Society
Europarl TV: 'technology is more fast-paced than the institutions'
In September 2008, the TV channel started streaming parliamentary sessions and news features on MEPs and their speeches on the European parliament’s webpage. The challenge is to give the institutions a human face - press service chief Jean-Yves Loog tells us how
society, jean-claude trichet, internet, european media, brussels, european parliament, television
UK to Poland via France: hitch-hiking Europe
You could stay in a hotel in Egypt for a week. Or you can spread the same amount of money over a month and a half for a trip of an alternative kind: hitchhiking Europe. Here’s one way to do it, which included 30 drivers, volunteer work and new friends
society, money, backpacking, jazz, hitchhiking, cities, hospitality club
Committed female: end of a contradiction?
100 years ago, international woman's day was marked in Denmark. 8 March 2010 won’t iron out the incoherence of the general European feminine condition. Here, like elsewhere, women live out their freedoms on a daily basis, be it via the media in Cologne or their unique political engagement in Poland or France. Even the subtleties of a simple language honorific teach us to change our ideas on who we most jadedly slam as the ‘weaker sex’
Italian, French and Bulgarian press vs genetically modified potato
On 3 March the European commission gave the green light for the 'Amflora', used for the production of industrial starch. This was the first time since 1998 that it has approved a GMO for cultivation. Some commentators say Brussels has bowed to the pressure of agriculture companies; others claim this paves the way for a better future
society, food security, agriculture, eurotopics, politics, potato, ogm
Brussels: young, gifted and going nowhere fast
They’re over-qualified, multilingual and come from every corner of the European Union. They moved to the Belgian capital to find an internship or job. A short report from the heart of this bustling microcosm
society, labour, labour market, economy, languages, european institutions, europe
'Les Petits Riens': social enterprise in Brussels
In times of crisis, is it time to go second hand? In Brussels, the shop run by 'The Little Nothings' organisation is just the ticket. As well as offering cheap furniture, books and household appliances, it gives the homeless another chance
society, les petits riens, cities, economical crisis, brussels, belgium, europe on the ground
Belfast in a black taxi: Europe’s last divided city tries to overcome its past
On 6 February, the Northern Irish paramilitary organisation the INLA decommissioned their weapons, and the province took one more tentative step towards social stability. Now that the former war-zone has re-opened its doors to the world, visitors are flocking to western Europe’s last divided city. A taste of the Northern Irish experience
society, northern ireland, politics, belfast, religion, catholicism, ira
In the middle of our street
You have to know how to choose them, have fun in them, and leave them. Having a neighbourhood is a bit like having a second skin. It typically has your local, your loyal neighbours and shops. But neighbourhoods have their own skins too. Take the Gazi quarter in Athens which shed its industrial skin to become the latest craze, as happened to Kreuzberg in Berlin, or the renewed district of Jozsefvaros in Budapest. We take a little stroll around some European streets
Fancy a degree from the university of Disney?
How about a stroll down Disney Boulevard, shopping in Disney outlet malls and finishing off with a cappuccino on Disney Square? Hell, you can even get your tonsils out in Disney hospital. The Magic Kingdom is building an empire of kitsch just 30 minutes from Paris, and for thousands of jobless Europeans it smells like opportunity
society, money, labour market, paris, disney, business man, youth
Uncommon first names: 'Europa'
As the launch of a new online database exploring the origins of strange surnames is announced in the UK, we think of the Scarletts, Nikes and Solidarities in this EU world
society, tower of babel, parents, children, translation, language
Paris, Krakow: the crop of Europe's pretty urban green
The tallest building in the world, the 828 metre (2716 ft) high Burj Khalifa skyscraper, was unveiled in Dubai at the beginning of January. Nowadays the question is more of building outwards rather than upwards, with four buzzwords - happiness, ecology, smartness and economy - via two city models
society, future of europe, urbanism, cracow, futur, paris, architecture
Flare network, mapping Europe's mafia connections
Founded at the European parliament in June 2008, the anti-organised crime network want to rejig European laws and describe how EU money regenerates mafia-seized property. Interview with communications officer Roxana Smil
society, italy, corruption, gang, organized crime, europe, saviano roberto
Meet the Erasmus elite: bright stars in a global recession?
What do a loud-mouthed English ladette, a svelte Ukrainian vamp, a dashing Polish casanova and a bagpipe-playing Frenchman all have in common? Bar-stool jokes aside, they're all members of YRN - the association of European regions' youth network. About 150 people meet annually to discuss how to use Europe to hoist them out of the economic doldrums. cafebabel.com caught up with them in Paris this December
society, paris, youth, travel, eurogeneration, economic crisis, regions
France: burqa bandits, burqa ban
On 26 January, a French parliamentary committee recommended that the so-called 'burqa', or Muslim full-body veil, be banned. While this could check the spread of fundamentalism, it is also humiliating for those affected by it argue German, French and Swiss commentators
society, eurotopics, religion, presse, european media, panorama, journalism
'Generation 112': the civic erasmus programme
The 'euro-militants' of this French initiative feel the need to expand the erasmus student exchange programme, by adding a spirit of civic service
society, erasmus, euweek, european voluntary service , expresso, volunteer, civil society
Marketa Tokova, 26: 'erasmus is too vague'
Set up in 1989, the international erasmus student network is the largest and oldest. Results from a 2009 study into whether the celebrated European academic exchange programme is correctly recognised and understood between and in universities appeared negative; we hear from the president of the network on its virtues and faults
society, university, erasmus, studies, europe, european union, students
John Demjanjuk: one of Europe's last Nazis takes the stand
Undoubtedly one of the last acts of de-nazification in history has been playing out inside the appellate court of Munich since 2 December. International media is closely tracking the case against the accused, a former executioner at the Sobibor concentration camp. Trial hearings have resumed after being halted due to the poor health conditions of the 89-year-old defendant and US extradite; we hear opinions from young people in Germany
society, germany, neo-nazis, second world war , holocaust memorial day, history
'Erasmus is about discovering Europe'
Like many an old advertising cliché, the erasmus student exchange programme offers a ‘dual action’ experience. After the culture shock, the parties, the multinational encounters and the adventures across Spain, come the trips to visit new found friends, in all corners of Europe. This new European consciousness keeps us coming back for more
society, european identity, university, friendship, seville, europe, spain
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