As I can't seem to find the entire version of the press conference on EUTube or EUXTV to embed here, all I can provide for now is a link to europarltv,
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EU. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2009
just because I love U2
The clip produced by the European Commission Representation in Poland celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Iron Curtain from a Polish perspective. It is about the birthday of a Polish girl Marta who was born on the 4th of June 1989, i.e. exactly on the day of the first half-free elections in the Central-East Europe which took place in Poland and which paved the way for the democratic change in this part of Europe. A mix of scenes show key events for Poland, such as the Solidarnosc movement with its leader Lech Walesa, Polish Round Table Talks, integration with NATO and the EU.
[description directly from EU Tube]
you can read more on U2.com
[description directly from EU Tube]
you can read more on U2.com
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
rejoice and celebrate with Buzek and all Poles
[via europarl.europa.eu]Jerzy Buzek just elected President of EP. YEY!
As I myself am just reading everything published in the last 40 min, excuse lack of comments, this time links only:
BloombergAs I myself am just reading everything published in the last 40 min, excuse lack of comments, this time links only:
Gazeta Wyborcza
WSJ
AP
Reuters
BBC
AFP
The New York Times
Europarl tv:
Opinions from some bloggers:
1. "The fact is that, by giving this post to Buzek, older and bigger member-states in western Europe are making sure that they will get all the really big jobs when they come up for grabs later this year." [from: ft.com/brusselsblog]
2. "But Jerzy Buzek is still the wrong choice, for three simple reasons:
* He is old.
* He is male.
* He has built his political career on national politics.
(...)
Party politics and power positions are dominated by old males. With Barroso in place for a second term on top of the European Commission, and with no women in sight for the post of European Council president and High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy (if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified), the post of the European Parliament president could have been the only one where MEPs could have made a point for equal opportunities and equal share of power. But they have missed their chance." [from: Julien Frisch Watching Europe]
3. "Sucede al alemán Hans-Gert Pöttering Cuando el card. Ratzinger fue elegido Papa, circulaba un chiste en Alemania: ¿sabes en qué se nota que Hartz IV (la reforma al mercado laboral) da resultado? En que un alemán reemplaza a un polaco en un trabajo. Hoy es al revés ;)" [from: Alemania: Economía, Sociedad y Derecho]
2. "But Jerzy Buzek is still the wrong choice, for three simple reasons:
* He is old.
* He is male.
* He has built his political career on national politics.
(...)
Party politics and power positions are dominated by old males. With Barroso in place for a second term on top of the European Commission, and with no women in sight for the post of European Council president and High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy (if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified), the post of the European Parliament president could have been the only one where MEPs could have made a point for equal opportunities and equal share of power. But they have missed their chance." [from: Julien Frisch Watching Europe]
3. "Sucede al alemán Hans-Gert Pöttering Cuando el card. Ratzinger fue elegido Papa, circulaba un chiste en Alemania: ¿sabes en qué se nota que Hartz IV (la reforma al mercado laboral) da resultado? En que un alemán reemplaza a un polaco en un trabajo. Hoy es al revés ;)" [from: Alemania: Economía, Sociedad y Derecho]
Friday, July 10, 2009
EU losers generation
What an unpleasant realisation, is this really me and my friends?
"Today's 'baby losers', as they are also known, are increasingly a minority in Europe. They are portrayed as well-educated but overqualified in some respects, which explains the seemingly never-ending unpaid intern phase many are forced to endure. They are the generation that passively boomerangs back to their parents' homes once they have run out of options and motivation. They are also the precarious generation suffering from the crisis of the welfare state, who will experience the effects of ageing and demographic change to the fullest in the course of their own lives. "
An entire generation summed up in a paragraph, and how non-optimistically;( There is as usual more to read but it was this particular excerpt that 'shook me'.
