ASCHAFFENBURN
EYP VOCABULARY p. 4
TOPIC ARTICLES p. 6-23
I LOVE YOU FROM ALL OVER EUROPE p. 24
EDITORIAL Brought to you by: Manfredi Danielis (IT) Vaclav Huk (CZ) Meropi Karakioulaki (GR) Flavius Eugen (RO) Matteo Van Dijl (BE) Charlotta Lahnalahti (FI) Lidiia Zhgyr (UA) Britta Thiemt (DE) Eva Ullman (DE) Louise Van Benschop (NL)
Welcome to Aschaffenburg 2013, Regional Selection Conference of EYP Germany! Welcome to your first EYP session. You might be confused now, you might not understand what’s going to happen in this Bavarian school during these days. Don’t worry, everyone else feels like you and we felt the same some years ago. Maybe one day you will remember this feelings when you’ll tell your friends about “when I started EYP, in 2013”. It might be complicated at the beginning, but it’s something that you will remember forever, whether you will attend more sessions or not. Aschaffenburn is going to be the session’s paper. A crazy group of journalists will follow you in every step you’ll take and they will write about you all. They will try to make you understand your topics, to inspire you, but also make you laugh and have fun during the session. We know that everything seems very weird at this point, but the only thing you can do now is to get to know as many people as you can, have fun with them and share your opinions. You will become new persons, maybe better ones. Enjoy Aschaffenburg 2013! Monigrun Monica Mantovani (IT) Sigrun Fagerfjäll (SE)
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CONTENT Page 4: EYP Vocabulary Page 5: What am I going to do? Page 6-23: Topic Articles: • • • • • • • • •
Can we feed the world (AGRI) Taking a hit (DEVE) Seccession – A dangerous trend (REGI) Should there be an EU-army? (SEDE) Passing a ball of energy (ITRE) Saving the life of Cappuccino (AFCO) Is water pollution really a problem? (ENVI I) Thinking outside the borders (AFET) The CO2 tax – good effort or economic disaster? (ENVI II)
Page 24: I love you from all over Europe Page 25: Financial Horoscope Page 26: Cupid - Who is he? Page 27: What makes Europeans so special?
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EYP vocabulary by Charlotta
At regional sessions, such as here in Aschaffenburg, one might come across with unfamiliar words that are used in EYP. To get started, here are gathered some words you will hear during the weekend. Attack speech – Attack speeches are held on resolutions that are found imperfect and incomplete in GA. Time limit is set to 3 minutes and one or more delegates from different committees can share this time to attack. Committee work – Part of thesession when the topic is being discussed in committees and resolution is being written. Defense speech – The defense speech is held in GA after the resolution clauses are read. This is held to show the positive sides and main thoughts on the resolution. Forum –A Forum is a session with delegates from many different EYP countries but it is not as big as an International Session. GA – Initials for General Assembly. Committees’ resolutions are presented, debated on and lastly voted for. Speeches are held and dress code is formal. International Session, IS – A session where delegates selected from all around Europe can attend. This year there are three IS held in Münich, Zürich and Tbilisi. The resolutions passed from these sessions are sent to the European Parlament. 4
National Session, NS – EYP countries hold one or more NSs every year. Delegations are chosen to International Sessions to represent the county. Placard - The placards are raised in GA when the committee members want to speak out. There are five kinds of placards: Committee placard, Point of Information, Point of Direct Response, Point of Personal Privilege, Point of Order PED – Post EYP Depression. Slight depression that occurs after sessions. Regional session, RS – EYP countries are divided into regions and each region provides a session every year for that area’s delegates. At regional sessions, delegations are chosen to represent the region in National Sessions. Resolution – The results of the committee work. Committee’s opinion and cure for the problem discussed and typed to formal mode. The resolutions are later presented in GA. Sum-up speech – Committee’s answers to the last round of debate and quick conclusion of their resolution. All needs to be done in 3 minutes and can be shared between 2 delegates. Teambuilding – At the start of the session, where delegates get to know each other by playing games. This is followed my committee work.
