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100 years of history:PIVOTING POLITICAL MOMENTS AND CULTURAL (R)EVOLUTION

“Those who don’t know history are doomed to re-peat it.” -Edmund Burke

100 years ago the First World War began. Two world wars, two financial crises, the vote for wo-men, the abolishment of apartheid… Have we really learnt the lessons our past has taught us through violence and suffering?

Embark into a journey through time. This News-letter aims to look into our past and demonstrate how yesterday’s key conflicts are still rooted in our society nowadays; and how past ideologies trans-cend time are still alive today.

However, political concerns were not the only ones to participate in the shaping of our present; but also cultural innovators and trends. Hence, this Newsletter does not only feature articles on po-litics and history, it includes cultural highlights of the past decades and narrative pieces as well.

“Select a decade. Choose a cultural, social or po-litical turning point from it. Write about it.” These, and a couple of committee topics per decade were the guidelines given to the journalists to allow for their own interests and their personal view on his-tory to come across through their articles.

100 years later, we find ourselves in the midst of a dark tunnel, at the end of which some say to see a light. Let’s hope this light is one of hope and that we will, as a phoenix would, collect our ashes and rise stronger.

EDITORIAL

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Cristina Crespo

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CONTENTS1920s

Back to the wheel conflict ________________6The Great Gatsby ____________________________7The "Frontier" that Wanted to be a Nation _81930s

Germany, the path to follow? ______________ 14Meet Ann ____________________________________ 161940s

Is NATO still useful? _______________________20A weird "friendship" _______________________21To intervene or not to intervene, that's the question _________________________221950s

Lost Girl ____________________________________26Futuristic Medicine _________________________27Crimea: The root of the conflict ___________281960s

MAY 68: Chronicle of a failed revolution _32Dreaming. the world in the sixties ________33The fight goes on __________________________34Blowin' in the Wind ________________________35

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1970s

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ____________38Let's stroll down memory lane ____________39Only for cinephiles ________________________401980s

Should we ACT against ACTA? _______________44Another brick off the wall ______________461990s

Independent Energy _________________________50Act of Union ________________________________51THE 90s ______________________________________522000s

The road to connection _____________________56Ready for Recovery? ________________________582010s

An ever closer union? _____________________62Time capsules _______________________________64

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1920s

The “Roaring Twenties” or the “années folles” caraterised the decade’s distinctive cultural edge. At this very time, jazz and dancing rose in popularity, in opposition to the mood after World War I. this period is also known as the Jazz Age, with the appearance of musi-cians such as louis armstrong, who transformed jazz from dancing music to a from of po-pular art.

By Marta Rosique

A hundred years. Ten decades. One century. During this long period of time we have been living with a huge scar. A scar that formed from the wounds of our predecessors who fought and died during both the First and the Second World War.

End of 2014. It is the right moment to go through the past and learn from our mistakes. It is the time to move forward trying to only emulate the positive moments of the past decades. Ne-vertheless, we find both in politics and in civil society people who behave in the same way as others did a century ago. How much of our present is really related to 1914? The nationalistic feeling of imperialism is still present, that is for sure.

There is a divergence of opinion about what would have happe-ned if Prince Franz Ferdinand had not been murdered. In any case, tensions at the time between countries were high enough for a world war to spark anyhow triggered by imperialism. Evi-dence of how imperialism was the principal issue world politics were concerned about is the colonial division of Africa and Asia.

The War ended up in 1918 with 37 million casualties. In order to maintain the peace and avoid another war, the League of Nations was created in 1920. Nevertheless, some years later the Second World War took place. The Wall Street Crash in 1929 affected all European countries, especially the ones who had lost the previous war. In Germany, Nazism was getting increasingly powerful and this led to the start of the WWII. Again, an interna-tional organisation was created, the United Nations in 1945, to avoid replicating history once again. From that moment, violence decreased despite the fact that during the Cold War, the world got polarised and the tensions between countries skyrocketed.

Is imperialism still present though? With Russia’s last interven-tion in Crimea, its expanding dream is becoming true. Germany has become the European Union’s dominant political figure and the United States still has a major role in many conflicts, such as the Syrian Civil War or the War in Afghanistan, apart from its

obvious economic imperialism throughout the whole world. Meanwhile, China is deve-loping fast both military and politically.

Some may argue we are heading towards a Third World War. No matter how we call it, the only undeniable fact is that tensions be-

tween states still remain. Our scar does so too. A hundred years have gone by since the First World War. Ten decades. One cen-tury. Perhaps Friedrich Nietzsche was right when he said “a long minute of time will elapse until all those conditions out of which you were evolved return in the wheel of the cosmic process”.

MARTA WALKS US THROUGH THE CAUSES THAT TRIGGERED the first WORLD WARS MAKES US REFLECT UPON HOW IMPERIALISM IS STILL PRESENT IN OUR SOCIETY, IN A MORE SUBTLE AND PERHAPS MORE POWERFUL WAY.

Back to the wheel conflict

• MartaRosique,picturecomposition.LookingbacktotheFirstWorldWar

“During this long period of time we have been li-ving with a huge scar.”

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The Great Gatsby

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

...

When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction — Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gor-geous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative tempera-ment.”— it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. No — Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my

interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.”Opening of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925

• Alicia Crespo

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EYPE Newsletter II

By Miguel Vera

The etymology of the word Ukraine is a much-discussed matter. The two most accepted theories maintain that Ukraine might be a referent to frontier or a degeneration of the old Slavic word krain, which comes to mean country.

The truth is that the one supposing krain to be the origin of Ukrain’s name seems to have a rather weak back-up, since Ukra-ine is a 20 year old state with no longer history. Not only etymology but History too, serves us as a tool to show how the territory of Ukraine has really been used as a border for ages.

Having only a glimpse of sovereignty between the IX and XIII centuries - with Kievan Rus’, the region has been dominated by the Huns, the Goths, the Polish, the Lithuanians, and even the Golden Horde. It was due to the continuous battles and incursions for the control of the area coming from many different cultures with notoriously different origins, that the Mongols claimed Ukraine to be the frontier between Western and Oriental civilizations –an area of huge strategic interest.

Not only as a mere boundary but also as a meeting point for a vast number of cultures, beliefs, and ideologies, Ukraine’s always been a very disputed area, having concrete several con-flicts been taken part in its land all along its History –repeated aggressions from one power to another in order to control a te-

rritory that could provide huge benefits for any entity interested in entering into the geopolitical game.

Even though those names seem so odd and far away, little do we usually know how similar they are to our current context. In fact, it was exactly a century ago when the first versions of western geopolitical powers really showed a fierce will to take over the

border to Orient, as part of a large-sca-le conflict that later showed Europeans how they very much needed to coexist in peace –and also, a piece of history commented on my fellow’s article “Back to the wheel’s conflict”.

Ukraine was at that moment in hands of the Russian Empire. Although not yet the USSR, the Tsar desig-nated as many troops to Ukraine as Stalin would later wisely do in the Second World War, always trying to protect its precious zone of Ukraine.

A repeated situationThose continuous conflicts for the control of the region little or no care of the local population. It was pure Ukrainian pride and desire for complete independence that took the first steps of events in the Maidan Square against its now ex-president Viktor Yanukovych. In fact, if there is something that many have highli-ghted from the latest events in Ukraine, it is the Ukrainians’ hope

Ukraine, a country that entered World War I on the side of both the Central Powers, under Austria, and the Triple Entente, under Russia, to later become a founding member of the Ussr in 1922. a clear example of the continuous internal divisions in the country. MIGUEL DESCRI-BES in this article THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN WHICH UKRAINE AND RUSSIA HAVE BEEN LIVING FOR CENTURIES.

The "Frontier" that Wanted to be a Nation

“the infamous phrase “Geogra-phy Determines Destiny”, is used by many to describe the Russian view of their defence strategy.”

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for this attempt to definitely set them independent. Many foreign media groups have, probably intentionally, exposed this fact to be exclusive from this revolution just to make it seem more im-portant, driving a bit more of attention from western people.

The fact is, however, that the constant pressure on Ukrainians by external entities has been received with numerous hostilities. This has led to repeated revolutions that throughout history, very much like the Euromaidan and everything it changed, have proven the desperate will of a nation. Let us not forget how the Haida-maks in the XVIII century fought against the polish dominant nobles too!

It is curious to see how not only the whole revolution is not new to us, but Ukraine’s former president, Víktor Yanukvych, also had quite of a curriculum in this matter. He was one of the main icons of the so-called Orange Revolution, which took place only a decade ago, in 2004. It was back then when crowds of protesters also got into the Independence Square to non-violently protest against a supposed wangle of the recent elections from the authorities to proclaim Yanukovych as their president. The protests finished with a scrutinising of the number of votes that declared Yanukovych’s main rival to be the legitimate president of Ukraine.

It was already supposed back then that Russia may have had something to do with the first result of the voting, since it had so much interest in Ukraine and always wanted to keep it in its influence zone.

Why so much Interest?As earlier shown in this article and throughout history, every great nation that has known Ukraine has wanted to take it as theirs –a situation that is now accentuated because of globali-sation and the breakdown of the USSR. Russia has always payed very close attention on what’s happening with Ukraine and on how its population and government are going to act in a future, always trying to at least keep a significant influence over the country.

The continuous and schematic behaviour that Russian leaders have been having for centuries is based in the idea of protecting its own population. The Russians have always been in constant trouble until pretty much the arrival of the Soviets, being an ex-tremely multi-ethnical area that has had to deal with a problema-tic co-existence of different cultural identities, the maintenance of law, and foremost, the difficulties of maintaining the eastern part of the country alive –a task which is still extremely hard and costly, obliging the Russian government to invest a lot into suppl-ying basic needs to the area. And, of course, one major concern was the continuous invasions of its lands by external empires.

