Europe Day was celebrated in Cagliari, at the Manifattura Tabacchi, which saw the participation of over 400 students from various areas of the island. An event aimed at creating a moment of confrontation with the new generations and to which Brussels dedicates particular attention.

“I try to bring young people a little piece of Europe - said Massimo Temussi , managing authority of the POR FESR Sardinia - Regional Programming Center -, because most of your opportunities pass from days like this. We would need many more events like these to make it clear what European funds are for. It is important to underline that we are talking above all about opportunities and not problems ".

The amount of the next European Regional Development Fund being analyzed by the European Commission will be 1 billion and 540 million: "Faced with a request for 16 million jobs, at 31 December 2021 we closed with 1.2 million of job offers that are not answered in the European Union ”, added Temussi underlining:“ It is not true that there is no job, the opportunities are there and we must seize them. Many open opportunities, for example, relate to artificial intelligence and robotics. It is no coincidence that the EU has included the digital transition as one of its main objectives because digital has upset the paradigms of the labor market. Italy is currently last in the development of the necessary professional skills; at the moment, in the European context, it is Finland, which has understood first of all what the necessary skills are. We are talking about degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We have an incredible demand for these professionals, about 60% of Italian and European companies ask for this. Try to be curious - he concluded addressing the students - and to understand why Europe is asking for these skills ”.

Also present at the meeting was Willybrordus Sluijters (Head of Unit DG Regional and Urban Policy - European Commission), who, speaking of the spending of European funds, specified: “It is not just an Italian problem. We work with precise deadlines: every seven years you have to spend the money available . Also this time we will be able to spend the funds foreseen for 14-20. 21-27 will be more important because we will have a lot more money to use. There is a positive side: if we have more money to spend in Sardinia, there will be more opportunities for all of you. The green transition is much more important than it was yesterday: we cannot, like Europe, emit CO2 as we were authorized to do. - he warned -, energy must be used more efficiently. But even in the light of the most recent events, we need to reduce our dependence on fossils and therefore develop renewable energies. Sardinia is a fertile ground for this ".