Other generations of course had it bad, the ones turned adults just as the war broke out naturally had it worse, but our future (as described in the above article) seems plain gloomy. It not only makes the today sound bad, it gives little hope of ever bouncing up and away from the current state. Very depressing. I have to say if the intention was to spear us up, motivate to do and stimulate to proactively steer circumstances towards the better - for me it had the opposite effect, just lay and do nothing, as it's never gonna get better, your efforts and hard work will be all in vain, might as well, not bother at all. brrr... not a feeling I like to have induced.
I like to believe that everything in nature finds it's balance, there are sinusoidal ups and downs, which are brought on by human impact or by nature itself, but in the long run, things bounce back and settle into 'norm'. This is not to say that I am a supporter of doing nothing because things 'settle on their own' (sometimes this settling can take a generation's lifetime, a century or more), just means I don't like 'scaring' with dark perspectives. Just a mistaken approach according to me. You can stimulate someone much more with a carrot than with a stick, or am I wrong?
"Today's 'baby losers', as they are also known, are increasingly a minority in Europe. They are portrayed as well-educated but overqualified in some respects, which explains the seemingly never-ending unpaid intern phase many are forced to endure. They are the generation that passively boomerangs back to their parents' homes once they have run out of options and motivation. They are also the precarious generation suffering from the crisis of the welfare state, who will experience the effects of ageing and demographic change to the fullest in the course of their own lives. "
An entire generation summed up in a paragraph, and how non-optimistically;( There is as usual more to read but it was this particular excerpt that 'shook me'.
Other generations of course had it bad, the ones turned adults just as the war broke out naturally had it worse, but our future (as described in the above article) seems plain gloomy. It not only makes the today sound bad, it gives little hope of ever bouncing up and away from the current state. Very depressing. I have to say if the intention was to spear us up, motivate to do and stimulate to proactively steer circumstances towards the better - for me it had the opposite effect, just lay and do nothing, as it's never gonna get better, your efforts and hard work will be all in vain, might as well, not bother at all. brrr... not a feeling I like to have induced.
I like to believe that everything in nature finds it's balance, there are sinusoidal ups and downs, which are brought on by human impact or by nature itself, but in the long run, things bounce back and settle into 'norm'. This is not to say that I am a supporter of doing nothing because things 'settle on their own' (sometimes this settling can take a generation's lifetime, a century or more), just means I don't like 'scaring' with dark perspectives. Just a mistaken approach according to me. You can stimulate someone much more with a carrot than with a stick, or am I wrong?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Can Sweden please hold the presidency for longer than just 0.5y?
Since it would not be 'constitutional', can at least the Swedish approach stay for longer? What a wonderful initiative for climate-friendly food labelling. If they also implement a ban on unnecessary food packaging, I'll apply for a Swedish passport:)
You can read all about food that has 25 % lower climate impact here.
You can read all about food that has 25 % lower climate impact here.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
vaya tela marinera: ALDE, Greens and Socialists team up
Daniel Cohn-Bendit: "(...) There must be no vote on the Commission President before Lisbon is ratified."
Guy Verhofstadt "(...) not accept timetables imposed on Parliament".
Martin Schulz: "a victory on blocking the fast-track reappointment of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso."
EPP's 264 and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)'s 56 votes, not enough for the 368 simple majority.
more here
Guy Verhofstadt "(...) not accept timetables imposed on Parliament".
Martin Schulz: "a victory on blocking the fast-track reappointment of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso."
EPP's 264 and European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)'s 56 votes, not enough for the 368 simple majority.
more here
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
some European fears of the Lisbon Treaty settled
Calming all those in doubt, the German Constitutional Court ruled that the Treaty of Lisbon is compatible with the German Constitution. Quoting yesterday's Euractiv article ("German Court clears EU treaty for House approval") quoting the Court's judgement we are left with no doubt: (...) the treaty would not lead to the formation of an EU state. Rather, the EU under Lisbon would remain "an association of sovereign states to which the principle of conferral applies," the court ruled.
