Young eastern Europeans reflect on 20 years of EU membership

Record ID: 1816617

  • Title: Young eastern Europeans reflect on 20 years of EU membership
  • Date: 29th April 2024
  • Summary: LUKA, POLAND (APRIL 24, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND POLITICIAN, DAMIAN KRAJZA, SAYING: "I am Damian. I come from Poland. I am 19 years old. I am a farmer, a student at the agricultural high school and a member of the municipal council." WARSAW, POLAND (APRIL 25, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AND POLITICIAN, JULIA KLIMKIEWICZ, SAYING: "My name is Julia Klimkiewicz. I am 19 years old. I am from Poland. I am a councillor of Warsaw Srodmiescie district." PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (APRIL 22, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 20-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, ROZALIE VORLOVA, SAYING: "My name is Rozalie Vorlova, I am 20 years old, I live in the Czech Republic and I am a student." TALLINN, ESTONIA (APRIL 25, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 20-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU, SAYING: "My name is Kevin Kaldalu. I am from Estonia. I am 20 years old and I am a co-founder of a startup BoxBox." LUKA, POLAND (APRIL 23, 2024) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOT OF FARMER DAMIAN KRAJZA PLOWING WITH TRACTOR GOLOTCZYZNA, POLAND (APRIL 24, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF KRAJZA DRIVING TRACTOR DURING SCHOOL PLOWING COMPETITION LUKA, POLAND (APRIL 24, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND POLITICIAN, DAMIAN KRAJZA, SAYING: "Our parents have gone through the whole process, starting from living in the communist times, through the fall of communism and becoming a democratic country and then joining the European Union, so for sure they have gone through many more stages and got much more experience than us. And us, both unfortunately and fortunately, we have only seen one way of life, a quite simple life, because let's not hide it, we have an easy life, we have access to everything, it is easier for us to develop, easier to act - thanks to the European Union among others." VARIOUS OF KRAJZA WALKING INTO BARN COWS IN BARN VARIOUS OF KRAJZA FEEDING COWS (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND POLITICIAN, DAMIAN KRAJZA, SAYING: "Eastern Europe is being treated in a different way by the European Union, and unfortunately you can see on the international stage that we don't have as strong say and we are being treated differently. For so many years direct subsidies to farmers were supposed to be equal, but it hasn't been done yet. Western countries still have higher subsidies." VARIOUS OF KRAJZA LOADING GRAIN (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND POLITICIAN, DAMIAN KRAJZA, SAYING: "I went into local politics a bit. This year I was elected member of the municipal council. (I did it) because change is needed and young people especially have an influence on those changes." ROZOGI, POLAND (APRIL 24, 2024) (REUTERS) KRAJZA WALKING INTO MUNICIPALITY BUILDING VARIOUS OF KRAJZA TALKING TO OFFICIAL DURING TRAINING FOR NEW LOCAL OFFICIALS LUKA, POLAND (APRIL 24, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND POLITICIAN, DAMIAN KRAJZA, SAYING: "I would like to see a good future for the European Union, but unfortunately, at the moment and with the current politics I see nothing colourful. I see only greyness because of the current policy aiming at zero emissions. They want to make an ecological Europe, but what will really happen if we become so-called 'ecological' is that across the borders of the European Union's countries, other countries will double or triple their coal production to meet the demands of our market. We will destroy the economy, our economy, our industry, our heavy industry and agriculture in favour of pseudo-ecology." KRAJZA LOOKING AT RAPESEED CROPS WARSAW, POLAND (APRIL 25, 2024) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOTS OF WARSAW CITY CENTRE VARIOUS OF STUDENT AND POLITICIAN, JULIA KLIMKIEWICZ WALKING DOG (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AND POLITICIAN, JULIA KLIMKIEWICZ, SAYING: "I see the possibilities the European Union gives me because I was born in the European Union and I can travel freely across the EU, I can go on foreign exchanges as part of the Erasmus programme. But I also see the political benefits that being part of the EU we can together set ambitious climate targets and make climate targets happen, and the climate targets are very important to me." KLIMKIEWICZ GETTING ON BUS BUS REFLECTION ON GLASS BUILDING KLIMKIEWICZ SITTING ON BUS (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AND POLITICIAN, JULIA KLIMKIEWICZ, SAYING: "I am not a very big Euro-enthusiast, I am a critical Euro-enthusiast, meaning I believe that it is a critical view on the crises that give us the opportunity to revise the way we lead public policies and see what else can be done to make it really better." STREET VIEW FROM DRIVING BUS KLIMKIEWICZ LEAVING BUS (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AND POLITICIAN, JULIA KLIMKIEWICZ, SAYING: "We will be discussing migration more and more often. I think that the future of the European Union is focused around the target of building a clever migration policy. But also around reinforcing the European