In Paris, climate politics is normalizing. Unsuccessful coercion gives ways to voluntary measures; the top-down approach gives way to bottom-up climate diplomacy. After twenty long years, and in times of political turmoil, this can only mean progress.
READ MORE[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]This November, Macedonia received the 2015 European Commission progress report. In comparison with previous years, Roma issues became a less important target to address in the progress of Macedonia towards the EU. In my opinion, Roma became a political décor for the European Commission because consecutively the recommendations related to Roma are almost
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Now that the Swiss are on board with the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), hiding behind the banking secrecy clause is no longer an option. Switzerland needs to let off this golden parachute and consider new strategic choices to keep its competitive position.
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Mogherini calls for strong leadership to end the violence and to maintain the two-state solution as a sole pathway to peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Yet, recent grass root developments and local political shifts last March expose the blindness of this diplomatic hand wave.
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The well-known European Union’s mobility programme Erasmus+ has been widely discussed in the last few years by the so-called Eurostars and in the public sphere at large. So far the European Commission has ignored students with poor foreign language proficiency and students who come from low income families. Instead, such students should be encouraged to participate in mobility, giving them opportunity to learn host country’s language during the exchange and providing sufficient scholarship to cover their costs. Otherwise, a new gap will open between the mobile elite moving toward a European identity and the less mobile people sticking to national identity or even aggressive nationalism.
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Despite having received a recommendation of admittance by the executive board of UNESCO, Kosovo did not become a member of this organisation since the required 2/3 majority of votes in favor of its bid were not obtained in November 2015.
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