WHAT am I going to do? by Vaclav Dear Delegates, welcome to the through the whole session. But do amazing session in Aschaffenburg. not be scared to talk to them, they Since the confusion is a prevalent are as friendly and congenial as all feeling of many first time dele- of us. gates, I have prepared a short de- The Chairs: Active, never tired scription to make your 4 days of and lively bunch of people. You this astonishing experience at least will get them know them pretty a bit easier. No idea what am I talk- well and they will make sure to do ing about? Then continue reading the same. Responsibility for you, and you can learn more. ensuring outcomes of your work and typing of the resolutions – all Who are all those important look- those task they have to accomplish. ing people? The Journalists: Always running The President and Vice-Presi- around with a camera, enthusiastic dents: Trio of the most representa- and sometimes even doing stupid tive and significant people for the things. That’s who we are. Authors 4 days to come. The driving force of the articles, and creators of the of the session, representative faces main part of the paper. We will and heads of the officials team. appreciate every funny story and They lead the officials teambuild- make you (in)famous in a blink of ing and are responsible for the aca- eye. demic outcome of the session. The Organisers: Hard-working The Editors: Two lovely ladies and never sleeping team which mostly hiding in the pressroom and runs the session. Their work lasted working late, although the creators for many months and they did it for of those pages you are just reading nobody else than you. Make sure through. Their tasks are to ensure that you smile every time you meet the academic quality of the session one. paper and to lead the Journalists Still confused? Then it is exactly team. how it should be. There is no need The Jury: Sometimes scary and to worry, you will know much solemn looking faces. They will more by Sunday! observe your work and behaviour
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AGRI
Can we feed the world? by Meropi
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if there was such a great shortage in dietary staples, such as wheat, corn and rice that you would not be able to find flour, cereals, noodles or even bread to cover your basic nutrient needs? Well, this is not quite an assumption: the massive growth of the world’s population, together with the great decline in agricultural productions due to the sudden climate change, will soon create a massive global food shortage that will make the mission: “Feed the world” impossible. In the beginning of the 19th century, Thomas Malthus (1766-1834),
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the great economist, claimed that the global food production follows an arithmetic growth, as the growth of the human population is geometric, implying that the food produced in our planet is not sufficient to feed every human being. Today, we know that this is not true. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has proved that the food production is enough to feed sufficiently all 6 billion people of the Earth, providing that there is a global distributional plan that respects both the humans and the environment. And that will be the answer to the great upcoming problem of global hunger.
To begin with, in order to tackle the problem of food shortage we firstly need to find ways to pause it, in other words, ways that will not allow it to expand any further. This will be done by reducing pollution and by controlling the growth of our population. Specifically, by adopting eco-friendly habits and by enforcing penalties to nations that do not respect the environment (according to European Union’s environmental legislation), we will eliminate phenomena like acid rain, erratic floods, abnormal heat, the Greenhouse Effect, the thinning of the ozone layer, waste and water pollution. In that way,
we will pause the sudden climate change that has done so much damage to the crops. Additionally, birth control will stop the massive growth of human population that threatens to make our planet incapable of covering our basic needs. To move on, after pausing the problem we need to solve it. The challenge will not only be to produce more, but also to do this in a sustainable manner. A very ambitious start would be that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU would be based on a functional distribution plan that will include low prices and tariffs, and will be responsible for distributing equally agricultural products to all nations. It is crucial that we will not seek for those nations that are capable
of feeding the rest of the world, but to make this distribution plan a national issue, that is to say, ensure that every nation is provided with the means of feeding itself. Additionally, in order to increase the amount of agricultural products, the EU should invest into research and development. More specifically, the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” that aims to provide a working interface between agriculture, bio-economy and science within the EU, should introduce new methods of cultivation that will include gene transfer, nanotechnology, sensor technology and robotics. This should be done in order to increase the production, enrich the
crops with nutrients and replace the -harmful to the land- synthetic chemical fertilizers. To conclude, it is obvious that agriculture, the fundamental source of global economy and diet, needs to become one of the first priorities of every nation. The upcoming problem of food shortage should be paused firstly, and then tackled, by introducing a global distributional plan that will respect both the environment and human rights.
