EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

31 agosto 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

Article 11 – Freedom of expression and information

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.

Constitution of the Italian Republic

Art. 21. Anyone has the right to freely express their thoughts in speech, writing, or any other form of communication. The press may not be subjected to any authorisation or censorship. Seizure may be permitted only by judicial order stating the reason and only for offences expressly determined by the law on the press or in case of violation of the obligation to identify the persons responsible for such offences. In such cases, when there is absolute urgency and timely intervention of the Judiciary is not possible, a periodical may be confiscated by the criminal police, which shall immediately and in no case later than 24 hours refer the matter to the Judiciary for validation. In default of such validation in the following 24 hours, the measure shall be revoked and considered null and void. The law may introduce general provisions for the disclosure of financial sources of periodical publications. Publications, performances, and other exhibits offensive to public morality shall be prohibited. Measures of preventive and repressive measure against such violations shall be established by law.

Sources:

European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights, https://fra.europa.eu/en/charterpedia/article/11-freedom-expression-and-information (17.01.2020)

European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights, https://fra.europa.eu/en/charterpedia/article/11-freedom-expression-and-information (21.01.2020)

EU strategy on criminal justice

24 agosto 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

Objectives of a common strategy

To combat crime efficiently, the criminal justice authorities of EU countries need to work together. Ultimately, in a common European area of justice national law enforcers and judiciaries will be able to trust and rely on each other.

This will increase people’s confidence in the fairness of proceedings, knowing that their rights are protected when they have to appear in court in another country, or if they fall victim to a crime.

Added value of EU rules

Action at EU level in this field is crucial for a number of reasons

* Serious organised crime is often committed across borders. To prevent ‘safe havens’ for criminals, EU countries’ laws should be more aligned

* If people can trust that their rights are respected, in all EU countries, if they are suspected or accused of a crime, they are more likely to use their right to live, work or study in another EU country

* Common rules strengthen mutual trust between the judiciaries of different EU countries. This makes cooperation and mutual recognition of decisions easier across the EU

* EU criminal law helps to prevent and punish serious offences, for example environmental crime

Protecting the rights of suspects and accused

Much progress has been made to date, as the EU has adopted 6 directives on procedural rights for suspects and accused persons as set out in the roadmap of 2009. The EU established rules on

* the right to information which applies across the EU since 2 June 2014,

* the right to interpretation and translation which applies across the EU since 27 October 2015,

* Right to have a lawyer, which applies across the EU since 27 November 2016,

* the right to be presumed innocent and to be present at trial,

* special safeguards for children suspected and accused in criminal proceedings

* the right to legal aid

Sources:

European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/criminal-justice/eu-strategy-criminal-justice_en (01.10.2020)

European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/criminal-justice_en (21.01.2020)

EU action on the rights of the child

17 agosto 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

Children’s Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose actual day varies by country.

In 1925, International Children’s Day was first problem proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare, and since then is celebrated on 1 June in most countries. Children’s day is celebrated by UN on 20th of November.

Legal basis

The rights of the child are part of human rights: rights that the EU and EU countries must respect, protect and fulfil. As laid down in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a child is any human being below the age of 18. The Commission is guided by the principles set out in the UN Convention on the rights of the child, ratified by all EU countries.

Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union establishes the objective for the EU to promote protection of the rights of the child.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU guarantees the protection of the rights of the child by the EU institutions and by EU countries when they implement EU law. Article 24 on the rights of the child and Article 31 on the prohibition of child labour specifically cover children’s rights.

Funding for child protection

The rights, equality and citizenship programme 2014-2020 aims to promote the rights of the child and prevent violence against children, young people, women and other groups at risk.

Child protection policies

Organisations working for and with children should be guided by child protection policies and have reporting mechanisms in place. The four standards as set out by Keeping Children Safe network provide good guidance on what policies should cover and achieve.