Russian lands were not being attacked, however, to take ad-

vantage of the benefits of its territory, but because they hosted some of the most important dynasties and super-powers. It is the situation that Russia’s been living, at least, for the past deca-de, being a country that after the loss of the all-mighty CCCP that could even challenge the dominion of the USA, has managed to recover and get on its way to be one of the main geopolitical powers of the future.

The possible menaces to the security of the country have always been in Russian lea-ders’ minds. Nowadays, Russia is an extre-mely vulnerable country in terms of military, since their western part of the country is extremely flat and vast, leaving the Russian strategists no opportunity to crate a consis-tent shield against any military intervention. And as I’ve been writing a couple of lines above, the eastern part is so naturally fe-

rocious and inaccessible that it is almost impossible to maintain anything there. To keep their country somehow protected they need to find topographic accidents that work as a barrier for the possible invaders –this justifies the infamous phrase “Geogra-phy Determines Destiny”, used by many to describe the Russian view of their defence strategy. For this matter, they need to have an access to the Caucasus Mountains to protect from the sou-th, which they already have, and a proximity to the Carpathian Mountains to make an impediment for any incursion coming from Europe that they could achieve through Ukraine. Of course, they cannot just take Ukraine as theirs, but having a huge influence on the country is still beneficial, since it is a starting point to complete their barrier.

The whole idea that Russia had of Ukraine is now obviously destroyed, since the Euromaidan revolutions totally broke the relationship between both countries. That is main reason why Putin is putting so much pressure onto the situation and giving so much support to the separatists: to have a minimal chance to restore a bit of the situation they had settled there.

Not only that, Ukraine’s crisis has also given Russia less pos-sibilities for the creation of the Eurasian Union. This new entity is a yet-to-be block initially supposed to be finally established in January 2015, organised by Vladimir Putin’s government to coordinate Russia and it “allies” to form an economic union that could later evolve into an EU-like union thanks to which coun-tries like Kazakhstan or Belarus could have better relations with Russia and each other. It is highly probable that the Eurasian Union was called to counteract and oppose the EU’s economic and political influence by creating an equally important entity that could even out-shadow the EU. Ukraine was invited to form part of the Eurasian Union, which was one of the main reasons why its former government cancelled the EU’s invitation. Ever since the first day of the Euromaidan, Russia’s Eurasian Union has lesser potential members, a situation that will very probably lead the idea into oblivion.

“The main reason why the US is acting in Ukraine is not the defence of freedom, democracy, and peace –like that had ever happened.”

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EYPE Newsletter II

Speaking of unions, it is very curious to see how the EU has behaved during the last events in Ukraine. At first, it feels crucial to clarify that the EU has no clear external policy. That means that, if situations like the Euromaidan happen, it is not the EU who acts, but single member states that does something about it. In fact, it was not the EU as a whole but Poland who first su-ggested to invite Ukraine into the EU. And it was not only Ukrai-ne that got invited to associate, but also countries like Armenia and Georgia got into a so called “Eastern Partnership” plan to bring eastern Europeans closer to the EU. Most of the countries invited are potential member states of the Eurasian Union and Russian-friendly countries, so it is very probable that Poland only made the suggestion to destabilise Russia as they probably felt that it could get too powerful.

However, it is true that, although not having a general way to

act towards external policies, the EU has supported the majority of the sanctions. This has its explanation on the fact that USA does have some motivation to manage Ukraine and, the EU as an occidental country, is in my opinion pretty much US’s vassal.

The main reason why America is acting in Ukraine is not the defence of freedom, democracy, and peace –like that had ever happened. The US’s main reason to sanction the separatists is to reduce Russia’s power as it is becoming a country that, like in the XX century, could be a true inconvenience for them. The US believe that, combined with China, Russia can diminish the US’s global decision power.

So what Now?The current Ukrainian government signed an association agree-ment with the EU on June 27th, 2014, and the decision to orga-

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nise a meeting for the ceasefire including the separatists, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France in Berlin has been announced. Russia has backed down as they felt that the very restrictive sanctions on its supporters could be a total threat. Meanwhile, the bloodshed continues in the East of Ukraine as the people of the now called Republic of Donbas struggle to maintain their position and survive against a very aggressive, fully equipped Ukrainian army that seems to be gaining territory.

In my modest opinion, if Ukraine really wants to be a stable country, its army should get out of the East and stop requesting the south immediately, because someday, somehow, the people of those territories are going to find a way to truly hurt the country they are obliged to live in without sharing ideologies, identity, or even language. That may mean public disturbance; that may mean terrorism. And, of course, Putin is never going to

give up on those areas.

So Ukrainians now need to rebuild a broken country, and to keep their efforts in maintaining democratic regency that has been sullied with far-right, fascist and neo-Nazis movements in the Euromaidan and the later riots and military actions.

• Anti-RussiansoldiersinCrimea.YahooNews

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EYPE Newsletter II

the wall street crash in 1929 and the depression that followed were depicted in charles chaplin’s 1936 film “Modern Times”, which was described by Chaplin himself as “a satire on certain phases of our industrial life.” IT FEATURED his alter ego, the little Tramp, and paulette Goddard as they endure the Great Depression.

“Doesn’t it sound great? People choo-sing what to study and the system adapting to the student rather than the student adapting to the system.”

Germany, the path to follow?By David Soler

THE ECONOMIC SITUATIONS OF BOTH THE 1930S AND OUR PRESENT ARE GReATLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HIGH FIGURES OF UNEMPLOYMENT. BUT IS THERE MORE tO IT? david explores and contrasts the educational systems in the eu to provide a further explanation for these figures.Youth unemployment is alarming. On the eve of the European Youth Event in Strasbourg the European Commission made the last update on youth unemployment. 5.4 million young people under 25 are unemployed in the EU. A 22.8% of young Euro-peans do not find a job, though looking for one, and these figu-res increase in countries such as Greece or Spain where levels of youth unemployment rise above 50%. Surely, the economic situation accounts partly for these figures. Yet, where does the rest of the problem lie? Is it rooted in the quality of education or is it of simple inexperience and distrust in young people?

Secondary level education around Europe is based mainly on lots of theory and hard work in order to enter university. Entry grades can be very high your chosen degree is highly demanded.

Now, imagine a girl named Carol. She is 17 years old and passionate about Technology. However, her grade isn’t enough to get into her desired de-gree as her exams in philosophy and literature weren’t brilliant. What should she do now? Study another career that she doesn’t really like or even wait until next year to try to improve her gra-des? Is university the only option for her to find a job? Maybe, and just maybe, these thoughts are one of the multiple reasons for the high youth unemployment rates. How can we therefore bridge the gap between high education and the labour market’s demands in order to improve the employability and prospects of younger generations?

There is one country in the EU that seems to have found a path towards making it as smooth as possible the change from school

to the labour market. Germany has a youth unemployment rate of 7.8%, which lowers to 6.8% in women under 25 years of age. The complex but effective secondary education system is probably the reason for this.

Rather than having just primary and secondary school unified with the unique and solely goal of either going to university or crashing in the attempt to do so, the German education system includes different secondary schools that adapt to the different profiles of students. In Germany, a student who finishes primary school has three options: the Hauptschule, the Realschule or the Gymnasium - the latter of which would be the most similar

to those secondary schools in Spain and many other countries. This lasts for 8 to 9 years and the students at the end take the Abitur exam which will determine if they enter to univer-sity or not. But life doesn’t end there. Students who would rather not go to university have either the Hauptschu-

le or the Realschule. These schools, similar between them but with the main difference being that the second one offers the possibility of studying a second foreign language, will end their secondary school at 16 years of age. After this, students will have the opportunity of accessing several training options in or-der to enter the labour market step by step. They can do in-com-pany vocational training, work in the public service at secretarial and executive level and even attend a Berufsfachschule or a Fachhochschule, similar to a Technical High School, specialised in a specific area of study; such as Music, Technology or Design. Therefore, with this system Carol would not need to choose a di-fferent degree or wait one year to improve her grades. Instead,

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she could go to these type of schools.

Doesn’t it sound great? People choosing what to study and the system adapting to the student rather than the student adapting to the system. Well, even this system has many critics. Some people argue that it is discriminatory to students, that it classi-fies them too early in life. What if you don’t study in a Gymnasium and then want to go to university. Is it that only very smart stu-dents can go to university? Furthermore the decision to either enter the Gymnasium, the Realschule or the Hauptschule has to be taken after ending primary school. Who is capable to take

such a decision when it concerns students aged between 11 or 12, knowing that it will change their lives?

Taking this into account, should other EU countries look a bit more into Germany’s system and try to adapt it to their country? Maybe, and again, just maybe, this system is one of the possible solutions for those youngsters that will enter the EU labour mar-ket in the near future.

• Bansky.Keepyoutcoins,Iwantchange

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EYPE Newsletter II

By Miguel Vera

“(staring at the cashier) At the end of the day, my future is going to be very much like his present.”

Meet Ann

The Great Depression that started in 1930 and lasted until the late 1930s or middle 1940s was, to this day the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. 85 years later, Unemployment figures in some european countries are as high as those during the depression. MIGUEL NARRATES A SCENE IN ANN’S LIFE, ONE THAT MANY YOUNG EUROPEANS MAY RECOGNISE.Ann is now 27 years old. She sits alone in a cafeteria as she is waiting for her flight take off. She’s with her laptop, reading through the daily news. She flips through a couple of problematic evictions, new laws against protesters, more political corruption plots being discovered, and a minister who publicly affirms that youngsters don’t emigrate because of how ridiculously difficult it is to find a job but because they are looking for adventures. So she decides to turn off her computer. “I guess I am quite and adventurer, then. Ann Jones, the young ver-sion of Indiana.” she thinks while putting the device in her bag. “So what’s next?”

