Editorials - Page 18 of 21

GM crops in Europe: divide and conquer

By Manuel Ruiz Rico

On 13 January, by a large majority, the European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted a regulation that had little impact but which is bound to change the whole picture of GM crops in Europe. The House gave the green light to Member States, empowering them individually to approve or ban the cultivation of GM crops in their national territories, rather than this being decided by the EU. Across the breadth of Europe, due to the broad social rejection of these crops, GM is virtually banned. But everything could change from now on.

More democracy, not technocracy, Mr. Draghi

By Clément Fontan

On 16 March 2015, ECB chairman Mario Draghi delivered a speech at the Süddeutsche Zeitung Finance Day. Eurozone economic governance reforms were the topic of the day. The structural reforms proposed by Mr. Draghi are ideologically loaded and the creation of new institutions might worsen the democratic troubles in Europe rather than solve them. The ECB and other EU institutions have already been exploiting the financial crisis as an opportunity to implement structural reforms in a coercive manner for more than four years. The results have been worrying, to say the least.

Josep Borell: “Maybe we have saved the euro, but at the price of damaging the idea of Europe.”

By Driss Ouazzani

Josep Borell, a Spanish politician of the Worker´s Socialist Party (PSOE), was President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007. Here he speaks from his heart on a range of issues that concern Europe, from the financial crisis and euroskepticism to fiscal evasion and TTIP, with special references to Spain and the European South.

A conversation with Shlomo Ben-Ami; on Israel, Palestine and beyond

Shlomo Ben-Ami is an old hand in Israeli and international politics. He has been Minister of Internal Security and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, and now serves as Vice President of the Toledo International Center for Peace in Madrid. This is a summary of a 30-minute discussion with him following the 17 March 2015 Israeli election. He talks about Mr. Netanyahu’s reelection, the state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and possible steps by the international community to move things forward under the current circumstances.

A European army? But first a Defence Union

By Andrés Ortega Klein

Jean-Claude Juncker can sometimes be very daring. But words count, and should be used with precision. Speaking to a German newspaper, the President of the European Commission has called for a ‘European army’ to help cope with the challenge posed by Russia, to defend European ‘values’ and for the EU to take up its ‘responsibility in the world’ and be able ‘to react to a threat to peace in a Member State or neighbour’. He even said that ‘it would have been useful during the crisis in Ukraine’. But how?

Journalists’ investigation counts fatalities at Europe’s borders

Thousands of migrants die every year trying to cross into Europe. But exactly how many?

A consortium of over ten journalists managed to answer this question by joining efforts in a pan-European project that tracks the deaths of migrants seeking refuge in Europe. From January 2000, over 28,000 people have died trying to cross into Europe. Their locations vary from detention centers to territories and seas. The ongoing project shows that, so far, the highest number of people dies on Libyan land and coasts and in the seas of Western Sahara. The deadliest route is crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya into Italy.

A blogger’s dream come true: Europe to form its own army

Europe’s security, just like its economy, should be integrated for greater efficiency and impact. United, Europe’s defence mechanism could deter any potential outside threat. The idea is not to merge all national armies or replace them by a pan-European one, rather to create a force that will complement and assist them in case of emergency. Hopefully Mr. Juncker’s call will find strong support from the majority of EU members. We should not wait for a crisis to come to our door to try to tackle such important issues under duress. Now is the time to lay the foundations for the future continent that we would like our children to live in.

The time has come for European Energy Security and European Defence Union

The implementation of European Energy Security should become an imperative priority of the EU member states in order to reduce their dependence on Russian gas and secure alternative energy sources. In parallel, European Energy Security should be related to an effective Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), as the protection of critical energy infrastructures is vital for the undisrupted flow of gas and oil.

DEBATE: Should we arm Ukraine or not?

As violence continues in Ukraine, following the agreements reached in Minsk II, the debate now focusses on the West’s support for Kiev, with the shipment of arms – or not – to the Ukrainian government. Esglobal asked experts for and against arming the country and each has defended their position with different arguments.

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.