fifth issue of la voix du collège

U R B A N I S T M A G A Z I N E - 2 - S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 1 5

Le consumérisme mis de côté, quelle belle idée que de consacrer une journée entière à l ’Amour ! Pas le prétendu, ni l ’ immédiat ou le lubrique, mais le genre d’amour qui nous motive, qui nous met au défi, nous inspire et nous rend meil-leurs. Le genre qui nous permet de faire et d’être plus. Le genre qui prend du temps. Parce que la plupart des belles choses font exactement ça, prendre du temps.

Souvent, nous supposons que lorsque on parle de l ’amour, les gens pensent pure-ment à la romance qui existe entre deux êtres humains. La réalité qui nous en-toure, en revanche, nous rappelle que l ’Amour est partout, sous toutes sortes de formes.

La relation amour/haine entre le Royau-me-Uni et l ’Union européenne, ou la lu-tte pour la légalisation de mariage entre un homme et un homme et une femme et une femme. Et bien sûr, dans la vie de tous les jours, même l’amour que nous ne planifions pas, comme celui qui fleurit si naturellement et avec bonheur ici au Col-lège d’Europe.

En pensant à tout ça, les mots de poète Ovide viennent à l ’esprit, “militat omnis amans .” Tout amant est un soldat. Quelque soit ce pour quoi vous vous battez, aimer requiert force et courage. C’est une ba-taille certainement de longue haleine que de se battre pour une relation, même celles entre les gouvernements, ou de tenter de réparer un système qui ne re-connaît pas l ’Amour en entier, ou même tout simplement, de laisser aller nos pro-pres défenses et egos, défauts et insécu-rités. Mais comme c’est gratif iant et inté-ressant pour un sentiment si percutant ! Voilà quelque chose qui vaut bien d’être célébré ! Joyeuse Saint-Valentin et bien sûr, bonne lecture !

GINNY

14TENSIONS

DANGEREUSES DANS

LE GOLFE PERSIQUE

7EUROPÉEN OU

NATIONAL ?

20INTERVIEW OF

SVEN SPENGEMANN

8-18OUR DOSSIER:

MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR

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La Voix du collège | The College Voice - 2 - february 2016 I fifth issue

LA VOIX DU COLLÈGE | THE COLLEGE VOICETHE COLLEGE OF EUROPE STUDENTS’ MAGAZINE

Dijver 11 - College of Europe | BE-8000 Bruges

E-MAIL: [email protected]

WEB: www.lavoixducollege.wordpress.com

TWITTER: @LaVoixduCollege

E Q U I P E D E D I R E C T I O N

NATHAN DE ARRIBA-SELLIER GINEVRA SPONZILLI

Founder & Director Editor in chief

EMILIE SCHOU JUAN GONZÁLEZ-MOYA FERNÁNDEZ

Deputy Editor in chief Logo & cover

KORNEEL DE SCHAMP & JEAN-BAPTISTE KASTEL

Natolin representatives

C O N T R I B U T E U R S

L. Berresheim, D. J. Bosschaert, T. Bousmaha, C. Holzinger,

C. Nieuwenhout, M. Pagano, F. Pop, M. Robson, R. Scarlett,

A.-S. Wislocki, M. Wislocki.

I M P R E S S I O N

RECLAMELAND

EDITORIAL

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VALENTINE’S DAY ANNOUNCEMENTS-


Gaya, I am sure that it was love at first sight. Happy Valentine’s day sweetie!

Chère Maman,Même si la vie à Angoulême n’est pas mauvaise,

puisque je mange bien, j’ai des compagnons de jeu,

je regarde les oiseaux à la fenêtre, mes coussinets

sont fermes et doux, tu me manques énormément. Tu

m’as tout donné depuis ma plus tendre enfance, alors

j’espère te retrouver très vite pour me blottir contre

ton visage de chat et ronronner paisiblement. En

t’attendant, je miaule et t’envoie des câlins.Je t’aime.

Ton poupou

Keep making the inner little boy smile, he is crazy about you

Je t’aime ma petite Pamela!

My dear Estelle,Know that you have my loveAnd that you make me whole,I’m blessed to have you in my life,You and your beautiful soul.Always smile, spread good vibes

And hug others out of the blue;Even with a broken coccyx,The world needs people like you!

Alex

“Once upon a time. I was falling in love. But now I’m only falling apart. There’s nothing I can do. A total eclipse of the heart.”EDA

Miguel, thank you for locking me in my room.Go lock yourself.

Hanna :p

This message to you, my sweetheart, is

anonymous.But I’ll give you a few clues :

1. 42. 143. First letters of the cities we’ve been to: Br,

Br, Pa, Bu, Ma4. *e**i** (our nickname)5. I really, really, really, really love you, in a

really loving way.

From the biggest coconut you’ll ever have!

For all the Olga’s from an Olga, let

the Olga’s feel always loved.

O.C.

Nastia, you’re a treasure! Happy Valentine’s day!

Dear Alexandros, There are 7 bil-lion smiles in the world but yours is our favorite (every day <3)

Estelle and Hanna

Dear Stefano, to be handsome for us, you practise a lot. But sincerely, your yoga pant is more than sufficient to make us smile (nearly every day) :) !

Oh deer...You’re the coolest person down there

Deux mois qu’on se tourne autour

Et si ensemble, on prenait de l’élan,

And, after the ball, dance tango,

Anytime, je suis là pour toi,

Claque des doigts et je disparais,

Would you be my Valentine?

“Pero ¿cómo sería tu amor sin tus rencores?”“But, how would it be your love without your rancours?”

(Sent by Nicola del Valle, from the poet P. A. Fernandes)

There is someone who really likes you.

I wish you looked around enough to

see who it was because attraction is

human and wonderful, even at its most

unrequited. I just wanted to get it off my

chest because it is heavy, you won’t see

this anyway and I probably will never

be brave enough to do this in real life

although I would really like to.

Une année à Bruges est sans doute l’année la plus intense de nos vies. Epanouissement intel-lectuel mais aussi l’opportunité de faire des amis pour la vie: las paquis siempre juntas! Et puis, cette année m’aura permis de rencontrer une personne incroyable, qui me rend si heureuse chaque jour. J’entend souvent dire qu’il y a un avant et un après l’année au Collège. Maintenant j’en suis convaincue aussi, en c’est grâce à toi. Je t’aime coco.

Leyre

Dear Colacho, I love you so much that I’d

give up all my breakfasts to see your face

30 minutes more, which I do and never

regret.

Giuseppe (IRD),

Ciao bello, you’re the cutest Italian at

the College Elenaki mu, you taught me that you can be beauti-ful eating ice-cream every day. Never stop doing it, my darling, you’re inspiring!

Olgaki

I wanna ask her - “Do I wanna know, darling, if this feeling flows both ways?”. But I cannot, as

she knows (and she knows that I know) that this line is ripped from an Arctic Monkeys song.

Still, there is a solution, as Muhittin would say. I can intentionally accidentally walk in to her

as she is leaving Verdriet at 3 a.m. - the nights were mainly made for saying things that you

can’t say tomorrow day. And there, then, I can say her: “as Alex Turner sang, sad to see you go,

I was sorta hoping that you’d stay?”. At this point, having avoided falsely pretending that I am

remotely capable of coming up with a snippet of original poetry, I will nevertheless have said

what I wanted to say: that I want her crawling back to me.

Dear Netalie, Thank you for your love and patience these years. I know it is not easy, after all those years together, to stay apart for almost a year. You have too kind with me, without your efforts and encouragement I would have not reached where I am, especially the College of Europe (thanks for the motivation letter ;) ). I am lucky to have you as my wife. I love you with all my heart. Happy anniversary and Happy birthday!We will be together soon.

Your loving husband Eyal

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Let’s talk about you (4)-

Joana is a student in the ECO department, and comes from Cologne, Germany. A

town merely 3 hours away by train from Bruges, making it a wonderful weekend get-away she believes. It is fair to say that most people associate economics with a boring career path, but this is not the case. Joanna has moved around quite a bit exploring her options within the EU. Having completed her undergraduate degree in Germany, with an Erasmus year in Paris, she then took off to London for an internship at the Ger-man Embassy in the UK. Then she moved to Southern France to do some volunteering work, when she was offered a traineeship at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Her drive and ambition pushed her to start a degree in Germany, but she soon discov-ered that her European spirit was pulling her away from Germany. After having trav-elled around with her various internships she decided to undertake a master degree in Leuven where she studied Economics. One thing led to another, and here she is in Bru-ges with us, living the ’bubble dream’.

She really made me laugh when she said she would like to stay in Belgium. As a part of this plan, she is improving her Flem-ish, studying the names of all the Leonidas pralines by eating them. She recommends ‘Manon’ and ‘Princesse enrobée’. I must say, that is a very creative way to learn a lan-guage, and I am sure it is quite inspiring for chocolate lovers. Joke aside, she did study Flemish for one year, and when she came to Bruges she was confident she could use her language skills with the locals but she had a lovely surprise, she could not. One day at the gym she realised that she couldn’t un-derstand a word and even wondered what language people were speaking. Only to find out, with great relief, that people speak in a local dialect called West-Vlaams.

On a more serious note, when I asked her about her career goals she gave me a very honest and down to earth reply. This is what she said: ’Like most students here, I had the dream to work for the EU for a long

time. However, I think I am getting old, be-cause suddenly it becomes more important to me that I will live in a safe place not too far from my family. My dream job would be one that I like getting up for in the morning, where I have friendly colleagues and where I can make a difference’. It is very important to know what we want in life, because when we know, we do it with pleasure. As Rumi said ‘everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you are climbing it’.

ALUMNA PROFILE

Sara is an alumna from the Montesquieu promotion (2004/2005), and is the Senior

Director for Europe, Middle-East and Africa at Burson-Marsteller. Our alumni never fail to surprise and impress, and Sara is a good example of a woman that succeeded in building a strong career after the College.