She gets up to buy herself a sandwich. In doing so, she recalls the way in which every-body told her she would grow up to be a perfect professional who would be able to choose what or where to work and, of cour-se, to earn a lot of money. She had really good grades, being an A+ student that would study as much as she could. She decided that she would study to be an engineer at a really young age, considering how everybody told her that it was the most conve-nient choice since she was really intelligent. Her major passion, however, was Philosophy.

She managed to go through college and she indeed had a great time there, even though she studied hard –enough to be one of the best graduates of the promotion. She did try to find that much desired job once she graduated, which could provide her the freedom and wealth everybody was talking about around her. It was already difficult to do something back then, so she finally decided that her time would be better spent studying languages and a major degree. And thus, she began learning German, and

improving the knowledge she already had on what she thought it was the most interesting part of her degree.

Being done with that period of her life, it is at this moment that we see her. She has been trying to find a job for over a year without any success, still economically depending on her parents and becoming a well into her twenties academically brilliant per-son that still hasn’t achieved personal independence, living with her family, and getting no return on her life investment on edu-

cation in school –although having an outs-tanding curriculum.

She hands the sandwich that she has chosen to eat to the cashier. She notices a somehow weird accent when he tells her the price of her last acquisition, noticing that that person is clearly an immigrant. He is a rather hand-

some young man that could have the same age as Ann, and seems to be quite intelligent judging by a small, ironic remark he makes. Ann wonders if he had a similar experience to hers before getting to her country.

“At the end of the day, my future is going to be very much like his present”. She is heading to Germany, mainly because she alre-ady knows the language and her friend Joe who has been living there for a couple of months told her the country had a big job offer. “He sure might be right… But Joe has even better studies than I do, and he’s working as a window cleaner. His salary is so miserable that his family still has to pay for at least half of his expenses!” This panorama is surely not what she was expecting from growing up and having a job when she was younger“I was told I could be anything, anywhere. Well, now I can be nothing not even in my home country!”

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She bites into her ham and grilled cheese sandwich which has always been her favourite. She finds it awful this time. It tastes like hell.

Her hopes are obviously destroyed and yet, above all, that is not what annoys her the most. These last days she has been having problems with her sleep. The mere idea of leaving not only her friends, but her whole family behind scares her to the point of regretting living in an era where over 50% of youngs-ters are unemployed in her country, and obliged to emigrate to survive. She will miss everything; the mother’s hugs , her father giving her wise advice and complaining about how rude her younger brother Sam behaves in the table, partying with her friends… She even had to renounce to her beloved boyfriend, Tim. They both so desperately wanted to keep contact and have a long-distance relationship. But we know how it works –it would

never work out.

“This is shit.” She stands up, and goes ahead to the bin to throw her sandwich away. On her way, she listens that the flight to Düsseldorf is going to close doors in ten minutes. She better get moving. “Well Ann Jones... Let’s see if this adventure is worth the sacrifice.” This is the last thing she thinks before grabbing her bag and leaving the cafeteria.

•Newstalk

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EYPE Newsletter II

1940s

Mahatma Gandhi, leader of Indian independence movement, was assassinated on 30th January 1948. gandhi led India to independence, Employing nonvio-lent civil disobedience, and has inspired since, movements for freedom and civil rights across the world.

Is NATO still useful?

By Iker Bengoetxea

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was created the 4th of April of 1949, in order to provide its members with voluntary and collective defence. Until the Korean War (1950-1953), it was little more than a political association, but since then, and especially since the Soviet Countries signed the Warsaw Pact in 1955, it has been the main alliance including nations of the so-called ‘Western Block’.

Its role was crucial during the years of the Cold War, when the world was divided into two irreconcilable groups, with antagonistic views on almost everything, primarily regarding the economy. This may led to think that after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, which symbolized the end of the communist-ca-pitalist conflict, NATO’s key role was over. Well, nothing further from the truth.

During the last two decades, the alliance has taken part in several military inter-ventions all over the world, sometimes with almost complete agreement of the international community, others with the sole support of its own members. These operations, many of whom were allowed by the UN Security Coun-cil, were aimed at fighting terrorism (the Afghanistan War after the 11/9 attack), piracy (ships were sent to fight Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa) or though to help people opposing dicta-torships (the Libya Intervention in 2011).

But the role of NATO has not been free from controversies. Rus-sia and China constantly accuse this organization of being a puppet of the USA, in its supposed effort to maintain its influen-ce over the former ‘Western Block’ countries. Moreover, NATO’s methods during the war in Afghanistan have been fiercely critici-zed for the death of thousands of civilians, and for the tolerance the alliance has shown towards the culprits.

As a consequence of this, many citizens in the countries who are part of NATO have expressed their desire to abandon an organisation, which they blame for the suffering of millions of innocent people. However, the recent events in Ukraine seem to have strengthened the idea that NATO is still necessary. Many claim that if Ukraine was part of the Treaty, Russia could have never violated its national sovereignty and Crimea would still be Ukrainian. Probably they are right.

But most of NATO members being part of the EU too, it is at least questionable whether they need the

security it provides, considering the costs the membership carries. The Cold War is over

and communism collapsed 20 years ago. The world has changed a lot since NATO was created, but the alliance seems to be immobile. It was founded to provide its members with security, but most of them do not need it nowadays. Therefore, in

order to continue being useful, it should focus in trying to be a balsam in troubled

areas.

NATO has to stand with the people, with the suffering ones, and its job should be subdued to the authority of the UN, who is the only institution where all the countries are represen-ted. The intervention in Libya in the 2011 is a good example of which path is the right one for NATO: with the support of the international community, it ended a 40 years tyranny in that country, opening a road for peace and democracy.

If NATO does not make the necessary changes in its own es-sence, it will not last too long, but, paradoxically, the only one to blame for its defeat would be itself.

in 1949, the prospect of further Communist expansion prompted the United States and 11 other Western nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. in his article, iker looks into whether the existence of nato is still crucial for us or whether it has become obsolete.

•Aircrewfromsixalliednationsformthealliance’sinitials,1960

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A weird "friendship"

By Iker Bengoetxea

'A weird friendship' by Iker

'A weird friendship' by Iker

•Aircrewfromsixalliednationsformthealliance’sinitials,1960

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EYPE Newsletter II

By David Soler

To intervene or not to intervene, that's the question

In 1996, the Western European Union was asked by NATO to implement a European Security and Defence Identity within NATO, which later was passed over to the EU’S Common Security and De-fence Policy through the Lisbon Treaty. From nato to a common european security and defence policy. david takes a step forward from the former’s creation in 1949 and explains the CSDP.

There can be no defence like elaborate courtesy - e.v. lucas

COMMMON SECURITY and defence policy

The Petersberg Tasks: Agreed at the June 1992 Western European Union (WEU) Council of Ministers. They agree the purposes for which military units could be deployed:

1. Humanitarian and rescue tasks;

2. Peacekeeping tasks;

3. Tasks of combat forces in crisis management.

The Lisbon Treaty: Entered in force the 1st December 2009 it expan-ded The Petersburg Tasks including military advice, peacemaking and post-conflict stabilisation. It also created the European External Action Service (EEAS) under the authority of the High Representative for Fo-reign Affairs and Security Policy.

The Military Headline Goals (HLGs) are designed to ensure that the EU possesses the military capabilities required to conduct the full range of missions encompassed by the Petersberg tasks.

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eu military and civilian missions

what stances should the eu take

eu missions

The EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territo-ries is widely known and differs from the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina as it is not a military ope-ration but a civilian mission. This mission is part of the wider efforts of the European Union in support of Palestinian state building in the context of wor-king towards a comprehensive peace based on a two-State solution, thus, showing the involvement of the EU as a peacekeeper all over the world.

Syria, Palestina, Turkey, Egypt and more recently Ukraine. Conflicts have developed through Asia and even inside Europe affecting the stability of the European Union. What should the EU’s stance be against these issues?

Since 1992 the EU has a defined, or at least theoretical, stance against this cases. The Petersberg Tasks defined that the EU should intervene on peacekeeping tasks, on rescue and humanitarian aid tasks and to combat forces in crisis management. Has this really happened? The EU constantly condemns actions taken by terrorist groups and makes an official press release considering to take actions against those who threaten human rights and peace at their countries. But in the end it does near nothing.

Something else to take into account is that, military services are under national sovereignity. Although the EU can call to take military action it doesn’t possess a proper EU Army, independent from its Member States.

Do sanctions work? When Kiev was in the middle of a civil war the EU did not take a step in the front to prevent the conflict from escalating. Rather, they condemned the situation, imposed sanctions on those creating conflict. Shouldn’t the EU take a more active stance?

Many would argue that the EU should take an active role, or let’s say an aggressive role, as countries such as Russia or the USA do. Sending troops in the name of the EU would be a prove of power and it would also send a message of strengh and power to other countries. On the other hand, others argue that the EU should not take an aggressive stance as it would worsen its image and go against its core principle; as it was created to prevent any possible world war by uniting Europe.

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EYPE Newsletter II

1950S

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1950 was awarded to Bertrand Russell; British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, social critic and political ac-tivist, “in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he cham-pions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought”.

