12th June
Today we started the last phase of the “Europe for citizens” project in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. We started the day by quickly introducing ourselves. Then we had short summaries of the previous three parts of this project. During this time, we had very fruitful discussions where we shared experiences about democracy and corruption in all four countries.
Then we had a coffee break during which we had time to talk and get to know each other. After that we were presented the results of the Spanish questionnaire analyse. This was very interesting for us because we learnt a lot of new things, like for example it was interesting to hear that even though Spain is part of EU for long period of time, people are not very aware of the benefits they have from the union.
And as we come from different backgrounds, it was nice to compare the situations in all four countries regarding economics, politics, changes, transparency etc. The interesting thing was that these conversations went on even during the lunch break where we also had time to learn about each other’s cultures.
And it was nice to have the opportunity to experience the Spanish siesta time which is a new thing for us, as Macedonians. We continued the day with a quick energizer and then we had a discussion about Euroscepticism and participation in democracy.
And at the end of the day we had a workshop. We were divided in groups and we were discussing among each other about the losses and benefit of being part of the EU, as well as about the rights of the EU citizens. For us it was new to hear that they have many institutions that help them even if they are in another country. Like for example if their rights are violated in another EU country they can address to EU ombudsman and they will help you. Another interesting thing was that even during the dinner time we continues talking on these topics and we got closer by sharing experiences and learning about each other’s cultures, so this is definitely an experience we will never forget.