As one would expect, she has a very inter-national background having studied and

WHAT BETTER WAY TO START THE SECOND MONTH OF THIS NEW YEAR THAN WITH TWO INSPIRING STORIES OF STRONG AND INDE-PENDENT WOMEN! THIS ISSUE WILL PRESENT YOU OUR COLLEAGUE FROM THE ECO DEPARTMENT JOANA ELISA MALDONADO AND A DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA SARA CARRER, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA AT BURSON-MARSTELLER HQ.

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worked in London, Geneva and Brussels. She holds a university degree in International and Diplomatic studies and a MA in European Studies at the College of Europe. After having left the College, she worked at the EU Com-mission and then she became a manager for the EU Affairs of the European Foundation for Management Development. Two years later she joined Burson-Marsteller and worked in the Public Affairs and Corporate Communica-tions Practice before moving to the EMEA HQ team, Brussels.

But to go back to her experience at the college, she has very fond memories of living in Bru-ges, and to use her exact words ’despite living in Garenmarkt, I had a fantastic year’. It may be true that Garenmarkt is not the most excit-ing of residences, but since I live here as well, I must say it has its perks, especially during exam period. For Sara this was a year when she met a lot of people from across Europe and made a lot of close friends. She described it as a unique experience that broadened her

perspective and created connections across Europe. It comes as no surprise when she says that she worked hard but also played hard, just as Alexander Stubb said at the opening ceremony. As you can see we have a reoccur-ring theme ‘work hard, play hard’. Note the exact order of the words though: work hard and then play hard, not the other way around. She will never forget the long nights working on her thesis, but also the late night partying on the deserted streets of Bruges, after the ‘Barroso’ student bar.

It seems that most generations have hidden talents, in our case we have the band Le Re-pas Froid, and in their case they didn’t go as far as creating a band, but at the end of the year, during the last national week, two fel-low students wrote a song to commemorate their year at the College. It was so easy and catchy that everyone was able to sing it after a few minutes. She believes that was the mo-ment when the ‘Bruges bond’ was created.

As usual I asked our alumni for words of wis-dom to enlighten the future generation and this is what she said: ‘as part of my job I partic-ipate in the interview process. Sometimes I am amazed by the CVs we receive, and the positive attitude graduates have, other times I have the feeling that young professionals need to under-stand that every career is built step by step. No matter if you hold a prestigious diploma, it is important to fit in a team, to develop a strong team spirit, and to be humble. Only like this you can value even the simplest tasks and appreci-ate that those will help learning and growing. I wish all the students of the Chopin promotion a great year in Bruges and all the best for the future.’

by florina pop

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- COLLEGE SECTION -

So we grab our trays, eat, and ultimately, pro-ceed to our next commitment or responsibil-

ity. What ends up happening is that in this place where we spend a considerable amount of time, a place that reenergizes us – not only physically – we often forget to take a breath. We forget to look around us, and to recognize the meticulous “be-hind the scenes” work that happens daily.

Today, it’s quiet. I’m sitting here long before any shadow lurks around to queue for lunch. We agree to chat over a large, rectangular table and as we take a seat, he seems keen to be interviewed. In addition, courtesy of the Polish-Ukrainian na-tional week, balloons fill up the canteen, making it a particularly colorful setting to talk in.

“How did you get here?”“Ah, it’s a story that goes way back! I graduated from Oostende and heard about a possible opportu-nity at the College from a friend of a friend.” Hans Bastiaenssens, Chef of the canteen at the College of Europe (Bruges campus) tells me it was a very spontaneous choice he made. He started from an entry-level position and over the past 26 years built his way to where he is today.

I think about the incredible potential that can come from an opportunity grasped with ease. The naturalness needed to take it as it comes, without fear of what the results may be. It often seems that things work out in your favor when you remain serene about the future.

“What does it feel like to work here?”“Ah, it’s something special!” He is so genuine in answering it provokes a smile on my end. “When you work with food, you can’t possible find another environment like the College. Every year the place fills up with different students, nationalities, and new encounters. It’s amazing! You always end up making friends - knowing people around the world, from Brazil to South Africa. With some, I’ve really gotten a chance to build a connection. I keep in touch with the Minister of Tourism from Canada, for instance. Every summer he comes by, and when he does, we see each other!”

We share the same feeling over the uniqueness and the warmth of a place like the College. It feels like no matter what angle you experience it from, it’s still a special time of your life.

As he gets up to return to his office, he exchang-es his seat with Maxime Gnimassou. Maxime tells me that previous to his work here, he had a background in administration. After a stage in the field, he learned about a vacancy at the Col-lege. He applied, got hired, and began working diligently. Within five years that he was settled in, the Food and Beverage post opened. He took the chance full-heartedly!

He tells me he is originally from Burkina Faso. And with that, it doesn’t take long for the two of us to get lost in a beautiful conversation about Africa’s charm and resilience (being born and partially raised in the Continent, it’s a part of the world I hold close to my heart). Certainly we agree that when a piece of home is so far away, there’s a sense of nostalgia that comes with the memory. It’s also true however, that a part of his home is in Belgium, a place he initially came to for work. He came with hopes, dreams, and talents. He was a passionate soccer player, he confesses. Although life’s unexpected turns guided him towards an-other type of team activity...

“What’s it like to work here for you?”“J’adore – it’s what makes me live!”He shares that, similarly to Hans, the most impor-tant part is the multicultural aspect. “The contact with the students and the very unique experience you get from all of this. It’s enriching – every day, every month you interact and you learn about the people around you. My work is very varied, and I am deeply appreciative of that.”

This man’s esprit is moving. He is lively and posi-tive in a way you don’t often come across. Hans and him alike show an enthusiasm and an appre-ciation for their job, and the environment they work in, which leave me hoping for the same. Listening to them talk about it with such passion and delight after many years hard at work makes me cross my fingers: may we all find a path in our lives that leaves us feeling as excited and moti-vated.

STAFF PROFILE:

FOOD FOR THE SOUL-

by ginevra sponzilli

EVERY DAY, TWICE A DAY, WE WALK THROUGH THE DOORS OF ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST ROOMS PROVIDED TO US AND WITHIN MINUTES, WE SATISFY OUR HUNGER. IN BETWEEN FOOD, LAUGHTER AND CONVERSATION, WE RECUPERATE ON QUALITY TIME WITH FRIENDS. THE REALITY OF IT HOWEVER, IS THAT THIS FAST PACE LIFESTYLE HAS US CONSTANTLY ON THE GO.


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J’imagine qu’il y a toujours eu des groupes par nation-

alité, aujourd’hui particu-lièrement du fait des réseaux sociaux. Là n’est pas le prob-lème. En revanche, quand ces groupes passent du virtuel au réel, substitue à l’expérience européenne le retour aux ra-cines nationales, j’ai un souci. La création de l’Italian Society remonte à l’année dernière pour promouvoir la culture péninsulaire dans le contexte du patronage des juges Fal-cone et Borsellino, tout comme le Collège cherche cette année à créer un momentum autour de la musique. Mais cette ini-tiative étudiante a été recon-duite cette année, entraînant dans la foulée la création de la Hispanic, Portuguese et Hel-lenic Societies. Pourquoi cette soudaine compé-tition entre pays méditerranéens ? Faut-il y voir un lien avec le fossé Nord-Sud croissant au sein de l’UE ? Certes, ces initiatives restent ouvertes aux non nationaux (c’est le minimum syndical en réalité) voire servent de support à des cours de langue (c’est beaucoup mieux) mais ça demeure tout de même à mes yeux un flagrant retour du national. Sans prôner l’acculturation, on peut s’étonner que celles et ceux conscients des problèmes que l’égoïsme national des Etats-Membres pose à l’Union européenne s’empressent aussitôt arrivés dans un cénacle purement européen de prêcher leurs cultures nationales. Cela ne s’arrête pas aux initiatives étudiantes : il est bien connu que les Français (entre autres) ont tendance à rester entre eux, les Allemands ont quant à eux créer un groupe facebook réservés aux seuls nation-aux, etc.

Un deuxième exemple, plus ténu, corrobore ce phénomène : les semaines nationales. Je n’ai rien contre l’organisation de semaines nationales, car c’est un moyen de découvrir tour à tour chacune des cultures représentées au Collège. Ces national weeks sont d’ailleurs assez souvent transnation-ales. Mais, sous prétexte de se conformer à une tradition, on en vient parfois aussi au repli na-tional. « Spain is different », plus que le Portugal ? Que la Suède, l’Ukraine ou le monde arabe ? Un projet, enthousiasmant le Recteur, envisageait

une binational week franco-allemande. Ni les Français, ni (surtout) les Allemands n’en ont vou-lu. « Il y aurait trop de différences entre les cul-tures », cela empêche t-il de coexister et chercher des synergies ? « Le nombre d’étudiants impliqués serait trop nombreux », depuis quand être nom-breux pose un problème pour l’organisation d’un événement particulièrement prenant ? Et cela au-rait eu au moins pour avantage de dégager plus de temps pour les autres groupes. « Les Français se-raient trop mal organisés », vive les clichés ! « Cela empêcherait d’organiser le bal viennois », ça n’a pas pour autant été le cas il y a quelques années quand cela fut fait. On pourrait aussi parler des tensions entre nationalités dans l’organisation des semaines nationales : nos camarades du Benelux, d’Europe de l’Est et de l’Orient en ont éprouvé les difficultés.

Ces replis nationaux, même au sein d’un moteur de l’Europe, sont particulièrement déprimants quand on sait que l’Union crève du repli national. Plutôt que de montrer l’exemple, certains d’entre nous préfèrent rester dans leurs coins, bien du-veteux, plutôt que de dépasser les clichés et tra-vailler ensemble mano en la mano. Ne nous éton-nons pas après de la politique destructrice de nos aînés ! Même pour ceux qui ne sont ici que pour des questions de débouchés professionnels, en quoi affaiblir l’Europe va t-il les aider dans le fu-tur ? Est-ce si difficile en définitive de s’aimer les uns les autres ?

