The results of the European Elections From 4 – 7 June, EU citizens were called to the polls to elect their European Parliamentary members for the next five years. The results of the Greens/European Free Alliance club at the EP are more than impressive, but also alarming, given that the expectedly low voter turnout was only 43.09 %
Unfortunately, no EP mandate for the Czech Greens The Czech Greens (Strana zelených, SZ) were not counting on such a poor result in the recent EP elections. SZ won just 2.06 % of the vote and ended up in ninth place.
Ways out of the Crisis in Europe The global economic and financial crisis, already a reality of everyday political life, has also become the main topic of the elections for the European Parliament – here in the Czech Republic as well. The same voices who have been warning that intensified European integration threatens the national sovereignty of the Member States – leading Czech politicians among them in particular – are now demanding solidarity and a coherent, consistent EU in relation to the crisis
The influence of the EU on developments in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic: 1989-2009 It is useful to divide the history of relations between the European Union and the Czech Republic (and previously with Czechoslovakia) into several periods. The first period was that of “courtship”, which lasted from 1989-1995, the second that of the accession process during 1995-2003, and the third that of membership, which began in 2004 and is ongoing.
G20 in London. The most anticipated summit of recent years. The much anticipated G20 Summit with the heading “Stability, Growth, Jobs” went ahead without any serious complications. Whether it can be called a successful summit is debatable, but what is certain is that it was not, as many predicted, unsuccessful.
Heinrich Böll's estate in Cologne - After the collapse of the Historical Archive of Cologne On March 3, 2009, the building at Severinstraße 222 in Cologne that housed the Historical Archive collapsed. The Historical Archive of Cologne is the largest municipal archive in Germany. Alongside official documents, maps and blueprints it also housed the private estates of around 700 musicians and artists, master builders and architects of the cathedral, Cologne authors (Irmgard Keun, Paul Schallück, Hans Mayer, Hans Bender, Dieter Wellershoff) and also Heinrich Böll.
The no confidence vote and the Czech government: Circumstances and prospects On Tuesday 24 March 2009 the Czech lower house passed a vote of no confidence in the Czech government. The proposal, made by the opposition Social Democrats (ČSSD), received 101 votes in favor and 96 against. The news began to spread immediately through the international media like an avalanche. This was quite understandable, as the Czech Republic will preside over the European Union until the end of June 2009.
Five years of an enlarged EU: Where is Eastern Europe? Five years after the enlargement of the EU in 2004 and 20 years after the political revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe, we should have plenty of reasons to celebrate. Instead, the threat of a new division of Europe is now being discussed. When, after the extraordinary EU summit at the start of March, headlines ran such as “Rejection of solidarity assistance for Eastern Europe”, many Czechs were outraged. After all, the Czech Republic is not part of Eastern Europe.
Bridging the Gap to the European Identity Robert Schuman has argued that a „true community requires at least some specific affinities. Countries do not combine when they do not feel among themselves something common.“ Using Schuman´s terminology, we may ask if the EU has at least ´some specific affinities´, if the citizens of the states in Europe believe that they have all something in common. In a speech to the European Parliament in 1999, the President of the European Commission Romano Prodi insisted that the further development of the EU institutions must „gradually build up a shared feeling of belonging to Europe.“ Indeed, it seems that a stronger sense of the European identity is needed in order to advance the process of the European integration.
Europe without Barriers: Depends on for Whom The primary slogan of the Czech EU Presidency is “Europe without Barriers”. However, the current political representatives of the country primarily want to remove barriers i the areas of trade and business. Equal opportunities, mainly those concerning women and men, are perceived by the main coalition party ODS primarily as “positive discrimination” that restricts the “free market”. Many non-governmental organizations are of a different opinion, namely, that the policy of equal opportunities for women and men facilitates free choice by breaking down societal prejudices and barriers.