“The FAO has proved that the food production is enough to feed sufficiently all people on earth” 7
DEVE
Taking a Hit As the European Union debates on whether to further liberalise its external trade policy it must struggle with an intense moral and economical dilemma. For many years the six hundredth million people in the western developed world were effectively sheltered from all of the additional labour that existed on the planet. Suddenly the iron curtain and the bamboo curtain lifted, the African world stood up and the new world counted 5 billion additional people. More markets, more competition, a much harsher economic reality. Improved communications and cheaper transportation have made internation-
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al competition possible. As international trade is becoming ever more liberalised, the EU has been repeatedly asked to reduce its external trade tariffs and eliminate its widespread subsidies in the fields of agriculture and primary manufacturing. Currently, tariffs are not low, an average 6% import tax is estimated for countries whose GDP is less than 5000 $ pro capita and subsidies are equally impressive, almost 50% of the Union’s budget is spent on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In more concrete terms a farmer in Uganda, even if working for a much lower salary cannot sell his products in Europe because
he is unable to compete with his French colleagues. The reason does not lie in transportation costs or faulty quality but only on subsidies and taxes. Still, how can we expect the African continent to develop if we de-facto negate any chance to approach European markets. On the other hand, if we reduce our tariffs, our agricultural and manufacturing basis will be torn even more to shreds having to face competition from lower cost production countries. There is no win-win situation in this scenario. Our heads or theirs. But the EU can’t simply avoid the subject, at least not for long. Especially
after the failure of the Doha rounds there has been huge pressure, both external, internal and from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for a Free Trade Agreement. Such an agreement could actually provide incentive for economic growth from the sectors that are immune to the competition of developing countries. As sanctions work on a reciprocal basis (i.e. if we set a 3% tax on goods coming from Japan almost automatically Japan will do the same with us) experts argue that GDP would rise by 2% together with export. On the other hand, the effects of such liberalisation would damage our agricultural and primary manufacturing basis increasing the already existing inequalities between the citizens in the union. No more
wine production in the French countryside, no more steel coming from the German industry, all gone. What to do then? Do we sacrifice some dying sectors of our economy to partially boost others and facilitate developing countries? The answer lies in the words damage control, the union cannot clearly counter the flow of 30 years of trade liberalisation or continue subsidizing an unsustainable industry but what is can do is try to soften the damage from a WTO agreement. Push for international standardisation bodies, facilitate market access to investors, use alternative means to give incentives for local industries and keep a close eye on social justice. The impact will not be gentle but with the support of
a strong, efficient and united Europe we can all emerge stronger than before. Manfredi Danielis
“What do we do then? Do we sacrifice some dying sectors of our economy to partially boost others and facilitate developing countries? The answer lies in the words damage control.� 9
REGI
Secession A Dangerous Trend by Eva
What would you do if the region you were living in decided to separate itself from the rest of the country? For the Scottish, the Flanders and the Catalans this is reality. Although the financial crisis was expected to create stronger national bonds within the EU, it has rather lead to growing separatist movements. It seems like economic motivations are playing a major role in this new trend towards independence. The richer regions, for example Catalonia are fed up with subsidising the “poorer” rest of the country and feel like they would be better off alone. Or is it just a coin-
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cidence that Scotland’s decision to cut the 300 years old ties with England might be related to the oil in the North Sea? Therefore it needs to be investigated if a region’s desire to breakaway is not only a temporary, short time reaction to the fiscal decline of the country. Putting aside the financial aspect, what is it that really determines national or cultural identity? In multilingual Belgium it is supposed to be the language. However, there are so many more factors influencing our sense of “belonging”, i.e. shared history, customs, traditions and lifestyles. Above all, we identify
ourselves through distinguishing us from others. One can not be sure that this applies to all of the separatist regions. A real national conflict endangering the unity of a country, for example the slave question during the American civil war, is necessary to make secession reasonable. This does not seem to be the case in many of the separatist regions. If the EU started supporting secession movements, it could possibly result in some kind of domino effect with an increasing number of regions demanding independence. This could even take us back to the middle ages when Europe was a patchwork
of small and scattered duchies and counties. Moreover, extreme nationalism is always connected to some kind of potential threat and you have to be careful when it comes to the development of these new states. The people of Basque country in Spain, for example, are trying to become independent with the means of violence. You might consider allowing peacefully demonstrating regions to break off, but we should think twice about granting brutal separatists their wish. Contrary to the Scottish head of government, who is already planning the new national holiday thinks, secession is something that can be achieved within a short period of time. It will be immensely complicated
and exhausting to agree upon debt, borders, citizenship, currency and EU membership and both the new state and the old “mother country” will suffer from the consequences. To conclude, the EU should aim for a compromise. A loose confederation of federal states within one country could satisfy the region’s desire for selfrule and at the same time guarantee control to the central government. In Germany this works just fine.