Sources:

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Day (10.01.2020)

European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/rights-child/eu-action-rights-child_en (01.10.2020)

Automotive industry

10 agosto 202010 agosto 2020Lascia un commento

The automotive industry is crucial for Europe’s prosperity. The automotive sector provides direct and indirect jobs to 13.8 million Europeans, representing 6.1% of total EU employment. 2.6 million people work in direct manufacturing of motor vehicles, representing 8.5 % of EU employment in manufacturing. The EU is among the world’s biggest producers of motor vehicles and the sector represents the largest private investor in research and development (R&D). To strengthen the competitiveness of the EU automotive industry and preserve its global technological leadership, the European Commission supports global technological harmonisation and provides funding for R&D.

Why the automotive industry is important?

* Links to other sectors – the automotive industry has an important multiplier effect in the economy. It is important for upstream industries such as steel, chemicals, and textiles, as well as downstream industries such as ICT, repair, and mobility services

* Employment –around 13.8 million people work in the EU automotive sector. Manufacturing (direct and indirect) accounts for 3.5 million jobs, sales and maintenance for 4.5 million, and transport for 5.1 million

* Economy – the turnover generated by the automotive industry represents over 7 % of EU GDP

80% of the growth in the sector is expected to occur outside the EU. The EU’s efforts should focus on concluding and enforcing preferential trade and investment agreements. These will make it easier for European companies to access third markets and continue benefiting from economies of scale.

What the Commission does?

Global technical harmonisation – the Commission focuses on global technical harmonisation. Common technical requirements (UNECE framework) help reduce development costs and avoid duplication of administrative procedures. Harmonisation is key to strengthening the competitiveness of the EU automotive industry.

Source: European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/automotive_en (10.01.2020)

Media In EU

3 agosto 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

Media freedom is a fundamental right that applies to all member states of the European Union and its citizens, as defined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as the European Convention on Human Rights. Within the EU enlargement process, guaranteeing media freedom is named a “key indicator of a country’s readiness to become part of the EU”.

The vast majority of media in the European Union are national-oriented. Some EU-wide media focusing on European affairs have emerged since the early 1990s, such as Euronews, EUobserver, EURACTIV or Politico Europe. ARTE is a public Franco-German TV network that promotes programming in the areas of culture and the arts. 80% of its programming are provided in equal proportion by the two member companies, while the remainder is being provided by the European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE GEIE and the channel’s European partners.

The MEDIA Programme of the European Union intends to support the European popular film and audiovisual industries since 1991. It provides support for the development, promotion and distribution of European works within Europe and beyond.

Press freedom and democracy

Media Freedom is inherent to the decision making process in a well-functioning democracy, enabling citizens to make their political choices based on independent and pluralistic information and thus is an important instrument to form public opinion. The expression of a variety of opinions is needed in public debate to give the citizens the possibility to assess and choose among a wide range of opinions. The more pluralistic and articulated the opinions, the greater is the legitimising effect that media has on the wider democratic political process. Press freedom is often described as a watchdog over public power, underlining its significant role as an observer and informer of the public opinion on government actions.

Freedom of expression refers back to individual journalists’, as well as to press institutions’ rights. In other words, its significance covers both the individual right of each journalist to express his or her opinion and the press’ right as an institution to inform people. To guarantee the protection of free media, state authorities not only underlie the negative obligation to abstain from intrusion, but as well to the positive commitment to promote media freedom and act as a guarantor against intrusion of public as well as private actors.

Sources:

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Media (10.01.2020)

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_freedom_in_the_European_Union (17.01.2020)

EU Symbols

27 luglio 202031 gennaio 20201 commento

The flag used is the Flag of Europe, which consists of a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background. Originally designed in 1955 for the Council of Europe, the flag was adopted by the European Communities, the predecessors of the present Union, in 1986. The Council of Europe gave the flag a symbolic description in the following terms, though the official symbolic description adopted by the EU omits the reference to the “Western world”:

Against the blue sky of the Western world, the stars symbolise the peoples of Europe in a form of a circle, the sign of union. The number of stars is invariably twelve, the figure twelve being the symbol of perfection and entirety.

— Council of Europe. Paris, 7–9 December 1955.

