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Politeia Newsletter 41 - March 2006
Civil participation is all very well, people sometimes argue, but who gives a #### if there’s no bread on the table. It’s the economy, stupid! That slogan doesn’t just win elections. It’s a profound truth of life. Others might counter that the importance of the economy is by no means a valid excuse for letting active citizenship lapse into neglect. As a network for citizenship through participation, Politeia should ask itself how citizens can be stimulated to participate in shaping Europe’s economic life. Is there still a place for trade unions in the age of globalisation? How should we evaluate the public debate on the introduction of the Euro? And what role can social networks play in making Europe’s cohesion funds more effective? But the economy is not the only thing Politeia is involved in obviously. We asked a Polish partner organisation of Politeia to introduce itself extensively. Other partners contributed short articles on single projects, which deal with such various topics as defining the rights and duties of active citizenship or exploring the limits of international justice, and which are sometimes even awarded special prizes!
Krijn Peter Hesselink, Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, Amsterdam
The rejection of the EU Constitution in France and the Netherlands was not only a clear reaction against the pace of integration and enlargement, which was rushed and poorly communicated. The disastrous ‘No’ vote also shows that the usual silent acquiescence and the traditional reasons for that acquiescence (peace, prosperity, security) have faded away. Not only did Europe’s so-called political elite recognise this fact too late, but it also failed to provide any justifications other than the repetition of known truths. If European enlargement and globalisation create uncertainty above all else, then the European Union and the Constitution in particular are unable to provide convincing answers.
Poland’s way to the Euro looks like a snail race on a formula one circuit or a highway through hell. Still we are trying to enter the Eurozone... Still our car is out of gas...
A lively public debate is of great importance when far-reaching changes are carried through, both during the decision-making process and during the implementation. Newspapers, television, radio and nowadays the Internet too, all are supposed to voice the various sentiments and points of view that circulate in society. If the media do not function well, it becomes difficult to asses to what extent a new policy is in agreement with the views of the people and whether it has enough public support. It is much easier, however, to sing the praises of the media in general terms than to determine whether those media are in actual practice living up to their promise. Things become even more difficult when European affairs are involved, since both the public debate and the media are then disintegrated by national and linguistic borders.
Under the enlarged European Union, many new regions will become eligible for specific support targeting the convergence of the income and development levels in the so-called ‘cohesion’ (or NUTS 2) regions with those of the more advanced regions in the European Union. In fact, every single region in the 10+2 (including Bulgaria and Romania) new member states is eligible for such support, with the sole exception of the city of Prague. This puts the European cohesion/regional policy in a qualitatively new situation.
Established in 1994, the Center for Citizenship Education (the CCE) is a non-governmental educational foundation. The CCE promotes civic knowledge, practical skills and attitudes necessary in the building of a democratic state founded on the rule of law and civil society.
Since June 2005, the Active Citizenship Network – the European program of the Italian citizens’ organisation Cittadinanzattiva - and the Active Citizenship Foundation have been implementing a project aiming at improving the European and national policies on civic activism by involving civic organizations in the discussion and definition of the rights and duties of civic participation. The main objective of the project is to draft and promote a European Charter of Active Citizenship based on the practical and theoretical knowledge of civic organizations.
The International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague has been in existence since 1993. In 2002, the International Criminal Court came into being. In the meantime, other international courts dealing with serious violations of human rights have been established, and the creation of others has been discussed. Poland’s governments have been supportive of this tendency in international justice and juridicial cooperation from the beginning. In the meantime, the support of the ICC is one of the major elements of the emerging Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union.
On January 31, 2006, the Council of Europe’s ‘Young Active Citizens’ Award was presented during the European Conference on ‘Integrated childhood and youth policies in Europe’ by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The award went to five youth projects aimed at creating a sense of belonging and of commitment to democratic society among young people. Created in 2002, this award is aimed at promoting active participation of young people in society, especially at local and regional levels.
In April 2005 the European Commission adopted the proposal for a new program ‘Citizens for Europe’ 2007-2013 to promote active European citizenship. This program will take over the current program coming to an end in 2006. With the new program, the European Commission wishes to contribute to a major challenge of the European Union, namely how to bridge the gap between citizens and the European Union.
A selection of interesting publications in the field of youth, participation and democracy.
Editors:
- Ivo Hartman (Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, the Netherlands)
- Judith Baltus (Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, the Netherlands)
- Krijn Peter Hesselink (Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, the Netherlands)
Contributors:
- Klaus Bachmann (Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies, Poland)
- Cecília Fonseca (Cittadinanzattiva, Italy)
- Georgy Ganev (Centre for Liberal Strategies, Bulgaria)
- Sandra Pernar (GONG, Croatia)
- Wolfgang Weinz (IUF, Switzerland)
- Stefan Wyszyński (Movement for Supporting Initiatives towards International Education, Poland)
- Sylwia Żmijewska (Center for Citizenship Education, Poland)
Contributions for the next issue can be sent (preferably by e-mail and in Word) before the 1st of June 2006 to:
Politeia Newsletter, Prinsengracht 915, 1017 KD Amsterdam
tel: +31 20 5217600, fax: +31 20 6383118
e-mail: info@politeia.net, Internet: www.politeia.net
Next issue: June 2006
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