“Extreme nationalism is always connected to some kind of potential threat and you have to be careful when it comes to the development of these new states. The people of Basque country in Spain, for example, are trying to become independent with the means of violence.
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SEDE
Should there be an “EU army”? by Lidiia
The question of development of the ‘EU army’ has been raised due to the recent EU interventions into African uprisings – the so-called Arab spring. The conflicts, which took place in various forms in 18 countries of Arab world, have become the topic of strong concern for major political and economic powers of the world, the European Union and the United States of America. Common interests in the outcomes of these conflicts encouraged both parties to become involved into the military operations, first in the form of humanitarian aid expecting to re-
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ceive influence on these economically profitable areas. The American interventions were mainly made by their European NATO Forces. Unexpectedly for the EU side, during the summation of the EU-US transatlantic cooperation, the US representatives drew attention to shortfalls in the EU military capabilities and interpreted it as a threat that could jeopardize EU-NATO cooperation. Right after such claims from the US, the Weimar Group countries have initiated the creation of a EU military operations headquarters (OHQ), which was supported by 6 other EU Member States.
The creation of such an institution would lead to the strengthening of EU standing army and could possibly become a blueprint for a federal European superstate. A similar request has already been raised once, 2 years ago, but it was vetoed by Great Britain and didn’t get into force as the EU Foreign Policy is based on unanimity of the Member States representatives. Both requests (the current and the previous one) posed a threat to national sovereignty, following the idea of EU federalism. But the initiators of the request urge the EU to start acting more united in international relations with the
means of strengthening the Common Security and Defence Policy. Both British and US sides are strongly denying the need of integrative reforms in the military sphere of the EU. That can be explained by the American anticipation of the development of a strong rival in the common Arab field of interest, which previously used to perform as a partner in NATO. The United Kingdom is maintaining its special position in the EU through active separatism in the case of any unifying steps by the EU. The idea of an economic union was firstly set by the cooperation agreements in heavy industries, energy and economy, and step-bystep from the free market stage the European countries have devel-
oped into a full-fledged economic union. Further, the basis for it was stated in the Amsterdam Treaty on European Union of 1993, which underlined the preservation of national sovereignty. Establishment of the OHQ is a step towards federalism, which has not proved to be an essential move for the EU, as it has been developing rapidly in the frame of an economic union. Thus, the idea of creation of a single regular army reveals a contradiction with one of the basic concepts of the European Union – ensuring sovereignty of the member states. Every EU country should be able to determine their vision of the common foreign policy by themselves. Therefore, unless that is kept in mind, the idea of a regular EU army is
bound to fall short before it even has started.
“The idea of creation of a single regular army reveals a contradiction with one of the basic concepts of the European Union - ensuring the sovereignty of the member states. Every EU country shoulc be able to determine their vision of the common foreign policy by themselves.� 13
ITRE
Passing a Ball of Energy by Britta
In EYP there is a game called “Street fighter”. For those of you who do not know it, a brief explanation: all the players stand in a circle. One of them is holding an energy ball and has to pass it really quickly by shouting commands like “Heiduken” or “Sonic Boom” on full blast to keep up the energy level among the delegates. But the importance of being energised is not limited to participants of EYP-sessions: our industrialised society depends on energy sources like the human body depends on food. Natural gas, one of the most important energy sources in the EU, is imported
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from Russia to a very large extent. Most of the pipelines connecting the EU and Russia run through Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, the socalled transit countries. Since Russia depends on them to export its gas into the EU, it offers the transit countries cheap gas prices. But with the Nord Stream Pipeline directly connecting Russia and the EU through the Baltic Sea, the transit countries’ importance decreases and gas prices will rise. This could have serious consequences for all of them, but for Ukraine’s economy in particular because it is in recession already. Even though the economic situation in
