Dialogue - Page 24 of 41

Catalonia: a new state in Europe, for the benefit of all

By Oriol Martínez

The Catalonian process towards independence has come of age with the elections this Sunday. Given Madrid’s repeated prohibition over agreeing to a referendum, and even though these are official elections for the Catalonian parliament, they have been interpreted as a de facto plebiscite by a majority of players: the seven parties with a right to representation, the media, political circles in Madrid, and the international press.

Independence against Europe

By Juan Milián Querol

Feelings can be respected but not lies or manipulating reality. The spectre of populism has swept across Europe over these years of economic crisis, adapting in each region to its particular cultural background in order to identify an enemy and promise its own particular paradise. In some countries populism blames the European Union itself for all its ills; in others, immigrants; and in others, the southern regions. Some of that is happening now in Catalonia, where independence-based populism has kidnapped classic Catalanism (regenerationist, but not separatist) to make social suffering its electoral business.

A “German Life” for All, Refugees and Europeans Alike

The refugee crisis is holding up a mirror to the European Union which reflects a troubling image— an image that cannot be talked away by morality rhetoric. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” famously claimed the Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke.

Could the “Paris-Berlin Axis” fall apart?

The Greek crisis has considerably widened the gap between the EU Member States and this is likely to continue. As was stressed after the bitter “commitment” on the morning of 13 July, only France and Italy, as well as Cyprus, strove to “save Greece”, preventing the “Grexit” which Germany and others, possibly fed up with endless European summits, more or less openly encouraged. The cracks are not, therefore, only “north-south” or “east-west”, but also dangerously affect the fundamental basis of the EU itself.

A five-point plan for dealing with the refugee crisis: there are no small solutions to big problems

Europe and Germany cannot be an island of contentment, because cross-border crises do not simply disappear by building walls, looking away and failing to act.

Les producteurs de lait manifestent à Bruxelles

Ce lundi (7/09) les producteurs de lait étaient en colère et l’ont clairement démontré dans le quartier européen, à Bruxelles. Au même moment les ministres de l’Agriculture se réunissaient en conseil extraordinaire pour décider du futur de la production laitière européenne. Selon Véronique Lefolch, présidente de l’Organisation des Producteurs Laitiers, section laitière de la Coordination Rurale, vu les profits des industriels, le lait pourrait arriver quasiment gratuitement dans les supermarchés.

The EU’s failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Are we in time to put things right?

Pending , Dialogue , Op-ed
6 September, 2015

By Alicia Cebada Romero

The European Union (EU) has got it wrong in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and in the face of evidence that the police and the army continue to commit serious abuses and violations of human rights, it has decided to radically change its involvement to now implement reform of the country’s security sector.

The need to protect refugee children arriving alone in the EU

Pending , Dialogue , Op-ed
6 September, 2015

By Raquel Prado

We are currently witnessing a massive influx into the EU of people fleeing from conflicts going on mainly in Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Ukraine. This crisis is testing out the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) as a whole (if not putting it in a tight spot), and in particular the Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof.

How to address Europe’s refugee crisis

By António Guterres

The European Union is preparing key emergency meetings to take decisions in its response to the present refugee and migration crisis. The situation requires a massive common effort that is not possible with the current fragmented approach….

Europe is facing a moment of truth. This is the time to reaffirm the values upon which it was built.

Europe’s migrant crisis: in need of an immediate and united response

By Christos Mouzeviris

For the past few weeks we have witnessed an unprecedented humanitarian crisis overwhelming Europe. Thousands of refugees are arriving wave upon wave on European shores in the Mediterranean. People fleeing from war torn regions, mainly from the Middle East, are trying to find shelter in rich European nations. For these migrants, it is either flee or die. Their sheer numbers are challenging our continent’s ability to respond, plus it poses a hot topic for a debate.