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FEMYSO statement on the non selection of the Youth Intergroup by the European Parliament

The Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) shares its disappointment that the European Parliament has failed to include the Youth Intergroup amongst the selected Intergroups for the current parliamentary mandate.

FEMYSO and its member organisations successfully mobilised youth across the continent to participate in the 2019 European Parliamentary Elections. This contributed to an increased turnout amongst young people who were emboldened by promises from MEPs and political parties that their priorities would be taken seriously. The failure to select the Youth Intergroup sadly shows otherwise.

We must see the European Parliament as representative of its member states and their populations. As the representative voice for Young Muslims in Europe we call upon our political leaders to make guarantees that young people and their priorities will not be forgottenAbdelrahman Rizk, President, FEMYSO.              

As FEMYSO we issue an open call to those who care about the representation of youth in Europe to contact their local members of European Parliament to ask them to place the Youth Intergroup in their Intergroup priority list. As the decision isn’t final and there is scope to see the youth intergroup included if our representatives within their political groupings make a strong case.

Young people will not stand to see our interests side-lined, for it is though our participation that political structures draw their authority. This decision excludes the future of Europe from the top table and we hope to see it reversed.

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Notes

  1. FEMYSO (est. 1996) is an network organisation for 33 Muslim youth and student organisations across 20 European countries, and is the leading voice for European Muslim youth, developing and empowering them, and working to build a more diverse, cohesive and vibrant Europe.
  2. For more information please email media@femyso.org