Ukraine is certainly very alarming, the EU should not put its relationship with Russia at stake by supporting a country whose democratic system is more than questionable and that lacks the implementation of human rights. Jeopardising an important trade relationship as the one to Russia would send an incorrect message of support to the Ukrainian government. However, it would not be a sufficient solution to stay out of the conflict completely. Although a lot of gas is transported via the Nord Stream, there is still a significant amount of gas imported via transit countries. Hence being depen-
dent of both Russia and Ukraine, it is in the EU’s best interest to avoid the disputes between them to get out of hand. Furthermore, one should bear in mind the people in Ukraine who are, aside from the economy, mostly affected by gas shortcuts. Right now, with the aforementioned difficulties that Ukraine has to deal with, increasing gas prices would be just another strain put on the Ukrainian people. So it seems like enabling a fair re-negotiation of the gas prices between Russia and Ukraine with the EU acting as a neutral mediator that does not take sides would be a good compromise. Nevertheless, staying on good terms with Russia will only treat the symptoms, but not the sickness itself: ultimately, the EU will have to fight
its dependency on energy exports, or Russia might take an advantage out of the EU’s situation. A possible solution would be to support the development of renewable energy sources further to decrease the EU’s need for fossil fuels. Not only would this help the environment but also ensure the EU’s autonomy in energy supply. When playing the street fighter game one feels a lot of excitement. That is perfectly natural – energy is something really powerful. But more importantly, it is something that we all depend on. The EU would face severe consequences if it could not count on the fossil fuel exports from Russia. As long as we are still so reliant of specific energy sources, we have to act very considerately and responsibly.
Passing around the energy ball is fun, but at some point, every game has to come to an end.
“It would not be a sufficient solution to stay out of the conflict completely. Although a lot of gas is transported via the Nord Stream, there is still a significant amount of gas imported via transit countries.” 15
Saving the Life of Cappuccino
AFCO
by Matteo
When one is sitting in a random café in Ghent trying to get inspired, he cannot help but think how difficult this would be without a “oh, so precious” Cappuccino. It is a known fact that global warming has an effect on everything around us and even though one might not particularly care about the existence of the sea turtle or the tiger, when something endangers a coffee, it needs to be solved. There have been numerous international climate change summits such as in Copenhagen in 2009. But just like this summit, they have
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often resulted into a disappointment. This is why successful treaties would be easier to make by co-operating on in inter-governmental level like the European Union (EU). Unfortunately, just like a lot of things in the EU, this is a lot harder than one would first think. There is still a very thin line between what is the Member State’s responsibility and what is the EU’s responsibility. One might normally be extremely pro-Europe centralisation, but in the case of the environmental policy, there should be a very good balance between the EU and the
Member States. As some Member States already have an excellent environmental policy, like Sweden or even Germany, they should be able to keep on doing so. In general, this would mean that the Member States still have the final responsibility. The EU can be seen more as an organ that checks the Member States and if necessary punishes them with a system of for example fines. This also means that the system of emission trading should be banned as it as an easy way for countries not to reach their maximum quota. Furthermore, the
EU should become a platform for the Member States to share their expertise and to solve inter-regional environmental problems like smog. Together, it is a lot easier to look for environmental friendly ways of producing energy. A very recent example of this is the Desertec intiative founded in 2009. This initiative is funded by several European investors (e.g. Deutsche Bank) and the goal is to produce energy, intended for the European market, by using solar power based energy plants in the Sahara. In conclusion, if we want to keep on giving people a good cappuccino (preferably with some coco on the foam as it looks and tastes good), Member States will have to sacrifice
some competences, but most of all they will have to take their responsibility. The EU will check them and assist them when possible. This way, everyone can have Cappuccino.