By Guillermo Nevot

Lost GirlRussell once said “In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards.” in this narrative piece, guillermo depicts the social gap between the rich and the poor. She’s walking down the street. Her shoes, silently, drag on the floor; around her clusters of cars and people move back and forth, endlessly. She continues moving, step-by-step, looking above her, to the shiny lamppost and bright neon lights. Her face covered in dust, she walks between two walls of bars, cine-mas and nightclubs. Blinded by those beautiful lights, she covers her eyes with her hand. From time to time, a man in a suit or a bejewelled woman comes from one of the buildings; she cannot help staring at them. Their elegance emerges from their skins as well as indifference. A fake happiness surrounds them but, obviously, the little girl only sees magic in them, like the gods of her little world.

She stops in front of one of the buildings. Sweets and lollipop spin and shine in front of her, behind the shop’s window. Wi-shing to taste them, her stomach growls. Daintily, the girl looks for coins in her pocket. Nothing. It’s better to continue walking. So she starts walking again in her dirty dress and dishevelled ponytail. Cars groan around her now. The traffic lights change and change from colour to colour without an apparent reason. She feels like a ghost in the middle of the city.

Suddenly, a man approaches her. She feels scared but she has neither an escape nor energy to run. When he gets near her, his filthy nails dare to touch her arm. She barely escapes from the claw and hides behind the lamppost. Then the blue uniformed man changes his gesture, frowning his eyes. With his badge han-ging from his chest and his truncheon in his hand, he kicks the girl. “Get out of here!”, he shouts; “This is not your place to be.” Hurt, the girl runs away, very far from there, till the bright lights cannot reach her any longer. She is about to cry but a few steps further, she finds a hopscotch court. A smile appears in her stained face. She is hungry but she does not care; she starts to jump, square by square, with a new strength she ignored she had. And she continues hopping, with only the moon to look after her from high up in the sky.

•Flikr:maru_stahl

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By Guillermo Nevot

“This scene might seem scien-ce fiction but it is not; it is a new medical method: “telemedicine”.”

Futuristic Medicine

1950 was a turning point in modern medicine; from the first human aorta transplant or the discovery of Hepatitis A to the synthesis of Penicillin. But guillermo does not look back in time in his article; he looks forward. and, for him, the future of medicine is telemedicine.“Please, stick out your tongue!” says the screen. Then, a tiny camera attached to the screen applies a zoom on it and, af-terwards, an electronic arm gives you a syringe to make yourself a medical test. Eventually, the screen tells you its diagnosis, you are completely healthy. This scene might seem science fiction but it is not; it is a new medical method: “te-lemedicine”.

This new approach to the health care opens up a huge world of possibili-ties. First of all, one of the best advantages is independence. Arranging appointments with your doctor will no longer be nee-ded. All will happen instantly, with your personal doctor at hand on your phone or tablet. Of course, the treatments will be focu-sed on each patient, turning medical care into a customised ex-perience. Consequently, the European Union (EU) is now trying to develop method, which is said to reduce health costs but, at the same time, improve healthcare efficiency by nearly 20% tou-gh. At the moment, the EU eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020 pro-poses an increase of funds, planned to be at least 8.5% of the European Gross Domestic Product (GPD). Companies will also be rewarded with the introduction of telemedicine; currently, this market already accounts for more than 7.1 billion of euros.

What are telemedicine’s flaws? Many arguments have risen since the beginning of telemedicine. Like every breakthrough it has its benefits and its negative consequences. For instance, to achieve the personalised healthcare record of a patient, all her perso-nal information would be registered online. Thus, the access to the patient’s data would become easy, maybe too easy. Moreo-ver, banks, insurance companies and potential employers may assess risks more accurately based on individuals’ health care

status, while patients expect equal treatment, regardless of their health status, both inside and outside healthcare institutions.

Furthermore, the position towards telemedicine adopted by the Member States is ambiguous and presents many differen-

ces among them. However, the Staff Working Paper, whose ojective is to enhance legal clarity for all the actors involved in the provision of teleme-dicine services is already working on this problem by mapping all EU te-

lemedicine legislations in order to unite and clarify the laws on this field.

• SaintPeter’sBlog,Minnesota27

EYPE Newsletter II

“Vladimir Putin, using a geopoliti-cal strategy, annexed Crimea back to Russia in1954. over 60 years later, the Soviet Predator is still hungry.”

By Iker Bengoetxea

Crimea: The root of the conflict

Geopolitically strategic, Crimea has long been a source of conflict between Turkey, Rus-sia and Ukraine. iker describes how In 1954, a decision taken by the former USSR leader, Nikita Kruschev, which seemed to be a mere formality at that time, would 60 years later determine the balance of power between the post-Soviet block and the western democracies.

Located in the Black Sea, the peninsula of Crimea is a small but amazingly intercultural land. The Crimean Tartars (12%), of Muslim religion and particular customs, were the native in-habitants of the region, but since the Russian Revolution of 1917, they coexist with a Russian ethnic majority (60%) and a Ukranian minority (28%). All of them make slightly more than 2 million inhabitants.

Nevertheless, this apparently unim-portant land has recently become the spotlight of a worldwide crisis unknown since the end of the Cold War. But few people realise that this problem comes from a long way back.

In May of 1944, War World II was about to end and the Nazi troops had been expelled from the Soviet Union. This was a ma-jor victory for Stalin, leader of the USSR at the time, but the job was not finished yet. During the war, German troops had appa-rently been helped by certain local groups; this was considered a huge outrage against the Union by Soviet leaders and they though it had to be punished.

Between 1941 and 1942, the city of Sebastopol (Crimea), whe-re Russia had its biggest naval fleet, was besieged by the Axis powers. The Red Army managed to defeat the enemy, but during the siege, Germans were helped by the local Crimean Tartarians.

As an answer to that unacceptable treason, Stalin ordered to deport nearly 200,000 Tartars, mainly to the Soviet Socialist Re-public of Uzbekistan, in an operation known as Sürgün (literally “exile” in Crimean Tartar). Many of them ended in different Gu-

lags all over Siberia. Roughly speaking, half of them were killed or died of starvation. Besides that, thousands of Russians were encouraged to move into Crimea, in order to rebuild it after the war and to ensure that a favourable ethnic majority populated it.

Years after the war, in 1954, when Russians already made the majority of Crimea’s population, the Soviet leader at that time,

Nikita Kruschev, decided to gave the sovereignty of Crimea to the Soviet So-cialist Republic of Ukraine. This action was meant to celebrate the 300th an-niversary of the signing of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, which in 1654 de facto united the Cossack Hetmanate (cen-tral-Ukraine) and the Grand Duchi of

Moscow (North-Western Russia).

At that time, 15 different republics formed the Soviet Union. Although officially federal, the USSR was, in fact, a centralist one-party state where most of the important decisions were taken by the leaders of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, whose central office was settled in Moscow. Therefore, the transference of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine was purely symbolic at the time. It is not hard to understand why the Rus-sians living in Crimea did not protest. After all, they were still Soviet citizens.

But the USSR collapsed between 1990 and 1991 and the 24th of August of 1991 the Parliament of Ukraine declared the ab-solute independence of its country from Russia, and stated that the borders of the new state would be the same of the former

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Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine. In the new constitution, the national territory was declared as “indivisible and inviolable”. Crimea was now Ukrainian.

During the years, Crimea has been a point of dispute between Ukraine and Russia, but the Russian majority of the peninsula remained moderately calmed, as the region was given the status of “Autonomous Republic” as part of the Ukrainian State. The Region’s Party (centrist and pro-Russian), of former Ukrainian President, Yanukovich, was by far the major party of Crimea and canalised the pro-Russian feeling of the people.

However, when the Maidan revolution triumphed and a pro-Eu-ropean government was established in Kyiv, lead by Fatherland Party (liberal-conservative and pro-European) of former Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, violence erupted in eastern Ukraine, especially in Crimea.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, using a geopolitical strategy, which many consider brilliant, took advantage of the situation and annexed Crimea back to Russia. 60 years later, the Soviet Predator is still hungry.

• So

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the Russian takeover. Reuters

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EYPE Newsletter II

1960S

In 1962, Betty Friedan’s book “The Feminine Mysti-que” portrayed the frustration of a generation of college-educated housewives who felt trapped in their homes. Friedan called on women to seek work fulfillment. As one of her characters sais, “I’m desperate. I begin to feel I have no personality. I’m a server of food and a putter-on of pants and a bedmaker, somebody who can be called on when you want something. But who am I?”

MAY 68: Chronicle of a failed revolution By Oriol Roche

oriol takes us back to paris, may 1968, to report on what he regards as an example of a statement of power by citizens, rather than a successful revolution.“Sous les pavés, la plage” [Under the cobble-stones, the beach], yelled the students who led the May 1968 French re-volution. Picture the scene: La Sorbonne is occupied by the police. An infuriated crowd of students comes to set it free: they pile up cars, they uproot trees and they destroy the pa-vement, uncovering the sand that lied below the cobble-stones and turning one of the oldest uni-versities in the world into a chaotic beach. Such was the May ‘68 spirit.

Let’s rewind: this movement takes off two months earlier. A German guy studying at the Nanterre University, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leads a protest which asks for the students’ right to sleep with each other. However frivolous it might sound, this request quickly degene-rated in a war against the oppressive “power” (understood as anyone that imposed their law in any field) which would set the mood for the bigger, more raging uprisings that were to come.

The students occupied a block of the university to protest against the Vietnam War, and in La Sorbonne Parisians de-monstrated so as to tell the rioting Nanterrians “Hey, we are with you!” This didn’t please the right-winged French, so they threatened to violently stop the demonstration. What did the go-vernment do? They sent the police to stop the riot, promising all demonstrators that they would be allowed to leave untou-ched. What happened? Yes, the demonstration faded away –but 400 left-winged individuals were aggressed and arrested.

