European Economic and Social Committee

“In Germany we have lots of experience of the breakdown of the German Democratic Republic, and all the trouble that it brought. I tried to apply that experience to the process of enlargement, together with colleagues from the newer Member States.”
He argues that promoting European unity and solidarity is particularly relevant to German citizens. “Germany caused a lot of problems and suffering in the rest of Europe during World War II,” he explains. “That is not forgotten. We still have an open commitment to fulfil.”

The Durban-negotiations may end up with concrete measures to fight climate change, or maybe Roadmaps for individual countries, or with improvements of the Climate Fund - or with just diplomatic talk and no concrete results. The final results will only be known when we are on the plane, going back.

In this post, Ms Slavova gives us two perspectives of the outcome of the Climate Change Conference: the disappointment of environmental advocates, but also the significant steps achieved in Doha.

For the past year Europeans have been able to exercise a new EU right: the right to propose legislation on matters where the EU has competence to legislate, on condition that the initiative is backed by at least one million citizens from seven EU Member States. The challenges and the struggles which initiators face (the online signature collection system, data protection, language barriers and different national verification requirements) are symptomatic of the state of European integration. Some may disagree, but I think more integration makes for a more democratic EU. The further the EU moves towards integration, the easier it will be to get such transnational initiatives off the ground. The European citizens' initiative (ECI) is an ideal adjunct to – and indeed a consolidation of – the EU's system of representative governance. So have you signed up to any yet? Take a look at the list of all citizens' initiatives registered here.

Civil society wants Europe to show, on 22 May, that it is able to put a stop to tax havens, at least within its own borders. The public are looking on with a mixture of incomprehension and incredulity, and see an urgent need for action: while their taxes are being raised to address endless government deficits, they can read stories in the newspapers every day about individuals and businesses avoiding taxes thanks to tax havens within the European Union itself. And this week, Europe has once again failed to put a stop to it.