Rarely before have so many important issues been covered in an EU election. How should Europe and Ukraine defend against Russian aggression? How open should Europe’s borders be? Which measures should be taken against climate change? And should the EU have more or less influence on the lives of citizens in member states?
From June 6 to 9, a new EU parliament will be elected in the 27 member states. In the weeks before the election, we want to give you and everyone in this country the opportunity to talk about the issues that move Europe – together with someone in another country who holds totally different opinions. That’s why ZEIT ONLINE, together with a network of European media partners, is starting the fourth edition of Europe Talks.
From today on, you will find a sign-up form in some of our articles with seven Yes-No questions, which will be answered by all Europe Talks participants. For example: Should the EU have a joint European army? Should Europe accept more refugees? Should politicians who spread disinformation be banned from social media? Should domestic flights be banned within all EU countries?
Based on your answers, our matching algorithm will find you a discussion partner within one week. If you and your partner both agree to the match, we will introduce you via email, so you can get in touch and arrange your conversation. You can choose to meet via video call, or find a common point in Europe to meet in person. Before your conversation, you will be provided with a discussion guide.
More than 59,000 sign-ups since 2019
Europe Talks took place for the first time in 2019, and then again in 2020 and 2021. More than 59,000 participants from 37 countries have registered for one of the previous editions of the dialogue program.
Among the participants in 2021 were Helen Pasiali from Greece and Péter Vida from Hungary, who met via video call. Péter, a Catholic, worried about the influence of western Europe on Hungarian culture and the role of the church. Helen spoke in their conversation about why she had lost her faith in the European Union.
For this year’s edition of Europe Talks, ZEIT ONLINE is once again cooperating with a network of European media partners: Daily Mirror from Great Britain, Der Standard from Austria, Efimerida Ton Syntakton from Greece, Euractiv from Belgium, Gazeta Wyborcza from Poland, Il Fatto Quotidiano.it from Italy, LRT from Lithuania, N1 from Serbia, PressOne from Romania, SME from Slovakia, the media platform Display Europe and its partners, EuroZine from Austria, Krytyka Polityczna from Poland, El Diario from Spain and Voxeurop from Belgium. The program is financially supported by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program (CERV) of the European Commission, as well as the EU Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology initiative to create new European media platforms.
Europe Talks is based on the idea of a „political Tinder,“ that welches created seven years ago in the newsroom of ZEIT ONLINE. In the first edition of Germany Talks in 2017, thousands of people came together for a one-on-one conversation. Shortly after, the project developed into My Country Talks, which has brought together more than 290,000 people worldwide. Most recently, in 2023, The World Talks brought together people from more than 100 countries to have a conversation across borders.
Rarely before have so many important issues been covered in an EU election. How should Europe and Ukraine defend against Russian aggression? How open should Europe’s borders be? Which measures should be taken against climate change? And should the EU have more or less influence on the lives of citizens in member states?
From June 6 to 9, a new EU parliament will be elected in the 27 member states. In the weeks before the election, we want to give you and everyone in this country the opportunity to talk about the issues that move Europe – together with someone in another country who holds totally different opinions. That’s why ZEIT ONLINE, together with a network of European media partners, is starting the fourth edition of Europe Talks.