United in Diversity was adopted as the motto of the Union in the year 2000, having been selected from proposals submitted by school pupils. Since 1985, the flag day of the Union has been Europe Day, on 9 May (the date of the 1950 Schuman declaration). The anthem of the Union is an instrumental version of the prelude to the Ode to Joy, the 4th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s ninth symphony. The anthem was adopted by European Community leaders in 1985 and has since been played on official occasions. Besides naming the continent, the Greek mythological figure of Europa has frequently been employed as a personification of Europe. Known from the myth in which Zeus seduces her in the guise of a white bull, Europa has also been referred to in relation to the present Union. Statues of Europa and the bull decorate several of the Union’s institutions and a portrait of her is seen on the 2013 series of Euro banknotes. The bull is, for its part, depicted on all residence permit cards.

Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus) and later recognised as Pater Europae (“Father of Europe”), has a symbolic relevance to Europe. The Commission has named one of its central buildings in Brussels after Charlemagne and the city of Aachen has since 1949 awarded the Charlemagne Prize to champions of European unification. Since 2008, the organisers of this prize, in conjunction with the European Parliament, have awarded the Charlemagne Youth Prize in recognition of similar efforts by young people.

Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Symbols (10.01.2020)

Culture and sport

20 luglio 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

Cultural co-operation between member states has been a concern of the EU since its inclusion as a community competency in the Maastricht Treaty. Actions taken in the cultural area by the EU include the Culture 2000 seven-year programme, the European Cultural Month event, and orchestras such as the European Union Youth Orchestra.

The European Capital of Culture programme selects one or more cities in every year to assist the cultural development of that city.The European Capital of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder.

Football is one of the most popular sports in the European Union. Association football is by far the most popular sport in the European Union by the number of registered players. The other sports with the most participants in clubs are tennis, basketball, swimming, athletics, golf, gymnastics, equestrian sports, handball, volleyball and sailing.

Sport is mainly the responsibility of the member states or other international organisations, rather than of the EU. There are some EU policies that have affected sport, such as the free movement of workers, which was at the core of the Bosman ruling that prohibited national football leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players with European citizenship.

The Treaty of Lisbon requires any application of economic rules to take into account the specific nature of sport and its structures based on voluntary activity. This followed lobbying by governing organisations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, due to objections over the application of free market principles to sport, which led to an increasing gap between rich and poor clubs. The EU does fund a programme for Israeli, Jordanian, Irish, and British football coaches, as part of the Football 4 Peace project.

Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Culture (10.01.2020)

Environment and Climate

13 luglio 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

In 1957, when the EEC was founded, it had no environmental policy. Over the past 50 years, an increasingly dense network of legislation has been created, extending to all areas of environmental protection, including air pollution, water quality, waste management, nature conservation, and the control of chemicals, industrial hazards, and biotechnology. According to the Institute for European Environmental Policy, environmental law comprises over 500 Directives, Regulations and Decisions, making environmental policy a core area of European politics.

European policy-makers originally increased the EU’s capacity to act on environmental issues by defining it as a trade problem. Trade barriers and competitive distortions in the Common Market could emerge due to the different environmental standards in each member state. In subsequent years, the environment became a formal policy area, with its own policy actors, principles and procedures. The legal basis for EU environmental policy was established with the introduction of the Single European Act in 1987.

Initially, EU environmental policy focused on Europe. More recently, the EU has demonstrated leadership in global environmental governance, e.g. the role of the EU in securing the ratification and coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol despite opposition from the United States. This international dimension is reflected in the EU’s Sixth Environmental Action Programme, which recognises that its objectives can only be achieved if key international agreements are actively supported and properly implemented both at EU level and worldwide. The Lisbon Treaty further strengthened the leadership ambitions. EU law has played a significant role in improving habitat and species protection in Europe, as well as contributing to improvements in air and water quality and waste management.

