"Europe is you, participate!"

We live in the European Union, we are familiar with the names of institutions such as the European Parliament or the Council, we know that what is decided there is important, but... do we really know how it affects us in our daily lives? Our former student Diego Quintanilla Campos responded to these and other questions this morning during the talk he offered this morning to the 4th year of ESO and 1st year of Baccalaureate students. Diego, who works in the European Parliament, returned to the College as part of the European 'Back to School' programme, which allows EU workers to return to their former study centers to share their experience and introduce young people to the work carried out in the European institutions.

The meeting was very enjoyable and aroused great interest among the students. Diego explained to them what his work entails, providing support to parliamentarians in their legislative work from the human resources department of the European Parliament Research Service, providing them with independent studies, analysis, data and all types of material that helps them in the process. decision making. From a work point of view, Quintanilla insisted to the young people on the importance of knowing languages, a concern that has always accompanied him since his time at School. 

As an introduction to the talk, he reminded the young people of the evolution of the EU from the seed that was the European Coal and Steel Community created in 1952 by six countries to the current political and economic union of 27 member states. Along the way, he mentioned the main milestones of this evolution, such as the launch of the Common Market (EEC), the accession of Spain in 1986, the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992, the Treaty of Lisbon of 2009, the approved Next Generation funds to relaunch the economy of the member countries after the pandemic, etc.

He also told them how the EU works through the interaction of three main institutions, the Commission, which makes legislative proposals, and the Council and the European Parliament, which must approve them. According to him, between 70 and 80% of the laws that govern the countries of the Union originate in Brussels. Therefore, he encouraged them to be proactive and get involved in the programs and initiatives coming from Europe. "Europe is you, go vote, get informed, participate!" read one of the messages he wanted to send to young people. "You set the path, what matters are the skills and the desire to learn," he added.

"What can the EU do for me?" was another of the questions asked by Diego, to which he responded by giving close examples of initiatives carried out in Asturias with European support. Furthermore, to illustrate the way in which the EU influences everyday life, Diego brought several students on stage and made them reflect on different practical examples, such as Interrail travel, the absence of borders between countries, the currency unique, etc.

After a lively round of questions and answers, in which topics such as Artificial Intelligence, energy or cybersecurity, among others, were addressed, Diego still had time to chat more calmly with a group of 1st year Baccalaureate students, mostly part of the Diploma Programme, with whom he reflected on the role that the EU plays in the international context and the importance of young people getting involved and taking advantage of all the possibilities that Spain's membership in this great community offers them.

Diego's visit coincides with a very special course for the School from a European point of view, since it has been selected as one of the new ambassador schools of the European Parliament. Within this initiative, our center is already finalizing a rich program of activities that will take center stage soon.