“In conclusion, if we want to keep on giving people a good cappucino (preferable with some coco on the foam as it looks and tastes good), Member States will have to sacrifice some competences but most of all they will have to take their responsibility. The EU will check them and assist them when possible. This way, everyone can have Cappuccino.�
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ENVI I
Is Water Pollution Really a Problem? by Flavius
In a world that is facing imminent dangers, from solar storms and possible asteroid impacts, to famine and water pollution, the contemporary society is presenting a rather passive attitude towards making a change and saving the environment. However, water pollution is by far the most pressing problem at the moment, due to the fact that the amount of potable as well as drinkable water is decreasing. The general public in Europe does not care about the environment problems simply because of sheer commodity. This leads to those small acts of
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pollution that multiplied by thousand and has become, especially in the past few years, a tremendous concern. For instance, a favourite past time for people in Romania is barbecuing out in the open, especially near a lake or a river. After each outing, mountains of trash (plastics in particular) are left behind and find their way in the water. Environmental agencies and authorities are following a certain kind of rules, most of which are usually flawed. Even though Europe has laws and rules, there are few specialists to enforce them, and those specific agencies have unclear objectives and are over-
flowed with corruption. What is more, reactivity also plays a certain role in water pollution; this is linked to the causes presented above. Authorities react to crisis; however, they do not proactively work on preventing crisis. This is a consequence of indifference as well as flawed policies (the means of proactive action are virtually non-existent). For example the floods that occur annually are dealt with after they have caused devastation, when it would be simpler to relocate the population, or, even better, to come up with a strategy in order to prevent this kind of calamities. Some years back,
in 2010 namely, a toxic red sludge spill from a metals plant has wiped out all life from one Hungarian river and has entered the Danube, one of Europe’s largest waterways. Dead fish were sighted in the Mosoni-Danube, a southern branch of the river, and officials said that the Marcal, a tributary to the waterway, had been devastated by the sludge. The sludge - which had high alkaline levels and had contained heavy metals - was considered to have long-term implications for the 1,775mile Danube, which flows through Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova before emptying into the Black Sea. The British also have problems with water pollution, according to a EU Commission report.
The EU report claims leading resorts such as Brighton and Torbay fall short of standards laid down more than a decade ago by pumping untreated sewage into rivers and the sea. The Commission’s survey states there are more offenders in Britain than in any of the EU other member states. Only the southern European countries of Spain, Italy and Greece are in the same league. Other locations on the blacklist include Portsmouth, Hastings, Dover, and Folkestone in the south, and Bebington, near Liverpool, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hull in the North. The Intelligence Community Assessment report recommends that improved water management and investments in water-related sectors, such as agriculture, will
afford the best solutions for water problems. The report says technology that reduces the amount of water needed to grow crops will offer the greatest potential for relief from water scarcity.
“For instance, a favourite past time for people in Romania is barbecuing out in the open, especially near a lake or a river. After each outing, mountains of trash are left behind” 19
Thinking Outside the Borders
AFET
by Charlotta
Thinking outside borders: taking into consideration the scepticism on both the European and the Turkish side regarding the slow progress of Turkey’s accession to the EU, should the current negotiations towards full membership be continued or should these plans be abolished in favour of an extended partnership agreement between the EU and Turkey? There have been made many and many more efforts trying to make Turkey eligible to join the EU – it is not that Turkey is not wanted; it is just not ready yet. While Turkey has adopted more than 300
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common EU laws there has been thousands of working hours spent on trying to find solutions for Turkey’s challenges. This shows that interest is still mutual. The negotiations became to a halt after a couple of years. Now, there are still some 20 chapters for Turkey to fill to become a full member and last year the extended partnership came into consideration. Andrew Duff, a British member of the European Parliament, told SETimes: “If Turkey is not to join the EU as a full member, would a form of associate membership be more acceptable? If so, what would this be based on - com-
mon market, trade and foreign policy or something more? These are the issues which should inform the new EU-Turkey dialogue.” I am also in favour for an extended partnership for Turkey. The country has made gigantic leaps towards becoming an EU country but there is still a lot to work with and negotiations have been on for 10 years. Ten rough years of settling and fitting in, but the goal is still in the horizon. The negotiations can be held in the background to accomplish it later - the extended partnership is a good way to start. Also, if the parties during the partnership time decide
not to continue further, no solid agreements have been made. The EU needs Turkey. Turkey would become the second largest military in NATO and it is very powerful on the economic side. Good relationships with Turkey are important to keep remain the gateway to Asia and keep the Middle East from the European continent. If Turkey is fully excluded from the EU, it might turn to the East instead of the West and maybe become a threat. Keeping Turkey interested in EU can be partially fulfilled by presenting the extended partnership again and in the side of continuing negotiations to become a full member. For Europe’s and Turkey’s best, it would be ideal to head for the
full membership of Turkey, step by step. It will be a long process but great empires were neither built in weeks.
