According to a 2022 Eurostat study Europe's population is aging. The median age has increased by 2.5 years since 2012. In 2022, it stood at 44.4 years, 0.3 years higher than in 2021.

As the European Year of Youth draws to a close and policymakers begin to look ahead to the 2024 EU elections, representatives are looking to increase young peoples’ participation in decision-making processes at both the national and regional levels.

"As president, I will do my best to convince young people to vote and always choose Europe, because Europe was there during the pandemic. Today Europe is there and I want Europe to still be there tomorrow," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in an interview with EURACTIV.

The President also believes that young people play a key role in shaping society. She wants the young to be able to decide the future of Europe.

According to 2018 data from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, four member states allow people over the age of 25 to run in national elections. Seven countries have established that 20-21 year olds can run for an EP seat, and another 16 countries have set the limit at 18.

The minimum age for voting in EU parliamentary elections is 18 in most member countries. The exceptions are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.

One must be at least 21 years old to vote in the aforementioned countries. In addition, in Romania the minimum age to vote in an EP election is 23, and in Italy and Greece it is 25.

The minimum age to vote in national elections is 18 in most member states. The exceptions are Austria and Malta, where the minimum age is 16, and Greece, 17.

Age limits are low, yet most national parliaments have a high average age of members. A study done in 2022 shows that it is 49.5 years old. The number of young MPs is also low. The youngest MEP sitting in the European legislature is 24-year-old Kira Marie Peter-Hansen from Denmark.

Despite generally low age limits, there is a ‘de facto’ lack of participation of young people in EU policymaking. Hannah Vanbelle of the Brussels- based Agora citizens' political movement says the low participation of young members in parliaments "is not representative" of those in the younger generation.

"I'm convinced that parliaments should have an overrepresentation of young people, because many of the decisions being made are about their future," Vanbelle said at the Public Participation and Deliberative Democracy Festival.

The European Union's aging population is also influencing election campaigns and political priorities. In an interview with the Euractiv portal, Dubravka Šuica, vice president of the European Commission, said that improvements in public health and increased life expectancy should be celebrated.

The majority of the voters turning up at polls are older people. Their average age is about 44. This may create a propensity for skew towards older generations’ political interests.

The European Union encourages deliberative democracy. It is an alternative to political participation. It involves putting active debate and discussion by citizens at the heart of policymaking.

In 2022, an experiment was conducted on the said democracy. It was a conference on the future of Europe. During it, EU citizens were randomly selected to participate in policy discussions. However, several recommendations still need to be followed up. This is currently the subject of a procedure at the European Union level.

What do you think about such an alternative?

Sources: forsal.pl, euractiv.pl