Strasbourg, Council of Europe, summer plenary session of June 2009

By Pauline André
Translated by Morgane Poder

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – First session – from 22 to 26 June 2009

The Council of Europe that has not been on speaking terms with Belarus this past twelve years turns once again towards it. Following the opening of the Information Point in the Belarusian capital at the beginning of June, the Parliamentary Assembly decided, on 23 June, to restore the special guest status of Belarus in the plenary sessions in Strasbourg – yet upon conditions.

Strasbourg, June 25th 2009

By Pauline André
Translated by Morgane Poder

It is soon 18h30 as some 40 people are demonstrating in front of the European Court for Human Rights as a sign of support to the Iran people. Whether they have been in exile for a long time, or are young Iranians who came to France to study in peace, or French citizens showing solidarity, they are all shocked by the brutality of the government which strengthens its repression every day. They have come round a rectangular table decorated with candles and covered with the Iranian flag in order to wear the colour green. As colour of Mir Hossein Moussavi’s campaign – the candidate of the opposition – the colour green has now become a symbol for the struggle of the Iranian people against the political system. Rashne was 20 years old when he left Iran. He is now 29 and has not seen his family since. He did not attend his sister’s weddings. Yet going back to Iran is out of the question for him as long as the Mullah government remains in power. “You have no liberty in Iran, it is like being in prison,” told Rashne. He was expelled from his football club because he did not how to pray. “Everything there is linked to religion,” he explained. You do not even have the right to walk with your girlfriend in the street. The police officers demand to see your identity papers and if you are not married, you end up being arrested.” The Iranians feel stifled under this cultural dictatorship, in Rashne’s opinion, a lot of them are more and more “disgusted” with religion.

To kick off the Nuits Européennes Äl Jawala and Electrik G.E.M come to Offenburg

By Séverine Guthier and Aleksandra Lendzinska

It is 7pm. In the Offenburg Riding School the final preparations are taking place. In the former exercise hall of the French armed forces you can hear both French and German instructions. Everything is perfect. The chairs are out, the lights are working and the sound is promising. We meet with Jean-Etienne Moldo from Arcane 17, Organiser of the 13th Nuits Européenes in Strasbourg and Offenburg. He seems slightly nervous but very confident.

To the interview on Radiodistrict by Aleksandra Lendzinska…

By Kerstin Acker
Translation by Andrew Kimpson
Without a doubt the city of Strasbourg is where Europe’s heart beats and where the spirit of Europe took it roots.

But does the city rightly bear the title of the capital of Europe ? The protest is growing and is becoming especially loud in regard to keeping the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Should everything in the future only take place in Brussels? The number of petitions is growing daily and the protest is gathering pace.

The opposition is biding its time to react. But it does exist. With the backing of MEP Briggite Fouré (PPE-DE) and leadership of Pierre Savreux and Fabrice Hinschberger, the organisation “One City” has been founded. They aim to make sure all central offices of the European Parliament (administration, commissions, meetings) are to be held in Strasbourg.

It is unclear whether the initiative will be successful in silencing the protests.

Nevertheless, it is an appropriate response to the petition submitted by Margot Wallström which called for the European Parliament headquarters to be in Brussels. More information and support forms for the initiative can be found on the website One City and in the Facebook-group.

Strasbourg, 7 August 2008

By Kerstin Acker
Translated by Katherine Short

The mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries, spoke in the European Parliament on 8th July about the Strasbourg agenda for the French EU presidency.

He was welcomed by the SPE (Social Democratic Party of Europe) MEP Catherine Trautmann. The former mayor of Strasbourg (1989-2001) did not miss the opportunity to mention the difficulties that the French EU presidency is faced with. She spoke in great detail about the climate crisis which the French presidency has set itself as one of its four published top priorities.

Ronald Ries expressed his hopes that the French Presidency will bring two key issues to the central stage so that the French Presidency attunes itself to Europe.

European Parliament, Strasbourg, 22nd october

By Rob Compton

The EU is urged to put pressure on the French-owned satellite operator Eutelsat who dropped the uncensored, US-based, Chinese news channel NTDTV in a politically-motivated move in June.

Protestors met EMPs arriving at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday where a group headed by German MEP Helga Trüpel, a member of The Greens / European Free Aliance, is calling for the parliament to put pressure on the French satellite operator Eutelsat to reinstate the signal of US-based Chinese news service NTDTV in China.

European Parliament, Strasbourg, 22nd October

By Katherine Short

Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, addressed the European Parliament on Wednesday 22nd October. The Alliance of Civilizations was launched by the governments of Spain and Turkey under the auspices of the United Nations with the support of the then incumbent UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan in 2005. It states its aims as “to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process, to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.” Sampaio, former President of Portugal, was appointed in 2007 by Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General, as the High Level Representative with the mandate to fulfil the Implementation Plan of the Alliance of Civilizations.

The Babel link on Monday (23 June)

Translated by Katherine Short

2.4 Euros per year, per capita, in total 1 billion Euros annually or 1% of the EU budget. That is the budget that the EU has granted the European Commissioner for Multilingualism, who, since the expansions of 2004 and 2007, is responsible for the management of 23 national languages.

Strasbourg, 14 September 2008

By Vincent Lebrou
Translated by Rob Compton

Small loans, or so-called microcredits, are increasingly being used in the fight against poverty and exclusion. Whether considering the situation in countries of the former Eastern bloc or Western European countries, it is clear that microcredit is increasingly seen by the authorities as a credible tool in the fight for social cohesion.

The European Union has launched the JEREMIE initiative, the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises, in collaboration with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) to coincide with the 2007/2013 budget period. The initiative aims to improve access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to finance and venture capital. The initiative is part of the Lisbon strategy for economic growth and competitiveness.

Sarrebruck, Germany, August 21st 2008

Written by Lena Morel
Translated by Géraldine Guérin

Always switching from one language to another, never stopping, almost getting lost…

I am not talking about day-to-day life in a European institution or an international organization: there, you can always speak in the lingua franca, English. No, I am talking about the peculiarities of a cross-borderers’ life. Such a life is torn between two cultural and linguistic surroundings; the work environment can be far removed from the social and union demands of the homeland.