Our Eye on the EU

Submitted by:

BlueLink 05-02-2026.

Joint work, an open conversation and learning opportunities aimed at the active and meaningful engagement of young people in European Union policies, and at strengthening the role of the media in this process. We are doing this as part of the European initiative “Our Eye on the EU”, in which BlueLink takes part as Bulgarian a partner organisation.

When European decisions feel distant and the media fail to explain them

In Bulgaria, as in many European countries, young people often perceive the European Union (EU) as something abstract and remote. They know that decisions are taken at European level, yet the language of policies is technocratic, and the link between European regulations and people’s everyday lives is rarely explained in a consistent and in-depth manner.

Media coverage of European issues is frequently fragmented, reactive and shaped by domestic political confrontation. This makes processes harder to understand, leads to oversimplified interpretations and leaves young citizens with the feeling that European decisions happen “somewhere else”, without real opportunities for participation or influence. And not only them.

Data from Eurobarometer and Eurostat show that young people increasingly receive information about social and political issues through social media, where context is often missing and disinformation spreads rapidly. At the same time, trust in traditional media remains low – a trend clearly visible in Bulgaria, which consistently ranks at the bottom of the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.

In its work with young journalists, students, activists and citizens over recent years, BlueLink has repeatedly encountered the feeling that European policies matter to young people, but are not properly explained; mass media are neeeded, but often fail to connect facts to real-life consequences. We have decided to address this.

A paralysing deficit

Since its establishment, BlueLink has worked at the intersection of journalism, public policy and civic participation, with a particular focus on digital communication. Across our publications, training activities and partnerships, one consistent pattern stands out: the lack of in-depth, verified and socially responsible information leads to apathy, distrust and a retreat from democratic participation. It also weakens civic action and engagement for positive change.

This conclusion is not unique to Bulgaria. Similar observations are shared by partner organisations from Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania and Hungary – EU Member States with different political and media contexts, yet facing comparable challenges: polarisation, weakened public-interest media and limited youth participation in decision-making processes. Together, this led us to the need for a shared European net in which young people from different countries are not merely an audience, but active participants – learning, analysing, creating content and taking part in a public conversation about Europe.

This approach is directly linked to BlueLink’s strategic approach – to connect knowledge with public action through quality journalism, analysis and citizen participation (see BlueLink’s mission and objectives). Within “Our Eye on the EU”, this mission is pursued through a series of interconnected activities that build skills, create community and turn complex European policies into accessible public issues.

Local Working Groups - the backbone

At the core of the initiative are the Local Working Groups – teams of young people in each participating country. They are not observers, but active participants at every stage of the work, from training activities to public events.

The Bulgarian Local Working Group, which BlueLink forms at the very beginning, brings together young people with an interest in journalism, public affairs, European issues and civic participation.

Participants in “Our Eye on the EU”:

learn how to read and better understand European policies;
analyse how these policies are reflected in the media;
work in international teams with peers from other countries;
produce journalistic and analytical content and video blogs;
present their findings to their peers and to wider audiences.

What happens and when?

The work begins in the first months of 2026, when BlueLink recruits participants for the Bulgarian Local Working Group and introduces them to the topics, objectives and methods of work. This is the stage at which individual interests begin to form a team, and the shared framework gradually fills with content.

In April 2026, the first international training takes place in Athens. It focuses on media literacy and journalistic skills – how to analyse sources, how to recognise manipulation and how complex social issues can be presented clearly and responsibly.

In May 2026, BlueLink hosts the second international training in Bulgaria, focusing on European policies and decision-making processes. Participants work with concrete examples, follow how policies are shaped at European level and explore how citizens can participate in an informed and well-argued way.

After the training phase, the core collaborative work begins and continues throughout 2026 and 2027. Each month, a different national youth working group leads the discussion on a current European topic, compares national perspectives, plans and carries out an analysis and publishes the results. Each group also records an episode of the “Our Eye on the EU” podcast. Through this process, European policies are placed “under the microscope” – not once, but consistently and in depth, across the participating countries.

In 2027, the results move beyond the online space. BlueLink organises public events in Bulgaria, where the conclusions drawn from the joint work are presented and discussed. In this way, the conversation about Europe returns to people and to the local context.

Partners and support

The “Our Eye on the EU” initiative is coordinated by Inter Alia (Greece) – a youth organisation developing initiatives in the fields of democratic participation, youth policy and civic innovation.

The joint work brings together partner organisations from eight European countries: