URL: Latest posts
Taking a break
After one and a half years, this blog is taking a break. A new personal project leads me to China where I will be far away from European affairs and in fact, politics in general.I will continue following European blogs where I can and hope to pick up...
Unpaid internships - soon forbidden by the EU?
Unpaid internships in Europe could be abolished soon - or least reduced in number. Following a report by Danish Green MEP Emilie Turunen, the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs passed a resolution in which it"calls on the...
The French ban of the burqa is a good thing
The French ban of the burqa has received a lot of attention and a lot of criticism. The European Citizen says that a ban is disproportional and paramount to a publicly imposed dresscode. And the Council of Europe sees an infringement of the right to...
Maastricht, NL: An example of cultural integration gone wrong
On the verge of leaving beautiful Maastricht after three years of study, it is interesting to look back at life in this mini-Europe on the border between the Netherlands, Germany, Flanders and Wallonia, because it shows interesting implications for E...
Accountability through the media - what is the value of science?
Two publications of political science that I recently had on my desk made me wonder where science stops and where investigative journalism begins - or vice versa.In the first article "The Quint", Catherine Gegout investigates the secretive decision-m...
Challenging internship for an international employer
Are you looking for a challenge and want to prove yourself in an international environment? Do you want to make a contribution to make the world better? Do you have a working mentality and approach administrative and practical problems with equal thr...
France and Germany are again playing old power game in climate change
The refusal of France and Germany to back Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard's proposal of curbing emissions by 30% until 2020 stems from a backward logic and is detrimental to the EU's soft power. "The European Union is ready to adopt the 30 perc...
Jean Quatremer: Barack Obama is the new president of the European Council
We thought that for once Europe had taken bold measures. We thought that for once Europeans had pulled themselves out of the swamp by their own hair. We thought that for once our leaders had taken far-sighted and wise decisions. But nobody has ever p...
Joining the Ministry of Magic
Last week Harry Potter had an interview with the Ministry of Magic to become a junior assistant in the Department of Muggle Relations. Defeating Voldemort may have benefitted the wizarding world; it certainly did not secure Harry's future. So the you...
Germany enters consensual politics
The elections in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia on Sunday might not have had as much coverage as the UK elections last week, but they may turn out almost as important. In North-Rhine Westphalia, the center-right government composed of CDU and...
Happy Europe Day!
We are celebrating Europe and European integration which has tremendously benefitted the citizens in the Member States. Not only is the EU a guarantor of peace, it has also established a strong emotional interconnection of the European citizens compa...
Four years without freedom
The 25 June 2006 must have been about the date when I held my high school graduation in hand. Since this day I spent a year in a voluntary service and almost finished a three-year bachelor. I traveled, have lived in different countries, met a lot of...
The precarious society
Yesterday, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) invited young European citizens to a debate on the precarious working conditions for young people. The video that they spread before the event shows the urgency of action:40% of young Europeans (15-24) are on...
LIMIT - What is the energy future of our world?
States lose their sovereign exercise of power. The future belongs to global enterprises. Business and investment opportunities outrank local development concerns and consumer protection. We still vote for elected politicians, but our vote no longer h...
Ayaan Hirsi Ali back in the Netherlands - and the Islam debate comes back with her
A few years ago the Somalian refugee Ayaan Hirsi Ali caused a major political uproar in the Netherlands. Within a few years, she went from being a refugee to becoming a member of parliament and she spoke out fervently against the - then - tabou topic...
Christine Lagarde is right
It is surprising how harsh the reactions were from the German side when French finance minister Christine Lagarde told policy-makers in Berlin to step up domestic consumption. German enterpreneurs suggested other Member States "do their homework" and...
Geschafft
"Liebe Aktive auch alle anderen Freunde des ICJA,ihr habt es geschafft! Wie wir gerade erfahren haben, wird es auch ab Sommer 2010 Förderungen für internationale Freiwillige geben!Als Ergebnis des Drucks, den ihr alle mit Briefen, Protestaktionen,...
Internationales Freiwilligenprogramm: Weitere Informationen
Nach meinem Post gestern hat Kosmopolito über die Pläne der Bundesregierung geschrieben. In den Kommentaren hat Felix das Anschreiben für die Abgeordneten etwas verändert, damit es in die Form bei abgeordnetenwatch.de passt. Abgeordnetenwatch ist...
Die deutsche Bundesregierung will das Internationale Freiwilligendienstprogramm einstellen!
Mehr Informationen dazu gibt es hier.
Let's talk about EU!
Because it's not enough to talk about European politics in the hallways of the EP and the Commission. Because European politics can be entertaining, controversial and informative. Because in the EP elections last year nobody talked about Europe save...
