Europe’s to-do list: a postcard from the European Young Leaders alumni seminar in Brussels

The European Young Leaders programme brings together a new class of exceptional emerging leaders from across Europe (EU, United Kingdom, Western Balkans 6, Moldova, Ukraine) each year, connecting them to a powerful network of 400+ alumni. As we prepare its next chapter, we are looking for partners to help sustain and strengthen this unique network. Please get in touch if you would like to explore sponsorship opportunities: nathalie.furrer@friendsofeurope.org

Beneath shifting Brussels skies – at times cloudy, at others suddenly bright with spring sunshine – more than 30 European Young Leaders (EYL40) alumni, senior decision-makers, key European actors and local citizens gathered in the Belgian capital in May to debate Europe’s future at the EYL40 Brussels Seminar.

Over three days, conversations moved from housing to entrepreneurship and the European socio-economic model, from artificial intelligence (AI) to democratic resilience, narrative infrastructures for the European project, climate change and geopolitical instability. Yet despite the weight of the themes, the mood felt less fatalistic than restless: if Europe is entering an age of uncertainty, many argued, it may also be entering a moment of reinvention.

The seminar opened at the Permanent Representation of Poland to the European Union, where EYL alumni from across generations reunited full of energy for the discussions ahead. Later that evening, conversations continued beneath the vaulted ceilings of Brussels City Hall, the historic building overlooking the Grand-Place at the heart of Europe’s capital.

A CONTINENT ON EDGE 

“The world is changing at a pace we have never seen before,” warned Geert Cami, Co-Founder and Secretary General of Friends of Europe, as discussions opened on Europe’s increasingly fragile political landscape. From war in Ukraine and the Middle East to democratic polarisation and economic insecurity, the question running through the seminar was whether Europe can still offer stability, trust and opportunity to younger generations.

Arkadiusz Pluciński, Polish Deputy Permanent Representative, reflected on his country’s experience before joining the European Union and reminded participants that “being European is not only about institutions or policies, it is about people.” His remarks set the tone for a seminar focused as much on belonging and trust as on policy itself.

The launch of Debating Europe‘s latest “Voices for Choices” report brought growing generational anxieties across Europe into sharper focus. Based on insights from 2,000young Europeans across six countries, the report explores how demographic shifts arereshaping younger generations’ expectations for the future. The findings revealedmounting concerns around pensions, healthcare, housing and long-term economicsecurity, with many young citizens no longer convinced that future generations will bebetter off than those before them.

Housing policies and the growing struggle to find affordable homes in many parts of Europe dominated conversations, increasingly described as one of the defining political fault lines shaping the continent’s future. Matthew Baldwin, European Commission Deputy Director-General for Energy and Chair of the Housing Task Force, called housing “a fundamental aspect of social justice”, while other participants spoke openly about feeling locked out of the social contract that shaped previous generations.

Debates on the Single Market, innovation and competitiveness exposed growing concerns about Europe’s economic future. Entrepreneurs and investors warned that fragmented regulatory systems risk suffocating European innovation under layers of bureaucracy and compliance.

Europe’s place in a changing world quickly entered those conversations too. During a fireside chat on trade and cooperation, Evelien Masschelein, Director Expertise of Enabel, the Belgian agency for international cooperation, and Pascal Lamy, Co-founder of the Jacques Delors Friends of Europe Foundation, Coordinator of the Jacques Delors Institutes and former Director General of the World Trade Organisation, argued that traditional donor-recipient relationships are rapidly disappearing, with countries increasingly seeking partnerships built on investment, industry and shared interests rather than aid alone.

“We’re no longer called the development agency,” Masschelein noted. “We’re called the agency for international cooperation. Words matter.”

