“Wim Wenders closing speech – I’m talking about us, Europeans!

And now there’s a T-shirt to prove it. Hiney shirts at CafePress

Founs in H1N1: It’s Pronounced “Hiney”

Wim Wenders closing speech – I’m talking about us, Europeans!

from LabforCulture Blog

Closing speech by Wim Wenders, President of the European Film Academy, during the European Culture Forum.

The speech was read out by EFA director Ms Döring, and is available for download as a PDF on the European Commission website.

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A few months ago, the European Film Academy organised a think tank dedicated to “THE IMAGE OF EUROPE”.

 

The think tank took place under the patronage of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, who actually joined us on that occasion and took a very active and very outspoken part in it.

and Erkan’s rounup of interesting things from the web:

Turkish Foreign Policy roundup.

More moves on the Eastern front…

EDITORS’ NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) shakes hands with Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Tehran October 27, 2009.

REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

“Why enlargement is in trouble

Katinka Barysch of Centre for European Reform explains why EU enlargement is in trouble and there is more from the EU in the roundup…

“Populists defeated in Swiss EU labour poll

While populists are defeated in Swis EU poll, German judges study Lisbon Treaty. And there is more from Europe… A roundup… 

Populists defeated in Swiss EU labour poll

With most mainstream political parties and the economic establishment pushing for a ‘yes’ vote, anti-immigration populists suffered a defeat yesterday (8 February) in a referendum to open up the country’s labour market to Bulgarian and Romanian workers.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) commissioned OgilvyOne to develop a website campaign to encourage people across the EU to take action to reduce their environmental impact. The site is called the changers.found in The Changers

“Europe’s hierarchy of aliens

By Third Tone Devil

A few days ago Jovan wrote about Gabriele Marranci’s blog. When I was in Singapore I had a chat with Gabriele about xenophobia in Italy, and to my surprise he told me that the main xenophobic party, Lega Nord, which is part of the current government,  has recently upgraded Chinese immigrants to being as dangerous as Muslims. I had thought that in the last few years Muslims have become the unchallenged embodiment of the dangerous Other. This does have its flip side, though. At a conference today in Amsterdam I heard a paper by Gargi Bhattacharya denouncing Britain’s criminalization of forced marriage as a step to stigmatize Muslims/South Asians further. But, commenting on her paper, anthropologist Jacob Rigi reminded us that “slavery” (combatting which was one of the rationales for the legislation) really does exist; just look at all those trafficked Chinese. In other words, even those in the academia who are sensitive towards “security talk” about Muslims may not be so critical when the same type of rhetoric crops up with regard to other migrants.

 

A huge round up follows: 

“Czech art spoof sparks EU outrage

“Blair reappears on shortlist to head EU

“Interview: EU political dimension ‘painfully lacking’

European gas supplies disrupted

Several EU countries report major disruption to their gas supplies from Russia as Moscow accuses Ukraine of shutting pipelines.

“Eurostat yearbook 2008 — Europe in figures

Europe split on how to restore Moscow ties

An EU policy document reveals a vigorous debate under way among member governments about how far, and how quickly, to restore relations with Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August

“Sarkozy, Solana in Russia to clarify Georgia ceasefire

A new rival for Merkel

Social Democrats shake things up

COALITION governments often make for interesting bedfellows. The union between Germany’s Christan Democrats, the party of Angela Merkel, and the Social Democrats (SPD) should be more entertaining to watch after a weekend shake-up of the latter in which the current foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was chosen as the SPD’s candidate to face Mrs Merkel in national elections next year.

Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Next Wednesday, scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland will switch on the $6 billion Large Hadron Collider, a 27-kilometer particle accelerator that will create physical conditions that haven’t existed in the universe since the big bang. It all sounds totally awesome, unless you’re one of the very few people who think that the LHC will create a black hole that will expand to consume the planet. In World probably will not end next Wednesday

Sarkozy, Solana in Russia to clarify Georgia ceasefire

Accompanied by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Commission President José Manuel Barroso, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Moscow today (8 September) before heading to Tbilisi this evening to discuss the implementation of the peace plan he brokered at the outbreak of the Russia-Georgia conflict a month ago.