A week later, La Sorbonne being taken by the police as a preventive measure, a crowd of maddened students tried to liberate the university –they piled up cars, uprooted

trees and destroyed the “pavés”, building their own barri-cades. To all extents and purposes, they wreaked havoc.

At 2:15 am the police was given permission to attack the students. For three hours the streets became a battlefield where Molotov cocktails, tear gas and cobble-stones aiming at the policiers filled

the air. Fortunately, although several people were injured, no one died.

At this point, something happened that changed the course of the uphea-val: on the 13th May, the trade unions called a one-day strike that didn’t last just for one day. It went on and on,

becoming the largest labour stoppage in the history of France.

Only then, with mayhem spread amongst all social classes, did Charles de Gaulle seriously consider the matter. He an-nounced new elections and got caught up in a frenzy of ne-gotiations that ended up in greater wages for workers, shor-ter week time schedules and an increase in the minimum wage. Then it all died out, as instantly as it had started.

So, in the end, there was neither a proper revolution nor a ground-breaking change, to the disappointment of the revolu-tionary sectors. Those two weeks in May were just a statement of power: “We, the citizens, want to talk. If you don’t let us do so we’ll shout.” However, everyone was too scared of blood spi-llage to fight for long. In addition, some of the demands were too vague: students, for instance, didn’t focus their protests and ended up fighting an invisible oppressor. Be that as it may, there is one thing from May ’68 that we should never forget about: the power that some students in their twenties can have.

•Nidra.LucidDreamingSytemblog

“Those two weeks in May were a statement of power: “We, the citizens, want to talk. If you don’t let us do so we’ll shout.””

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Dreaming. The world in the sixtiesBy Paula Villalba

“a hub for progress” are the words chosen by paula to describe the sixties. she reflects upon the iportance of “being a dreamer”, as were promienent figures in this decade such as neil armstrong or martin luther king.To dream is to have hope, hope in the future, hope in that one day, the ideas and plans that we so vividly fantasise with, blossom to become a reality. Everything in life starts with a dream and it’s up to the dreamer in each and every one of us to take the leap of faith to pursue our visions and our aspirations.

“Go big or go home”: a motto for the six-ties, a decade where no dream was too unrealistic and no dreamer too conformist. Martin Luther King, one could say, repre-sented the dream of equality of the races, and in 1963 his fa-mous speech touched the hearts of many. 50 years later, what started out as the vision of a great man, has changed the lives of millions and transformed our society into one that is led by principles such as freedom. In the terrain of science, the same is true for James D. Hardy who paved the way for human heart organ grafting after bravely performing the first animal to hu-man heart transplant in 1964. Despite the opposition he faced, Hardy did not surrender in reaching his dream and it is thanks to him that so many people are rescued from death. Another iconic

dreamer to leave his mark on the decade by pursuing “the im-possible” was Neil Armstrong. His landing on the moon in 1969 symbolised, as he put it, “one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind”. Similarly, to Armstrong, Lyndon B Johnson also

followed a dream that was seen by many as unfathomable. In 1964 he signed the Civil Rights Act that further implanted values of democracy, equality and liberty into society.

The 60s were a hub for progress and advance guided by a group of awe-inspiring figures. The aforementioned visionaries were not scared of drea-ming: they did not care about how outlandish, nonsensi-cal and unrealistic their dreams were because they had firm faith in that one day, they would turn into realities.

Dream with hope, for hope is the last thing we should lose; after all, what is the world without it? Is hope not what represents EYP?

“a decade where no dream was too unrealistic and no dreamer too conformist.”

•Nidra.LucidDreamingSytemblog

•Nidra.LucidDreamingSytemblog

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EYPE Newsletter II

“it is undeniable that a true equa-lity is yet to be reached; an equa-lity where men and women have equal pay, responsibilities, free-doms and access to positions.”

By Paula Villalba

The fight goes on

Second-wave feminism first began in the early 1960s in the United States, and spread throu-ghout the Western world. in her article, paula investigates the key focus points and icons of this movement.Feminism: The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. It is a concept that has never been truly instilled in our society and has been the ignition and fuel of many movements in the past. Historians always separate femi-nism into three waves: the first, which ended in the 1920s, ad-dressed women’s political rights; the second, “liberal feminism”, addressed economic issues, and the last was named the “radical wave”, seeing as it was directed towards more fundamental ma-tters such as female identity as well as domestic relationships.

The 1960s are often considered to be the golden years of feminism, the turning point towards a newer era of equal rights for both se-xes. The movement of the 1960s focused on dismantling workpla-ce inequality and had three major economic concerns: employment opportunities, income and unpaid work. Until this moment, working women were routinely paid lower salaries than men and denied opportunities to advance. A woman was expected to follow one path: to marry in her ear-ly 20s, start a family and devote her life to homemaking. As such, women bore the full load of housekeeping and childcare.

In 1963 Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique captured the frustration and even the despair of a generation of women who-se lives and identities has become focused on their husbands and their children. Friedan’s generation sought not to dismantle the prevailing system, but to open it up for women’s participation on a public and political level. Now, a new generation would take up the call for equality beyond the law and into women’s lives.

Over 50 years have passed since the publication of The Feminine

Mystique and we can argue that the women of today benefit from many of the advantages the early feminists fought for during the 20th century. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that a true equality is yet to be reached; an equality where men and women have equal pay, responsibilities, freedoms and access to positions. Women represent a mere 15% of top- end jobs in large EU com-panies, a figure which should be inadmissible in a society that claims to be so “progressive” and “developed”. This disparity in sex-representation is purely a reflection of a biased selection

procedure and not of the academic and social capacities of women. It is on this note alone that it is imperati-ve for the public and private sectors to introduce a mandatory 40% quota requirement of women in high-end board positions. Many would claim that this is a form of positive discri-mination, however, we cannot expect people to react and change with a

passive and unresponsive attitude. Change comes with action, and action takes determination, which is why there is no other way forward than to continue fighting for our common goal.

•MariaPoythressEpes.Heart&Soul,2007.

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• Alicia Crespo

Blowin' in the Wind

How many roads must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly

Before they’re forever banned?

The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Yes, how many years can a mountain exist

Before it’s washed to the sea?

Yes, how many years can some people exist

Before they’re allowed to be free?

Yes, how many times can a man turn his head

Pretending he just doesn’t see?

The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Yes, how many times must a man look up

Before he can really see the sky?

Yes, how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan 1963

35

EYPE Newsletter II

1970s

following the disintegration of “the beatles” in 1970, john lennon wrote his best-selling single of his solo career, ”imagine” in 1971. it was inspired by yoko ono’s book “grapefruit”. lennon referred to his song with these fo-llowing words: “[Imagine] is anti-re-ligious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conven-tional, anti-capitalistic... but because it is sugar-coated, it is accepted.”

By Paula Villalba

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

in the sixties scare tactics were used to discourage the youth from taking drugs, which pro-ved ineffective in the ‘70s, when Drugs became ever more glamorous. in the following piece, paula arguments that the strategy we should now take is to decriminalie soft drugs.

The 70s are often referred to as the “pivot of change”. The decade marked the emergence of a counterculture whose norms opposed to those of the masses. With this surge in li-beral spirit, the “rebellious” generation became interested in using illicit drugs, and the number of users escalated colos-sally. What initially commenced as an expression of a specific subcul-ture, the counterculture, soon de-veloped into a more general social phenomenon, without any political, ideological or ‘protest’ associations attached to it. In other words, the 70s were the period of time where drugs turned into a part of international youth culture.

Over the past years, modern drug use has further expanded wi-thin Western societies with an ever-increasing number of users and a continuous creation of new drugs to feed the insatiable demands of consumers. In some industrialised societies, drugs have found a general popular acceptance, to the extent that experimentation is considered quite ordinary for young people.

Drug prohibition was given a new push with the ‘drug epide-mic’ that commenced in the 1960s and 1970s. Governments reacted by designing new, more stringent, national drug le-gislations, which in many cases, are still in force today. Most politicians were confident that a strict, no tolerance policy was the way forward. However, after the implementation of the-se new policies, the drug market only continued to expand; purchasing these substances became increasingly easy and the number of addicts rose. Could a more lenient and prag-matic approach prove more effective in solving the problem?

I am a firm believer that decriminalisation of soft drugs would be a valuable solution to reduce drug-related crime and health risks. The Netherlands and Portugal are examples of countries

that have adopted successful lax drug policies. According to sta-tistics, both of these countries have fewer drug users than most EU member states. Decriminalisation of certain drugs would mean a more efficient use of funds and resources; governments could focus their efforts on aiding drug addicts by improving

rehab centres or offering guidance and counselling facilities. It has been proven that addicts are more likely to ask for help when they know their actions are not “criminal” and will not be punished. Moreover, decriminali-

sation and regulation of the drug market would supress and re-duce underground trade, avoiding the regular conflicts between dealers and customers. Decriminalisation would also imply that the police could shift their efforts to dealing with more serious cases instead of chasing joint-smokers off street corners.

To conclude, the EU should, and has to become more re-alistic when tackling drugs issues. Although decrimi-nalisation gives way to many controversial debates, it is a policy that will surely reap benefits in the future.

“the 70s were the period of time where drugs turned into a part of international youth culture.”

•HollyRiedel.Floweroflife

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“Thirty-five years later, the turnout at the elections has lowered, whi-le the Union itself has enlarged.”

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane: parliamentary elections, 1979

On June 1979, everybody in the nine countries that constitu-ted the European Union heard the first gunshot that was the hallmark for democracy: the first elections for the European Parliament had taken place. Thir-ty-five years later, the turnout at the elections has lowered, whi-le the Union itself has enlarged.

