EU construction and the EU programs for youngsters and European cohesion

I can tell by the way the granting system is made that there is some kind of hypocrisy at the administrative level of the EU. Let’s be fair and name with the right words things we are trying to make, to build. If we don't act against the European bureaucracy we are going to fail on our way. I don't mean EU bureaucracy but exactly like I wrote "European bureaucracy" which means national administration toped (vaguely and powerlessly by the EU administration). 

We pay so many people in the way that more money is spent on moving paper than actually achieving the purpose for which clearly some money are spent.

On the other hand, and especially in this period I think it would be wise to let the central EU administration handle the programs for youngsters and those meant to build and strengthen the European cohesion. I have so many reasons for that, but one of the most evident concerns is related with how almost inexistent Youth in Action program is in some "EU countries" or "European countries".

There is an evident wave of xenophobia throughout Europe. Let’s face it. We see the most grotesque forms of hating people in some of the most “democratic” countries of Europe. There are huge amounts of arrogance traveling throughout Europe’s ways of communications.

Everything written above can be clearly observed if you had the chance to be part of some “EU” activities (as I would call them).

At this point I will start to be a little more specific and talk more about the Youth in Action projects.

The purpose of these projects is so well thought but sometimes so bad put into practice. First of all, on paper, applying for a project like this is not motivating at all. But there are still lots of organization applying for this projects and it is kind of strange, isn’t it? I can understand why as a small organization you would apply for this kind of projects if you want to give a push to your activities but is hard to understand why you should continue with these projects while reading the conditions on paper. Well there is an answer in the ambiguity of some of the rules. As I see it, the 2007-2013 programs encouraged the grey economy (if I may say so). By the way the projects could be carried on, there was no evident reason why someone should spend a lot of time, intellectual value, and money in implementing a project (some don’t invest intellectual value, but let’s be hypocrites and pretend everybody does it). Nevertheless, the lack of motivation for a pure minded, corruption untouched, clever and well educated youngsters takes this program away from his interest and place it in the hands of those that have a conception on how our little dirty world functions.

I don’t want to bring everybody down on the subject, but let’s be fair with what we are doing and let’s take the politically infiltrated manners out of what actually European construction work is supposed to be. We don’t have to lie ourselves on how we continue on implementing YIA projects and let’s see if all these work could be recognized and motivated in order for the more naïve idealist to carry on.

It can become harder and harder to just do some work with the help of European money instead of implementing an ideal. I know that not everything is perfect and the director of the program for Spain for example, doesn’t have to know about the program more than I do, she might have a good heart instead…, but could we at least do a little better? Maybe we can succeed to take those (“inexistent”?) that don’t  carry as much for the purpose of this program, out of this game and let them carry on with their commercial/business work.

PS:

I started to write this while hearing the words of this man. Once again I question his reasons, and this is just for the words in this part of the material. I don’t know much about him and I consider him as guilty as we all are before concluding on his good intentions.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmzIqFUjP0s

Some happy days in a smaller world

writen by Constantin Dragos BEJENARU

When we are young the world is our friend.

It was some 15 years ago. I noticed a difference in the crowd. A bump for me, a lure for my eyes, something new and interesting to understand. Somehow I was staring without thinking on something specific. I was pushed and moved from side to side with the crowd.

I was at a “rave” concert and it happened that I saw for the first time a “black man”. I didn’t have any thoughts other than regarding the difference in skin color. At some point the man showed frustration for my staring and after telling his friends that they must move or he would have to punch someone in the face, they disappeared. Though I understood that his hate was directed to me, I couldn’t then understand why, and in some way I can’t now either.

It was a long time after for me to learn about what it was about. The term of racism was introduced to me later and though I knew the meaning it took me a long time to understand its feeling and to associate the feeling to what racism is. I didn’t know or have them at the rave concert.

The world shrinks on me

The world as big as it is, came closer. Since every then the world followed its path. The same man, unchanged every since dark ages helped by his tools made the world smaller. The communications exploded and with the help of technology and economical development people were given easier access to the world they were living in. With all that, people meet people, cultures meet cultures and religions meet religions. We could either know each other better or hate each other more. And we did it.

