Par Viktor Sukup
Depuis 1990, les relations commerciales entre l’Europe et l’Amérique Latine et les Caraïbes ont connu d’abord un recul relatif très important, puis, à partir du tournant du siècle, leur part s’est stabilisée sur un niveau modeste, entre 10 et 15% du commerce extérieur total de la région.
By Christos Mouzeviris
Various Euro-enthusiasts hold the belief that Europe should have a common language. And for some federalism activists, “Esperanto” is ideal to be the future language of a united Europe. Yet in a continent in deep economic and political crisis, plagued by an ever increasing euro-scepticism, how could any leader convince the voters to take such a step?
By Yanni Gigourtsis
A few hours separate us from perhaps the most critical elections in Turkey since the establishment of the multiparty parliamentary system in the late 1940s. Once again, as in the last 15 years, the protagonist in this year’s election–as it should not, at first reading – is the country’s President and, for many years, Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the 7 June elections, however, the stakes are higher for the political future of the Turkish President. It is the future of the country and the course it will take in the coming decades that will be decided. Let me explain.
By Esra Taskiran
Imagine a party consecutively winning the last nine local and general elections since 2002. Imagine a feat that commands the attention of the entire world so as to become doctoral and master’s theses at numerous international universities. Without a doubt, this power originates from a strong reasoning, which is hidden in the recent history of Turkey.
Amidst growing criticism from civil society and academics on the adoption and focus of the EU budget, the European Commission proposed last week an annual budget of €143.5 billion for 2016, only 1.6% larger than in 2015, “to support the recovery of the European economy and help improve lives in Europe and beyond.” The budget amounts to no more than 1% of EU’s collective GDP, but has been scrutinized ever since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community in the 1950s.
By Deniz Torcu
On Sunday, 7 June, Turkey will go to the ballot box to elect 550 members of its Grand National Assembly. This will be the 24th general election in the Republic of Turkey and, surely, one of the most important in the country’s history. While it is likely that the current Islamist ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), will be the winner of the elections, the margin with which they win will be the big question.
By Mario Saavedra
At different times in history it has been Athens, Venice and Milan. Today it’s São Paulo, Shanghai, Istanbul and Barcelona: large cities that sign international diplomatic agreements directly with other governments, either local or national, without necessarily going through their capital city. Mayors or governors have thus become the new diplomats.
By Deniz Torcu
For many people, seeing the president of a democratic republic, who is obliged to be “non-partisan” according to his country’s constitution, publicly bashing the main political opposition parties in government while waving a religious text in his hand is something that comes as a shock and is difficult to comprehend. For Turkish citizens, this is a regular day.
As a reaction to the austerity imposed on Portugal, a new political movement gave birth to a new political party, the poppy-branded LIVRE. Founded in March 2014 by former Left Bloc MEP Rui Tavares, LIVRE has already participated in the last European Parliament elections (May 2014), albeit unsuccessfully, registering only 2,18% of the votes. Anti-austerity and pro-European, this leftist party is politically and ideologically in line with the Spanish Podemos and the Greek Syriza.
