Published Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 00:44
by
Ari Rusila
in Debate (228 views and 0 comments)
Background of this post
Bloggers Unite is an attempt to harness the power of the blogosphere to make the world a better place. By asking bloggers to write about a particular subject on 1 day of the month, a single voice can be joined with thousands to help make a difference. This time, because of our work to increase human rights awareness, many members chose to go one step further to raise awareness for refugees — people who are impacted by these issues. So, on Nov. 10, thousands of bloggers will write about the various challenges faced by the 11 million people who have no country to call home and the 40 million more who have been displaced because of war and natural disasters. (More about this campaign here.)
Refugees and IDPs in West Balkans
This theme is of paramount importance in Balkans. Beginning 1991, political upheavals - such as the breakup of Yugoslavia - displaced millions of people....
read morePublished Friday, November 7, 2008 at 01:31
by
Ari Rusila
in Debate (249 views and 0 comments)
On 5 November 2008 the Commission adopted its annual strategy
document explaining its policy on EU enlargement. Furthermore,
the 2008 progress reports were published on the same date, where
the Commission services monitor and assess the achievements of
each of the candidate and potential candidates over the last
year. Regarding Serbia and Kosovo the reports are giving quite
different picture, even bigger gap is visible if EU’s input and
achievements are added to the same context.
The EU input...
After Kosovo conflict European Union has invested some 4.000
million euro for capacity building of Kosovo administration at
local, regional and central levels, to some infrastructure
investments etc. In addition Kosovo security system has enjoyed
services (or consumption) of remarkable Kfor troops. In fact
Kosovo has got more money per capita than any other mission
country in the world.
Serbia has also got some aid, but less than half per capita and
without extra services or money of foreign troops.
Advisers and experts around the globe have been developing Kosovo
administration and economy towards highest EU standards same time
when Serbia was trying do some progress on its own.
...and the outcome
A) Serbia
Like earlier reports also the latest one states that Serbia has
good capacity in its public administration. European integration
structures were strengthened...
Published Monday, October 6, 2008 at 17:28
by
Editor
in Debate (556 views and 0 comments)
Tomorrow, October 7 2008, the trade union movement is organising
a World Day for Decent Work, a broad global mobilisation day
focusing on three themes: Right at Work, Solidarity, Ending
Poverty and Inequality.
Take the opportunity to give your contribution, join the WDDW and
take part in the activities! You can find out the closest one on
the official website.
“Decent Work Decent Life”, because every person should be able to
have job that enable to live a good life. This is the theme of
the call for action which is going to be presented tomorrow to
the highest EU representatives in Brussels.
read more
Published Monday, September 29, 2008 at 10:00
by
robertsimon 
in Debate (625 views and 1 comments)
Nous sommes socialistes et donc internationalistes. La paix et le développement doivent être dans les priorités de l'Union. Pour cela il nous faut une politique étrangère européenne et des débats démocratiques sur nos orientations internationales et notre politique de coopération.
L'Europe doit plaider pour le renforcement des instances globales : pour démocratiser les institutions internationales, à coté de l'assemblée générale des Etats, il nous faut proposer une Assemblée des peuples, ou une assemblée parlementaire, réunissant tous les pays. Nous pourrions aussi proposer de réunir une assemblée parlementaire des pays démocratiques et libres (avec élections libres et respect des droits de l'Homme).
Qu'en pensez vous?
Robert SIMON, Paris
read morePublished Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 10:00
by
julian_schaerbeek
in Debate (1056 views and 1 comments)
"International
solidarity is the principle that unites us" said Jacinda Ardern,
President of the International Union of Socialist Youth at a
meeting on international solidarity at ECOSY summer camp. Without
international solidarity other principles such as peace, democracy,
social justice and equality are meanginless she added. Citing the
case of workers in the Phillipines who work 24 hour shifts for 75%
of the national minimum wage because they are classed as
"apprentices", Jacinda pointed out that employment, economic growth
and poverty were not mutually exclusive. Now there is a message for
the world trade talks that look like having new life... trade alone
won't lift people out of poverty - we also need strong trade unions
and good employment and social policies. We all know it but it's
important to be reminded.
read more
Published Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 10:29
by
Editor
in Debate (1021 views and 1 comments)
During the forum activists showed their interest in a number of round-table discussions, one of which on ‘EU in the world.’
On development, Laura Sullivan said that aid must be “genuine” and “effective.” EU aid policy must take into account the positions of NGOs and trade unions. Also on the subject of development, Emmanuel Drouin expressed the urgent need for a European policy on Africa in order for development to be socially just and democratic.
Barbara Revelli highlighted the importance of the Mediterranean in external relations and asked what contribution the EU can give to the Mediterranean Union. This, of course, is of particular relevance issue in light of French...
read morePublished Monday, July 14, 2008 at 15:24
by
Editor
in Debate (1154 views and 5 comments)
What should Europe do to deal with migration? And what should be the PES position on the issue? After the adoption by the European Parliament of the directive on the return of illegal immigrants, the question became (even more) crucial!
