Well, it is what it is. Kristina, the child model considered to be the most beautiful girl in the world, was not able to do the catwalk at the 080 Barcelona fashion show due to bureaucratic errors. Kristina watched the fashion show from the front row of the runway. Nevertheless, the little Russian girl did…
The EU central institutions seem to be stuck to what 19th Century Europe identified as “mission civilisatrice”, fuelled by an underlying sense of self-righteousness and superiority vis-à-vis others, while individual member states continue to pursue their narrow but concrete geopolitical and economic interests, which go in different directions. It should come as no surprise that EU members are steadily losing ground on the charts of state power and influence in the world, overtaken by more dynamic, emerging powers. Of course, with its ambition, innovation and flexibility the US remains steadily at the top, as would the EU as a whole, should it become really united.
I had the chance to spend my Erasmus in Belgium and Germany, one semester in each country. This was due to the fact I was doing French and German at university. The experience itself was definitely invaluable and both locations proved to be quite different for many reasons, however equally enriching.
The high drama that is unfolding following the coming to power in Greece of a new government led by left-wing SYRIZA, and similar trends in Spain with the most recent massive show of force by Podemos at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, signal a new era in European and possibly global politics. This is no passing phenomenon but rather an inevitable result of the unsustainability of the existing financial system and the way it is managed in the European context and beyond. This sort of “European Spring”, thankfully not bloody nor as chaotic as its Arab counterpart, can bring good and bad things, depending on how it will be handled by the main protagonists, including the Greeks themselves but also the Germans, other EU nations, and the EU and Eurozone institutions…
Where can you spend the day digging into one of the most sordid episodes of communism -the tragic end of Nicolae Ceaușescu- watching contemporary art …
The EU has decided to raise public awareness of its development work, by labeling 2015 as the European Year of Development. The Year was inaugurated on 9 January in Riga, Latvia, by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker.
In this first “letter from America” I make a series of critical comparisons between New York and Brussels in an attempt to distil the best of both worlds, and hopefully infuse what is missing from one to the other. For Europe, which is the focus of this publication, this would mean less parochialism and more ambition for the future at individual and collective levels; more client orientation and more flexibility in employment conditions, while keeping an overall guaranteed social safety net that is the jewel of the “European model”; more openness to other cultures and influences, notably those from other EU countries but also beyond; much more openness towards and investment in new ideas, innovation and creativity; and an overall more optimistic attitude and can-do spirit…
Erasmus and student mobility across borders is not only the prospect of higher employability, meeting people from all over the globe or learning a new language. It is also the chance to meet your future partner! 27% of Erasmus alumni met their life partner during their stay abroad. Erasmus couples have produced nearly 1 million new babies since its implementation in 1987.
Every time a Greek, Spanish, French, or other European politician says: “this matter no longer depends on me, it’s Brussels”, what s/he is really telling his/her people is that “national politics has become irrelevant, you can vote for whoever you want, it does not make any difference, decisions are made elsewhere”. And yet, so far, true European politics has not come into existence to make up for that loss. It is a broadly held view that the process of European integration inevitably involves a progressive transfer of sovereignty from the national sphere to central institutions. In the course of EU history this question occupied a central place in the negotiation of the various treaties. Each transfer of such an abstract matter, as sovereignty, was painfully measured, negotiated and eventually incorporated into the treaties and daily practice.
So far the responses have been divided. France, the country most exposed to Greece’s debt due to its heavy bank and private lending, welcomed Syriza’s win. François Hollande vowed cooperation with the newly-formed Greek government, recalling “the friendship that unites” the two countries. But Germany’s Angela Merkel was more straightforward. Her spokesman said that Greece should continue to economic recovery and stick “to its previous commitments”. The European Popular Party leader, Manfred Weber, followed the same course, calling Tsipras electoral promises “empty”.
Radical parties across Europe widely welcome Greece’s electoral results. Left wing radical parties in the European Union congratulated Syriza’s Tsipras, with Spain’s Podemos welcoming the “real Greek president, not a delegate of Angela Merkel”.