COLLEGE LIFE

NATIONAL OU EUROPÉEN ?-

POUR QUICONQUE ÉTUDIE AU COLLÈGE D’EUROPE, LA QUESTION PEUT PARAÎTRE STUPIDE AU PREMIER REGARD. MAIS L’EST-ELLE VRAIMENT ? MALGRÉ LE MYSTIQUE « ESPRIT DU COLLÈGE » ET LA COEXISTENCE JOYEUSE DE SES 53 NATIONALITÉS SOUS LE MÊME TOIT, PARFOIS ELLE SE TRANSFORME EN DÉFI. LE CHOC SERAIT-IL TELLEMENT FORT QU’ON PRÉFÈRE SE RECROQUEVILLER, A MINIMA RÉGULIÈREMENT SI CE N’EST SOUVENT, SUR SA PROPRE SPHÈRE NATIONALE ?

by nathan de arriba-sellier


U R B A N I S T M A G A Z I N E - 8 - S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 1 5La Voix du collège | The College Voice - 8 - february 2016 I fifth issue

DISTANCE MAKES

the heart grow fonder -

Michael 26, Austrian with Polish origins, and Anne-Sophie 25, half French and half German, meet in Nancy, France in 2010,

when both were pursuing their undergraduate de-gree.

“He was a year above me, and I had just moved into a flat with two really good friends of his, both of whom I had never met before.” With this, Anne-Sophie, reminds me that destiny always seems to play a part in the choices we make.

It didn’t take long for things to blossom. Active time spent in the company of mutual friends and travel-ing, gave space, or perhaps spark, for more. Even-tually, the two became official in March of 2011.

CREDITS: CHRISTOPH

HOLZINGER

LIFE IS TREMENDOUSLY IRONIC, DON’T YOU THINK? IT ALWAYS SEEMS YOU GET WHAT YOU LEAST EXPECT, WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT. LUCKILY, THAT’S OFTEN FOR THE BEST, AS THIS STORY SEEMS TO PROVE.

As their story officially took off, there was only one rather large elephant in the room: Russia. Yes, because Sciences Po has it so that a year abroad is a fundamental component of the curriculum. This meant that Michael first, followed by Anne-Sophie, would both be required to leave France and ex-plore another city. Any young couple might have been easily discouraged, or even defeated by the thought.

However, it doesn’t take long to notice that Michael and Anne-Sophie, as individuals, but especially as a pair, are far from average. It took them one meaningful conversation to tackle the prospects: two years of long distance, then they would meet again in Paris for their master’s degree, and who

U R B A N I S T M A G A Z I N E - 9 - S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 1 5La Voix du collège | The College Voice - 9 - february 2016 I fifth issue

- MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR DOSSIER -

knows, maybe one day they would marry?

“How did you keep in touch then? Skype? What-sapp?” I assumed quite naively.“Letters!”“Letters?”“Yes! Sometimes, 7, 8 pages long.”

What a meaningful gesture. I’ve always found that words, chosen truthfully and with care, are so powerful. What’s more though are words writ-ten by hand, thoughts laid out between swirls and spaces; ones that cannot easily be erased or deleted.

From Russia to Nancy, to Kiev to Brussels to Rome, 2 years flew by. In fact, it was while Anne-Sophie was spending her year abroad in Rome, that Mi-chael took the opportunity to complete a 2 months internship at Radio Vatican to begin to close the geographical gap between them. I start to wonder if Rome’s magic played a role in complementing their story. It’s one of those cities that inspires you, that moves you. Let alone if you’ve chosen it as the place to reconnect with your Love.

when found, that road seems to be the most promising and certainly, the most loving.

With a little bit of luck on their side, they decided to apply to the College of Europe. They both got accepted to go in September. Meanwhile, they got married last June in Northern Germany, by the Baltic Sea.

“What’s the plan after this?”“Brussels” they say convinced.“Maybe one big happy family,” Michael jokes. “Dogs? Cats”“Dogs” he confirms.“But only one,” she specifies.

The inner workings of their relationship are so complementary to one another. They’re in sync, in the way they are sepa-rate, but also together. The way that they reason as a team, even through just an or-dinary conversation like this one.

I ask him how he would best describe her and he reminisces over a story Anne-Sophie once told him about an elderly woman from southern Italy who claimed she was “dolce, ma con carattere:” sweet, but with strong character. And if you ever have had the chance to meet her, Anne-Sophie is very much that way (good intuition, grandma!) – ele-gant and poised, yet determined. In return, I ask her what she most likes about him and other than his enthusiasm for everything. She talks about his ability to always seek compromise. “He’s my best friend. We talk and laugh about everything and find in fact, that we are partners in crime. It’s the best feeling - to have married your best friend.”

There’s little more comforting or admirable than this. The idea that Love doesn’t demand for ex-tremes. That rather, there is space for mutual un-derstanding, acceptance, and compromise. And when found, that road seems to be the most prom-ising and certainly, the most loving yet!


U R B A N I S T M A G A Z I N E - 1 0 - S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 1 5La Voix du collège | The College Voice - 10 - february 2016 I fifth issue


In Bruges the thing you shouldn’t attempt to do on the Valentine’s Day weekend is to take a cosy walk on the Markt or on the Burg. A College of Europe alumnus who graduated last year told me about his plight of trying to advance on either of those central squares, without actually getting any-where. Guess what: a thousand other tourists had the same idea that you did, and they have selfie sticks…

What is more advisable is to get farther away from the city centre. Try a walk on the east side of the city, where four windmills grace the spots of the former medieval ramparts. Spoiler alert: almost no tourists, since it’s so far away from the train station. It’s definitely worth a try, if only to see for yourself what the potential of such a nice lawn could be when the sun finally comes out again in or after exam time. Coffee or hot chocolate can be had in one of the taverns along Kruisvest or Pe-terseliestraat.

Even better (if you’re the sporty type): take your bike and make it into a romantic half-day trip to

Damme, a small town half-way between Bruges and the coast side. The road there goes along an old canal (the “Damse Vaart”), which used to be one of the main waterways between Bruges and the sea. A hot chocolate at a local brasserie in Damme before turning back surely will make for some good quality time.

For Natolin students a walk in the snow-covered Natoli…ski Las could equally constitute a very romantic walk, and is certainly more scenic than the slippery walk to Natolin metro station through yet another grey block Warsaw suburb (as I noted myself). However, should you wish to go beyond the campus itself, a good idea would be to head for the reconstructed old city. Alternatively, the metro can also take you to a bunch of excellent restaurants in Warsaw, including Pa…stwomiasto, Bibenda and Banja Luka to name but some of my personal favourites. Having food together in a cosy setting usually gets the blood flowing again in wintery Warsaw.

IMAGINE: YOU’VE FOUND THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE WHILST STUDYING AT THE COLLEGE. YOU’RE SPENDING VALENTINE’S DAY WITH HIM OR HER ON CAMPUS, ALTHOUGH YOU’RE NOT NECESSARILY ATTENDING THE COLLEGE TOGETHER. WHERE TO TAKE THAT PERSON, BOTH IN BRUGES AND IN NATOLIN? YOURS TRULY WENT ON A BRIEF FACT-FINDING MISSION IN JANUARY TO TELL YOU MORE.

by DAVID-JAN BOSSCHAERT


AMOUR À LA BELGE OU À LA POLONAISE ?

Some tips for a romantic stroll -

Ode à Épicure Turquois regard, le Collège reste sans voix. Allège l’ovale de tes picardes paluches.Tu es la chaise sur laquelle je m’assois. Ton amour, j’y baigne tel le vin dans la cruche.

Bsahtek au frais

Pour mon amour du collège, mon bébé, ma soeur, mon tout,

Sans toi, ça ne serait pas la même chose c’est tout.

Ce fut le coup de foudre depuis le début,

pour le meilleur et pour le pire,

plein de bisous pour la meilleure Laura

de la part de ta soeur du collège

To Ludovic, the most hand-some assistant ever to have graced the IRD department: seeing you makes my day every single time!

VALENTINE’S DAY ANNOUNCEMENTS (SUITE)



by DAVID-JAN BOSSCHAERT



You can definitely assume that you are part of the College of Love if:

• Maybe you failed your exams, but for sure, you did not fail the most important one. After months of accurate analysis, comparative researches, de-tailed statistics, secret lists, you succeeded in the most relevant challenge... You are the first one on the list of your boy/girlfriend (or maybe your ri-vals just gave him/her a pullback).• When you leave your room in the morning and your neighbours look at you in a suspicious way and then you find out they are secretly signing a petition to make you change residence.• When you are studying in the library, you al-ways find an excellent viewpoint to check him/her out every 3 pages (or maybe every page)• When you sleep at his/her place and you have to wake up at least 30 minutes before the other stu-dents of the residence if you don’t want to bump into all of them having breakfast in the common room.• When you want to meet your boy/girlfriend af-ter a bar night but you don’t want to be too ob-

vious, so you contact the “Intelligence Service” to organise your escape-plan:“ So I leave now and you leave 5 minutes after me”“ No, I leave before you”“ But we are going to my place...”“ I’m still not sure 5 minutes is enough”• When the times you are trying to have good sex while you are drunk happen more often than the times you are actually having good sex• When, during lunch, you pretend to be choosing the best tomatoes in the salad bar but in reality you are checking- Where he/she is- Who he/she is having lunch with- If he/she is looking at you- If he/she is bringing water to another girl/boy• When suddenly learning a new language is more important than studying for your exams• When after 2 months spent trying to avoid it, you just have to accept that your boy/girlfriend needs a toothbrush in your bathroom• When all the students in the College know that you are in a couple but you still don’t think you are.

COLLEGE OF LOVE

VADEMECUM-

ARE YOU STILL NOT SURE IF YOU CAN DEFINE YOUR RELATIONSHIP IN THE COLLEGE AS A “COUPLE”?

by D.