As discussions turned to China’s growing influence, cuts to development assistance and the fragmentation of the international order, one point became increasingly clear:Europe can no longer assume its influence abroad is guaranteed – or even understood in the same way it once was. Those conversations continued in exchanges with senior diplomatic representatives from Japan, Brazil, Thailand and the United Kingdom, as participants reflected on the growing importance of strategic alliances and global partnerships in an increasingly unstable geopolitical moment.

Behind the debates on startups, public procurement, trade and investment sat abroader question: can Europe stay innovative, competitive and globally relevant without losing the social protections and safeguards that define its model?

BELONGING, BY DESIGN 

Identity and emotional connection to Europe surfaced repeatedly. Discussions on “narrative infrastructure” – the stories and shared experiences that create a sense of belonging – became some of the seminar’s most animated exchanges.

Francesca Cavallo, Founder and CEO of Undercats Media, bestselling author of “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”, and EYL40 alumni, argued that Europe has relied too heavily on institutional communication rather than emotional connection. “You cannot counter disinformation with information,” she said. “You counter disinformation with belonging.” Questions of belonging ran through many of the seminar’s discussions. Participants debated whether programmes such as Erasmus+ remain too inaccessible or elitist, and whether broader civic initiatives could help create stronger forms of shared European experience. More than once, the seminar moved beyond policy debates into deeper questions of identity: what makes people feel European in the first place, and whether that feeling can survive an era of political polarisation and disinformation.

That sense of belonging was also closely tied to questions of democratic participation and institutional trust. European Ombudswoman, Teresa Anjinho, warned that many citizens do not necessarily reject the European project itself, but increasingly feel excluded from how decisions are made. As policymaking accelerates in response to successive crises, she argued that “it should not be speed versus participation. It should be speed and participation.”

THE IMITATION GAME 

Artificial intelligence hovered over many conversations in Brussels – sometimes as a source of optimism, sometimes as a source of unease. What began as discussions about innovation, productivity and competitiveness quickly expanded into broader questions about how AI is reshaping the way citizens work, communicate, consumeinformation and navigate an increasingly blurred digital reality.

Malcolm Byrne, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Artificial Intelligence in Ireland, argued that public debates around AI too often lose sight of their actual purpose. “What we’ve always got to remember: AI and agentic AI, these are all tools. They’re not the goal in themselves,” he said, insisting that the real objective should remain improving the quality of services and outcomes delivered to citizens.

But alongside questions of innovation came new concerns about vulnerability. “Security is now pervasive,” warned Rahul Singh, Lead for Cybersecurity Business in EMEA atTata Consultancy Services (TCS), arguing that traditional cybersecurity approaches are no longer sufficient in a world increasingly shaped by AI-driven systems and interconnected vulnerabilities.

As participants discussed deepfakes, misinformation and the growing difficulty of distinguishing reality from fabrication online, attention increasingly shifted towards how societies adapt to rapidly evolving technologies. Discussions moved between AI’s growing impact on business models, cybersecurity and public services, and presence in citizens’ everyday lives through social media and online platforms. Chris Umé, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Metaphysic and EYL40 alumni, reflected on how rapidly AI technologies have evolved in recent years, warning that society still struggles to grasp the scale of the disruption ahead.

Again and again, the same unsettling question resurfaced: what happens to democratictrust when seeing is no longer believing?

A WORLD ON THIN ICE

As conversations stretched across the dinner tables of Brussels City Hall, one theme ran throughout the evening: how does meaningful change happen – and who makes it happen?

Fresh from a scientific expedition in Antarctica, Heïdi Sevestre, glaciologist and leading climate advocate, member of the Explorers Club and EYL40 alumni, brought images ofcollapsing ice landscapes into the room. “[Climate change] is about the cost of living,”she said. “It’s about living in a house that is boiling hot during the summer and freezing during the winter.”

Alongside her, András Kulja, surgeon-turned-MEP with 360K+ TikTok followers and EYL40 alumni, reflected on how his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic pushed him towards science communication and eventually politics, after witnessing how easily misinformation flourishes when institutions fail to communicate clearly with citizens. “There is a big gap between science and everyday language and everyday understanding of things, and you have to translate,” he said.