António Vitorino, former Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, defends that there is a need to have a “balanced migration policy”. That is to say that, on the one hand, Europe should “fight illegal migration” and, on the other hand, it is necessary to establish long term cooperation agreements with the countries of origin of immigrants. And let's not forget the humanitarian factor: immigrants should be treated with dignity!
What do you think Europe should head for on this issue? In your opinion how can Europe conciliate its needs of migrants and the security concerns...
read morePublished Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 09:49
by
Joel Cordier
in EU in the world (809 views and 0 comments)
Le mercredi 13
février 2008 a eu lieu la première rencontre des Artisans
de l’Europe.
Lors de cette soirée nous avons eu le plaisir d’accueillir Alain Hutchinson, parlementaire européen socialiste et Gérard Karlshausen, chargé des politiques européennes au Centre National de Coopération au Développement et membre du Board de CONCORD.
Voici quelques propositions issues de cette rencontre.
Les objectifs de santé et d’éducation doivent rester la priorité numéro un de l’aide européenne au développement.
Avec ses 22,68 milliards...
read morePublished Monday, June 2, 2008 at 14:15
by
Editor
in EU in the world (937 views and 1 comments)
EURODAD, the European Network on Debt and Development, gives its input for the manifesto2009. Marta Ruiz, EURODAD policy and advocacy officer, speaks about aid effectiveness and financial relations between rich and developing countries.
Read EURODAD' contribution for the manifesto2009 here.
read morePublished Monday, May 19, 2008 at 10:10
by
bverdeyen
in EU in the world (936 views and 0 comments)
The European Union today is the largest donor in development and
international aid.
A European fact we can indeed be proud of.
But let us not rest assured...the international (aid) scene is rapidly changing, for the best and the worst.
New players have entered the domain of international development
and aid.
China, for example, seems to have (re)discovered the African
continent and are rapidly becoming a major player. Not all that
strange after all, since the Chinese aid comes with much less
regulations than the aid the EU or the UN offers. Yet, it comes
at a much higher cost in the end.
But the way local NGO's work is changing as well. With as much failure stories as success stories, projects have a tendency to grow more local and more small-scaled. Western aid workers slowly abandon the idea they know better and that western models can simply be implemented in a non-western context.
Local partnerships and consultation rounds now determine the
needs of local people.
Participation and co-ownership are now key-words in these new
formats being developed.
Aid is so much more than simply drilling water holes or offering
medical supplies. Aid should also come in the forms of education
and information.
As the largest donor, the European Union also has the largest
responsibility. A responsibility to avoid trading aid for
political sway or economic deals. Aid should be a first step to
self-governance, not a hidden form...
Published Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:23
by
Editor
in Save our planet (1033 views and 0 comments)
Socialists are pushing for
more action on climate change, since it is necessary to act now,
leaving aside the disastrous “business as usual approach”.
Socialist MEP Linda McAvan (Labour UK) hosted the WWF debate “EU
Climate action : Do 30% NOW!” on 6 May 2008. Here are a few
conclusions from the meeting:Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 16:37
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1276 views and 3 comments)
Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 10:12
by
markus.austria
in EU in the world (1102 views and 1 comments)
Tags: activists, Africa, defence, democracy, development, multilateralism, peace, poverty, UN
File:
PES manifesto consultation.pdf
Published Monday, April 28, 2008 at 14:45
by
eromerof
in New Social Europe (1290 views and 2 comments)
Nowadays, the panorama of the left in Europe does not seem to be very tempting. Only 7 out of 27 countries belonging to EU are ruled by socialist parties. These are: United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Cyprus. We could argue that there is a lack of real political leadership, a leadership that in other decades was embodied by politicians such as Francois Mitterrand.
The political victory of Zapatero in Spain last march gives the Spanish socialism a great opportunity to implement and develop politics that can be seen as an example for other European countries. It generates a new opportunity to take the initiative in the European context. Whereas the majority of countries in South America are governed by left parties, sometimes with a strong and questionable populist sense, and whereas United States are given an opportunity to give the power again to the Democratic party, regardless of whether Clinton or Obama wins, the European left movement needs to reshape its political agenda, taking the initiative and dismantling the demagogic and populist discourse of conservative countries, too much focused on very sensitive and easy to be manipulated issues such as security, migration, taxes...
From a Spanish perspective, I would like to introduce some of the main points for a socialist agenda. An...
read morePublished Friday, April 25, 2008 at 15:40
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1112 views and 0 comments)
Published Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 11:33
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1439 views and 2 comments)
Published Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 04:16
by
frederic.vareillas
in EU in the world (1313 views and 10 comments)
Hi,
Dmitri Medvedev has just been chosen by 70 % of the Russian voters to become next President of Russian federation (with Putin as Prime Minister).
1/ This election has been only PARTLY democratic but a vast majority of the people in Russia are supportive of Putin's policies and are behind Medvedev (more than 60% of th total Russian population. So, Medvedev IS representative of the russians as much as Bush is representative of the americans.
2/ Russia has 10000 nuclear warheads targeting western Europe because of the American project of an anti missile "shield" (!) in Poland and Chzec Republic.
