On the 9th of May each year we mark the Anniversay of the Schuman Declaration. This declaration made by French Minister for Foreign Affairs Robert Schuman in 1950, set the basis for what would has become the European Union. 61 years later and with the EU at a crossroad due to the financial crisis and the lessening impact it has around the world, it its only right we look back at the declation which started it all and remind...
Image via Wikipedia The National Media and Infocommunications Authority Hungary (Nmhh) have published the Act on Media Services and Mass Media on their website in PDF format. It is nearly 200 pages long and is a tough read. Article 187 is what sets out the fines which has a lot of people worried (3) The Media Council and the Agency — with due heed to paragraph (7) — shall have the right to impose the following legal consequences: a)...
Image via Wikipedia EUBusiness is reporting that the fact that Hungary is the current holder of the rotating EU Presidency will not hold them back from launching proceedings if the new media law is found to be in breach of Community Law. “If there’s an infringement of community law, the Commission will launch proceedings and the fact Hungary presides the European Union will have no bearing,” Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly said. … Bailly said EU legal experts would scrutinise...
Image via Wikipedia It was has not been a great start to its Presidency, Hungary is now digging its heels in response to criticism of its controversial media law. “It isn’t necessary to change a Hungarian law just because it is subject to criticism from abroad,” Zoltan Kovacs, state secretary for communication, told national radio. “Before criticising, let’s wait and see how this law works. We are confident it will be up to the task,” he added. Source This...
Image via Wikipedia Radio Free Europe is reporting that the Government of Belarus has ordered the shut down of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe‘s (OSCE) office in Minsk. This was because it had fulfilled its mandate according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Savinykh. This is on top of the multiple arrests of activists and opponents of the Lukashenka administration. The OSCE has stated that Belarus is still “a considerable way” from holding a democratic vote. The...
Image by Ben Beiske via Flickr On the 1st of January a new era will dawn on Hungary. It will take over the Presidency of European Council for the first time and a new law on media freedom will come into effect. While the first thing is something for Hungarians to celebrate, the law on the other hand is not. It has been criticised by the OSCE Media freedom representative who wrote in a report that “Regulating print media...
Image via Wikipedia Are you interested in the European Union? Aged between 18-26? Want to go to Strasbourg to see how the European Union really works? Well heres your chance! Between the 19th to 26th March 2011 a Model European Union will take place in Strasbourg. It will debate two topics a Directive on the application of patient’s rights in cross-border healthcare and a Directive on working conditions of temporary workers. You can apply to be a MEP, a...
Image via Wikipedia The European Commission has decided to add Montenegro to the list of Candidate Countries. In an opinion issued on the 9th of November the Commission stated: On Montenegro, the Commission concluded that Montenegro is ready to become a candidate country to EU membership, while further reforms are needed in a number of key areas, as set out in the opinion, before the country is ready to start accession negotiations. Montenegro still has criteria to meet under...
I got this today from the European Movement Ireland. Students of European Integration and Politics may be interested. European Movement Ireland, the not-for-profit organisation that campaigns for every Irish person to get involved with the European Union and help shape it, will tonight announce the establishment of the Jim Dooge European Research medal. This medal, which will be awarded annually to a student dissertation tackling an EU-related subject, is in honour of their late honorary President and major contributor...
The European Year of the Volunteer 2011
2011 has been designated the European Year of the Volunteer by the European Union. This is following a campaign led by Marian Harkin MEP (Ireland/ALDE). She worked with the unofficial “EP Volunteering Interest Group” to lobby the Parliament, the Council and the Commission on this initiative. Volunteering is very important in many Member States. Across the EU 92 to 94 million adults are involved in volunteering in the EU. That is 23% of all Europeans over 15 years of...
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