The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union thanks all young bloggers who participated in the 2016 version of the blog ‘Young Voices of Europe’. The blog ‘Young Voices of Europe’ has (temporarily) ceased its activities.
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duluoz cats (FLICKR)
Dungavel Detention Centre Closure – a New Beginning for Asylum Seekers in Scotland?
You can tell a lot about a country by the way it treats asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected. Often these people are held like criminals with no rights, safety or a place to call home. In Germany those who do not leave voluntarily lose the right to visit the country in the future […]
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CC-BY-SA Vangelis Bellonias (FLICKR)
TV Licensing in Greece: Concealed Censorship or Appropriate Solution?
For 27 consecutive years private TV channels have been operating in Greece with temporary licenses provided by the Greek Parliament in 1989 and extended since then either by law or by ministerial decisions. In 2015 the SYRIZA government decided to give a definite solution to this matter and to regulate the telecoms sector appropriately. In […]
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CC-BY-NC-ND Lorenzo Gaudenzi (FLICKR)
A Dual Struggle for the Present and Future of Europe
Back in 2013, in his provocative article ‘The Latin Empire should strike back’, Giorgio Agamben revived the idea of a union of southern European countries, a proposal first launched by another philosopher, Alexandre Kojève. During the ongoing economic crisis, we have read and heard many times about the north-south divide within the European Union or […]
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Lily Rhoads (FLICKR)
Why Aren’t We Using Low Growth as an Opportunity?
Earlier this month, leaders of the world’s biggest economies met in Hangzhou, China, for the annual G20 summit. The main item on the agenda was a predictable one: how, given the prolonged slump, can countries work together to restore the growth levels of the global economy. In June, the World Bank revised its annual forecast […]
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CC-BY Mike Steele (FLICKR)
For UK Politics, Brexit Is Set to Be a Slow Grind of Contradictions
On Monday 5 September, over two months since Britain voted to leave the European Union, the new Brexit minister David Davis stood up to address Parliament on the government’s plan for the upcoming negotiations. Many of us who voted Remain were curious to see exactly what sort of consensus had been reached within the cabinet […]
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CC-BY-NC Michael Gubi (FLICKR)
As the Austrian Nightmare Continues: Dark Clouds over Europe
The election of the Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen as president of Austria in the second round of the presidential elections on 23 May caused a sigh of relief across Europe. But while the election of an extreme right-wing president seemed to be prevented his extremely narrow defeat – by only 30.000 votes – […]
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CC-BY frankieleon (FLICKR)
After the Brexit Referendum Result: Labour’s Descent into Civil War
After the shock of the Brexit referendum result, observers from across the English Channel are likely to be rather confused by the chain of events now convulsing British politics. No sooner had the Leave campaign won its unexpected victory than Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Michael Gove fled for the hills, disowning all responsibility for […]
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CC-BY-NC-ND Ross G. Strachan (FLICKR)
Scotland’s No to Brexit – the End of the United Kingdom?
All was relatively calm in Scotland during the EU referendum campaign. So shortly after the Scottish election, most of the political funding was spent; many students and activists felt they had done enough for the year. Of course, there was a Remain and Leave presence on the streets and the Scottish Greens had a distinct […]
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freestrocks.org (FLICKR)
It’s Only Over When It’s Over
When the British government announced that 52 percent of the population had voted to leave the European Union, this seemed to be a final decision. Right-wing populists from Marine le Pen in France to Geert Wilders in the Netherlands euphorically congratulated the Leave voters and already demanded their own national referendums. Global stock markets lost […]
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CC-BY-NC-ND criswoler (FLICKR)
Britain Has Voted Out, and Europa Is Weeping
This is the feeling of the axis of history tilting: not a smooth, mechanical turn, but the ground shifting and trembling beneath your feet. What even yesterday seemed so solid is now running through your fingers like silt. The possibilities that gave you hope have vanished behind a cloud, and now there is only a […]
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