Editorials - Page 18 of 20

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.

Fear in Ukraine’s Besarabia

by Marcos Suárez Sipmann.

Ukraine and Europe have managed to evade a widespread war. The peace agreement reached in extremis by the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine is a fragile hope. No-one knows whether the fighting will stop in the eastern regions, Donetsk and Lugansk, and many inhabitants of Budjak, Ukrainian Bessarabia, fear that violence will spread to their región. Bessarabia is a south-eastern region of Eastern Europe. To get an idea of the unrest that has shaken up this territory, only one fact need be remembered: in the last 200 years this area, bounded to the north and east by Ukraine and to the south and west by Rumania, has passed through the hands of nine different states.

ISIS ante portas, and behind…

The recent beheading of Egyptian Copts working in Libya by ISIS and the subsequent air bombardment by the Egyptian air force of ISIS installations in Libya show how close the war and ISIS have come to Europe. If Syria and Iraq are considered still far from the EU heartland, Libya is only a few hundred nautical miles away from the coasts of Italy, Malta and Greece. This is too close for comfort. What can Europe do to address these emerging threats that are getting closer and closer to its soil? What it can certainly not afford to do is stay idle and wait. In this article I suggest a few measures that should at least be considered by the European leaders and the EU Institutions. One may think that such measures would move the EU closer to integration in defence and security matters, and that would probably be right, but that should not constitute a reason for panicking. On the contrary, one should start to worry about the future of a Europe facing determined enemies that stays fragmented and expects the US and others to do the heavy lifting for its security.

“Elections and democracy: one and the same thing?”

By Jasmina Dimitrieva

Are elections and democracy one and the same thing? Not only voters, but also elected officials sometimes confuse democracy with elections. Such mental attitude sees the internationally guaranteed right to public participation in decision-making reduced to elections. The inherent risk is that public participation in the formulation and implementation of public polices for common good, as enunciated in the constitutions of Europe, remains a philosophical concept, with the elections as a sole manifestation of democracy on the physical plan. While looking at the other side of the coin, it seems beyond imagination nowadays to have in place a democratic system of governance without first holding elections, and without a meaningful parliamentary opposition.

Modernizing Greece: which structural reforms?

Greece’s problem is not a lack of liberalization, deregulation and privatizations but rather the weakness of its public institutions, underpinned by a chronic revenue shortage. In effect, you may liberalize and deregulate as much as you want but this is not going to make things better for Greece. A progressive agenda aiming to cure the Greek malaise would have to address the competitiveness deficit, low productivity, an overextended and inefficient public sector, an unjust tax system and a couple more core challenges…

Interview with Yves Pascouau

“If you give people more opportunities to move, then you decrease the pressure on irregular migration”.
Yves Pascouau is Director of Migration and Mobility Policies at the European Policy Centre. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Pau in France and he worked extensively on migration management. Beside his current position at EPC, he is the editor of the online legal website European Migration Law www.europeanmigrationlaw.eu.

Five reasons why the European left opposes the TTIP

Since TTIP negotiations between the EU and the US began in February 2013, the treaty has become a subtle ideological indicator of the European Parliament, where criticism towards the ‘great coalition’ on all crucial EU-related issues – formed by the European People’s Party, the social democrats of the S&D and the liberals – has been a constant among left-wing parties, especially the European United Left and the Greens. This situation has left social democrats between a rock and a hard place: if they align themselves with the European People’s Party they will be reproached for being part of the so-called ‘coalition’; if they decide to approach the leftists, they will be labelled by the right, with whom they often ally, as nothing less than ‘irresponsible’ or ‘populist’. Seemingly, it’s all black and white when it comes to this issue.

Letters from America (II): Unite to thrive

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.

Letters from America (I): Where the sky is the limit

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…

Mixed responses to Greece´s game change

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”.