VALENTINE’S DAY

what’s all the fuzz about?-

Having felt like dying from anxiety about asking your crush out for Valentine’s, you probably never asked yourself why this particular day was caus-ing you so much stress? Why the 14th, why Valen-tine’s and why flowers and all this stuff?

The origins are shrouded in mystery but go back to the late 3rd century when a number of Valen-tines endured martyrdom by the Romans for their Christian faith. Pope Gelasius I introduced the feast of St. Valentine on February 14th, presum-ably to replace the pagan Lupercalia, an orgiastic Roman fertility festival.

Thus purged from its antique background, St. Val-entine has been remembered ever since at the end of the second week of February. Having sup-posedly wed lovers and given them flowers from his garden, Valentine’s day became a day of high courtship in the Middle Ages and was popular-ized by the great English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in

his “parliament of the birds”, alluding to the day when birds chose their mates.

English emigrants took the customs of writing decorated cards and flowers to the United States and, in turn, US soldiers brought it back to Europe. Flower- and chocolate vendors then popularized it even further as a moment to give (or expect) a romantic gift, and globalization spread it to all corners of the world.

So the reasons for buying flowers for your crush that day is ultimately due to a Roman martyr and good marketing campaigns. Valentine’s day is pop-ular all over the world, but as a future diplomat, there are a few details to be careful about: if you are Japanese, then it’s the girls buying chocolate for the boys, whereas in Brazil, this day is celebrat-ed on June 12th.

by ANNE-SOPHIE & MICHAEL WISLOCKI

U R B A N I S T M A G A Z I N E - 1 2 - S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 1 5 La Voix du collège | The College Voice - 13 - february 2016 I fifth issue



DANGEREUSES TENSIONS DANS

le golfe persique-

Accusations, escalade, rupture. Il y a à peine 6 semaines, Riyad, par l’intermédiaire de son min-istre des Affaires étrangères Adel al-Joubeir, an-nonçait la rupture de ses relations diplomatiques avec l’Iran. Une décision survenue après que des manifestants iraniens aient attaqué l’ambassade saoudienne à Téhéran. La crise entre la république d’Iran, chiite, et le royaume saoudien, sunnite a éclaté à suite de l’éxécution du Cheikh chiite Nimr Baqer Al-Nimr, virulent critique de la dynastie des Al-Saoud, ainsi que de quarante-six autres per-sonnes condamnées pour actes de terrorisme.

La mise à mort du cheikh, figure importante de la contestation du régime saoudien a provoqué un tollé dans les communautés chiites d’Irak, du Liban, du Yémen, et de l’Arabie Saoudite même. Tous les dignitaires chiites de la région on dénon-cé l’exécution du célèbre opposant du pouvoir de Ryad. En Irak, des milliers de sympathisants du chef chiite Moqtada al-Sadr manifestèrent à Bag-

MANIFESTATION

EN IRAK CONTRE

L’EXÉCUTION

D’AL NIMR | AFP

FACE À UNE RÉPUBLIQUE ISLAMIQUE D’IRAN QUI, SUITE À LA LEVÉE DES SANCTIONS OCCIDENTALES, EST LA PUISSANCE MONTANTE DE LA RÉGION, L’ARABIE SAOUDITE APPARAIT ISOLÉE ET FAIT CAVALIER SEUL. DE MANIÈRE ASSEZ INHABITUELLE, LA DYNASTIE DES AL-SAOUD PREND DES RISQUES DANS SA CONFRONTATION AVEC TÉHÉRAN ALORS QUE LE PAYS EST CONFRONTÉ À PLUSIEURS DÉFIS MAJEURS, TANT AU PLAN INTERNE QU’ÉCONOMIQUE.

dad le mois dernier, appelant le gouvernement irakien en place à rompre toute relation diploma-tique avec l’Arabie Saoudite.

Mogherini : l’exécution du cheikh chiite est lourde de conséquences

De son côté l’Union européenne n’a pas tardé à exprimer ses vives inquiétudes : « le cas du clerc chiite Nimr al-Nimr soulève de sérieuses interroga-tions sur la liberté d’expression, les droits civils et politiques de base, qui doivent être préservé dans tous les cas, y compris dans le cadre de la lutte an-ti-terroriste » a déclaré la Haute Représentante de l’Union pour les affaires étrangères Federica Mogh-erini. « Ce cas a le potentiel d’amplifier encore plus les tensions sectaires qui font déjà beaucoup de dégâts dans la région, avec des conséquences très dangereuses » estime encore la chef de la diploma-tie européenne.



Les tensions entre les deux grandes puissances du Moyen-Orient résultent d’une rivalité bien an-cienne entre deux pays qui luttent chacun pour défendre, voire étendre, leur zone d’influence. Le régime saoudien, qui abrite les deux lieux saints de l’Islam, à savoir la mosquée du Prophète à Mé-dine ainsi que la Grande Mosquée à la Mecque, s’affirme comme le grand rassembleur du monde sunnite, branche principale de l’islam. L’Iran, ré-publique chiite, une confession minoritaire dans le monde, conteste cette domination. A cela s’ajoute une rivalité entre une république islamique et une monarchie, entre une aire culturelle persane et arabe, et la plupart du temps, un profond dés-accord sur les conflits dans la région, notamment en Irak, en Syrie, au Yémen, ou les deux pays s’accusent mutuellement de tenter d’élargir leur influence en s’ingérant dans les affaires internes des pays avoisinants. Cette coupure diplomatique n’est d’ailleurs pas sans précédent, les deux puis-sances ayant rompu leur relation de 1987 à 1991, suite à de violents affrontements entre forces saoudiennes et pèlerins iraniens pendant le Hadj à la Mecque en 1987.

Les tensions se sont exacerbées ces derniers mois après la signature de l’accord sur le nucléaire ira-nien à Vienne en juillet dernier. Le tournant di-plomatique orchestré par le président américain Barack Obama a d’ailleurs révélé au grand jour les faiblesses de l’Arabie Saoudite. Bien qu’ayant adressé à son grand rival régional chiite ses es-poirs de bâtir de « meilleures relations sur la base d’un bon voisinage et de la non-ingérence dans les affaires internes » le royaume saoudien sunnite masque assez mal la réelle inquiétude de voir les appétits régionaux de Téhéran décuplés par son retour sur la scène internationale.

RETOMBÉES CATASTROPHIQUES ?La dangereuse escalade des samedi 2 et diman-che 3 janvier 2016, de l’exécution du cheikh à la rupture des relations entre les deux puissances régionales par Riyad a fait grimper la tempéra-ture dans une région au bord de l’explosion. Ils mettent bien en lumière la polarisation actuelle entre forces chiites et sunnites dans les pays du Levant et du Golfe, qui sont, pour la plupart, pris dans le brasier irano-saoudien. Au Liban, le cas

Al-Nimr a mené à une passe d’armes particulière-ment violente entre les chefs de file des commu-nautés sunnite et chiite. À Bahreïn, des affronte-ments cinglants ont opposé les forces de l’ordre à des opposants de la communauté chiite, majori-taire dans ce pays dirigé par une dynastie sunnite. Le Royaume du Bahreïn s’est d’ailleurs empressé, tout comme le Soudan, de rompre tout lien di-plomatique avec l’Iran. Au delà des frontières du Proche-Orient, manifestations pro-chiites ont eu lieu au Pakistan ainsi qu’au Cachemire Indien, ou des centaines de manifestants se sont opposés aux forces de l’ordre.

Mais c’est bien au Yémen, pays déjà en proie à une guerre civile (plus de 7000 morts et 2.5 millions de déplacés à l’heure actuelle) que les retombées des tensions irano-saoudiennes risquent d’avoir des conséquences désastreuses. Le régime saoudien y combat depuis mars 2015, en soutien au président destitué Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, les rebelles houthistes (de confession zaïdite, une branche du chiisme), que l’Arabie Saoudite voit comme des forces pro-iraniennes à sa frontière, et qui ont contribué au vacillement du pouvoir en place.

De plus, le regain de tension entre les deux pays du Golfe Persique remet à nouveau en jeu la ques-tion du prix du pétrole, notamment à cause du détroit d’Ormuz, par lequel transite un tiers des exportations d’hydrocarbures mondiales. Il est bon de noter qu’historiquement, les conflits du Moyen-Orient ont la plupart du temps provoqué une baisse de la production d’hydrocarbures, et donc une hausse mécanique des prix. Les recettes du pétrole, qui représente 80 pourcent du budget de l’Etat saoudien, pourraient engendrer un cer-tain nombre de troubles si ces dernières venaient à diminuer. Les dernières prévisions du FMI sont d’ailleurs là pour rappeler la dure réalité : le taux de croissance de l’économie saoudienne, estimé à 3,4% en 2015, devrait diminuer de plus de la moitié à 1,2% en 2016, avant de remonter à 1,9% en 2017, et que les déficits à venir risqueraient d’éroder les financières du royaume. Affaire à suivre de très près.

by Taha bousmaha






For any one who may not know much on the matter, nature has it so that every 28 days on average, women in a fertile age get their

menstrual cycle. While often relieving, for the precise reasons that this is a symptom of a well-functioning body, and one that is also baby-free for those who are not ready to become mothers, this is in no way a choice we have. Said periods often come with sharp muscle contractions, nau-sea, mood swings, and more. Although worth not-ing that this isn’t the case for every woman, the experience is still not of the most pleasurable. In fact, it often adds to the list of daily tasks we must deal with. Some, however, consider this biological effect a luxury.

In fact, in numerous countries all female hygiene products, tampons and sanitary towels alike, are taxed on the same basis as “luxury goods.” Indeed, they are not considered a basic necessity, but rath-er items that are categorized alongside products such as tickets to the zoo, eatable sugar flowers, and exotic meats such as kangaroo or crocodile.