Mitigating climate change is one of the top priorities of EU environmental policy. In 2007, member states agreed that, in the future, 20% of the energy used across the EU must be renewable, and carbon dioxide emissions have to be lower in 2020 by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels. The EU has adopted an emissions trading system to incorporate carbon emissions into the economy. The European Green Capital is an annual award given to cities that focuses on the environment, energy efficiency, and quality of life in urban areas to create smart city.

In the Elections to the European Parliament in 2019, the green parties increased their power, possibly because of the rise of post materialist values.

Proposals to reach a zero carbon economy in the European Union by 2050 were suggested in 2018 – 2019. Almost all member states supported that goal at an EU summit in June 2019. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, and Poland disagreed.

Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Environment_and_Climate (10.01.2020)

Summer Activities With Kids In Brisighella

7 luglio 2020Lascia un commento

As an international volunteer in Faenza, I have the chance to participate in very interesting and different activities. Now, when everything related to the COVID-19 has become to change, we can continue with our activities. Of course we still have to be careful and responsible: hold the distance and wear a mask, but I’m happy that the life has gradually becoming back to normal again.

The beginning of summer brought new experiences in new environments. Although I am the volunteer og S.E.M.I. – Seeds For More Interculture, we also collaborate with other organisations. One of them is PiGreco Apprendimento. So during the last few weeks I have been in Brisighella to help the local instructor with the activities for kids. We have about 6-7 children who have enrolled to this summer camp. That’s not a big group, but it’s even better, since in this way more personal approach is possible.

Every morning I travel from Faenza to Brisighella. The day is divided into different parts. We begin with a short gymnastics to stretch our body and to wake up, although the children don’t really like it. Then we sometimes have some activities, like inventing a story or writing down the vocabulary or describing our weekend in English. After that we have a bit of time to do the homework. That is interesting, because in my country, children never have to do homework during summer. Of course this year is also a bit different because of the coronavirus, but it’s still quite strange to me. On the other hand, we don’t spend for hours studying there, but only about half an hour, which is good, because the kids can study a little bit, but they can also play and enjoy the summer. I usually help them with English. When nobody has English homework, then I usually bring my own Italian book with me and I can study Italian myself and the kids can also try to help me, which is quite fun.

After homework we usually have some creative activities, such as picking herbs and putting them into a jar, building a castle, colouring the stones or self-made mini sculptures, etc. When it’s very hot we go to the river and the children can play there or we go to the park to play football.

These weeks have been super amazing, the kids are wonderful and the activities we do are so creative and interesting. I have really enjoyed working with these children and I hope that they have also learned something from me.

Telecommunications and Space

6 luglio 202031 gennaio 2020Lascia un commento

The Galileo positioning system is another EU infrastructure project. Galileo is a proposed Satellite navigation system, to be built by the EU and launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Galileo project was launched partly to reduce the EU’s dependency on the US-operated Global Positioning System, but also to give more complete global coverage and allow for greater accuracy, given the aged nature of the GPS system.

Governmental Satellite Communications (GovSatcom)

Satellite Communications (SatCom) are critical elements for defence, security, humanitarian aid, emergency response or diplomatic communications. They are a key enabler for civil missions and military missions/operations in particular in remote and austere environments with little or no infrastructure. Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) has been defined as one of the four capability development programmes by the European Council in December 2013. The mandate was given to prepare the next generation of satellite communication (2025 timeframe).

Start Date:	2013
End Date:	n/a
Participating Members:	AT, BE, DE, EE, EL, ES, FR, IT, LT, LU, LV, PL, PT, SE, UK, NO, ATHENA MECHANISM
Other stakeholders:	European External Action Service, European Commission, European Space Agency

Project goals

* Demonstrate the benefits of a European dual-use approach for the development of such capability.

* Provide EDA Member States and European CSDP actors with access to a GOVSATCOM capability, based on existing, pooled and governmental SatCom resources.

* Demonstrate the benefits of a Pooling and Sharing collaborative model.

Sources:

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Telecommunications_and_Space (10.01.2020)

European Defence Agency, https://www.eda.europa.eu/what-we-do/activities/activities-search/governmental-satellite-communications-(govsatcom) (17.01.2020)