 Looking for the big world

It was that the time to start to explore the world. We now have the means. The man can now raise himself over, look and see, understand and accept, learn and remember. New ways of life to discover, new places to see, new music to listen, new feelings to understand, new people to like, to love and to join. It was then immediately understood. No step to be taken back. It’s been such a long struggle. The iron became such a refined material and all many other materials that fuse into creating the world we live in, but he, the man remained just a very smart animal. It is now the time to look further. And further he looked.

The little man

Not all is there to be taken! he said. And it is right. Not all is there to be taken, if it is not shared. But the things he is allowed to take do not fit with his ideas. Unable to rule over a bigger world, the little man picks a corner and makes it his. Now he can take everything he wants to.

We hear every day in every corner of the world, the little man asking for auto determination in the name of his small corner of people. They are better he says. Among other things, as superior human beings is not fair to share what is only rightful to them. The little man raised over a small corner of people and claimed his superiority. Nothing but hate is known. Hate for everything surrounding, for everything that is not the same. Fed by false perception over himself, the little man thinks he is superior. But he is superior in his small corner, with his little people, with his “little” expectations and his “little” hopes.

Walking naked

…naked of the “black man’s” words, naked of the little man’s propaganda...

Author:Eni Mazniku (Law Faculty, University of Tirana)                         

                  Reflections on European citizenship

The idea to write an article on European

 citizenship came into my mind after a very useful training on European Citizenship in Turkey. Before the training my knowledge on this matter was very unclear and insufficient, because even nowadays it is a non-widely elaborated matter. After the training I admit that I am more confused and unclear, but at least I have more information about the European citizenship.

I am Eni Mazniku, a Public Law master student from Albania, a country who hasn’t gained yet even the candidate status to be part of the European Union and you logically may ask: Which are my relations with the European Citizenship if I am not legally a European citizen? Well, before the training, I also shared the same doubt. I also thought that citizens of non EU countries were excluded from benefiting from such a desirable status but fortunately the situation is more positive as it seems.  I will try to explain those reasons in the next rows.

Before continuing with this article, I need to emphasize the difference between to concepts, European Union citizenship and European citizenship. EU’s citizenship is mainly a legal status, which was regulated by the Maastricht Treaty since 1992. European Union’s citizenship is supplementary to national citizenship and affords rights such as the right to vote in European elections, the right to free movement, settlement and employment across the EU, and the right to consular protection from other EU states' embassies when a person's country of citizenship does not maintain an embassy or consulate in the country they need protection. European citizenship is mainly a social and cultural status that is not regulated by a specific law. This concept goes beyond the defined territory of the European Union and is extended even in the countries that are not part of the EU but feel that share common values. European citizens are free to think and act like EU’s citizens, because nothing prohibits them to share such core values as human rights, tolerance, respect for the diversity, interest on European culture and alike.

To have a clearer view of those two concepts, I would like to mention two important organizations like Council of Europe and European Union.  The Council of Europe is an international organization promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It was founded in 1949, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens. The European Union (EU) is an international organization, based mostly on economic and political cooperation of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe and its population is about 503.5 million people. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. 

Those two institutions give the possibility to feel European, even to people who legally may not fulfill the legal criteria of the EU’s membership. So as we all can see, it is totally possible to feel “European/Européenne/Europäisch/Europeo”  even if your passport is not blue with 12 golden stars, because more than a legal status European citizenship is a way of living.

From the humanitarian perspective, being a European citizen is a state of strongly believing in such fundamental rights and freedoms such as: the right to live, the right to personal life and family, the right to have a due process of law, the right to be treated without discrimination, freedom of movement, freedom of choosing your own education, freedom of establishment etc.

From the musical perspective, being a European citizen may mean that you are a good listener of Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, Strauss but at the same time of HIM, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Coldplay,U2 etc

From the literature perspective, being a European citizen may mean that you are a good reader of Homer, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, George Orwell, Victor Hugo etc

From the social perspective, being European a European citizen may mean that you were born in Italy, by a Spanish mother and French father, your girlfriend/boyfriend is German and you live in Portugal.

List of perspectives is infinite and very subjective too. There is no unique definition of European citizenship but there are some common values that people need too share in order to feel European rather than American or Asiatic. In that moment a question comes into my mind: May a person from USA, Asia, Africa, Australia feel European? I don’t have a definite answer for that yet, maybe yes as long as that person shares the same values. I will let you think about that also…