President Putin’s visit to Budapest on 17 February has raised eyebrows externally and provoked protests within Hungary. Many Hungarians feel that their country is drifting to the East, while its present and future lies with the West. Prime Minister Orban does have some valid points for explaining his association with Mr. Putin. What is more worrisome in the long-run is the authoritarian affinities between the two.
An agreement on the Greek bailout programme was initially supposed to be reached at the Eurogroup meeting of 11 February. As the finance ministers gathered it became clear that arriving at decisions would not be a matter that would be resolved in a day. Greece and its creditors could not even agree to a common press release
In the absence of any guiding ideology beyond the pursuit of money and power, which has come to be considered normal, alternative ideologies develop, mostly of the destructive, exclusivist and intolerant kind. These ideologies excite some young and often bright people that long for a sense of purpose and heroism in their lives. And they commit to them often sacrificing their lives and the lives of others.
Do you remember this well-known French film which staged the cultural dialogue and the festive atmosphere associated with the Erasmus student exchange program? Twelve years ago, “L’Auberge espagnole” popularized what millions of young students in various countries of Europe (and even beyond the borders of the EU) have known now for over 25 years. Although the famous European program encourages student and professional mobility within the Union, a genuine cultural diversity and the development of a sense of European citizenship, it is now necessary to go further so that the Europe of tomorrow is not just for the few.
Relations between the EU and Russia are at a particularly low point over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Since the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union this must be the time of highest tension between the major powers on the European continent. Talk of new sanctions on Russia and of providing military assistance to Ukraine by the West may exacerbate the situation without actually resolving it. A further cornered Russia may well become more authoritarian internally and aggressive externally. The EU would be wise to avoid that and find more constructive ways of engaging with its big eastern neighbor…
Stable energy prices and a smooth supply of gas are a priority for Europeans, according to a special EU opinion poll on climate change held last year. The European Commission under its current president, Jean-Claude Juncker, seems to have heeded the concerns of Europeans and crafted a grand plan to form an energy union that would reduce dependency on Russian gas while fighting climate change. The energy union focuses on five different areas, also called dimensions, but the first one, security of supply, is by far the one that weighs more heavily in terms of EU’s foreign policy. It basically aims at reducing the dependence on imports.
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.
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…
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.