3/ America is a debtor nation , diving into a great depression, with no cash or oil left,
whereas Russia is on the rise : A new middle class, Oil, Gas, Coal, Gold, Diamonds, A new banking, trading, commercial and economic booming system.
4/ (and most important) : Look at your geographical maps : Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg, Moscow and most of the big Russian cities ARE in EUROPE.
5/ A bit of history : The forefathers of the white Russians where the "Varegs", Vikings coming to the region of Moscow around the tenth century A.D.
Russians Are europeans, and live mostly on the European continent.
That is to say : Most of the modern european Russians have SWEDISH ancestors : Sweden happens to be a member of the U.E. and is getting ready to join the € zone and the Schengen agreement.
6/ USA are...
read morePublished Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 13:05
by
negrescuvictor
in EU in the world (1395 views and 1 comments)
Published Friday, February 8, 2008 at 10:47
by
Gail Hurley
in EU in the world (1315 views and 0 comments)
The Party of European
Socialists is asking citizens what Europe should stand for in the
world, and how it can promote democracy, human rights and
sustainable development. Many policy-makers in developed countries
are currently talking about 'responsible lending' to developing
countries. This follows recent rounds of debt cancellation for the
poorest countries and fears that these very same countries will
quickly re-accumulate unpayable debt all over again.Tags: Africa, aid, development, poverty
File:
Responsible_Financing_Charter_report.pdf,
Responsible_Financing_Charter.pdf
Published Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 09:46
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1145 views and 0 comments)
Published Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 14:55
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1908 views and 2 comments)
Turn the tap on and
you’ll have fresh water, right? According to the World Health
Organization 14.000 – 20.000 people die every day because of
contaminated water. No one can live without access to clean water –
it is essential to survival and development.Published Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 11:30
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1273 views and 0 comments)
‘EPAs’ – the
expression itself sounds harmless, but these trade agreements with
poor countries are really a hot topic for debate!Published Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 23:57
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (2498 views and 0 comments)
The “Putting the puzzle together: policy coherence for decent work” Conference organized by the Global Progressive Forum (GPF), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Solidar and Social Alert International took place today in Lisbon, Portugal, preceding the International Labour Confederation (ILO) forum on Decent Work for a fair globalization.
Among the participants, a strong presence of trade unionists, members of civil society organizations but also members of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU. All together they called for achieving Decent Work at global level – an essential condition to attain a fairer globalization.
Juan Somavia, Director-General of ILO, underlined the importance of creating alliances among progressive associations – and having them working together coherently according to a toolkit providing common guide-lines. Portuguese Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity, José Vieira da Silva, has also mentioned the Decent Work as a new global vision of development. The Portuguese Minister connected “Decent Work Decent Life” to the Lisbon Strategy, as the success of the external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy would permit to strongly support Decent Work at a global scale. Moreover, a new concept of sustainable development for the 21st century would comprehend three subjects: preserving the environment, assuring human rights but also making sure the agenda of Decent Work is put into...
read morePublished Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 10:32
by
Editor
in EU in the world (1615 views and 0 comments)
Almost 90 percent of Europeans want the European Union to play a bigger role globally, according to a recent poll by the US German Marshall Fund. euobserver.com repeat that citizens call for more money to developmental aid (84 %), the use of trade to influence other countries (74 %) and sending troops for peace-keeping missions (68 %).
Committing troops to combat missions is near the bottom of the list. Only 20 percent of Europeans thinks combat operations should be EU’s responsibility.
In contrast to the clear-cut conclusions on global responsibility
the question about collaboration with the US splits Europe in
two: a little more than half, 53 percent, feels that the EU
should cooperate closer with Washington in dealing with global
threats, whereas 43 percent prefers Europe to address threats
independently.
The survey included about 13.000 people of 12 nationalities:
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the UK.
Published Friday, October 5, 2007 at 16:05
by
Editor
in EU in the world (2128 views and 2 comments)
We
Socialists are traditionally very interested in development –
supporting poorer and relatively newly independent countries to
become more prosperous, more sustainable, more democratic. But
genuinely good development polices are very hard to forge and
even harder to implement.
One problem is that it is very broad as a concept – and so many different policies come into play. Different EU countries have also had different approaches and interests so creating an EU framework for development has not been straightforward.
Today EU trade policy, agricultural policy, energy policies, the EU’s willingness to engage in peace missions, the EU’s decisions on debt cancellation, the extent it is willing to take action in support of democracy and human rights, its funding and support for AIDS, environmental sustainability, humanitarian relief, immigration policies all have an impact on development. All of these issues, and no doubt many more, should be covered in one EU development policy.
Everyone agrees that these policies should be ‘coherent’ – that one policy does not to contradict undermine the other, but instead should be ‘integrated’. In short we want the sum of different EU policies to add up to one clear and effective policy that supports...
read morePublished Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 11:17
by Asynjen in EU in the world ( comments)
How many people have been born this year? How many cars have been produced? How much CO2 has polluted the atmosphere? How many people have died due to lack of safe water? Find statistics and both good and bad news here!
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