If this sounds as senseless as it does to me, then you’d expect that most governments would have proceeded to create reasonable legislation to fix the issue. Sadly, the majority is still lagging behind when it comes to reasonable economic platforms vis-à-vis a predetermined biological phenomenon.

It appears that the European Commission has been agreeing with this stance since 1977 when the term for “essential” products was first defined. In fact, it is the European Union that governs the application of VAT in each member state, both in relation to rates and flexibilities. In applicable terms, this means that a country such as the UK, that taxes these products at 5%, is already taxing at the lowest permitted rate under EU regulation.

For any EU member state that wishes to acknowl-edge the discrepancy, reducing these tampons and sanitary towels to a zero tax rate is virtually im-possible, or rather illegal. Rest assured though, Europe is not the only place unable to lead a movement to end this regulatory discrimination against women.

The US has a grand majority of states that still tax tampons, and other female hygiene items as luxury products. With the exception of four states that have no sale tax, a remaining 41 have yet to change the regulation, and currently support a system that considers a woman’s period, and all the subsequent measures to take, luxury.

The realization that this is indeed discrimination hits hard. What’s more? It is well-implemented discrimination within state regulation. Increas-ingly, protests and petitions online (check out the one on Change.org!) are creating a conversation to raise awareness on the issue with the hopes that one day this will reach legislative reform.

I end with a quote that is not particularly luxurious, but one that certainly reso-nates. May this remind us all that the issue at hand requires not only the voices of both genders, but also the recognition that it is much larger than simply over-priced tampons and sanitary towels.

“When a man’s bleeding, he gets a zero-rated plas-ter to stem the flow. When a woman bleeds *every month*, that’s a luxury. #tampontax”— Holly Brockwell (@holly) October 29, 2015

TAMPON TAX

Love our Cycle, period-

by GINEVRA SPONZILLI

Is IT la voix du collègE’S LAST ISSUE ?

if you are intested in sponsoring us (which is definitely worthwhile),

please send us an e-mail at:

[email protected]



Britain and the EU: over the past 40 years we’ve been through our good moments and our bad moments together – and we’ve

made sacrifices for each other. European leaders have tolerated Britain’s often frustrating sense of exceptionalism and allowed the UK opt-outs for everything from the Euro and Schengen to Euro-pean social policy. And this hasn’t been one-sided, either - Britain, like any good partner, has made her sacrifices too.

While traditionalist, sovereignty-loving MPs, usu-ally in the Conservative party, have treated our continental amants with suspicion, government ministers have placed their careers on the line to defend the relationship. Margaret Thatcher’s forced downfall was provoked largely by the res-ignation of her pro-European deputy prime-min-ister, who triggered a no-confidence vote through a withering speech he delivered criticising her Euroscepticism.The otherwise sedate man led Denis Healey, a La-bour politician, to describe Thatcher’s experience that day as the equivalent of “being savaged by a dead sheep.”

Her successor John Major’s defeat in 1997 to the Labour party meanwhile has been partly attrib-uted to his defence of Europe and the signing of the Maastricht treaty. He famously called 3 mem-bers of his own cabinet “bastards” as they tussled with him over Maastricht, and asked his own MPs, “whether you agree with me, disagree with me, like me or loathe me, don’t bind my hands when I am negotiating on behalf of the British people.”

We’ve had our good times too. Who can forget those heady Blair years, where in a whirlwind of Europeanism, Blair introduced down-to-earth modern British government to his fancy conti-nent peers. Whilst those of us on the Pol study trip have witnessed the extravagance of French gov-ernment hospitality, Blair invited Jacques Chirac to fish and chips in a Yorkshire pub, and shared a pint with Berlusconi in the working man’s club of his impoverished northern constituency. And what a great time they had.

Under Blair Britain became an equal partner to France and Germany in the motor-room of Euro-pean integration, and took a lead with France in

proposing further integration in defence and se-curity. It was British diplomats that carved out the agreements which would see EU troops deployed to Bosnia; and an agreement between Blair and Chirac that created what has now become the EU’s system of battlegroups. Blair was even apparently keen to join the Euro, though put off by his chan-cellor, Gordon Brown, who cautioned over the dangers of a currency union without sufficient economic convergence.

Some of the problems in the British-EU relation-ship have long-term reasons that can’t be ignored but we can learn to live with if only we can find a way to make it part of our relationship. “Our sense of ourselves as a nation is still so much shaped by the Churchillian moment of 1940, standing alone for freedom when the rest of the continent was either defeated and occupied, or fascist,” Oxford professor Timothy Garton Ash told Reuters when the referendum was first proposed by Cameron. Meanwhile, Cameron’s old politics professor told the same paper, “part of the dynamic behind the European Union was to overcome the past. We didn’t feel that need. We’re proud of the past. That’s a great difference in psychology.”

As with any serious relationship, sometimes we’ve had to learn the ways of the other one, and adapt-ed our tastes to that – learned to love each other for who we really are.

And now, after a relationship that has lasted so long it’s started to feel permanent, Britain looks like she’s having doubts. Her partner isn’t as at-tractive as he once was, and it isn’t clear he still has everything she hoped he could offer when they got together. The EU is embattled with eco-nomic and political crises caused by integration policies that didn’t go far enough. Britain feels conflicted. But there is still love. While about 50% of people say they want to stay in, percentages of people saying they feel European varies wildly by age, social group and gender. A full 60% of Briton’s under the age of 35 feel European, but they don’t necessarily love the European Union.

So Continental cousins, please don’t judge us when we go to the polls this summer to vote on staying with you – we (probably) love you really.

BRITAIN AND THE EU,

A EUROPEAN DIVORCE?-

BRITAIN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EU WAS ONCE DESCRIBED TO ME AS THAT OF A FRUSTRATED GIRLFRIEND WHO FEELS A BIT TRAPPED: LOTS OF LITTLE FRUSTRATIONS HAVE BUILT UP OVER TIME, TO THE POINT THAT SHE FEELS LIKE SHE MIGHT NEED A BREAK. WHAT SHE MIGHT REALLY NEED IS TO FEEL LIKE SHE HAS A CHOICE AGAIN, TO REFRESH THE RELATIONSHIP WITH A NEW COMMIT-MENT. SOMETIMES A BREAK, IN THIS CASE THROUGH A REFERENDUM, COULD EVEN BE HEALTHY FOR THE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP.

by ROLAND SCARLETT



by GINEVRA SPONZILLI


LE DIALOGUE BELGRADE-PRISTINA :

le mariage arrangé-

Suite à la proclamation d’indépendance du Kosovo en 2008, les relations entre la Ser-bie et son ancienne province sont marquées

par de nombreuses provocations. Boycott mutuel, mandats d’arrêt contre les responsables politiques, financement de structures parallèles ne sont qu’un nombre exhaustif d’exemples qui caractérisent les années suivant l’indépendance. Afin de débloquer cette situation, l’Union européenne (UE) propose une méditation qui permet la discussion entre les responsables serbes et kosovars.

VERS UNE REPUBLIKA SRPSKA DU KOSOVO ?L’accord de 2013 convient que les municipalités du nord-Kosovo soient intégrées dans le système juridique du Kosovo en contrepartie d’une au-tonomie renforcée. Jusque-là, deux ordres légaux avaient cours dans le pays ; celui de Belgrade (pour

DEPUIS AVRIL 2013, LA COMMISSION EUROPÉENNE NE CESSE DE FÉLICITER LA NORMALISATION DES RELATIONS ENTRE BELGRADE ET PRISTINA. L’ACCORD SIGNÉ À BRUXELLES SYMBOLISAIT UN APAISEMENT DES TENSIONS ET UNE AUTONOMIE ACCRUE POUR LES SERBES DU KOSOVO. CEPENDANT, LA RÉALITÉ SUR LE TERRAIN EST BIEN DIFFÉRENTE. LE KOSOVO S’ENTERRE DANS UNE CRISE PROFONDE MOTIVÉE PAR LE REJET DES INSTANCES INTERNATIONALES ET LE SOUHAIT D’UN CHANGEMENT POLITIQUE.

les communes serbes) et celui de Pristina (pour le reste du territoire). Cette avancée écarte le risque de partition. En retour, les com-munautés serbes du Kosovo bénéficient à de plus grandes libertés en matière de justice et de police. De plus, la créa-tion d’une association des communautés serbes du Kosovo (Zajednica srp-skih opstina) permet aux Serbes de se regrouper et de formuler directement des remarques auprès du gouvernement de Pris-tina. Le renforcement de l’autonomie des com-munautés serbes est une condition que Belgrade voulait absolument ob-tenir.En effet, la ligne dure que Belgrade adopte suite à la proclamation d’indépendance n’est pas tenable. Le pays est en-gagé sur la voie europée-

nne et certains États européens utilisent cette situ-ation pour influencer Belgrade vis-à-vis du Kosovo. Officiellement, la reconnaissance du Kosovo par la Serbie n’est pas une des conditions additionnelles d’adhésion. Cependant, certains membres du Con-seil européen, tels que l’Allemagne ou les Pays-Bas, utilisent le Kosovo pour bloquer le processus d’intégration de la Serbie à l’UE. En récompense à l’accord de 2013, la Serbie obtient le statut de can-didat officiel en 2014.

Les négociations entre Belgrade et Pristina à Bruxelles reprennent en février 2015. Cependant, comme dans tout mariage imposé, les accords vont être contestés et le Kosovo va subir une grave crise politique.


MARINES ÉTATSUNIENS

AVEC DES ENFANTS AU

KOSOVO EN 1999

U R B A N I S T M A G A Z I N E - 1 7 - S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 1 5

CRISE POLITIQUE À PRISTINADès aout 2015, le gouvernement de Pristina sus-pend la transposition de l’accord suite à la saisine de la cour constitutionnelle. Le parti principal d’opposition, Vetëvendosje, parti nationaliste al-banais favorable à la grande Albanie, organise de nombreuses manifestations. La coalition gouver-nementale menée par Isa Mustafa est critiquée par l’opinion publique et doit faire marche arri-ère concernant l’accord avec la Serbie. C’est un coup dur pour le Premier ministre qui doit gérer les négociations des accords de stabilisation et d’association avec l’UE (signés le 27 octobre 2015).

