WRITTEN QUESTION E-1467/01

by Guido Podestà (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 May 2001)

Subject: Alienation among the young an example in Italy

The case of a double murder committed in Novi Ligure by an adolescent who killed his mother and young brother has provoked shock and dismay. It happened in an apparently normal family, of a high cultural, social and economic level, where care for the children seems to have taken priority over the parents' professional ambitions.

What is even more disturbing is the fact that this is not an isolated case. Such events raise questions about the feeling of alienation increasingly affecting some teenagers which, as in this case, can lead to unheard-of violence, regardless of the socio-economic background.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted in Nice refers to respect for family life, in particular stressing the safeguarding of children's rights, but perhaps ignoring the problems of adolescents.

Can the Commission say:

- whether it does not think that these events make it essential to launch a thorough investigation, in all the Member States, to uncover, at last, the situations of conflict which can exist in families;

- whether it considers it appropriate to encourage further research into the causes of conflict (parents' expectations of their children differing from the children's own desires, excessively strict educational standards, sometimes repressive social values, etc.);

- how it intends to help young people to deal with the large number of often contradictory messages they receive;

- how it intends to make it possible to pay more attention to these feelings of alienation, especially in their early stages;

- whether it considers that it should take action with regard to information policy to prevent a morbid interest in such events from helping to make them more common because of a chain reaction?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(2 July 2001)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's fears in the light of the tragedy in Novi Ligure.

The Commission is planning to take an initiative by the end of the year in the area of youth. This initiative will take the form of a White Paper on a new system of co-operation between Member States' youth policies.

In order to draw up its proposals, the Commission has held extensive talks over a period of one year with young people themselves, civil society organisations involved in this field, researchers and ministries in the Member States. The European Parliament has been involved in this consultation and has itself organised a hearing on this subject.

The proposals will relate to all factors which condition the lives of young people in society: their involvement in public life, formal and non-formal education, employment, initiative, etc. The well-being of young people, and for some of them the lack of it, is an issue of particular concern to the Commission.

In the light of the above, the Commission also intends to propose new studies, research and information measures. It is essential that we gain a better understanding of how the profound changes in the social, economic and cultural environment affect young people's daily lives and how they respond to this and what impact it has on their attitudes to a variety of institutions, such as the family.