As discussions moved between climate science, TikTok, propaganda and political polarisation, a broader theme emerged: public trust increasingly depends on the ability to make complex realities feel human, understandable and real.

THE ILLUSION OF NEUTRALITY

As the seminar drew to a close on Europe Day, many of its discussions about participation, belonging and democratic trust were put into practice, as local citizens of all generations joined exchanges on democracy, security and Europe’s future under the banner “What do we want Europe to be?”

The final panel turned towards democratic resilience, authoritarian pressure and the fragility of European security in a rapidly changing world.

Hanna Liubakova, Belarusian journalist in exile, Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and EYL40 alumni, reflected on growing up under Lukashenko’s regime and witnessing howquickly democratic freedoms can erode. “The path from human rights violations to waris very short.”

Much of the conversation focused on Europe’s “false sense of security”. Femen activist, journalist and filmmaker Inna Shevchenko argued that many Europeans still underestimate how directly Russia’s war against Ukraine concerns the future of Europe itself.

“Today, we develop new illusions and new false security narratives, and one of them is that Ukraine is Europe’s shield. Europe outsources its own security to Ukraine.”

Beyond the geopolitical implications of the war, Shevchenko also reflected on its lastinghuman impact on Ukrainian society and citizens, warning that many Ukrainians “willcarry this war in their body forever, even after the last shot will be fired.”

As discussions moved from war and propaganda to political extremism and disinformation, the need for Europe to move beyond complacency and rebuild democratic resilience became increasingly difficult to ignore. Award-winning photojournalist Alixandra Fazzina warned against imagining conflict only through dramatic or distant events. “Most wars actually happen very slowly,” she noted. “It’s about insecurity, destabilisation.”

The session left a visible impression on the audience. As discussions closed on Europe Day in Brussels, the three speakers embraced following a conversation that repeatedly blurred the line between geopolitical analysis and personal experience.

A EUROPE STILL WORTH BUILDING

For all the questions and uncertainties running through the seminar, the dominant mood in Brussels was not despair but reflection. Repeatedly, participants returned to the idea that Europe’s current crises may also represent an opportunity to rethink what the European project means and who it serves.

The findings of “Voices for Choices” crystallised many of these concerns, revealing growing fears among younger Europeans that the promises underpinning Europe’s social contract are becoming increasingly fragile.

Yet over late-night discussions, workshop debates and conversations stretching long beyond the formal sessions, another idea also emerged. As citizens and EYL40s gathered on Europe Day to debate what they want Europe to be, the seminar’s central tension came into sharper focus: Europe’s future may depend less on defending old certainties than on rebuilding trust, participation and a shared sense of purpose.

That conviction also shaped conversations on democratic participation and citizen engagement. “Europe should be what citizens want it to be,” argued Dana Spinant,European Commission Director-General for Communication, while Ben Eersels, Co-Executive Director of G1000, reflected on the need to bring citizens directly into difficult political decisions rather than leaving them feeling powerless or excluded.

Despite everything, the Brussels discussions suggested that Europe remains a political and human project still capable of reinvention.

The European Young Leaders programme brings together a new class of exceptional emerging leaders from across Europe (EU, United Kingdom, Western Balkans 6, Moldova, Ukraine) each year, connecting them to a powerful network of 400+ alumni. As we prepare its next chapter, we are looking for partners to help sustain and strengthen this unique network. Please get in touch if you would like to explore sponsorship opportunities: nathalie.furrer@friendsofeurope.org

Thank you to our partners for supporting the EYL40 programme: the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, KKR, the UK Mission to the EU, the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU, Enabel, the city of Bruxelles, and Be Central.

Stay tuned for the release of the seminar’s full event report. In the meantime, browse #EYL40 updates onInstagram and LinkedIn.