Moreover, (...) the treaty does "not confer on the European Union the competence to use the member states' armed forces without the approval of the respective member state affected".
Now we just wait for some necessary changes (in September) to the German national legislation (also a recommendation of the German Constituional Court), of course later (in October) for the Irish referendum, ultimately for Lech Kaczyński and Václav Klaus...
Moreover, (...) the treaty does "not confer on the European Union the competence to use the member states' armed forces without the approval of the respective member state affected".
Now we just wait for some necessary changes (in September) to the German national legislation (also a recommendation of the German Constituional Court), of course later (in October) for the Irish referendum, ultimately for Lech Kaczyński and Václav Klaus...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
should I stay or should I go
In reference to my post from June 16, about the implications of so many commissioners participating in this year's EP elections, for all those interested in following what's happening on the European arena, i.e. which commissioners remain in the Commission, which take up the EP, an almost resolved situation is presented in today's euractive article.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
the Eurocity in barbed wire
In preparation for tomorrow's summit, the streets around Schuman are taking on a new look. Stands and barricades ok, but barbed wire -? Is that really necessary?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
understanding the current situation of the EU
It is definitely an interesting moment in EU's history. There are plenty of uncertainties and the more is uncertain politically and institutionally and dependent on some other uncertain, the more scenarios are possible for the coming months. I just read a very good article (The new European Commission) which explains just how complex is the current state. Anyone trying to get it all together will appreciate this piece:)
Perhaps a side topic, but definately related to the moment's unsettled issues, is something I have not paid attention to, i.e. the number of commissioners who participated in the latest EP elections, and the implications of this, in the event they got reappointed for commissioner. This section I'll just paste in directly, as it's really thought provoking...
Perhaps a side topic, but definately related to the moment's unsettled issues, is something I have not paid attention to, i.e. the number of commissioners who participated in the latest EP elections, and the implications of this, in the event they got reappointed for commissioner. This section I'll just paste in directly, as it's really thought provoking...
Of particular interest this year, however, was the fact that a number of commissioners put themselves forward for June's EU elections as high-profile names on their national party lists. According to EU rules, if commissioners choose to return to their home countries to engage in active campaigning, they must leave their positions. However, if they simply attach their name to a party list, they are not required to step down.
As a result, a commissioner could, in theory, head an electoral list in their member state and gain many votes due to his/her high profile, then decide to not take up their seat in the Parliament, thus passing their seat to the next person on the list, all the while continuing to work for the EU executive. Indeed, this is precisely what happened as Commissioners Kuneva, Hübner and Reding topped the poll in Bulgaria, Poland and Luxembourg respectively.
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the Party of European Socialists (PES), told EurActiv that "some commissioners will use their position to promote themselves as candidates. That is wrong, and the president of the Commission should insist that anyone who does so must stand down".
Strongly rebuking this practice, Rasmussen said although "commissioners are party-political," they "need to keep their official duties very separate from their political activities," adding that he "can name, shame and complain" if he believes "commissioners are abusing their positions or taking advantage of their president's party-political sympathies".
[via Euractiv]
[edit] Although, since I just read that Lewandowski was chosen for the Polish Commissioner I guess, at least in the case of Poland, there won't be dissapointed voters who will realise they have given their support to a person, who has turned down to represent them, and passed on the mandate to the next in line....who doesn't necessarly have to be bad...just wasn't the one voted for...
Let's see what happens in Bulgaria and Luxembourg.
[edit] Although, since I just read that Lewandowski was chosen for the Polish Commissioner I guess, at least in the case of Poland, there won't be dissapointed voters who will realise they have given their support to a person, who has turned down to represent them, and passed on the mandate to the next in line....who doesn't necessarly have to be bad...just wasn't the one voted for...
Let's see what happens in Bulgaria and Luxembourg.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Faces of MEPs
[via Gazeta Wyborcza]Since I have to work on the html side of the previous post what I just found I'm posting to a new entry. The former one is already lengthy.
