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Being a European citizen
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On the occasion of Europe’s Day and of this year of the European citizen, I found it useful to share some thoughts on the topic of the European citizenship. Initially founded on economic integration, the European Community – now Eur...
France, the EU and the energy development challenge
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Is France a dunce country as regards energy development and fight against climate change? This is the provocative question discussed by the participants to a conference about the energy development challenge organised by the European Commission and L...
The legacy of Hugo Chavez – A Caudillo’s handbook
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Dear readers, This article was submitted by one of you. It had nothing to do with Europe, but we found it interesting and worth publishing. PAK Seemingly indestructible, husky looking in the olive-colored uniform, Hugo Chavez had all the makings of a...
Is the French Socialist Party tempted by Germany-phobia?
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A text was enough to create polemic and cacophony again. In the framework of their future conference about Europe and looking forward the 2014 European elections, the French Socialist Party (PS) adopted a resolution which firmly criticizes Angela Mer...
Habemus Napolitano: towards the end of the political tragedy-comedy in Italy
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Nearly two months after the Italian elections, Italy still does not have a government. However, the unforeseen re-election, in the middle of a huge confusion, of Giorgio Napolitano to the Presidency of the Republic could allow a quick evolution and p...
The Mafia – A European problem
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“La mafia non è affatto invincibile. È un fatto umano e come tutti i fatti umani ha un inizio, e avrà anche una fine. Piuttosto bisogna rendersi conto che è un fenomeno terribilmente serio e molto grave e che si pu&o...
MEPs’ (silent and unnoticed) revolt
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While Europe – and the whole world – was looking at the conclave that led to the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as new Pope (Francis) of the Roman Catholic Church, Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution rejecting the M...
Towards a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in the EU
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The issue of introducing a financial transaction tax (hereinafter – FTT) at the EU’s border came back in the frontline in the aftermath of the financial crisis, as an option to “moralise capitalism”. However, the idea appeared...
Women, inequalities and the crisis
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The European Parliament has decided to dedicate this year’s International Women’s Day (8 March) to the topic “women’s response to the crisis”. A Eurobarometer survey has been conducted among a sample of over 25,000 Europ...
Lech Walesa’s (new) controversy
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Last week, Lech Walesa made some surprising, not to say shocking statements. Interviewed by TVN, a Polish private broadcaster, the former Solidarnosc free trade-union founder and Polish president (from 1990 to 1995) considered homosexual repres...
The Italian electoral system’s dirty tricks
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The Italian general elections, held on the 24th and 25th of February, led to situation both feared and comical. Admittedly, the centre-left coalition led by Pierluigi Bersani, got the majority at the Chamber of Representatives but in the Senate...
Italy’s 2013 parliamentary election: some thoughts about surprising results
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The parliamentary elections in Italy, last week-end, have brought unclear results. The centre-left coalition of Pierluigi Bersani, announced as winner since the beginning of the campaign, came very slightly ahead the centre-right coalition led by Sil...
Italian uncertainty
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On Sunday and Monday, Italians are going to polling stations to elect the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate in a context of economic, financial and even political crisis. After a feeble or even dull campaign, uncertainty remains regardi...
Another budget for another Europe
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European integration supporters and opponents agree at least on one thing: political Europe is not able to face today’s challenges anymore. The EU is trapped in three paradoxes: too heterogeneous from an economic perspective, the Union is...
Hollande, the Europhile?
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Last Tuesday, François Hollande expressed his views on the European integration in his address to the MEPs in Strasbourg. During near half an hour, the French president exposed his vision and his objectives stressing the priority given t...
The EP’s rebellion against the European Council’s budget deal
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The European Parliament, through the voice of its main leaders, announced its intention to reject the budget deal reached by the European Council after several hours of harsh and difficult negotiations. According to them, the multiannual financial fr...
Is the EU totally committed to open-ended contracts?
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Contracts of an indefinite duration (open-ended contracts) remain the general form of employment relationship between employers and workers. They can be distinguished from non-standard forms of work: part-time work (regulated by a directive of 1997),...
Should Germany leave the Eurozone?
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It is no secret that recent attempts at saving the Eurozone have only been partially effective insofar as they have avoided a formal withdrawal by any member while not actually bringing a conclusion to the current financial crisis. Europe&rsquo...
#TheSpeech: Why David Cameron is wrong!
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The long-awaited speech by David Cameron on the future of the UK-EU relationship was finally given on January 23rd. While several acknowledgments are correct, I believe that the suggested remedies are wrong, in particular because the British PM has n...
Is Germany “too big for Europe, too small for the world” (H. Kissinger)?
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There was a time in post-WW2 European politics when this remark would have been highly pertinent. In the 1960s, Germany emerged from two decades of reconstruction, re-education and investment to become an economic powerhouse. Throughout the 1970s as...