army. After the war in Ukraine started, we saw how naive a solution it is to rely solely and exclusively on NATO." PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (APRIL 22, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STUDENTS ROZALIE VORLOVA AND JULIE PROFTOVA WALKING VORLOVA AND PROFTOVA GETTIN ON BOARD OF "BOAT OF MYSTERY" BAR WHERE THEY WORK PROFTOVA POURING BEER VORLOVA POURING AND SERVING BEER VORLOVA SITTING AT DESK IN HER FLAT (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 20-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, ROZALIE VORLOVA, SAYING: “Sometimes I find the EU unnecessarily bureaucratic. On the contrary, I think that thanks to the EU there is less bureaucracy in the Czech Republic. And my view is that if we were to leave the EU now, then the Czech Republic would be very much at risk from Russia.” VARIOUS OF VORLOVA LOOKING AT PICTURES FROM HER CHILDHOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) 20-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, ROZALIE VORLOVA, SAYING: “I have relatively young parents, so our views on the EU are very similar - and I see better travel, the possibility of studying abroad, a better environment in the Czech Republic and more work opportunities as advantages of EU membership.” VORLOVA CARRYING CRATE WITH PLATES TALLINN, ESTONIA (APRIL 25, 2024) (REUTERS) CITY SKYLINE TOURISTS TAKING PHOTOS VARIOUS OF CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU WALKING IN OLD TOWN (SOUNDBITE) (English) 20-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU, SAYING: "The EU definitely helps. We get a lot of different grants as well that help companies actually push it further and try out different technologies. And what do we think of it on the bigger scale (is) that (it's) giving smaller countries and smaller companies the chance to really take risks and expand and try out different (things), either it's tech or deep tech, it has an effect on the whole, the European Union. So having a small country actually build out something or probably Bolt is the best example of really trying it in a smaller country, so said Estonia, and now they're everywhere. So, it has helped a lot." VARIOUS OF KALDALU RIDING ON SCOOTER OF ESTONIAN START-UP COMPANY BOLT (SOUNDBITE) (English) 20-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU, TALKING ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING IN THE EU, SAYING: "Of course trade. So that's what really probably boosted all of the countries. So working together, having proper policies in place that unite the countries and enable them to trade between the countries and expand. That's, really what helps you grow as well." VARIOUS OF KALDALU IN OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) 20-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU, SAYING: "Of course, the markets are different but overall the storage needs in countries still are pretty similar. So that's why we don't really see like, borders or we don't really differentiate. We do see it (the European Union) as a whole, a whole one place." VARIOUS OF KALDALU WORKING   (SOUNDBITE) (English) 20-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU, SAYING: "So at the pace we've been growing, really what's been helpful is the fact that we can scale really, really fast - just staying inside of the borders of Estonia, it would probably not be as good for us. So really, having the feel of being united with all the countries that are surrounding us, it makes growing a lot easier and has helped us out a lot." VARIOUS OF KALDALU RIDING SCOOTER VARIOUS OF CO-FOUNDER OF STARSHIP AND FORMER SKYPE DEVELOPER, AHTI HEINLA WALKING ALONG STARSHIP DELIVERY ROBOT (SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-FOUNDER OF STARSHIP AND FORMER SKYPE DEVELOPER, AHTI HEINLA, SAYING: "The problem is Estonia is such a small country, it's very hard to do business. It's very hard to scale a business to be successful just in Estonia. So if you want to build a business in Estonia, you have to think internationally from day one. And the unified market is a great thing for that because suddenly your market, when you're building a company in Estonia, suddenly your market, your home market was not just Estonia but the EU." VARIOUS OF STARSHIP DELIVERY ROBOT ROLLING NEAR PEDESTRIANS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-FOUNDER OF STARSHIP AND FORMER SKYPE DEVELOPER, AHTI HEINLA, SAYING: "The free movement of people is definitely a double-edged sword. I think there has been great benefit from it, but some countries have benefited disproportionately and some countries have lost disproportionately. Like, you know, for Eastern European countries in particular, there has been quite a lot of people move from these countries to the more central and Western Europe. And, I mean, brain drain is a is a very tough thing to have as, as a country." VARIOUS OF STARSHIP DELIVERY ROBOT ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) CO-FOUNDER OF STARSHIP AND FORMER SKYPE DEVELOPER, AHTI HEINLA, SAYING: "Estonia has, on a per capita basis, more startups and more successful startups than any other country in Europe, and perhaps even in the world. So absolutely, Estonia is doing something right in terms of, in terms of startups. There is a good entrepreneurial (spirit), particularly the new generations that have, have grown after, the