You don't judge a book by its cover, but I love seeing a face next to a name. If a face can be misleading, a name alone, even more. I think you can tell much more from a face than most people are willing to admit they do. Eyes further tell a wealth of information. I know this from personal experience and from some so far very limited reading. The study of interpreting human eyes though, I'm leaving for when I'm 65 - or perhaps by then I won't need psychology books to explain it all to me.
Malcolm Gladwell in his Outliers explained at a level for people with little science understanding, how many muscles there are in human face, how different combination of contracting together different muscles reflect an emotion, and how the observer, often unaware, reads (and acts upon) this information flawlessly. So yes, I think a face is important to see. Not for aesthetic judgement, but for a complete appreciation of the personality. Although, a face seen live (or least recorded in movement), tells much more, than one frozen on a photograph, it is always a step closer to full appreciation. So here are the faces of the new Polish MEPs.
You don't judge a book by its cover, but I love seeing a face next to a name. If a face can be misleading, a name alone, even more. I think you can tell much more from a face than most people are willing to admit they do. Eyes further tell a wealth of information. I know this from personal experience and from some so far very limited reading. The study of interpreting human eyes though, I'm leaving for when I'm 65 - or perhaps by then I won't need psychology books to explain it all to me.
Malcolm Gladwell in his Outliers explained at a level for people with little science understanding, how many muscles there are in human face, how different combination of contracting together different muscles reflect an emotion, and how the observer, often unaware, reads (and acts upon) this information flawlessly. So yes, I think a face is important to see. Not for aesthetic judgement, but for a complete appreciation of the personality. Although, a face seen live (or least recorded in movement), tells much more, than one frozen on a photograph, it is always a step closer to full appreciation. So here are the faces of the new Polish MEPs.
European Election results & Polish MEPs
Gazeta Wyborcza included after Le Monde a really cool gadget, where you can see the European Election results by country and by political affiliation. Available in several languages as well. How cool.
I could just give you a link, but I'm worried it will soon cease to function, so I'll copy from the article of Gazeta Wyborcza as well, the results of the Polish elections to the European Parliament. You never know when you'll need this;)
I could just give you a link, but I'm worried it will soon cease to function, so I'll copy from the article of Gazeta Wyborcza as well, the results of the Polish elections to the European Parliament. You never know when you'll need this;)
Ostateczna lista europosłów
2009-06-08, ostatnia aktualizacja 2009-06-08 21:43
Frekwencja: 24,53 proc.
Podział głosów i mandatów:
PO - 44,43 - mandatów - 25
PiS - 27,40 - mandatów - 15
SLD-UP - 12,34 - mandatów - 7
PSL - 7,01 - mandatów - 3
Centrolewica - 2,44 proc.
Mandaty:
PSL
Andrzej Grzyb
Kalinowski Jarosław
Siekierski Czesław
SLD- UP
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg
Adam Gierek
Bogusław Liberadzki
Wojciech Olejniczak
Joanna Senyszyn
Marek Siwiec
Podział głosów i mandatów:
PO - 44,43 - mandatów - 25
PiS - 27,40 - mandatów - 15
SLD-UP - 12,34 - mandatów - 7
PSL - 7,01 - mandatów - 3
Centrolewica - 2,44 proc.