“The EU needs Turkey. Turkey would become the second largest military in the NATO and it is very powerful on the economic side. Good relationships with Turkey are important to remain the gateway to Asia and keep the Middle East from from the European continent. If Turkey is fully excluded from the EU, it might turn to the East instead of the West and maybe become a threat ” 21
ENVI II
The CO2 tax – good effort or economic disaster? by Vaclav
The EU emission trading system is undergoing one of the biggest changes in its history. Aviation emissions taxes, stronger expansion efforts and move from allocating permits to auctioning them. It seems that things are starting to roll. But is it what we really want? Isn’t it time to analyse what have been done since 2005 and reconsider our future actions? Europe is facing one of its biggest crises since 1990. After a long period of growth and welfare, something has changed. We are losing our competitiveness. Credit rankings of countries even as big and strong
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such as France and Italy drop all the time. Unemployment rates are rising, people are rioting. Controversial questions arise: is it the best time to implement regulating measures such as the Carbon tax? Whenever companies have to pay our “special” taxes, it forces them to move their production abroad. This is a simple economic fact. Just compare how much industry we had 50 years ago to how much we produce now. We cannot be so selfish. Our citizens and their jobs are what matters. Disputatious steps taken in order to “save the Earth” have to wait. At least until we find out how to
take them, not to harm ourselves at a time. However, there is also another side of the coin. Are we sure that CO2 is the main factor influencing climate change? It may seem that legislators are, but scientists are not. For sure, there are a lot of catastrophic studies proving that it does. The sad fact is that studies are usually susceptible to mainstream sentiments. Try to think outside the box; correlation between the rise of temperature and ascending carbon emissions does not necessarily imply causation. Moreover, the EU Emission Trading System proved its tendency towards unstable prices
of permits and showed how unreliable it can be. During its operation price of one tonne of carbon oscillated between 29.20 Euro in April 2005 to 0.10 Euro in September 2007. Today’s value is about 4 Euro per tonne and it is still significantly changing every day. And what’s the reason for this unprecedented instability? Permits are issued by government. Nobody can predict how much will the market need. Trust me, states of the Eastern Bloc tried statism for 40 years and it did not work. Nevertheless, during the third phase of EU ETS the percentage of auctioned permits will be increased. Offsets will rise and big possibilities will emerge. Time to invest in sources with a great potential comes. New kinds of
nuclear fusion could be a good field to start. Do not get me wrong, reduction of carbon emissions is not a bad idea. We have only one environment and we have to protect it. But we cannot ruin ourselves just to fulfil unreasonable criteria or to make populist steps. Unemployment and social disturbances are issues we are facing now. Do not be green at all costs and start being reasonable.
“Whenever companies have to pay our “special taxes, it forces them to move their production abroad. This is a simple economic fact. Just compare how much industry we had 50 years ago to how much we produce now. We cannot be so selfish. Our citizen and their jobs are what matters. Disputatious steps taken in order to “save the Earth” have to wait.”
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Ifromlove you all over Europe by Manfredi As we march into this somewhat controversial holiday which is Valentine’s Day, we can be sure that today of all days the “L” word is much in use (and I’m not talking about Laryngitis here). Old fashion Love is in the air tonight, though all of Europe! Still having different languages we can indulge in viewing how Love is expressed and demonstrated all over Europe: “Ti amo Fabrizio, have a big slice amore mio.” (Italy) “Ich Liebe dich, Frau, doctor, professor, magister, aktitekt….“ (Austria) “Gráím thú. Who is my favourite keg? Who is my favourite keg? You are!” (Ireland) “Je t’aime, Je t’adore, Tu es l’amour de ma vie, Je veux être avec toi pour toujours, blah blah…“ (France) “Ik hou van jou. Ok, now party!” (Holland) “Te quiero mucho mi amor! How about I sing you my song while you get… ehm, caliente?” (Spain) 24
“Σ΄αγαπώ, here is a dime.” (Greece) “Kocham Cię. What? Only 4 Zloty?” (Poland) “Jag älskar dig, they were out of roses so I got you this chair.” (Sweden) “Miluji tě. They were all out of beer so I got you roses.” (Czech Republic) “I ha Di garn (yes, apparently this is considered “German”).” (Switzerland) “Godverdomme. All hail Flanders!” (Belgium) “Love thee, you wicked old ghastly of a scallywag. Cheerio!” (U.K.) “Rakastan sinua, whatever, steam it up and pass the Teerenpeliluomuolut.” (Finland) “Я вас люблю! All three of you if you know what I mean.” (Ukraine) And Germany? We have no clue on how Germans express their love; this is for left you to share people.
