BRUSSELS.- The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), asked for the help of the American singer Taylor Swift to increase the number of young voters registered in the bloc, as he did in his country.
Swift has a concert scheduled in Paris, in May, as part of its stellar tour Eras Tourjust a month before the elections scheduled throughout the bloc to renew the European Parliament.
The EU’s hope is that Swift will use her influence with young people to mobilize them to participate in the elections.
Margaritis Schinas, vice president of the Commission, said this Wednesday that: “no one mobilizes youth as well as young people,” alluding to the call that Swift made last September in the United States for young people in the North American country to register to vote.
The day after that call, 35,000 young voters registered to vote, Schinas recalled, stating that he “hopes she will do the same with young Europeans” during her performance in Paris in May.
“I am hopeful that someone from your press team is following this conference and relaying this request to you,” he added.
Taylor Swift influence
Schinas said youth participation in the European elections scheduled for June 6-9 was crucial. Looking ahead to these elections, the first polls suggest a strengthening of the extreme right as a third force.
“Young people in the European Union are those who most enjoy our open and democratic societies, opportunities in education and training (…), mobility and our open borders,” Schinas said.
In the 2019 European elections, 42% of voters under 25 years old who were eligible to vote participated. In the population segment between 25 and 29 years old, this percentage increased to 47%.
Source: AFP