Mandaty:
PSL
Andrzej Grzyb
Kalinowski Jarosław
Siekierski Czesław
SLD- UP
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg
Adam Gierek
Bogusław Liberadzki
Wojciech Olejniczak
Joanna Senyszyn
Marek Siwiec
Janusz Zemke
PO
Piotr Borys
Jerzy Buzek
Róża Thun
Małgorzata Handzlik
Hibner Jolanta
Hübner Danuta
Danuta Jazłowiecka
Sidonia Jędrzejewska
Filip Kaczmarek
Lena Kolarska Bobińska
Janusza Lewandowski
Krzysztof Lisek
Elżbieta Łukacijewska
Bogdan Marcinkiewicz
Sławomir Nitras
Jan Olbrycht
Jacek Protasiewicz
Jacek Saryusz Wolski
Joanna Skrzydlewska
Bogusław Sonik
Rafał Trzaskowski
Jarosław Wałęsa
Paweł Zalewski
Artur Zasada
Tadeusz Zwiefka
PiS
Adam Bielan
Tadeusz Cymański
Ryszard Czarnecki
Marek Gróbarczyk
Michał Kamiński
Paweł Kowal
Jacek Kurski
Ryszard Legutko
Marek Migalski
Mirosław Piotrowski
Tomasz Poręba
Konrad Szymański
Jacek Włosowicz
Janusz Wojciechowski
Zbigniew Ziobro
Podział mandatów w okręgach wyborczych
Okręg nr 1 Pomorze:
Janusz Lewandowski PO
Jarosław Wałęsa PO
Tadeusz Cymański PiS
Okręg nr 2 Kujawsko-pomorskie:
Tadeusz Zwiefka PO
Janusz Zemke SLD.
Okręg nr 3 Warmia, Mazury i Podlasie:
Krzysztof Lisek PO
Jacek Kurski PiS.
Okręg nr 4 Warszawa:
Danuta Huebner,
Paweł Zalewski i
Rafał Trzaskowski PO,
Michał Kamiński z PiS-u oraz
Wojciech Olejniczak z SLD.
PO
Piotr Borys
Jerzy Buzek
Róża Thun
Małgorzata Handzlik
Hibner Jolanta
Hübner Danuta
Danuta Jazłowiecka
Sidonia Jędrzejewska
Filip Kaczmarek
Lena Kolarska Bobińska
Janusza Lewandowski
Krzysztof Lisek
Elżbieta Łukacijewska
Bogdan Marcinkiewicz
Sławomir Nitras
Jan Olbrycht
Jacek Protasiewicz
Jacek Saryusz Wolski
Joanna Skrzydlewska
Bogusław Sonik
Rafał Trzaskowski
Jarosław Wałęsa
Paweł Zalewski
Artur Zasada
Tadeusz Zwiefka
PiS
Adam Bielan
Tadeusz Cymański
Ryszard Czarnecki
Marek Gróbarczyk
Michał Kamiński
Paweł Kowal
Jacek Kurski
Ryszard Legutko
Marek Migalski
Mirosław Piotrowski
Tomasz Poręba
Konrad Szymański
Jacek Włosowicz
Janusz Wojciechowski
Zbigniew Ziobro
Podział mandatów w okręgach wyborczych
Okręg nr 1 Pomorze:
Janusz Lewandowski PO
Jarosław Wałęsa PO
Tadeusz Cymański PiS
Okręg nr 2 Kujawsko-pomorskie:
Tadeusz Zwiefka PO
Janusz Zemke SLD.
Okręg nr 3 Warmia, Mazury i Podlasie:
Krzysztof Lisek PO
Jacek Kurski PiS.
Okręg nr 4 Warszawa:
Danuta Huebner,
Paweł Zalewski i
Rafał Trzaskowski PO,
Michał Kamiński z PiS-u oraz
Wojciech Olejniczak z SLD.
Okręg nr 5 Mazowsze:
Jolanta Hibner PO,
Jarosław Kalinowski PSL
Adam Bielan z PiS.
Okręg nr 6 Łódź
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Joanna Skrzydlewska PO,
Janusz Wojciechowski z PiS.
Okręg nr 7 Wielkopolska
Filip Kaczmarek
Sidonia Jędrzejewska PO,
Konrad Szymański z PiS
Marek Siwiec z SLD
Andrzej Grzyb z PSL.
Okręg nr 8 Lubelszczyzna:
Lena Kolarska-Bobińska PO
Mirosław Mariusz Piotrowski PiS.
Okręg nr 9 Podkarpacie:
Elżbieta Łukacijewska PO
Tomasz Poręba z PiS.
