The European Young Leaders ‘40 under 40’ programme by EuropaNova and Friends of Europe engages forty of the European Union’s brightest young minds in order to create a new generation of opinion leaders promoting a European identity. Among the many challenges that Europe faces, the absence of a collective vision presents one of the principal obstacles to an effective and sustainable system of governance, as well as stable and harmonious societies. The Young Leaders will be asked to reflect upon the major problems confronting Europe and to generate innovative ideas that can provide lasting solutions. They will become ambassadors for a new vision, one which can counter the re-emergence of nationalist tendencies and provide inspiration for a European renewal.Each year, forty young leadersfrom diverse professional and cultural backgrounds and various European nationalities are carefully selected to take part in a series of bi-annual 3-day meetings.The first seminar took place in Paris in December 2011 with a follow-up meeting taking place in Brussels on 7-9 June to clarify ways of putting these ideas into practice. Key messages from the first European Young Leaders seminar in Paris are: think European but work trans-nationally, re-engage with European citizens yet look beyond Europe’s borders. While a plethora of ideas were thrown up there was a sense that European integration and cooperation has reached its limits and needs a major overhaul, with six priority areas for the ‘40 under 40’ contained in our report.To consult the full programme of the three-day event covering various topics, please visit our website (see link to the right).