Les revendications de l’opposition sont simples ; l’annulation des accords. Elle voit l’association des communes serbes comme un cheval de Troie venant de Belgrade et peut mettre en danger la gouvernance du pays (tout en prenant exemple sur la situation en Bosnie-Herzégovine et la créa-tion d’une Republika Srpska au Kosovo). De plus, le contexte politique et économique n’a cessé de se dégrader depuis les dernières années. Le manque de renouvèlement d’orientation politique depuis 1999 se traduit par un fort taux de chômage (35% en 2015) et de migration venant de la population kosovare à destination de l’UE en 2015 (entre 60 000 et 100 000).

L’ACCORD POUSSÉ PAR BRUXELLES EST TOTALEMENT REMIS EN CAUSE

Au niveau légal, les opposants utilisent la Consti-tution du Kosovo pour remettre en cause l’accord. La Cour constitutionnelle du Kosovo a tranché le 23 décembre dernier en rendant son verdict: la création de l’Association des communes serbes n’est pas en pleine conformité avec la Constitution du Kosovo. Elle cite notamment les articles qui garantissent l’égalité entre tous les citoyens ainsi que les libertés et les droits fondamentaux.

Ainsi, l’accord poussé par Bruxelles est totalement remis en cause. La décision de la Cour constitu-tionnelle et l’opposition grandissante symbolise un rejet de l’influence occidentale et de l’UE au Kosovo. L’actuelle coalition gouvernementale a été fortement influencée lors de sa composition par l’UE et les États-Unis. Les manifestations organ-isées par Vetëvendosje ciblent directement Brux-elles. Même la récente visite du Secrétaire d’État

des États-Unis, John Kerry à Pristina, n‘a pas réussi à débloquer la situation et les propos des « amis » américains n’ont pas fait reculer l’opposition kos-ovare. Au contraire, les grandes manifestations du 28 novembre ont été violemment réprimées. Le Parlement kosovar a été attaqué de nombreuses fois et des cocktails Molotov ont été lancés sur le siège du gouvernement à Pristina.

Cette remise en cause est un véritable camouflet pour la politique étrangère de Bruxelles. Ici, c’est la quasi-situation de protectorat du Kosovo qui commence à être contestée par sa population. La politique d’élargissement de l’UE doit insister sur les réalités sociales et économiques du pays et pro-poser des alternatives aux orientations libérales et clientélistes pratiquées depuis 10 ans. .

by jean-baptiste kastel



CAMP DE RÉFUGIÉS EN

ALBANIE | U.S. AIR FORCE



- CLIMATE CHANGE DOSSIER -



Holding hands in public is a daring act, pro-voking stares, even comments. Kissing in public turns you into a spectacle. Absent

minded affection is not something I can under-stand, every single gesture of love in public must be weighed against the risk of a negative or even violent reaction. Travelling as a couple is another thing that is fraught with difficulties, we have to do considerable research as to how gay friendly our destination is, and adjust our behaviour ac-cordingly. Even securing a double bed in a hotel room can be a battle. I am currently barred from getting married in 18 EU member states, as well as part of my home country, Northern Ireland. The daily reality of a same-sex relationship is a struggle against a constant stream of straight ex-pectations.

Growing up gay in Western Europe has been a mix of coming to terms with my own oppres-sion and my own privilege. The knowledge that in some parts of the world people are ostracised, brutalised, criminalised and even executed for be-ing like me both disturbs me and makes me realise how lucky I am. I’m also extremely lucky to have accepting family and friends, I’ve managed to come out successfully, and, unlike so many young gay people, I have never contemplated suicide. But we are still far from equal; coming out in itself is a sign of this inequality. Straight is the default, and we’re still a strange aberration.

But I won’t listen to those who say I should be thankful that I don’t live in a violently repressive society. There is a dangerous new trend from the right, weaponising the issue of gay rights for racist and Islamophobic reasons. Consider the audacity of Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson comparing same sex marriage to bestiality in one breath, and stating that a Muslim should not be president because of Islamic intolerance of ho-mosexuality in another. The gay community must fight this appropriation of our cause and fight any narrative that the battle for equality is over in Western countries.

For me, the struggle for gay equality is all about the radical notion that gay people are just people. Our opponents seek to dehumanise us, to turn us into a social problem and a threat. Harvey Milk’s call on all gay people to come out was truly power-ful and on point. Only by coming out can we pre-vent our erasure, or worse, our demonization. For some, coming out just isn’t possible, they risk los-ing their family, their home and even their lives. But for those who can, coming out is a powerful tool for changing attitudes. When straight peo-ple come to realise that we are their colleagues, friends, and, crucially, family, it will be harder to dismiss our rights.

the love that dare not speak its name-

MY RELATIONSHIP IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT. THESE ARE THE WORDS I REPEATED TO MYSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN WHEN I FIRST STARTED GOING OUT WITH MY BOYFRIEND. BUT I’VE COME TO REALISE THAT THESE WORDS WERE HIGHLY NAIVE, AND THAT MY RELATIONSHIP IS INEVITABLY POLITICAL. EVERY SINGLE ACT OF AFFECTION I MAKE IS AN ACT OF DEFIANCE OF SOCIAL NORMS.

by matthew robson

TWO FRIENDS KISSING EACH

OTHER IN FRONT OF AN ANTI-

GAY MARRIAGE PROTEST | AFP


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As a country that is heavily reliant on coal-fuelled power generation, Poland often appears as a main opponent to ambitious

greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, which are negotiated either on the EU level or on the global level. Just recently, in the context of COP 21, the Polish government condemned the EU’s ambitious goals, arguing that they would damage the European and Polish industry.

Yet, when it comes to meet the targets set by the European energy strategy for 2020, Poland seems to be doing remarkably well. Primary energy in-tensity has decreased since 2005 at a faster pace than the EU average, the increase of GHG emis-sions was lower than the set target, and Poland is on the best way to meet its target for the share of renewable energy by 2020. So what is all the fuss about?

The problem lies with the long-term perspective. Poland’s economy is expected to grow in the com-ing years, which implies that its energy needs will also increase. The main resource on which the country intends to rely to satisfy those needs is coal. Approximately 85% of Poland’s electricity consumption is based on coal, which causes far more GHG emissions than any other energy car-rier when used for electricity production. An ef-fective dealing with climate change issues is not compatible with this approach.

The Polish government is reluctant to initiate re-forms of the energy sector. The country’s big coal industry is considered as the motor of the Pol-ish economy. Coal is a cheap commodity, easy to transport and to store. For Poland, which has big coal reserves on which it can rely, it is a symbol of energy independency. Other countries in the neighbourhood, such as the Baltic States or Fin-land, use gas instead of coal. In addition, having to import this gas from Russia makes them highly vulnerable.

But these arguments justify Poland’s strict adher-ence to coal on the surface only. In reality, its coal

industry is not as profitable anymore. The inter-national coal market is in crisis, as coal prices have plummeted, pushing the Polish coal industry on the brink of bankruptcy. It has become cheap-er to import coal than to produce it domestically for Poland. In the first three quarters of 2015, the country’s coal industry has had losses reaching al-most …400 million, with large companies such as Kompania Weglowa reaching out to the state for support.

Economic arguments can hardly give a good ex-planation for the strict adherence to coal. There are however some political and sociological fac-tors that play a significant role. First, there is a strong lobby of coal miners who exert a lot of pressure on the government. Given the symbolic status of the Polish coal industry, coal miners can easily influence the public opinion, which is why any Polish government will be eager not to harm the coal miner’s interests. What is more, climate and environmental issues are not as present in the consciousness of Polish citizen’s as they might be in Western European countries. As pointed out by Prof. Dr. Zbigniew Karaczun, an expert on climate issues in Poland, the former communist country has experienced an economic boom only since the beginning of the nineties, and most citizens are still more concerned with increasing their stan-dards of living than with the general quality of their environment.

Given the current crisis of its coal industry, it is in-evitable that Poland will reform its energy sector in the coming years. Hopefully, this will also give a positive turn to its attitude to climate change poli-cies. Before we can expect Poland to fully accept these issues as a priority on its agenda, we will have to wait for a change in the general mindset of the people. The Polish society needs a stronger awareness of environmental issues and has to change its perception of the coal industry, whose potential role in economic growth is very much overestimated.

ENVIRONMENT

The Power of Coal in Poland-

WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT POLAND’S POSITION IN CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY NEGOTIATIONS, AN IMAGE OF HUGE COAL POWER PLANTS, MASSIVELY PUMPING BLACK SMOKE INTO THE AIR, QUICKLY POPS UP IN OUR MIND.

by laurin berresheim



by matthew robson

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La Voix du Collège : Why did you decide to come to Bruges?Sven Spengemann : First of all, my heritage is European but I was very interested in trade law. When I did my LL.B. in Toronto I focused on international law and increasingly in my final years I took a look at international trade, and understanding the European common mar-ket was definitely something that flowed from that experience. And the interest in European enlargement and in the market in the late 1990s was very strong, so I thought I would benefit a great deal from doing that in Europe. It’s a very unique program. At that point there were still scholarships given by the European Commission to three Canadians per year, so it was an extraor-dinary experience for a Canadian lawyer and law student to be able to experience that, it was quite exceptional.

When he came to the College last November, the Finnish Finance Minister spoke about the “College of Love”, do you have the same mem-ory of the College of Europe?Absolutely. I think it was such a terrific experi-ence with such diversity from all across Europe. When I went, we had students from the accession States, there were a couple of students from Ja-

pan, from the United States and Eastern Europe. We really bonded because it was such an intense experience of love and friendship that continues to this day. It’s a good way to describe it.

