the predominant feelings among Europeans are, in order, uncertainty, frustration, helplessness, anger and fear—all feeding into division on the continent Yet, there is a glimmer of light that can be spotted. For more than one in three Europeans, that feeling is instead Hope. Not a hope made of empty, dreamy waiting, but an active, purposeful Hope, the hope that brings so many Europeans, inside and outside of the EU, to keep fighting for European values even if it means risking their lives. Europe must be up to the task of this hope of freedom.

This is why, one year before crucial elections on our continent, in the face of so many forces that try to build momentum on negative emotions and divisions, we want to build an alternative front, capable of proposing a different way forward, a concrete one to transform and revitalise Europe and its democracy.

The way starts with listening to those who will carry the weight of the future on their shoulders: young Europeans. In the age of social media, young citizens are particularly exposed to disinformation and have been heavily impacted by recent events such as the pandemic, war, inflation and climate anxiety. We aim to strengthen the positive dialogue between young citizens, across borders, across language barriers—in all their diversity. We will recentre the political debate on young people's priorities to rebuild trust, and also to create more ownership and to put their priorities for the future of Europe at the heart of the 2024 campaign, replacing the agenda of fear and division with their ‘Agenda of Hope’.

This is how Europe and Hope will have the same sound again: EurHope. Today, we call all young citizens, all civil society members, all Member States, cities and regions and all engaged organisations to join the Revolution of Hope!

List of signatories

Gian Paolo ACCARDO, Founder and Chief editor of VOXEUROP

Alberto ALEMANNO, Jean Monnet Professor at HEC Paris, founder of The Good Lobby

Antonio ARGENZIANO, President of JEF

Frédéric BAILLY, Executive Vice President at the SOS Group, Secretary general of Alliance Pact for Impact

Mikuláš BEK, Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic

Brando BENIFEI, Member of the European Parliament

Laurent BERGER, General Secretary of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), President of the European Trade Union Confederation

Gabriele BISCHOFF, Member of the European Parliament

Jean Marc BORELLO, Founder and president of Groupe SOS

Damian BOESELAGER, Member of the European Parliament

Gilbert BOURSEUL, CEO of TOPICS

Maroua BOUZAIDA, Vice President of Toulouse Métropole, responsible for citizen participation

Mercedes BRESSO, Member of the European Parliament, former President of the European Committee of Regions

Jeanne BRETÉCHER, President of Social Good Accelerator

Flavio BRUGNOLI, Director Centro Studi sul Federalismo

Pascal CANFIN, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Marco CAPPATO, President of EUMANS, former member of the European Parliament

Daniel COHN-BENDIT, Former Member of the European Parliament

Fabio COLASANTI, Former Director General of the European Commission

Alicia COMBAZ, CEO of Make.org

Olivier COSTA, Researcher at CNRS, Professor at the College of Europe

Axel DAUCHEZ, President of Make.org

Pier Virgilio DASTOLI, President of the Italian European Mouvement

Valerie DECAMP, Executive Director of Mediatransports

Tremeur DENIGOT, Co-President of CIVICO Europa

Adrien DUGUET, President of the Association Civic Tech Europe

Eva EISLER, Professor, designer and artist

Virginia FIUME, Co-President of EUMANS

Cynthia FLEURY, Philosopher and psychoanalyst

Daniel FREUND, Member of the European Parliament

Martial FOUCAULT, Director of CEVIPOF

Malte GALLÉE, Member of the European Parliament

Sandro GOZI, Member of the European Parliament, President of UEF

Patrizia HEIDEGGER, Deputy Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau

Veera HEINONEN, Director, Democracy and participation, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra

Gergely KARÁCSONY, Mayor of Budapest

Guillaume KLOSSA, Co-President of CIVICO Europa, Founder of Europa Nova

Luca JAHIER, Vice President of the European Semester Group, former President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Benedek JÁVOR, Former Member of the European Parliament

Zora JAUROVA, Producer, dramaturge, cultural politics and creative industry expert

Christophe LECLERCQ, Founder of EURACTIV Media Network and of Europe's MediaLab

Nathalie LOISEAU, Member of the European Parliament, former French Minister of European Affairs

Biliana KOTSAKOVA, Lawyer, human rights defender

Robert MENASSE, Writer

Mario MONTI, Member of the Italian Senate, former Prime Minister of Italy, former European Commissioner

Isabelle NÉGRIER, Director General of EuropaNova

Ignacy NIEMCZYCKI, President of the Board of the Bronislaw Geremek Foundation

Elisabetta OLIVI, former spokesperson of the European Commission and former spokesperson of the Italian government

Bertrand PANCHER, Member of the French National Assembly, President of ‘Décider ensemble’