Soviet occupation, which was a very long time ago already. VARIOUS OF STARSHIP DELIVERY ROBOT LUKA, POLAND (APRIL 24, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF KRAJZA CHECKING RAPESEED CROPS (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD FARMER AND POLITICIAN, DAMIAN KRAJZA, SAYING: "Young people can have an enormous influence on forming the EU's policy but they must be willing to, they must go to the voting booths in the upcoming elections and vote for the right candidates or even be (candidates) themselves, young people can also run." WARSAW, POLAND (APRIL 25, 2024) (REUTERS) KLIMKIEWICZ WORKING ON BENCH (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) 19-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AND POLITICIAN, JULIA KLIMKIEWICZ, SAYING: "I would like to see (young people) being more aware, for the young people to also have influence on what is happening in Europe, just as they do in Poland. We do have a mechanism in the EU for pitching our ideas, the referendum but it is organizationally very difficult because you need to gather one million signatures. But I believe we can regulate public policies in such a way to have more influence on how Europe looks." TALLINN, ESTONIA (APRIL 25, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF KALDALU LOOKING AT PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) 20-YEAR-OLD CO-FOUNDER OF STARTUP BOXBOX, KEVIN KALDALU, SAYING: "Speaking about Estonia, maybe our voice is not heard as much. Even though we've probably proven ourselves quite a bit with the smart systems that we have in place and the tech integrations and the upkeep as well. But maybe there's even countries that could take a note of us and we could help out when it comes to uniting the whole European Union with tech." WARSAW, POLAND (APRIL 27, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SKYLINE AT SUNSET
  • Embargoed: 13th May 2024 10:32
  • Keywords: 20 years in EU Central Europe Czech Republic Eastern Europe Estonia Poland farmer politician start-up entrepreneur student
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: European Union,Government/Politics,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001838127042024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: FOR SEPARATE STORY ON 20 YEARS AFTER JOINING EU IN HUNGARY SEE EDIT:
    8382-EU-ANNIVERSARY/CEE-PORTRAITS-HUNGARY
    Born some 20 years ago as their countries joined the European Union, a cohort of young adults has grown up with rights and freedoms as citizens of the bloc that their parents never knew.
    As a swathe of central and eastern European countries mark the anniversary of their joining on May 1, 2004, young Czechs, Poles and Estonians reflect on the EU's impact on their lives and their vision for its future.
    For the first time, this generation can vote in European elections, to be held between June 6 and 9. While they face a political landscape vastly changed from the communist days of their parents, opportunities are mixed with frustrations.
    The far right is expected to make big gains in all corners of the continent and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has brought war to their doorstep.
    Damian Krajza, 19, is a farmer and local politician in the northeastern Polish town of Luka. "We have only seen one way of life... we have access to everything, it is easier for us to develop, easier to act - thanks to the European Union among other things," he said.
    But Krajza feels that eastern Europe is treated differently by Brussels, without as strong a say. EU environment policies will harm Poland's economy, he believes - one of his motivations for entering local politics.
    As states like Poland reduce coal mining he believes developing countries will boost production to meet an energy-hungry global market. "We will destroy the economy, our economy, our industry, our heavy industry and agriculture in favor of pseudo-ecology."
    Meanwhile, in the capital Warsaw, 19-year-old student and local council member Julia Klimkiewicz embraces the opportunities she says the EU has offered her, including the ability to travel freely and participate in exchange programs.
    But she also cautions against blind enthusiasm for the EU, calling instead for critical engagement with its policies. She sees the need for a strengthened European army, particularly in light of the Ukraine war.
    In Prague, 20-year-old student Rozalie Vorlova said she feared if the Czech Republic ever left the EU it could be vulnerable to Russian influence.
    In Estonia, a country once part of the Soviet Union and today recognized for its vibrant business startup scene, the 20-year-old co-founder of storage startup BoxBox, Kevin Kaldalu, welcomed the grants available from the EU.
    He also highlighted the benefits of free trade within the bloc.
    "We don't really see like, borders... We do see the EU as a whole, a whole one place," he said.
    Krajza urged other young EU citizens to vote.
    "Young people can have an enormous influence on forming the EU's policy but they must be willing to, they must go to the voting booths in the upcoming elections and vote for the right candidates or even be candidates themselves."
    (Production: Kuba Stezycki, Kacper Pempel, Janis Laizans, Eva Korinkova, Malgorzata Wojtunik)
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