Tell us about your campaign and your work with Justin Trudeau...The campaign was a fantastic opportunity to reach out. It was the second longest political campaign in Canadian history. I started reach-ing out and started consolidating a platform for winning the nominations as early as 2012 when I came back from Bagdad, and then the campaign itself in 2015 was some seventy-eight days long which was extraordinary, and it really gave us an opportunity as the Liberal Party with Mr Trudeau at the helm to reach out to Canadians and to listen. What we heard basically confirmed two things: that Canadians first of all have a lot more common sense than the conservative gov-ernment or the media gave them credit for and, second of all, that Canadians are very optimistic people. We don’t like to relish the politics of fear and division, we are positive, we like to be uni-fied, engaged and constructive. And I think that was really the distinction to the conservative government previously in place. So it was really an absolute joy and privilege to work with Mr Trudeau and his entire team on this campaign, we had a lot of fun and knocked on thousands of doors and really listened to the population. It was a tiringly long but very enjoyable experi-ence.

« PUBLIC SERVICE IS THE MOST REWARDING CALLING OF ALL »

The world was amazed to see a Prime Minister in office welcoming and helping refugees who just arrived to Canada, while in the mean-time, Europe is all about building walls and fearing foreigners. What do you think is lack-ing in Europe in order to achieve such a dem-onstration of generosity and how can Europe return to its original values of solidarity?I wouldn’t be as pessimistic as to say that Europe in general is resisting. In some cases, countries are simply being overwhelmed by the numbers but there are always stories of optimism and hope and stories of reaching out and helping people in need; it has happened in the past and it is happening again. But we do have the largest influx of internally and externally displaced peo-

BORN IN GERMANY, SVEN SPENGEMANN WAS ELECTED LAST OCTOBER MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT FOR THE LIBERAL PARTY IN THE CONSTITUENCY OF MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, WHERE HE MOVED IN HIS MID-TEENS. EXTRACTS OF THE INTERVIEW OF A COLLEGE ALUMNUS WHO ALSO SERVED IN THE UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN IRAQ FOR SEVEN YEARS.Find the complete interview at: https://lavoixducollege.wordpress.com

SVEN SPENGEMANN AND THE

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER

JUSTIN TRUDEAU

SVEN SPENGEMANN : « often, the willingness of refugees

to integrate is underestimated »-

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ple since the Second World War so in some re-spects, the resistance is to the logistics of it and, when resettling refugees, it has to be done well. You create problems if you resettle refugees in ghettos or in quickly established mass camps because then refugees are only moving from one camp to another while the more important process is to integrate the refugees fully into so-ciety, perhaps even on a family-by-family basis, which is the best model. You can’t do it quickly enough in some cases, and that has created some frictions for Europe. But when we look at refu-gees, at people like Einstein, for instance, who was a refugee, there are tremendous levels of motivation and energy on the part of refugees to re-establish themselves where the most dire cir-cumstances brought their families to a new place and they really want nothing more than a better life. Often, the willingness and the ability to inte-grate are underestimated, and refugees tend to become very quickly productive and integrated members of society given the right circumstanc-es and the right platform. I am more concerned about the logistics than I am about there funda-mentally being an anti-immigrant sentiment. (...)

You served for seven years in the United Na-tions Assistance Mission in Iraq. How do you see the evolution there since you left in 2012?It’s a very disillusioning picture and not one that is positive at all. I still have good contacts and good friends both in the United Nations and among those that are working in Bagdad and in the Iraqi government. These are not easy times for anybody working in the Middle East as every-body knows what with the onset of ISIS, the Arab Spring and then followed by the resurgence of ISIS. ISIS was around as a political entity when I was there but it was a relatively small entity and nobody could have foreseen at that point that this terrorist movement would take an en-tire region by storm and entrench itself in the way that it did. So there are significant military challenges as well as significant economic, cul-tural and security challenges. The primary prob-lem for that region in the years to come is the need to define an alternative vision to ISIS for people to stand up and fight against this terror group, be it in Syria or in Iraq. They have to have something that they believe in, that serves as a positive alternative to ISIS, and the construc-tion of that alternative is still something that is very much in flux and that isn’t apparent yet. Our Kurdish friends historically and militar-ily are quite unified and effective in countering ISIS, but other parts of Syria and Iraq are much less organized, less cohesive and for that reason, simply the belief in something that’s better than ISIS hasn’t been constructed yet and that needs to happen. So it’s not just a military engagement,

it’s also economic, social and cultural. What is that region going to look like post-ISIS? Once we have that vision, people can latch onto it and start building a path to the future. The Syria talks that are now taking place are in fact being led by my former boss, Staffan de Mistura, who has got some real challenges on his hands to unify the various sections in Syria that are standing up against ISIS and the complexities relating to the Assad regime but also to the international community in its willingness to contribute to the struggle.

Are you optimistic about the outcome?I think ultimately, the human spirit will always find a way forward and will create something better. There are going to be dark days in be-tween, but there are signs that ISIS is not an en-tity that’s going to be around in the long-term. It is simply not something that can be sustained, endorsed or condoned. To come onto the scene with the methods that they have applied, which is basically just slaughtering civilian populations and any of their opponents and oppressing them – there are simply too many forces that are en-gaged against ISIS (for ISIS to be around in the long term), they just need to be organized enough to make sure that we can be effective in going up against them (ISIS), which also includes financial support. That’s part of the problem, it’s cutting off the financial support to the movement. So it’s a multi-faceted effort and it’s not just about the air campaign and bombing but it’s a humanitar-ian, political, social and economic issue.

What advice can you give to College of Europe students?Be personally and professionally engaged, and recognize that today’s problems – and by exten-sion, their solution – will be highly interdisciplin-ary in nature. Both the complexity and speed of manifestation of problems have increased. Rec-ognize that there still is a very tight connection between “the local” and “the international.” Un-derstanding local politics will help you develop solutions that are realistic and relevant. Lastly, recognize that, because of the multipolarity of interests, political (including legislative/regula-tory) solutions will require added tenacity on the part of those seeking to provide them. Focus on the issue(s) you are passionate about, recog-nizing that you cannot solve every problem, no matter how urgent it appears, but put your heart and soul into the issue you have identified as “yours.” And perhaps, like me, you’ll conclude that public service is the most rewarding calling of all.

Interview conducted by Nathan de arriba-sellier & EMILIE SCHOU

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When the gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia occurred in January 2009, Slovakia was the only Member state of

the European Union to declare a state of emergen-cy. The country was not prepared for such a crisis: at that time, 100% of its gas supplies were coming from Russia and the gas strategic reserves to be re-lied on were restricted. As a result of privatisation in 2002, the gas supplies were not controlled by the government but by private companies, mak-ing the situation worse. On top of that, the estima-tions of gas supplies varied from being able to last from 10 to 30 days, depending on how harsh the winter of 2009 would be. Panicking, the govern-ment restricted the largest consumers of gas, such as factories, and thus the Slovak economy was able to function at only 60% of its potential, losing profits each day. A bit of relief came on the 19th of January, when reverse flows from the Czech Re-public were established and subsequently when the conflict ended, on the 21st January. In total, fifteen days of uncertainty showed the weakest point of Slovak politics.

One would think that the country would learn from its mistakes and find other resources to re-lieve itself of its gas dependence on Russia. Unfor-tunately, this is not the case. Even today, 95% of imported gas comes from Russia, using the fewest renewables in the EU. If anything, the on-going conflict in Ukraine just worsened the anxiety in-side the country, making Slovakia the principal victim of the crisis. The rhetoric of the

Prime Minister, Robert Fico, now puts the country in between two superpowers: the EU and Russia. Russia now plans to exclude Ukraine from its gas transition by building the new pipeline, the Nord Stream 2, which will also exclude Slovakia. This will account for losing the transit fee amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, affecting the Slovak GDP. In order to prevent this, Slovakia was lately more inclined to support the Russian side of the conflict in Ukraine. For example, when the sanc-tions were announced and most of the represen-tatives of Member states met in Brussels, Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs secretly flew to Mos-cow to meet the Russian Ministers.

Therefore, instead of finding new sources for en-ergy production, the ruling (and in the past very pro-EU) populist-left DIRECTION, Social Democ-racy party (SMER-SD), rather directed its political support towards the East, criticising the sanctions. Ultimately, any disruption in gas supply would mean higher prices for its voters, something the party cannot accept if it wants to win the upcom-ing elections. Showing support for Russia thus cannot be considered for an ideological, but pure-ly economically-driven act of a government that is unable to find any other solutions to the energy dispute between Ukraine and Russia. Robert Fico is desperately trying to keep the gas prices at the bare minimum, gambling with Slovak reputation inside the Union.

SLOVAKIA BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

‘IT’S THE GAS, STUPID!’-

by Zuzana Soročinová


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NORMANDY TALKS IN PARIS,

OCTOBER 2015


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by Zuzana Soročinová


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The events of 2013-2014 in Kyiv have proven true aspira-tion of Ukrainian citizens to

share European values and to stand for a rapprochement with the Eu-ropean Union. Since then, slogans and manifestos from the street have turned into the roadmaps and set of legislative acts on the tables of cabi-nets and ministries. The Association agreement became a strong driver of reforms in a wide spectrum of ques-tions, ranging from the fight against corruption to the implementation of anti-discrimination legislation.

Efforts of both politicians and civil society activists didn’t remain un-derestimated: Brussels commended Ukrainian government for the posi-tive measures taken in the aforemen-tioned areas. On the 18th of Decem-ber, 2015 the European Commission reported that Ukraine had met the criteria for visa liberalization. Dimi-tris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, assured everyone that the European Union would soon be ready to abolish visa-barriers for short-term journeys to the Schengen area and appreciated the work that had gone into meeting the EU requirements: “I congratulate the Ukrainian leadership on the progress made towards completing the reform process which will bring important benefits to the citizens of Ukraine in the future. The hard work to-wards achieving this significant goal has paid off. Now it is important to keep upholding all the stan-dards.”