Where did all this journey -that some seem now to despise- start? Well, the first meeting of the ECSC’s “parliamentary assem-bly” was held in Strasbourg on September 1952. By 1957, once the Treaty of Rome had been signed and the Euro-pean Economic Community had been established, the Par-liament numbered 142 members, who came directly from national parliaments. Numbers increased with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom in the early se-venties; however, delegates were still not directly elected.

It was not until June 1979 that the European Parliament was elected by universal suffrage for the first time. Between the nine Member States, 410 representatives were selected. This figure has progressively augmented due to the entran-ce of other countries in the EU on the years following 1979, and right now 626 delegates are part of the Parliament.

But let’s forget about these figures and let’s get to the inte-resting part: how did people feel about the 1979 elections? The turnout was 61.99%, quite high if we compare it to the other years’. This phenomenon has a couple of different ex-planations. On the one hand, we could understand this as the result of an optimism which is understandable in tho-se first days of the European project, even though we know de facto that not every Member State was equally happy and motivated about the EU. On the other hand, though, some mi-

ght say that this turnout is related to the fact that only nine countries participated in the elections –which would leave the Member States who arrived later in quite a dubious position.

However, the latter doesn’t seem plausible when we take into account that the United Kingdom, country that has always had a lower voter turnout than later ad-herences, such as Spain, actua-lly took part in the election with a rough 32% of participation. Thus,

I am more inclined to believe that euroscepticism, the phan-tom menace that plains over the European Union nowa-days, is the cause for the drop in the voting ratio lately.

Now our duty is to pick up the dusty European flags burdened below a pile of clothes in our wardrobe and show them proudly. In other, less romantic words: we need to make up for the past mistakes and encourage the Europeans in order to prove to them that the EU is not just a sophisticated web of interconnected institutions. We should bring back the ’79 spirit: the spirit of that time when people were full of hope and trust towards the European project.

By Oriol Roche

Let's stroll down memory lane

oriol brings us back to 1979 to compare and contrast the electoral results of the very first elections to the european parliament and that of 2014’s.

•HollyRiedel.Floweroflife

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EYPE Newsletter II

By Oriol Roche

Only for

cinephiles

The godfather (1972)What is there to say about The godfather that has not yet been said? That it has become an ever-lasting story about family, vengeance and passion? That Marlon Brando proves that he was not a brainless hunk, but rather a chameleonic actor? I guess the only thing I can say is: not watching The godfather should be considered sinful.

The exorcist (1973)Let’s be honest: The exorcist, nowadays, is not a horror movie as it doesn’t frighten anyone. Nonetheless, it is still a fun-filled ride for anyone willing to put up with fake blood, bright-green vomit and unnatural writhing of the body. Actors are fairly good and the plot is brilliant in its absolute lack of snobby intellectual weight.

Carrie (1976)Brief summary: outcast girl who gets to be prom queen. We are not talking about a Disney movie –pretty much the opposite. Carrie –the Brian de Palma version– is anything but light-hearted. The wonderful Sissy Spacek becomes a repressed seven-teen-year-old who will turn into a ruthless telekinetic avenger after her first menstruation. As much as it sounds lame, this Stephen King’s adaptation is a delight for the fans of the genre.

Salò or The 120 days of Sodom (1975)I’ve been trying to find the right words to describe this film for a long time now, and the only ones that pop into my mind are the following: disgust and artwork. Pier Paolo Pasolini directs this adaptation of the erotic novel by the Marquis of Sade and achieves to convey a piercing anti-fascist message through revolting images. Only for courageous watchers.

Last tango in Paris (1972)Covered in a thick layer of controversy due to some steamy love scenes, Last tango in Paris portrays the tortuous relationship established between two lonely souls. The plot is interesting and the actors are superb –however, you can pretty much lead a happy life without watching the movie.

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Taxi driver (1976)Some might say that Taxi driver is terrifying, mainly due to the violence it depicts. Indeed, never has a film shown with such honesty and brutality the consequences of the Vietnam War. De Niro’s character is scary to the marrow yet moving and fragile at times, giving the film a psychological depth that popcorn lovers wil

Annie Hall (1977)Recipient of two Academy Awards thanks to this film, Woody Allen has never since shot anything that feels so fresh, bubbly and sincere. In this love story between two lonely people, each with their issues and obsessions, Allen achieves to cut open a relationship and show its guts shamelessly to the camera. Just as sharp and witty as a Roald Dahl short story.

Star wars – Episode IV: A new hope (1977)Star wars –the whole franchise– is difficult to describe. Let’s say it’s a thrilling journey to a new world –maybe a real critic would call it an “exhilarating reverie”. George Lucas acts like some kind of tour guide who walks us through a hundred worlds and a thousand characters as if we were in an amusement park. Unless you are afraid of having fun, go watch the films right now!

Grease (1978)This film is not good, but sometimes bad movies can be fun. This film is fast-paced like a “greased lightning” and cheerful in its colourfulness and musical craze. The corny love story and the stereotypical characters may bother a picky viewer –however, if you look beyond that Grease is a decent past-time.

relinquish but Kubrick fanatics will adore.

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EYPE Newsletter II

1980s

live aid was dual-venue concert held on 13 July 1985. it was a charity concert to rai-se funds for Ethiopia. it was one of the largest-scale television broadcasts of all time: with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion. live aid was, for many, the greatest concert in the history of rock.

By Carlos Severo

“In 2008 the European Commission described ACTA as an attempt to enforce intellectual pro-perty rights”

Should we ACT against ACTA?

REMEMBERING HOW, IN NOVEMBER 1982, MICHAEL JACKSON RELEASED HIS ALBUM “THRILLER” - WHICH HAS BECOME THE best-selling album of all timE, sELLING one million copies worldwide per week at its peak - CARLOS EXPLAINS THE INS AND OUTS OF ACTA AND THE REASONS WHICH LEAD THE EU TO FINALLY WITHDRAW FROM IT.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, more commonly known as ACTA, aims to establish common standards for intellectual pro-perty rights enforcement between its parties. The international le-gal framework created from this agreement is for targeting coun-terfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet. In addition, it would create a completely new and inde-pendent governing body from other International Organisations.

In 2008 the European Commission described ACTA as an at-tempt to enforce intellectual property rights. It sees intellectual property rights as a key instrument for development and innovation policies. It argues that “The proliferation of intellectual property rights infringements poses an increasing threat to the sustaina-ble development of the world economy. It is a problem with serious economic and social consequences. Today, we face a number of new challenges: the increase of dangerous counterfeit goods; the speed and ease of digital reproduction; the growing im-portance of the Internet as a means of distribution; and the sophistication and resources of international counterfeiters.”

This trade agreement has been welcomed from the priva-te sector, especially industrial groups which have interests on copyright, trademarks and other kinds of intellectual property; groups which stated that it was an action against “the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright pro-tected works”. Just as NGOs like Greenpeace influence a State’s agenda, here organizations such as the International Trade-mark Association have an important say over the ACTA agenda.

However, ACTA has equally received negative criticism from some parts of society. Organisations representing citizens and non-governmental interests argue that ACTA may infringe cer-tain fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and privacy. It has as well been criticised by DWB (Doctors Without Borders) for endangering access to medicines, especially to de-veloping countries, which are more vulnerable. Moreover, the se-cret nature of its negotiations has excluded civil society groups,

developing countries and the general public from the negotiation process and it has been described as a policy laundering by critics in-cluding the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Entertainment Consumers Association.

The signature of the EU and many of its mem-ber states, in 2012, sparked a fire of protests and riots across Europe. The European Par-liament rapporteur, Kader Arif, resigned soon

afterwards with these words: “I want to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this masquerade.” His substitute, a British MEP, recommended that ACTA should be rejected by the Parliament. He stated: “the intended benefits of this international agreement are far outweighed by the potential threats to civil liberties”.

Protests within the EU have not become weaker; in fact, more voices have joined against ACTA. Neelie Kroes, the current vi-ce-president of the European Comission, recognised this reality.

She stated: “ We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest against rules which they see as constraining the openness and innovation of the Internet. This

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is a strong new political voice. And, as a force for openness, I welcome it, even if I do not always agree with everything it says on every subject. We are now likely to be in a world without Stop Online piracy Act (SOPA) and without ACTA. Now we need to find solutions to make the Internet a place of freedom, open-ness, and innovation fit for all citizens, not just for the techno avant-garde.” We can see very clearly how the Commission has changed its position in respect to ACTA due to the public opinion.

Finally, the European Commission confirmed on 20 De-cember 2012 that it was withdrawing Anti-Counterfei-ting Trade Agreement. This ended ACTA’s process at EU level and confirmed rejection of the treaty by the EU.

• DemonstrationagainstACTA.EuropeanParliamentNews

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EYPE Newsletter II

Another brick off the wall

on the night of november 9th, 1989, The 45 km barrier dividing Germany’s capital was torn down by berliners. the niight the wall came down has become a pivoting point in modern history. throughout his article, carlos narrates the crucial political decisions that lead to this moment.

1989, a year baptised by TIME Magazine as “The year that sha-ped today’s world”, it also know as the “Autumn of Nations” . The new world order that was born from the ashes of WWII was coming close to an end and with it the insane Cold War. The end of a war that never began. End of the most dangerous game of chess in humankind, the end of an idea, the end of a way to understand life.

Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the Soviet Union’s satellite states. They were puppets in hands of the Kremlin. The USSR, the liberators that ens-laved them. However, chains of the dictatorial USSR became as old and weak as their own leaders, and at the same time, people believed they could regain their freedom. Mr Walesa, founded Solidarity, a trade union, in Poland. Demonstrations followed by riots and strikes raised all over Poland. Civil re-sistance spread from Poland to all over Eastern Europe. Peo-ple demanded the end of one-party rule, they wanted demo-cracy and freedom; they questioned the Communist Regime.

THE WALLWith an “end” there always comes a “start”. The ‘80s meant change and within the ‘80s, probably, the most important event occurred in Berlin in 1989. It all started very far away from Berlin, in Hungary, when 13,000 East Germans escaped to Austria once the border was opened. Consequently, the border was again closed and East Germany’s authorities tried to bring

back all their citizens. Similar things happened in Czechoslova-kia. Demonstrations broke out all over East Germany in Sep-tember 1989 and grew considerably by November. Meanwhile, East Germans were leaving for the West through Hungary. To solve the situation the the politburo led by Krenz decided on 9 November to allow refugees to exit directly through crossing points between East Germany and West Germany, including West

Berlin. On the same day, the ministerial ad-ministration modified the proposal to inclu-de private travel. The new regulations were to take effect the next day. However, due to

a mistake it was understood that effects were immediate. In just around an hour the whole nation knew about this new regulation.

Soon after the news came out, east Germans began gathering at the wall and at the six points and demanded the guards to open the gates. The guards called their superiors but no one among the authorities issue orders to use force against the people. Plus, the guards were outnumbered and had no way to hold the huge crowd. Consequently, the commander in charge of the wall allowed guards to open the borders. East Germans, finally, ste-pped in West Germany after 28 years while west Germans wel-comed them with flowers and champagne. Afterwards, a crowd of west Berliners went on top of the wall, and east Germans joined them. All of them started dancing together to celebra-te their freedom, the day that Germans reunited once again.

Curiously, the joyful spirit of the streets didn’t reach some people

“With an “end” there always comes a “start””

By Carlos Severo

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in the high spheres of society. Honecker’s nightmares became true. Thatcher told Gorbachev “We do not want a united Ger-many. This would lead to a change to postwar borders and we cannot allow that because such a development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could en-danger our security”; even in France they feared a reunited Ger-many as they were feared the emergence of a new Adolf Hitler.

The Revolutions of 1989 coincided with a gigantic wave of inter-national democratisation. Democracy became at last, the politi-cal system of about half of the countries of the world by early 1990s. While Kings and dictators fell, people’s voice stood up.

•BerlinWallbeingtorndown.1989

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EYPE Newsletter II

1 9 9 0 son February 11, 1990, nelson mandela walked out of prison after 27 years be-hind bars by south africa’s apartheid government. in 1994 he became South Africa’s first black president, after more than three centuries of white rule. he immediately abolished apartheid.in his autobiographical work, “Long Walk to Freedom”, he wrote: “No one is born hating another person becau-se of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

By Alvaro Martín

Independent Energy

The eu adopted its first electricity and gas directives in the late 1990s, with the objective of opening up the electricity and gas markets by gradually introducing competition. however, alvaro argues in this piece that only a common european energy market will trully be com-petitive and transparent.More than ten years have passed since the EU’s first electricity directive, but the energy markets are still opaque and oligopolis-tic. This mainly occurs because each country in the EU has a diffe-rent electricity market. Each national electricity market is usually controlled by a few companies that do not allow any others to join it. Governments of the member states are the first ones to be interested in having small electricity markets. Small electricity markets can be easily manipulated, and governments benefit from having influence on them, since energy has a crucial importance in national politics – and, cheap energy is very appreciated by voters. Spain is a clear example of governmental intervention in its energy market. The Spanish government intervened in the last electricity auction due to the increase in the cost of electrici-ty, and set the maximum price at which electricity could be sold.

In order to increase openness and competition in its energy markets the EU should create a single electricity market. This single market would be harder to corrupt and manipulate. This single market regulated by a European organism would redu-ce the influence of the companies that make national electricity markets oligopolistic and opaque, and would also give other smaller energy companies an opportunity to thrive in the ener-gy sector. But for this to happen we need to create a suitable

structure able to carry the weight of a single electricity mar-ket with more than four hundred million potential consumers. This is a complicated task and we can’t expect this to be done overnight. We need to go step by step making sure we make no mistakes. Many countries have tried to do this, and most of them have failed, mainly because of the pressure that the electricity lobby has made. We must be aware of this, and try to control their influence over the European institutions.

Noticing how many Member States depend on Russian fossil fuels, the European Commission should also encourage the development of sus-tainable energy resources such as windmills or solar panels. This will allow Member States to depend on

their own natural resources, therefore allowing them to make de-cisions without being pushed by the oligopolistic companies that nowadays rule the national energy markets or external countries.

The European Commission must also regulate the power of each government over their natural resources, not allowing electrical companies to take over them, even if they operate in their national boundaries. This won’t be easy and therefore we need to ensure the full compromise of all the member states to create an open and transparent European energy market.

“In order to increase open-ness and competition in its ener-gy markets the EU should crea-te a single electricity market. ”

•PeterSchrant.TheEconomist

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• Alicia Crespo

Act of UnionI

To-night, a first movement, a pulse,

As if the rain in bogland gathered head

To slip and flood: a bog-burst,

A gash breaking open the ferny bed.

Your back is a firm line of eastern coast

And arms and legs are thrown

Beyond your gradual hills. I caress

The heaving province where our past has grown.

I am the tall kingdom over your shoulder

That you would neither cajole nor ignore.

Conquest is a lie. I grow older

Conceding your half-independant shore

Within whose borders now my legacy

Culminates inexorably.

II

And I am still imperially

Male, leaving you with pain,

The rending process in the colony,

The battering ram, the boom burst from within.

The act sprouted an obsinate fifth column

Whose stance is growing unilateral.

His heart beneath your heart is a wardrum

Mustering force. His parasitical

And ignorant little fists already

Beat at your borders and I know they’re cocked

At me across the water. No treaty

I foresee will salve completely your tracked

And stretchmarked body, the big pain

That leaves you raw, like opened ground, again

Seamus Heaney Nobel Prize in Literature, 1995

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EYPE Newsletter II

THE 90s

1992 Maastricht treaty signed

1994 Mandela becomes south

africa’s first black president

1997 death of lady di

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By Alvaro Martín

1996 cloning dolly the sheep

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2RRRs

the growth decade. the expansion of the Inter-net contributed to globalisation, whilst The economic boom of the 2000s created the illusion of an infinite economy, that would further in-crease global trade and boost economic growth.however, the vulnerability of this idea was - and still is - being proven after the Global Financial Crisis of the late 2000s.in response to the massive economic and social inequalities created due to the fi-nancial crisis, Stéphane Frédéric Hessel, french writer and ambassador, publi-shed his short book “Time for Outrage!”, which sold 4.5 million copies worldwide. Hessel served as an inspiration for political mo-vements such as the Spanish “Indignados”, and the American “Occupy Wall Street” movement.

By Maria Trobat

The ro@d to connection

By the end of 1999, seventy million computers were connected to the Internet. 2000 started off as the decade where the tra-ditional means of communication would begin to change, trans-form and even disappear in order to introduce instant, revolu-tionary ways to be in touch with anyone, anywhere. Nowadays, those seventy million computers which made history in 1999 are no reason to be surprised, specially compared to the 350 million active users that Facebook reached in December 2009. Breaking news in Malaysia are instantly broadcasted in Helsinki, events happening in New York can be seen live in Melbourne and friends from opposite parts of Europe can successfully defy distance and talk and see each other as if they were face to face. The world is getting smaller as we are all more and more connec-ted. Nevertheless, are we walking down the road to connection or, paradoxically, are social media leading us to disconnection?

Although the rise of technology has been especially significant in the past decade, the success of social media did not happen overnight. Two years after CompuServe, the first major commer-cial Internet service provider appeared in the United States, the first email was deli-vered. Back in 1971, Ray Tomlinson sent the first ever email to himself. In 1978 a very primitive small virtual community ca-lled Bulletin Board System (BBS) was laun-ched and in 1991 the first website ever was published informing about the brand new World Wide Web. In 2002 Facebook’s ancestor, Friendster, was launched with 3

million users in the first three months, a spectacular achieve-ment which did not merely foresee the following Internet fever.

The previous encouraging statistics escalated so quickly at the beginning of the 2000’s decade that they even looked scary. Star-ting with Wikipedia in 2001, which nowadays gathers 4,560,211 articles in English about pretty much anything; followed by MyS-pace, LinkedIn and the Facebook giant created by Zuckerberg and his Harvard colleagues in 2004. Since 2006, “tweet” became a common word in our everyday language and it was actually through this platform that we got the first information about the US Airways plane crash in the Hudson Ri-ver, 4 minutes after the inci-

“facebook” was created on february 2004, in the midst of the information age we are cu-rrently living in. in her article, maria revises the origins of social media; from compuservice and the first email delivery service to twitter and instagram.

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“Then again, as Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize winner once said, “technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master”.”

dent and 15 minutes before the mains-tream media broadcasted the news.

The impact of social media in our daily lives is extremely determining and, at the same time, unnoticed. The youngest of us were born with it and have always lived in an era where it is rare not to log in on Facebook daily. There is even a form of social anxiety resulting of this needless necessi-ty of being connected at all times. It is called FOMO or Fear of Missing Out and, as the name indicates, it consists on the urge of wanting to know everything that is going on to others through their status updates and pictures, and of being aware of every chance of social interaction you might have. Ironically, we’re missing out much greater and enjoyable opportuni-ties when we’re abducted by our screens.

