Editorial

2007: A new year, a new editor. My name is Suzanne Jansen and I am very happy to present myself as the new editor for the Politeia Newsletter and website. I would like to thank Krijn-Peter Hesselink for the work he has done before me.

2007 is also the year of changes within the Politeia network. The foundation of these changes was laid in December 2005, and strengthened in 2006 by the success of the exchange programme ‘European Exchange of Good Practices in the Field of Participation and Citizenship of Underrepresented Groups’. In December 2006 Politeia partners decided to replace the network by an association, which will take formally place in the coming few months.

Another aspect of this transformation is the new Politeia website, which is online now: www.politeia.net. Regular readers might also notice the different sectioning of the Newsletter, with which I have tried to present the content of the newsletter clearer. These sections are: Politeia News, Quarterly Theme, Agenda, Recent Publications and Miscellaneous.

Enjoy this new Newsletter, and please contact me for any suggestions, comments, or contributions on: s.jansen@politeia.net.

Suzanne Jansen, Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek (Dutch Centre for Political Participation)

In this section all news about projects, conferences, seminars and articles of the Politeia network or its partner organisations is published. Read more for the Politeia Conference in Amsterdam in December 2006, and the Politeia study visits to Romania and Slovenia. We also have news from partner organisations Gong in Croatia ( Action Day in Rijeka and 'European Class') and Youth Centre Dravinja Valley in Slovenia ( 'Come Together').

Since the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union on 1 January 2007 the EU consists of 27 members. In the section Quarterly theme three inside articles from partners in these new member countries are published. Read more for articles on the rise of populism in the new EU member countries, the mood in Bulgaria just after the accession, and the elections for the European Parliament in Romania.

What is coming up in the next few months? Read more to find out about the Newropeans Marathon 2007, the European Citizens' Consultation, the Conference on the Future of Europe in Berlin and the conference Rethinking Citizenship Education in European Migration Societies in Lisbon.

What else has happened in the field of Participation for Citizenship and Democracy in Europe? Read more for an article on the loss of some of the last medieval traditions in Europe - the end of the British House of Lords and the future of Kosovo - a European region not belonging to the EU (yet?).