As for now, endless queues, excessive bureaucra-cy and unjustified refusals all constitute a price for Ukrainians who want to cross the border. De-spite statements about the warming of relations between the EU and Ukraine, European dirigeants constantly create new obstacles and formalities for visa applicants. Consequently, during the last two years, there has been a tendency of significant increase in the number of visa denials by the ma-jority of the Schengen area states. According to the statistics, in 2014-2015 Belgian consulates gave a negative response to every tenth applicant, while some other Member States’ share of refusals in-creased three/four/five/six-fold.

There are lots of EU citizens who have never crossed the external border of the Union, and who cannot possibly imagine the difficulties that ‘outsiders’ face in order to reach the ‘sacred land’. However, current refugee crisis and security is-sues questioned one of the EU four freedoms – free movement of people. Recently, most of the European Union leaders have decided to suspend the Schengen agreement and restore border con-trol for the period of up to two years. Taking into account that the free travel area has existed for twenty years and that there has never been such a precedent, this decision can be seen as being of great importance and may cause unpredictable consequences, not only for the Member States, but also for third countries. It is also a sign that, for high-level European policy-makers, security pre-vails over the very basic right to move freely with-in the EU. Furthermore, it is not yet clear whether Ukraine will be considered as a threat to national and regional security of the Member States or as a reliable political and economic partner.

Therefore, the questions remain open: How will the decision made on the restrictions of freedom of movement affect the perception of security? and What will the position of the European Union towards visa liberalization with Ukraine in the next few months be?

UKRAINIAN DREAMvis-a-vis the European Union

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WHO COULD FIND MORE IDEALISTIC APPROACH TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN UNION THAN THE ONE WE SAW DURING THE EUROMAIDAN IN UKRAINE?

by stanislav ostapenko & Anastasiia Saliuk

UKRAINIAN PROTEST AT THE

END OF 2013

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Le récit du professeur Hatzopoulos, publié in extenso sur le site beucitizen.eu en no-vembre dernier, est riche en détails qui

éclairent le débat public sur la crise des réfugiés et les mesures que l’Union européenne doit pren-dre. Les réfugiés voyagent sur des bateaux gon-flables pouvant tenir jusqu’à 60 personnes, avec un moteur bricolé artisanalement et peu de car-burant. La place coûte 1 200 euros, avec des ré-ductions pour les bébés et si les réfugiés sont prêts à voyager par mauvais temps, ce qui suscite cette remarque acerbe du prof. Hatzopoulos : la main invisible d’Adam Smith est donc bien partout. Il remarque d’ailleurs l’augmentation des réfugiés prêts à traverser par mauvais temps, signe de l’aggravation de la situation en Syrie et dans les camps de réfugiés et du désespoir croissant de cette population. Les trafiquants forment sur place un « capitaine », à qui un couteau est con-fié pour percer le canot s’ils sont approchés par un navire grec ou de Frontex, un tel sauvetage empêchant la reconduite à la frontière.

L’arrivée est difficile : les migrants ne transport-ent qu’un sac à dos ou un bébé avec eux et ils manquent de tout. Mais ce qui est remarquable c’est ce qu’il se passe, une fois arrivés sur l’île. Le dévouement est extraordinaire. Chaque fois que c’est possible, les autorités grecques font des rondes de l’île pour venir en aide et transporter les personnes les plus vulnérables : enfants, per-sonnes âgées et femmes enceintes. Des documents d’identité sont systématiquement établis mais la prise d’empreintes digitales dépend de l’afflux de

réfugiés, faute de moyens suffisants. Comment encore prétendre vu ce récit que l’Etat grec est irresponsable et ne s’occupe pas de maîtriser et réguler les flux de réfugiés ? Surtout quand on sait la saignée qui touche l’Etat grec du fait de l’austérité...

Le récit rapporte aussi l’humanité extraordinaire des populations locales, aidant bénévolement de toutes les manières possibles les réfugiés (dons, assistance, restauration, etc.), souvent avec le soutien d’individus ou organisations ayant une expérience dans l’humanitaire. Les organisations non gouvernementales jouent enfin un rôle très important, surtout pour l’aide médicale, mais le rôle le plus déterminant est joué par le Haut com-missariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés qui fournit tentes, matelas, interprètes et met toutes ses compétences au service de la cause.

Ce témoignage de première main de l’impact de la crise des réfugiés sur une île grecque permet de mieux saisir la réalité d’une situation qui nous interpelle mais nous est bien étrangère. Ce qui touche le plus et que le professeur souligne bien est l’humanité avec laquelle la crise est tant bien que mal gérée. Il en tire plusieurs conclusions et des propositions, mais voici la mienne : exclure la Grèce de Schengen, ce qui semble la nouvelle idée en vogue au Conseil, ne fera que déplacer le prob-lème ! A nous d’arrêter de mettre la poussière sous le tapis et de prendre enfin nos responsabilités.

V. Hatzopoulos, Refugee flows or refugees floating? Few things the EU should be aware of, 3 Novembre 2015, beucitizen.eu.

Exclure l’humanisme de Schengen ?-


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CETTE HISTOIRE COMMENCE EN SÉMINAIRE DE RÉGULATION DES SERVICES DU DÉPARTEMENT DE DROIT. EN APPARENCE, RIEN À VOIR AVEC LES RÉFUGIÉS. ET PUIS À UN MOMENT, LE PROFESSEUR (GREC) CHERCHE À DONNER UN EXEMPLE SUR LES SERVICES SOCIAUX, ET ÉVOQUE ALORS UNE EXCURSION QU’IL A CONDUITE SUR L’ÎLE DE SAMOS DANS LE CADRE DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DÉMOCRITE DE THRACE (GRÈCE) DONT IL DIRIGE LE DÉPARTEMENT D’ADMINISTRATION SOCIALE. EN ÉVOQUANT CETTE EXPÉRIENCE, L’ÉMOTION LE SAISIT…Find the original narrative at: https://http://beucitizen.eu/refugee-flows-or-refugees-floating-few-things-the-eu-should-be-aware-of/


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First, Music is powerful: a confirmation of its qualities can be found in the terroristic at-tacks in Paris, in particular in the one at the

Bataclan, where people got shot during a Music concert.

Terrorists killed people in their everyday life, during one of the happiest and most peaceful mo-ments of their existence. What victims were doing was the very opposite of what they suffered, and it is probably also for this reason that they were murdered: because they were experiencing a mo-ment of pure freedom.

Indeed Music is freedom: freedom of expression, of feeling rebellious, of being creative, of dancing, of screaming, it’s one of the few real moments of escape that our existence allows us.

Because of this feature, Music keeps us human. I find it essential to underline this aspect, especially here at the College. Music reminds us that we are not robots, that we have feelings, and even if we sometimes forget how human and imperfect we are, Music pushes us to deal with those feelings and with the dark side of our moon.

Moreover, Music really is a universal language: musicians who have just met often seem like best friends when they start playing their instruments. Furthermore, Music is one of the rare things in life a person cannot dislike, and it definitely is capable of reaching everyone (raise your hand if you don’t know Hey Jude!).

Music removes inequalities: it unifies people from different social classes under a common roof. It

may seem strange, but do we really care about how well we’re dressed during a concert or while we’re playing Music? Our outfit may seem to be worth looking at during an Opera at the Theatre La Scala in Milan, but that has nothing to do with Music: that’s social acceptance, no one is going to notice your tie when Music starts playing.

Music may bring positive and constructive mes-sages to people, and is useful for social awareness on crucial topics. Let’s think about what Punk Rock was in the 70’s in the UK, what Bob Dylan did with Blowin’ in the wind, what the Woodstock fes-tival meant in the 60’s, and what the Blues was for the African American Community of the US in the 19th century. Sometimes a few notes may express our ideas or our thrills better than thousands of books.

Finally, I wanted to say a few words about our band here at the College, Le Repas Froid. I feel so lucky to have found, here in Bruges, this bunch of crazy and talented people who allow me to share such great moments with them doing what we love the most. I love the fact that every member of the band has a different European nationality, and that we live our different roots as a positive addition to our Music. I also personally want to thank all the students for their support and love: we consider the opportunity to play for you a huge privilege.

This is to underline the last feature of Music I would like to tell you about: Music is an expres-sion of beauty, and beauty, in the end, is the only thing that we are looking for in our lives and the only thing that really matters.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC

IN A DEMOCRACY-

by Mario pagano

DO MOMENTS WHEN THE RICH AND THE POOR SHARE COMMON SOCIAL SPACES STILL EXIST?ONE OF THE POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO THIS QUESTION IS MUSIC. THERE ARE FEW THINGS STILL CAPABLE OF BUILDING UP A SENSE OF INTEGRATION, FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE IN OUR SOCIETY LIKE MUSIC DOES. IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, I REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT MUSIC IS IN A DEMOCRACY (AND ALSO HERE AT THE COLLEGE OF EUROPE), BUT LET ME TELL YOU WHY.


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BEING ABLE TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN ALL LANGUAGES OF THE STUDENTS OF THE COE WILL FOR SURE HELP YOU TO MAKE LOVE. HOWEVER, IF YOU SAY IT IN THE WRONG LANGUAGE, YOU MIGHT END UP IN A WAR. THEREFORE, PRACTICE WITH THIS PUZZLE BEFORE YOU SAY IT TO THE PERSON CONCERNED! THE FIRST ONE TO E-MAIL THE SOLUTION OF WHICH LANGUAGE CORRESPONDS TO WHICH NATIONALITY PRESENT AT THE COLLEGE WILL EARN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES!

PS. ALTHOUGH I TRIED HARD TO INCLUDE EVERY LANGUAGE AND TO SPELL IT CORRECTLY, MISTAKES ARE ALWAYS POSSIBLE – PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I DID NOT REPRESENT YOUR LANGUAGE CORRECTLY!

by Ceciel Nieuwenhout

part of the Hispanic & polish-ukrainianisraeli-georgian-armenian & portuguesenational weeks groups

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