The Week in Bloggingportal: A Snapshot of Europe Today

Eagle - CC / Flickr

Let’s take a snapshot of Europe as it is today. Imagine yourself as an eagle, high up in the clouds, your view obscured in all directions by swirls of pillowy fog. You can’t tell up from down, left from right, backwards from frontwards; gliding through an ocean of seething grey. Then… There! There – a break in the clouds – and through it you must fly.

Out, you break from the grey and there before you the green forests of Europe stretch, the continent dissected by the blue of rivers, the white of mountain peaks. Look down. Fly towards that great, sparkling lake of the south: the Mediterranean.

Do you see the plumes of ugly black smoke curling up into the hot southern air? Those are the pyres of the Greek rioters, protesting against the new austerity. The Greek economy is imploding. Edward Hugh from A Fistful of Euros investigates events in his usual, detailed manner and I cover the events in my own way.

Swoop up. Fly away from the wreckage; fly north. Do you hear the sound of angry voices? They come from Belgium, where the government has come crashing down over nationalist tensions between the Flemish north and Francophone south. Jean Quatremer does not see how the country of Belgium can survive much longer, except as an “empty husk.”

But listen closely. Beneath the shouting, can you hear the whispers? They come from the shadows in the heart of the Belgian capital. Can you hear what they’re saying? Jon Worth tells of nasty rumours floating on the winds of Brussels that High Representative Ashton is on the verge of resigning. Honor Mahoney doubts the rumours are true – why would Ashton resign now before she’s completed the new European “Diplomatic Corps” (something Christophe offers us hope about)? These black whispers are the sounds  of a power-struggle being waged at the very top, in the palaces of the powerful. Our leaders, supposed to be offering us direction, are instead focusing their energies behind the scenes on bickering and power-plays.

Yet, now… Can you hear that? Even beneath the whispers there is noise. The clanking of chains and the faintest moans of the damned; through the corridors of the European Parliament stalk the pale spectres of the ghost MEPs. These are the ghosts of democracy passed. Ralf Grahn writes about their shame with anger.

Fly north then, against the bitter squall, across the barbarian waters. Something is happening on the island here. The natives are gathered round their television sets, watching their leaders preen and bicker. They know there’s danger on the mainland, but they think the danger comes from the mainland. EUoplocephalus writes of the belief among these shores that those who go to the continent come back corrupted. From a nearby island, Jason O’Mahoney can only stare in wonder at the ritual these islanders call democracy.

But let us head further to the north, to the frozen lands of the Northmen. There is danger enough here, to be sure. A fierce battle is being waged against the pagan vikings of the digital generation, who raid the keeps and monasteries of the powerful. The monks inside have suffered blood and sweat to build up their gilded libraries, but the savages shout them down and say they guard their treasures too closely. Now everything is for the taking.

Do we see the monks now turning to dark arts to protect their riches from the fury of the raiders? Christian, a Pirate Party MEP, argues that the copyright lobby is hiding behind the issue of child pornography to make website-blocking acceptable. He has posted the transcript of a radio interview he gave with Commissioner Cecilia Malmström – accusing her of walking Europe into the censorship trap.

Fly away. Fly away. Leave this broken continent, with its battles and its anger; go somewhere else, far across the sea. Find a better land, because surely all hope is lost in this damnable place.

Is there hope for Europe? Can we turn the tide? Maybe. But if there is any hope to be had, it comes from the people of Europe and not our leaders. New technology is bringing the distant palaces of Europe within our grasp, but the eurocrats inside are still struggling to hear what we’re saying. The European Commission has opened up a new blog investigating how it can better use social media – and they need your suggestions on ways we can use these new technologies to better govern ourselves. Meanwhile, Julien Frisch is using new tools to change the way we visualise and think about the torrent of information pouring out of the institutions each day.

Whatever you may think about Europe, you are a part of this snapshot. Next week is “Europe Day” – supposedly a celebration of our continent. But, looking out across the bickering and the waste, what do we really have to celebrate? Europe is at the crossroads, struggling to find itself and not sure what it wants to be. Our leaders can’t offer us direction – they’re still floating about up in the clouds – unsure which way is up, which is down, which is left and which is right.

Next week is your opportunity to write about the Europe you would like to see. Go to the My Europe website and use this form to send us your vision of Europe. You post will appear on Bloggingportal, and the best posts will be sent out in our newsletter and tweeted by our editors. If you have a blog, then this is a great way to join the conversation. If you don’t have a blog, then this is a way to get your voice heard.

May 3rd to May 9th 2010 is My Europe Week.

Share your Europe.