Le CLANdestin européen - Comments

Roland Ries: We must respect the treaties - nrezaee

nrezaee — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:48:41 +0100

can you please send me the email address of mr.Roland Ries?
Thanks

The never ending dispute between Strasbourg and Brussels - lilou

lilou — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:49:05 +0100

Strasbourg IS the heart of Europe. Bruxelles does not have a heart! No other comment needs to be made, just use your head.

The never ending dispute between Strasbourg and Brussels - Ritchie

Ritchie — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Bruxelles D.C.

The never ending dispute between Strasbourg and Brussels - nick

nick — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:48:27 +0000

Brussels or Strasburg, I don't care much.

The current status is ridiculous. We have to chose a SINGLE place for the parliament..

(personally I would rather prefer Brussels, so that the MEPs keep a closer eye at commission's activities :)

The never ending dispute between Strasbourg and Brussels - wonkotsane

wonkotsane — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:32:19 +0000

The EU isn't a country, how can it have a capital?

Achieving the European ideal through the actions of its citizens - wonkotsane

wonkotsane — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:18:32 +0000

Talk of "EU Citizens" regaining values from the establishment is all well and good but we don't all share the same values. Values can't be created and imposed on people, you either have them or you don't. As with so many things done under the banner of European harmonisation, one size does not fit all. I certainly don't share many values with the rest of Europe and neither do most of my fellow Englishmen.

European Football: a time for expansion? - Andrew Kimpson

Andrew Kimpson — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:07:28 +0000

I agree that European football has been dominated by clubs from West Europe since the formation of the Champions League and that teams from Eastern Europe do have restricted access to the most lucrative competition in European football.

However, Michel Platini, the President of UEFA, has come under huge criticism for what many see as romantic and unrealistic plans. I believe that Platini is not just a romantic, but also short-sighted and blinkered.

In granting regular Champions League football to clubs from European countries outside of the top ten rankings, Platini has succeeded in his goal to make European football more representative, or at least this has the appearance of being so.

However, the Champions League is only a small part of European football, even if it is Europe’s most desired and esteemed competition. It appears as though Platini has forgotten what makes Europe and European football; the individual nations and their domestic competitions.

If Champions League football, and the lucrative prize money that accompanies it, is suddenly awarded to the champions of smaller Eastern European clubs, their domestic leagues will suffer. The team awarded revenue from the Champions League will have much greater resources than those who do not qualify, meaning the gulf in quality will widen. This will then lead to one club’s dominance in their domestic league. This is hardly the fairer and more competitive European football that Platini appears to be wishing for.

Additionally, Platini has taken on a personal crusade to break the dominance of Europe’s most successful (and wealthy) clubs. He has shown no restraint in his distain of wealthy, foreign owners, especially in regard to this growing trend in England. He stated “If you bring people from Qatar and there is no-one from Liverpool or Manchester at the club, where is Liverpool or Manchester? I think it is not good. I think the Qataris should invest in Qatar. They should develop the football in each country. Can we do something against it? I will try to.” His anger went further, showing his dislike for the amount of foreign players in the English game.

Few could argue that the recent trend in wealthy owners and influx of foreign players has changed European football, but some may argue that this has been a change for the better.

However, in showing his delight of the relative success of Eastern European clubs in this season’s Champions League, Platini seems to have ignored how their success may have been achieved. Romanian club Cluj’s recent success has been primarily caused by large financial investment from a generous backer, which has earned the club comparisons with other big spenders like Chelsea. The club, much like many teams in West Europe, has adopted a worldwide recruitment strategy, seeing the arrival of players from Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Sweden, the Ivory Coast and Canada.

During last season Cluj had eight Portuguese players at their disposal, more than any other football club in the world outside of Portugal. The reason for this is Cluj's "feeder" relationship with Benfica, with the Portuguese giant sending out players on loan for valuable experience.

It appears as though Platini is striving for a number of ideals, but not giving much consideration as to how they should come about and not minding if one contradicts the other.

If an expansion of European football is going to occur, it must be done so with deliberation and awareness. The expansion of European football’s top table may come at great cost with the destruction of football’s bread and butter.

UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations addresses the European Parliament - Katherine

Katherine — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:10:20 +0000

I stand corrected! Thanks for the comment :)

UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations addresses the European Parliament - James

James — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:40:18 +0000

A quick note: Samuel Huntington didn't coin the term "clash of civilizations." That was the historian Bernard Lewis. Huntington did popularize the phrase, however.

European Parliament issue appeal against execution of Troy Davis - Rob Compton

Rob Compton — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:38:22 +0000

***UPDATE***
Troy Davis was granted a 25 day stay of execution on 24.10.2008 as reported here by the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/25/u...