Clemence PÈNE, Vice-President of ‘A Voté’

Andrey KOVATCHEV, Member of the European Parliament and President of UEF Bulgaria

Tsvetelina PENKOVA, Member of the European Parliament

Francesca RATTI, Former Deputy Secretary general of the European Parliament

María RODRÍGUEZ ALCÁZAR, President of the European Youth Forum

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Member of the European Parliament

Jacques RUPNIK, Emeritus Research Director, Sciences Po, former adviser of Václav Havel

Emma SMETANA, Artist, performer, journalist

Claus Haugaard SORENSEN, Chairman of the Global Executive Leadership initiative, former Director general of the European Commission

Nathalie TOCCI, Director at the Istituto Affari Internazionali

Inga WACHSMANN, President of Citizens for Europe

Slavoj ŽIŽEK, Philosopher

想象一下走在街上，随便拦住一个人，问他们对欧洲的看法。在 1950 年代初期，一个电视台的摄制组正是这样做的，一位年长的农妇回答说：“好吧，如果是为了和平，那很好”。六十年后，一位乌克兰老妇人被问到同样的问题。我们正处于 2014 年基辅发生“尊严革命”的几周。她自豪地展示了一大片小麦，并说，多亏了它，整个欧洲都会有粮食。然而，“欧洲”这个词的温和发音在欧盟似乎不再那么普遍。

在公开辩论中，“欧洲”经常被提及与坏消息、矛盾或充其量需要解决的重大全球问题有关。然而，近年来，当我们在大流行期间需要团结一致并采取协调一致的行动来应对战争和气候危机时，这个“欧洲”意义重大。这就是为什么在 2024 年欧洲选举期间，欧洲的情况将与五年前截然不同。面对这些危机和挑战，欧洲社会正站在历史的十字路口。我们面临着越来越多的力量，它们加剧了分裂、恐惧和干涉，越来越有力地反对欧洲的统一和团结。我们能否让他们继续前进而不反对这些事态发展？现在，我们的命运掌握在我们手中，但明天呢？

根据欧洲晴雨表调查，欧洲应该捍卫的三大价值观是民主、人权和言论自由。然而，随着思想的自由交流而来的是虚假信息的危险。在欧洲委员会的一项调查中，82% 的受访者将“假新闻”列为主要担忧和对民主的威胁。这不是一个新现象，因为我们已经看到外国干涉对欧洲和美国的选举活动产生了影响，特别是在 2016 年，但最近也是如此。

自第二次世界大战以来，民主、行动和言论自由、经济增长和文化交流，还有友谊和爱情，在曾经军队经过的地方如雨后春笋般涌现。然而，许多欧洲人可能很难看到这一切，很难注意到欧盟是该地区许多人的理想参照点。我们是拥有最大经济市场、最完善福利制度的大陆；从各个角度来看都是最安全的，而这一切都要归功于这个独特的政治项目。

欧洲诞生于习惯于相互开战的国家之间的边界，这些国家决定拆除壁垒，面对过去，满怀信心地展望未来。事实上，用社会学家 Abdelmalek Sayad 的话说，在一个社区的边界发生的事情是“一个社会最深刻的矛盾、它的政治组织以及它与其他社会的关系”的一面镜子。那些曾经穿过凡尔登和索姆河的边界如今位于其他地方，从库特罗到基辅。不要忘记全球化的赢家和输家之间的边界，通常以经济中心和欧洲外围为标志，需要解决定义新“边界”的活生生的矛盾，以重新发现欧洲项目的最初目标和精神。

根据欧洲晴雨表，欧洲人的主要情绪依次是不确定性、沮丧、无助、愤怒和恐惧——所有这些都助长了欧洲大陆的分裂。然而，可以发现一丝曙光。对于超过三分之一的欧洲人来说，这种感觉反而是希望。不是由空洞、梦幻般的等待构成的希望，而是一种积极的、有目的的希望，这种希望让欧盟内外的许多欧洲人继续为欧洲价值观而战，即使这意味着冒着生命危险。欧洲必须承担起实现这种自由希望的任务。

这就是为什么，在我们大陆举行关键选举的一年前，面对如此多的势力试图在负面情绪和分歧上造势，我们想要建立一个替代战线，能够提出一条不同的前进道路，一个具体的道路改造和振兴欧洲及其民主。

方法从倾听那些肩负未来重任的人开始：年轻的欧洲人。在社交媒体时代，年轻公民特别容易受到虚假信息的影响，并受到最近发生的大流行病、战争、通货膨胀和气候焦虑等事件的严重影响。我们的目标是加强年轻公民之间的积极对话，跨越国界，跨越语言障碍——在他们的所有多样性中。我们将重新围绕年轻人的优先事项进行政治辩论，以重建信任，并创造更多的自主权，并将他们对欧洲未来的优先事项置于 2024 年竞选活动的核心，用他们的“议程”取代恐惧和分裂议程希望'。

