Young see EU as boon for travel but remote

Young people see the European Union as a boon for travel and studies, but many feel alienated from a body they see as remote and slanted towards the rich.

Those are some of the findings of a survey of youth attitudes conducted by Reuters correspondents in seven of the 27 EU member states as the bloc prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome on March 25.

"It is now possible to move from one country to another without a passport and, thanks to the euro, without having to change currency," said Lara Demori, an 18-year-old Rome high school student.

"I like being able to head off to Paris in my car without anybody stopping me, as if I were just going to Rome," said Francesco Mancin, a 22-year-old Italian student in Milan.

Open borders and a convenient shared currency were the most frequently cited benefits of European integration in this unscientific random sampling of views in Italy, Greece, France, Britain, Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands.

"The only plus for the EU is that the borders are open to other countries," said Richards Sauenbergs, 18, a soccer referee in Baltic newcomer Latvia, which joined the bloc in 2004.

"But in other cases, I don't care about it at all. It's only politicians arguing about small things that have nothing to do with Latvia," he said.

But Nica Renoult, 18, an Amsterdam shop assistant, blamed the euro which she said "has made everything twice as expensive" - a frequent complaint despite official statistics showing the 2002 currency switch had only a slight impact on inflation - and said she did not want Turkey to join.

For Anita Ramirez, a 19-year-old Frenchwoman studying art, the EU-funded Erasmus university exchange programme has provided a tangible benefit of EU citizenship.

"I'm an Erasmus student so Europe works for me. It's great because we can study and work abroad and it's not something that our parents could necessarily do," she said.

But many young people say they are indifferent or suspicious towards an institution seen as out of touch with their lives and governing them from abroad.

"Europe is something pretty abstract and quite hazy," said Esther Dervieux, 22, a French art student.

"I have the impression that the politicians in Brussels don't have anything to do with me. It is all very distant from my everyday concerns," she said.

"It's impossible to feel part of something if all the decisions are made by politicians who sit in Brussels and don't know anything about Latvia," said Julia Novitca, 23, of Riga.

And a handful were downright hostile to the EU. "I can't stand it. Especially Brussels - that really pisses me off," said Tim Bates, a 21-year-old London factory worker angry at EU "red tape", such as rules that bar some British confectionery with a low cocoa content from being marketed as "chocolate".

"It's about losing our identity, especially if we join the euro," he said. "It's hard enough... finding out what it means to be British today. We could lose the Queen and our money."

Another frequent comment was that the EU favours the rich. "It's a nice idea to be an EU citizen but I think the EU just benefits the rich and those that have knowledge about it and the various opportunities," said Sharon-Rose Memsah, 20, a law student from London.

"I don't like Europe as it is set up today. The social aspect is completely ignored," said Pierre Delerue, 21, who works for an advertising agency in France, which voted against a draft EU constitution in a 2005.

"I hope that after the 'No' vote in the referendum, things will change in that respect, but I'm not very optimistic."

A common theme is that many youngsters believe EU membership has forced their own country to improve its standards.

"Poland has significantly benefited from EU entry. We are now perceived as a more open and predictable country," said Agnieszka Urbaniak, 24, a Warsaw University student.

"Even if there is turmoil in this country's politics, we are now part of a stable structure," she said.

Greek and Italian respondents said Brussels had had helped modernise their countries.

"The EU has been very good for us Greeks," said Violeta Sinkiridou, 25, a café worker in Athens.

"It sets rules and standards that we, as Greeks, cannot set for ourselves because we do not have the discipline."

Luca Basili, a 19-year-old student in Rome, reflected: "Politically in Italy we have progressed by being in the Union. We are tackling religious and social issues to become more like other European nations, whereas the Italian mentality used to be more closed and backwards - more Catholic, if you like."