Financial Horoscope The sovereign debt crisis has left European economies struggling. Bad luck is often associated with number 13. Will 2013 help the Euro back on its feet or make it crumble even more? by Meropi Spain: there’s still a long way ahead, but don’t give up. Employment will get better after another decline, be patient. The labour market reform will have positive impacts on the wages. However dependency on energy imports slows down recovery. Another challenge you have to face is the weak domestic demand. Rely on your exports to foster growth. Greece: the crisis hit you the hardest, but time is said to heal all wounds. It will take a lot of time. However there’s a slight chance for recovery in 2014. Adjusting employment is painful, but the structural labour market reform might help. Unfortunately, your reputation is already ahead of you and prevents potential investments from being made. France: the crisis has left some scratches, but no really deep cuts on your economy. Tax increases for high incomes have not only made Gérard Depardieu leave but, combined with unemployment will harm private consumption. You need to focus on investments and labour creation, which are going to continue challenging you. Italy: you are expected to reach a positive trade balance since your export is growing. However, complete recovery will be delayed by high unemployment. Although the wages remain moderate domestic demand decreases. Some other southern countries might consider following your example. Germany: you are the one that got away comparably well. Private consumption has proven to be robust and is further enhanced by low interest rates. This will improve import. But no time to relax there’s still work to do. Although the employment situation could be worse, labour will stagnate. Moreover, the uncertain environment reduces investments. 25
CUPID Who is he?
by Flavius
Cupid, also known as Cupido or Eros, is most commonly recognised in many places as a little naked boy with a bow and magical arrows, piercing through hearts. On Valentine’s Day, he flies around with the help of his wings, looking for possible victims of his love arrows. At a certain point in life, everyone has wondered who Cupid actually is. For youngsters, it is that magical being which helps them find love at first sight; for grownup people, it is just a simple legend about a boy with wings, who is supposed to represent love and desire. Either if it is a legend or a supernatural being, one thing is certain: Eros is the nexus of the Valentine’s Day. On one hand, despite being called by different names in many parts of the world, the concept of Cupid is well-known by all the cultures. Even though he is said to have lived in ancient Greece along with all the almighty Gods, his love still spreads all around the globe. 26
Regardless of his origins, his name or even his age, every nation’s Cupid is the key factor which makes this magnificent month magical. On the other hand, it is safe to say that Cupid has become just a tool for the mass-media, a concept through which they can manipulate people to buy their products. Being so intense mediatised in the last couple of years, the concept of Eros is losing its charm one year after year. Therefore, from an iconic figure, Cupid is becoming just a simple commercial tool. Ultimately, whether he is real or not, whether he is an iconic figure or a media tool, Eros still embodies desire and cheerfulness, the everlasting Valentine’s Day symbols. Ergo, as long as lovers exist – people who enjoy the magical, dreamlike day of the 14th of February, people who are open to any kind of possibilities – then the concept of Eros will never vanish.
What Makes Europeans so Special? The first thing every young European learns at school is that his country belongs to the European Union, “a great economic power of the world”. However, despite learning by heart the glorious history of the Union and the great benefits it provides to its members (not to mention the annual GDP and the population of every country), the majority of Europeans are unaware of the substance of the matter: “What does it truly mean to be a European citizen?” The answer to the question cannot be given by historical or economic terms. Luckily, it is a matter of values. Only the values can determine the European identity. In other words, a “proper” European is a person that believes in peace, democracy, human rights, sovereignty and prosperity. A European citizen together with his national identity would have a “European identity”. That is to say, he would feel a member of a greater community, in which national benefits and boarders are invisible.
He would defend democracy and human rights and protest when any sort of power violates them. He would act in the sake of the common good, because he would be aware that his personal prosperity can only be achieved through the creation of a prosperous community. The list goes on and on. What really matters is that we, the Europeans, should stop facing our Union as an economic treaty, and realize that the benefits we can gain from Europe can be remarkable, providing that we fight for democracy, equal rights and tolerance. A European citizen is special, only if he keeps the European values at a special place in his heart. by Meropi
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