就这样，Europe 和 Hope 将再次拥有同一个声音：EurHope。今天，我们呼吁所有青年公民、所有公民社会成员、所有会员国、城市和地区以及所有参与的组织加入希望革命！

签字人名单

Gian Paolo ACCARDO，VOXEUROP 创始人兼主编

Alberto ALEMANNO，巴黎高等商学院让莫奈教授，The Good Lobby 创始人

JEF 总裁 Antonio ARGENZIANO

Frédéric BAILLY，SOS 集团执行副总裁，影响力联盟秘书长

Mikuláš BEK，捷克共和国欧洲事务部长

Brando BENIFEI，欧洲议会议员

Laurent BERGER，法国民主劳工联合会（CFDT）秘书长，欧洲工会联合会主席

Gabriele BISCHOFF，欧洲议会议员

Jean Marc BORELLO，Groupe SOS 创始人兼总裁

Damian BOESELAGER，欧洲议会议员

TOPICS 首席执行官 Gilbert BOURSEUL

Maroua BOUZAIDA，Toulouse Métropole 副总裁，负责公民参与

Mercedes BRESSO，欧洲议会议员，欧洲地区委员会前主席

Social Good Accelerator 总裁 Jeanne BRETÉCHER

Flavio BRUGNOLI，Centro Studi sul Federalismo 主任

Pascal CANFIN，欧洲议会议员，环境、公共卫生和食品安全委员会主席

EUMANS主席、前欧洲议会议员Marco CAPPATO

Daniel COHN-BENDIT，欧洲议会前议员

Fabio COLASANTI，欧盟委员会前总干事

Make.org 首席执行官 Alicia COMBAZ

Olivier COSTA，法国国家科学研究中心研究员，欧洲学院教授

Axel DAUCHEZ，Make.org 总裁

Pier Virgilio DASTOLI，意大利欧洲运动主席

Mediatransports 执行董事 Valerie DECAMP

CIVICO Europa 联席总裁 Tremeur DENIGOT

Adrien DUGUET，欧洲公民科技协会主席

Eva EISLER，教授、设计师和艺术家

Virginia FIUME，EUMANS 联席主席

辛西娅·弗勒里 (Cynthia FLEURY)，哲学家和精神分析师

Daniel FREUND，欧洲议会议员

Martial FOUCAULT，CEVIPOF 主任

Malte GALLÉE，欧洲议会议员

Sandro GOZI，欧洲议会议员，UEF主席

Patrizia HEIDEGGER，欧洲环境局副秘书长

Veera HEINONEN，芬兰创新基金 Sitra 民主与参与部主任

Gergely KARÁCSONY，布达佩斯市长

Guillaume KLOSSA，CIVICO Europa联席总裁，Europa Nova创始人

Luca JAHIER，欧洲学期组副主席，欧洲经济和社会委员会前主席

Benedek JÁVOR，欧洲议会前议员

Zora JAUROVA，制片人、剧作家、文化政治和创意产业专家

EURACTIV Media Network 和欧洲 MediaLab 的创始人 Christophe LECLERCQ

Nathalie LOISEAU，欧洲议会议员、法国前欧洲事务部长

Biliana KOTSAKOVA，律师，人权捍卫者

罗伯特·梅纳斯，作家

Mario MONTI，意大利参议院议员、意大利前总理、前欧盟专员

EuropaNova 总干事 Isabelle NÉGRIER

Bronislaw Geremek 基金会董事会主席 Ignacy NIEMCZYCKI

Elisabetta OLIVI，欧盟委员会前发言人、意大利政府前发言人

Bertrand PANCHER，法国国民议会议员，“Décider ensemble”主席

Clemence PÈNE，'A Voté' 副主席

Andrey KOVATCHEV，欧洲议会议员兼UEF保加利亚主席

Tsvetelina PENKOVA，欧洲议会议员

Francesca RATTI，欧洲议会前副秘书长

María RODRÍGUEZ ALCÁZAR，欧洲青年论坛主席

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA，欧洲议会议员

Jacques RUPNIK，Sciences Po 名誉研究主任，Václav Havel 前顾问

Emma SMETANA，艺术家、表演者、记者

Claus Haugaard SORENSEN，全球行政领导倡议主席，欧盟委员会前总干事

Nathalie TOCCI，国际事务研究所所长

Inga WACHSMANN，欧洲公民组织主席

斯拉沃热·齐泽克，哲学家