Radi-Soft Europeans

Let' start by some statements : on average women earn 15% less than men for the same work even if a 30 years old European directive and a 50 years old article in the EU Treaty call for equal pay; men very reluctantly accept part-time jobs, making their contribution to work-life balance insignificant; many executive job offers, including the ones in the European administration, would make it virtually impossible for a woman with three children, however educated and talented she is, to compete with a male candidate of the same age.
For these reasons, and many others, the EU will establish in 2007 a European Institute for Gender Equality, with the main task to reduce and finally eradicate gender equality in our societies, as well as promoting a 'gender sensitive' model elsewhere in the World.
Location: Vilnius. Cost: 52 Million Euro over a seven years period.
But here's the good thing for us to know : this Institute will be closely looked at, with the researchers feeling the breath of the MEP's and other actors involved in the Budgetary procedure, with a permanent fear : either you save the world or you are fired!
Indeed, a first decisive evaluation will take place after three years, which could lead to a decision to cancel the Institute if it fails to be up to the tasks, that neither society, politicians or ngo's could do in 50 years of European construction. Three years..., at that moment the Institute will have spent roughly 15% of its budget, mostly on building a network and ensuring regular heating supplies for the long and cold Lithuanians winters.
With such a display of good use of public money, one might ask if this tough line is applied to all EU activities...
Let's take the third budget of the EU, Research and Development, 53 Billion Euro, i.e. more than a thousand times bigger than the Institute. Allegedly, we need this programme to beat the crap out of Sino-Indian economies, in order to keep being number ones, after the US of course...
Did we ever try to put a number on direct and indirect benefits to the EU economy, let's say by calculating the money generated by a project that lead to a patent in biotechnologies? You know, just to check if what we finance actually brings something back to society in terms of well being and development... apparently, what matters for politicians, may they be pro or anti Europeans, is actually that all the money is spent on these budget lines. Nobody really bothers to look at what is the real output, every body wants to display figures that would make Saddam nostalgic : 99.8%! A real plebiscite...
One conclusion : to get more money, EU women MUST think Chinese, or eat more Tandoori...

Today, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Though, attributed by the Parliament to personalities for their action in the field of freedom (of thought, may i repeat...), was given to Mr. Milinkevich, a Bielorussian opponent to the regime in place in his country.

It is always a moving moment to see all these MEP's in standing ovation in front of a good example of active citizenship.

I was eating in front of the poster celebrating the event.
And i thought that it was most probably the unluckiest poster in the history of Institutional communication.

Freedom of thought right, that is how it is called, well have a look in our pictures file :
http://www.blog.co.uk/srv/media/media_item.php?item_ID=1024996

Two conclusions are possible from that :

1. It will never happen that a mute activist could win this prize, wich is quite discriminating.

2. (a bielorussian) vodka-party in the Parliament the day the tender for this poster was granted.

You said bad communication? I say

When queuing at an airport check-in desk, we always look around, see our future 'flight colleagues' with a little book in their hands, sometimes it is bordeaux, sometimes green, sometimes blue. Got it, it's a passport. a part from their colours, they must all be the same i thought... well, apparently quit not the case...

I queue at the ID check to go to Bilbao and chat with my Lithuanian friend, a young professional that has travelled half the world.

I don't pay too much attention... and now it's my turn. The Spanish Guardia Civil starts to look at me in a strange way, a bit more strange than usual, and starts a series of question: Do you know that person? Since when? What do you do in life? What does she do in life?... Short answers, a long silence, a long and defying exchange of looks, he finally hands over my passport, almost unhappy not to have some more action in his day.

Nice week in Bilbao... many times during my stay i thought that it was wonderful to see Guernica, drink Cider and eat pinxos with friends that actually experienced the Soviet regime. Freedom of movement, encounters, discoveries.. I love you my dear Europe.
We go back to the airport and queue for the check-in... same logic but this time it's four Lithuanians and me with my deep-red Italian passport.

We are (not so kindly) asked by the hostess to go to another des for a further check of our passport. WE, the four Lithuanians and me...

A further check occurs in another desk, a short queue but time goes by... i am thinking that it will be hard for me to shop, to take the last things for friends and family, some newspapers for the flights, maybe a big chocolate bar too...
And then... i don't know what happens but questions start to run out of my mouth, in an angry tone, to the desk officer checking my passport : Why us? Why me and four Lithuanians, how come nobody else from our queue is asked to go through this so-called 'random check'???
No explanation whatsoever, she is just an employee from an airline, she does not have to give us explanations.

I ask to see a superior, i ask for a reclamation form, i get one to send to the Basque Government, where me and the lady we are supposed to agree (!) on my reclamation...
I put down my anger in black ink, the word discrimination come back several time.
I adore the sense of security, don't misunderstand me, but how come must i be the one causing insecurity just because i happen to have Lithuanian friends? The i thought that an easy cliché was going around security managers in all European Airports : Italians are mobsters, Lithuanians are call-girls, find them in the same queue and you have the perfect match for a "trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation case".

Conclusions :

- Bilbao lost around 100 € of extra spending at the airport, we had no time to buy anything and we had to run to the gate.

- Lithuanians passports are the equivalent of a British Driving Licence, according to security standards.

But still, knowing that hundreds of passports are being stolen directly from the EU FA ministries every year (i particularly remember a Belgian situation...), i have not seen any Belgian in my 'second thoughts' queue...

This queue was a new sort of enforced cooperation, a club for few, something like the Euro-Zone, but where actually you are not able to spend your euros.

Around 7 November 2006, an internal news service of the European Parliament has published a survey asking its employees the following: "Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to hanging. Should we continue to ban the death penalty in the EU, even for the worst criminals?"

One thing that can surprise you is this incredible link that was found between Hussein's hanging and EU ban, yeah, whatever. But another surprising thing and a shocking one - how can people working for the EU question the reintroduction of death penalty in Europe? It actually equals to putting a bomb under the foundation that EU was built on.

EU commitment towards the abolition of death penalty was reaffirmed in December 2000 at the European Council Summit in Nice, with the solemn proclamation of the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights that reasserts the right of everyone to life and the prohibition of the death penalty (Article II-2). The Charter also states that no one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty (Article II-19).

You would also be surprised by the results of the survey. Almost 26 % of the people who participated in the survey were actually in favour of death penalty...would be interesting to see how many of them work for instance in the Committee on Human Rights...

It seems that not only gaelic interpretors that EU is short of. Computers might be a problem too. There are quite some few people working in the EU institutions (since 1957!), who enjoy the pleasure of putting their ideas not on the electronic page of "word" but on real piece of white A4. They refuse to work with computers, they refuse to learn to work with computers. For that they have secretaries. Fair enough. Maybe you even have a nice hand writing. But imagine this luxury in any other body outside the EU? Dont tell me that compulsary computer-literacy courses can not be introduced, which if you fail, would mean you changing something about the place you work at ...but be aware...the vacant place can be taken by some eager person from the new member state!

It's late here in Strasbourg, i am at the Plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, waiting for the tabling desk officer to tell my secretary that the document she sent is ok as far as the content is concerned, so that she (my secretary) can send it over again in a different format, in order for a third person to check if it is properly put into form, so that translators can do their work...

As Manny Ribera said to good old Antonio Montana in Scarface : 'Could be worse, man, could be worse'.... if you put the cuban accent when you read this last bit, it can really be funny after all...