Dialogue - Page 33 of 39

Allegations of massive wire-tapping: are there any secrets left in Macedonia?

Dialogue , Op-ed
8 March, 2015

The Republic of Macedonia is a tiny country at the Eastern edge of Europe. In the process of transition from its socialist past to a democratic future, Macedonia seems to have lost its way, after the opposition leader Zaev alleged a massive prolonged wire-tapping of about 20,000 individuals by the Macedonian secret police. The opposition made public secretly recorded conversations of high-ranking politicians, of government officials, of journalists, and of the chief of the secret police. The opposition claims that the communications of at least six foreign diplomats were also kept under surveillance.

ISTANBUL Airport, where the party never ends

The crowd gathers at the pub with loud tecno music blasting from the loudspeakers for beers and spirits. In the top flor fenced terrace, that feels more like a slaves cage as it is packed with bodies, avid smokers puff their cigarettes in a heavy loaded air.

European demos in the making, through laughter and screams

Starting from the recent Tsipras – Rajoy war of words, on who sabotages whom at the Eurogroup and in electoral politics, I attempt to put together evidence that shows a major shift in European politics. Building also on an increasing number of satirical videos about European politics, and from my personal experience, I reach an anecdotal, not so scientific but most probably correct conclusion: We are getting a European demos, in which we all feel comfortable enough and are knowledgeable enough about each other to be able to make jokes, break the ice, get on each other’s nerves occasionally, but basically express what we increasingly realize that we are: a diverse, noisy, funny, stubborn, intrusive and generous section of humanity that one could call “the Europeans”.

The ECB enters a new era in monetary policy

The European Central Bank (ECB) is to start buying up sovereign bonds from 9 March. Its president, Mario Draghi, believes that the programme of unprecedented monetary stimulus in the Eurozone will succeed in stemming the threat of deflation in the region. Next week will see an enormous machinery set in motion for the purchase of public debt on a mass scale from the 19 countries in the monetary union. Known as quantitative easing (QE), this has now been renamed by the ECB as the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) and will consist of bond purchases up to €60bn per month.

Setting the ground for Eastern partnerships

The Fourth Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit to be held in Riga in May 2015 will mark an “opportunity to evaluate progress achieved in political association and economic integration” between the EU and the post-Soviet states of Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Georgia. According to this semester’s Latvian EU Presidency, the summit will send a “strong signal of long-term strategic support” to the EaP countries. There will be discussions about trade, mobility and energy. A declaration of Heads of State will be negotiated and published, probably reaffirming the EU’s commitment to a more adaptable and tailored-made EaP based on its current four priorities: democracy and good governance, economic integration, energy security and people-to-people contacts. That said, EU relations with Eastern Partnership countries are far from simple.

Emily Ratajkowski, more than a sexy girl

British actress and model, Emily Ratajkowski, it is more than a pretty face. Despite her quite hot photos from her instragram account, we have to say that she is more than what we see there. She was one of the contenders for the Oscar for Best Actress and also appeared in the videoclip Blurred Lines,…

The quarterlife crisis

We have all heard about the midlife crisis but, I hope I’m not alone here, I believe there is also a quarterlife crisis that might be hitting more people than we think. Maybe even you, reader, can see yourself, to a certain degree, stuck in this weird phase without even noticing it. You’re certainly not a kid but you don’t see yourself as a full adult either, so you’re trapped in a sort of limbo…

Who’s this?

Recent Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is back in set. British actor is now filming The Danish Girl, where he will play Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe, one of the first people in the world that went into a gender reassignment surgery. Before the shooting film, Redmayne decided to do a little bit of research and didn’t hesitate…

Russia at a crossroads

One can only hope that Boris Nemtsov’s death, the protests, investigation and soul-searching that will follow it, will prove a turning point towards a more transparent, tolerant and democratic Russia. The country needs a new start. Let’s see if President Putin can change course and steer such a positive transition.

Urgent need for better irregular migration policy in Europe

Dialogue , Op-ed , EU
1 March, 2015

By Tristan du Puy “Europe needs to manage migration better.” This statement was made on 19 February 2015 by EU Commissioner Avramopoulos, in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, and is spot-on. Europe’s irregular immigration and asylum policies are failing on several fronts. Although one could argue that these questions remain a part of national policies, it should also be stated that the chaotic organization at the European level only brings inefficiency on migration issues. The current situation does not afford the luxury for EU member states to go on quarreling on the righteousness of managing irregular migration at the EU level.