Jolanta Hibner PO,
Jarosław Kalinowski PSL
Adam Bielan z PiS.
Okręg nr 6 Łódź
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Joanna Skrzydlewska PO,
Janusz Wojciechowski z PiS.
Okręg nr 7 Wielkopolska
Filip Kaczmarek
Sidonia Jędrzejewska PO,
Konrad Szymański z PiS
Marek Siwiec z SLD
Andrzej Grzyb z PSL.
Okręg nr 8 Lubelszczyzna:
Lena Kolarska-Bobińska PO
Mirosław Mariusz Piotrowski PiS.
Okręg nr 9 Podkarpacie:
Elżbieta Łukacijewska PO
Tomasz Poręba z PiS.
Okręg nr 10 Małopolska:
Róża Thun,
Konstanty Miodowicz oraz
Bogusław Sonik z PO,
Zbigniew Ziobro,
Paweł Kowal oraz
Władysław Włosowicz z PiS,
Joanna Senyszyn z SLD i
Czesław Siekierski z PSL-u.
Okręg nr 11 Na Śląsku:
Jerzy Buzek,
Jan Olbrycht,
Małgorzata Handzlik oraz
Bogdan Marcinkiewicz z PO,
Marek Migalski i
Izabela Kloc z PiS oraz
Adam Gierek z SLD.
Okręg nr 12 Dolny Śląsk:
Jacek Protasiewicz i
Danuta Jazłowiecka z PO,
Ryszard Legutko z PiS i
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg z SLD.
Okręg nr 13 Lubuskie i Zachodniopomorskie:
Sławomir Nitras i
Artur Zasada z PO,
Elżbieta Rafalska z PiS i
Bogusław Liberadzki z SLD.
Róża Thun,
Konstanty Miodowicz oraz
Bogusław Sonik z PO,
Zbigniew Ziobro,
Paweł Kowal oraz
Władysław Włosowicz z PiS,
Joanna Senyszyn z SLD i
Czesław Siekierski z PSL-u.
Okręg nr 11 Na Śląsku:
Jerzy Buzek,
Jan Olbrycht,
Małgorzata Handzlik oraz
Bogdan Marcinkiewicz z PO,
Marek Migalski i
Izabela Kloc z PiS oraz
Adam Gierek z SLD.
Okręg nr 12 Dolny Śląsk:
Jacek Protasiewicz i
Danuta Jazłowiecka z PO,
Ryszard Legutko z PiS i
Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg z SLD.
Okręg nr 13 Lubuskie i Zachodniopomorskie:
Sławomir Nitras i
Artur Zasada z PO,
Elżbieta Rafalska z PiS i
Bogusław Liberadzki z SLD.
Źródło: Gazeta Wyborcza
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament
If you're a foreigner who lives in Belgium and still hasn't figured out how you can vote, it's time you do so if you're interested in participating! I wanted to vote. For a while was worried it wouldn't be possible, as I heard from Italian and Spanish friends, their deadlines were up. Fortunately this is not the case for Poles, or for any EU citizens who are resident in Poland, but who will be in Belgium on the day of the election. Very glad. It's not often public administration in Poland makes things easy, even less frequent, makes things better than the public administrations of other countries. This time, it has achieved it and deserves praise!You can read more of the official notice here. Or go directly to the online registration which allows to register to vote anywhere outside of Poland (i.e. everywhere abroad where Polish Consulates organise elections). Very handy, easy, done in a minute.
The website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actually clears up one last doubt I had, that is, do you need to register if you obtain a certificate of right to vote at home. I had called my city hall before digging all these infos on the web. As I had voted outside my place of residence before (but within Poland) knew I required the certificate and knew it was a simple formality to get it. Figuring that voting abroad should be similar I got the certificate just in case. Now I know that having registered online, the requirement of presenting a certificate does not apply to me. But since you never know, and since it cost me no trouble, plus was free of charge, I'm glad I have it just in case;)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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