Along with all the benefits that social media have brought to us, some new issues and questions have been set out. Not only pri-vacy is a matter of discussion, but also the fact that not everything on the net is how it appears to be. Social media and technology are a useful and entertaining tool, with both

advantages and disadvantages. Used wisely, they are an indispensable key to progress and improvement. Howe-ver, they still present some problems which need to be tackled before they become too dangerous. Then again, as Christian Lous Lange, Norwe-gian Nobel Peace Prize winner, once

said, “technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master”.

• Targetprocess.com57

EYPE Newsletter II

Ready for Recovery?

Maria looks back to 2008 to go over the causes that pushed us into the cu-rrent econmic crisis. in doing so, she highlights the importance of recove-ring consumer and nvestor trust in the european bancks and countries.The decade of the 2000s started off well enough in terms of economy. The Euro was introduced in most EU countries in 2001 and the period from 2002 to 2008 was marked by an economic and financial boom in which mortgages and loans were given out in great quantities and governments borrowed copious amounts of money taking advantage of a very expansive economy.

The year 2008, however, was the turning point for the Euro-pean economy of the 2000s. The poor risk assessment and management systems and improper regulations to prevent fraud and guarantee solvency in the banking industry, together

with what was later demonstrated to be wrong compensation schemes for high-end bankers, were some of the most nota-ble factors that culminated in the fall of the Lehman brother Investment Company in 2008, event that marked the beginning of the European economic crisis, a crisis that spread consu-mer mistrust in the banking industry and drove investors away.

The repercussions of this crisis were, and still are, very seve-re for both the EU’s economic and the political systems, crea-ting social unrest and provoking a wave of austerity, the be-nefits of which are still unclear. The bailout of countries such

By Maria Gomez-Betsue

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as Greece and Portugal are merely the tip of the iceberg of the tremendous costs in the system that this crisis has inflicted on Europe. As mentioned before, investors lost confidence in the market and, in view of the high tax schemes in many EU coun-tries, they turned to different markets such as the UAE or Sin-gapore. Thus, a recurrent question in the agenda of all EU decision-makers has been how to bring back investors, as this is a key tool to get the economy back on its feet.

Having evaluated the roots of the pro-blem, in my opinion, it seems reasonable to assume that the only way to bring back investment is to recover trust in the system and in the market. To do so, appropriate regulations should be implemented to prevent the lack of transparency in many of financial institutions’ actions. Adequate tax-schemes should also be implemented. Investment decisions are taken in a fine balance between risk and reward. For instance, ountries such as the UAE do not tax investors but the flip side of the deal is that the risk of the transactions are really high as the economy is unstable and could collapse at any given moment. The EU should therefore aim to attract those investors that

are willing to stand higher tax schemes in return for security.

But how has the EU dealt with this? I will highlight three lines of actions that it has taken. The first is the implementation of strong regulations from the EU Central Bank that have been

put in place to guarantee financial institu-tions’ solvency. Another measure taken is the leasing of tax breaks and residence permits to foreign investors, under cer-tain circumstances, in order to attract them to Europe. Thirdly, the EU decision

makers have applied budgetary discipline to countries’ finan-ces in order to recover solvency and balance, thus allowing investment in sovereign debt of different European countries.

These measures have aided in the slow but steady reco-very of investors in Europe. However, at the end of the day, a team is only as good as its weakest player and therefo-re, until countries such as Greece and Spain start a con-sistent economic and financial recovery, regaining con-sumer and investor trust will be a long and arduous task.

“at the end of the day, a team is only as good as its weakest player”

• AmetalLehmanBrotherssignistakenintoanauctionhouseinLondon,September2010.APPhoto,KirstyWigglesworth

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EYPE Newsletter II

2010s

with still five years ahead of us, it is too soon to choose the face of the decade. in fact, it is possible that the promi-nent figures of this decade are still young and enthousiastic students.could it be you ?

By Maria Trobat

“What is most alarming is the vi-cious circle we are caught in. The European citizens tend to feel unin-formed (...) This translates into a weak democratic participation.”

An ever closer union?

E u r o s c e p t i c i s m :maria revises its causes and its effects on the voter turnout in the ep elections 2014 and calls for a more united europe, where its citizens feel represented by their institutions.

On May 2014 the turnout in the European Elections con-firmed what was already expected and feared. The demo-cratic deficit is still a serious issue to take care of on the European agenda. Sadly but true, most citizens associa-te Europe with bureaucracy, inefficient administrations and self-interested politicians. No thoughts on new opportu-nities and diversity. No such thing as a European identity.

What is most alarming is the vicious circle we are caught in. The European citizens tend to feel uninformed and perceive the EU institutions as distant, complex and quite irrelevant to their daily lives. This lack of information, together with the generalized misinformation on some issues, translates into a weak democratic participation. Ironically, most of us are aware that inactivity hardly ever leads to change; on the contrary, it widens the gap between the European decision-makers and the rest of the population.

To ensure and improve its democratic legitimacy, the EU has launched several initiatives in the past years, from the Euro-pean Citizens Initiative (ECI) to the Citizens Dialogue. The Treaty of Lisbon, approved in 2009, provides new measures towards the same goal: democracy, transparency and citizen participation. For instance, the Lisbon Treaty has renewed the 2014 elections, allowing voters to have a larger role in Euro-pean politics. For the first time, the European Parliament de-termines the future president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive body. The European political parties proposed their candidates for this position before the EU elections in order to procure a higher citizen involvement in the elections. Surprisingly enough, 56,9% of the population missed their

chance to make good use of their democratic right and duty.

The EU might be pleased that the turnout for the past elec-tions in May 2014 did not fall for the first time since 1979, reaching a 43.1% of votes. However, these apparently uplif-ting results are nothing to be proud of, considering the in-significant rise of 1% compared to the 2009 EP elections. Moreover, the increasing popularity of eurosceptic parties, especially in countries such as France, the United King-dom or Denmark, adds on the incertitude of the EU’s future.

The causes behind the rise of the anti-EU parties can be found in the economic crisis across the EU, im-migration and, of course, the fee-ling that the EU is too intrusive at a national level but, at the same time, inaccessible. By taking advanta-ge of a rather populist speech, the eurosceptic wave has managed to

gain a considerable representation in the EP. It is upsetting, then, that the future of the EU’s basis are shaking. The belief of an “ever closer union” held in the signature of the Treaty of Rome back in 1957 might be in danger as a growing part of the population attempts to change the direction of the EU.

Restoring the citizens’ faith in the European project should be one of the key objectives of the European policy. While it is im-portant to tackle unemployment and to bring the euro crisis to an end, it is equally necessary to regain the general support and involvement from the people. However, in a world where everything is interconnected, the severe economic crisis and the corruption in a handful of the member states have fed the pes-simism and distrust visible in the streets all over Europe. Maybe

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it’s time to get to the bottom of both issues once and for all.

Education will have to play an important role in raising awa-reness so that citizens know not only the importance of vo-ting, but also the significance and effect that their own votes have in the European scenario. For this reason, compulsory political education would help solve the problem and tac-kle the democratic deficit in future generations to come.

However, what really needs to be improved right now is com-munication. Due to the complexity of the European democra-tic system, citizens have a hard time understanding where their votes go to and, on the other hand, politicians have fai-led to report to us properly the policies and measures taken

and its impact on us. Some measures such as the European Citizens’ Initiative, which allows citizens to propose legisla-tion, work towards achieving greater citizen participation through direct democracy. Once again, it is fundamental to make these programs public to everyone through an efficient communication system in order to make every voice heard.

To sum up, both citizens and politicians need to start taking action and create a Europe where each one of us feels in-cluded and represented. A land of opportunities where, ins-tead of putting up walls between the European institutions and the rest of the population, we start building bridges.

• Cr

istina

Sam

paio.

Vox E

urop

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EYPE Newsletter II

By Maria Trobat

Time capsules

2010

“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal” – Albert Pine.

EU Humanitarian assistance amounted to a total of 321€ millon for those in need after the earthquake on January 12th.

Humanitarian aid after Haiti’s earthquake Damon Winter/The New York Times

2011 “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all” – Noam Chomsky.

The “15th of October 2011 global protests” were a series of demons-trations, occupations, riots and non violent protests which took place worldwide against the growing eco-nomic inequality, the lack of demo-cratic institutions and the political corruption.

Demonstration in Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid on October 15, 2011 Arturo Rodriguez/AP

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Time capsules

2012

“There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere” – Isaac Asimov.

Speeding DNA-Based diagnosis for newborns was one of the most significant medical break-throughs of 2012. In fifty hours, doctors could decode and interpret a newborn baby’s geno-me, useful to save a baby’s life.

About 30% of babies in the neonatal intensi-ve care unit each year have inherited a genetic disease. Their genome sequence can help in treating their disease successfully.

Newborn baby in neonatal intensive care David Aaron Troy/Getty Images

2013

“Education is the most power-ful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nel-son Mandela.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist who fights for women rights and education. The Talibans tried to kill her for defending education for girls. She was nominated for the first time for the Nobel Pea-ce Prize in 2013, which she has won in 2014. She currently lives in Birmingham, in the Uni-ted Kingdom.

Malala Yousafzai’s speech, UN Headquarters, New York on July 12th, 2013 Reuters

2014

“Peace cannot be kept by for-ce; it can only be achieved by understanding”

– Albert Einstein.

The Ukrainian revolution broke out after a series of protests and riots in Kiev against president Viktor Yanukovich refusal to sign a trade deal with the EU under Russia’s influen-ce. At first, demonstrations were peaceful but quickly turned into violent clashes between the protesters and the riot police.

Protesters and riot police in Kiev Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA65

EYPE Newsletter II