OXYGEN N. 24 - Europe: Perfect hamony by Enel Spa

24 10.2014

oxygen | 24 — 10.2014

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editorial board Enrico Alleva (president) Giulio Ballio Roberto Cingolani Derrick De Kerckhove Niles Eldredge Paola Girdinio Maria Patrizia Grieco Helga Nowotny Telmo Pievani Francesco Profumo Carlo Rizzuto Francesco Starace Robert Stavins Umberto Veronesi

Oxygen is online oxygen.enel.com

editor in chief Andrea Falessi editorial director Vittorio Bo publishing coordination Luca Di Nardo Stefano Milano Anastasia Milazzo Dina Zanieri managing editor Cecilia Toso editing Cristina Gallotti editorial team Simone Arcagni Elisa Barberis Pino Buongiorno Andrea De Benedetti Emanuela Donetti Francesca Lozito Chiara Priante Chiara Romerio Luca Salvioli Gianluigi Torchiani Alessandra Viola Maria Chiara Voci

translations Laura Culver Alessandra Recchiuti Joan Rundo art direction and layout undesign picture editor white

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summary

Europe: the perfect harmony

10 ˜ editorial The best of all possible worlds by Maria Patrizia Grieco

12 ˜ timeline A historical integration

The European Union, with institutions, assemblies, important buildings, and offices scattered throughout its Member States, can sometimes seem distant and difficult to understand. But it is closer than it seems. It is in your wallet, in your documents, your freedom, your food, your shopping bags, at work, in school, and in your domestic tranquility. And therefore the European Union must be recognized as the organization that has long been positively affecting our present and our future. On the occasion of the six-month Italian Presidency to the European Council, Oxygen recounts Europe as it is today and as it has been in the past, explaining its positive influence and reflecting on the steps still to be taken to continue to perform. Because, as Jacques Delors said, “Europe is like riding a bicycle: if you don’t go forward, it falls.”

16 ˜ interview with

lorenzo bini smaghi

union is strength by Vittorio Bo Created as an economic agreement to lay the foundations of lasting peace, the EU has become complex: it brings together multiple areas, states, and plays a key international role. To remember the importance of the taken steps, Oxygen has spoken to someone who actively participated to some of them.

20 ˜ contexts War and peace among nationalisms by Louis Godart

× European Union: Italian semester ×

The European balance of power in recent centuries has been based on the meaning that the concept of nation has taken on. It has been the source of wars or great proposals; it is an idea can ignite people’s minds if it is confused with nationalism, and one that we have to recognize not to repeat our mistakes.

24 ˜ data visualization Europe 1914-2014

26 ˜ opinions Without, for a day Clarence’s experiment by Giorgio Vasta If the European continent had never existed, would that be so bad? There would not be the European Union, nor would there be any need of it . Or maybe there would, because the EU is foremost an opportunity: many cultures that have always created elaborate concepts and achievements upon which the entire world has built its foundations.

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30 ˜ future tech

46˜ opinions

Digital diaries, participatory archiving by Simone Arcagni

German solidity by Angelo Bolaffi

32 ˜ infographic

Instructions for use

34 ˜ interview with

luca parmitano

An ambassador from outer space by Alessandra Viola The person who observes the world from outer space has a privileged view. Like that of the astronaut who is the ambassador for the semester of the Italian Presidency of the European Council. Parmitano ventures to compare life in a space station to the difficulties involved in sharing a continent. Here are his thoughts on Europe in space.

38 ˜ opinions Against Europe by Leonardo Martinelli Representatives of the two most important Euro-skeptic parties, veterans of the recent triumph in the European elections, Nigel Farage and Marine Le Pen, have more reasons for disagreement on their criticism of Europe than points in common. Starting with the role of Europe in the fields of economic and immigration policy: two fundamental issues, on which alliances and future differences are forged.

42 ˜ interview with

andrea montanino

Institutions in a new light by Maria Chiara Voci The desire for economic recovery in Europe is not lacking, and according to industry experts, the possibilities are not even all that remote. Indeed, the EU itself provides its member countries with institutional tools such as the Italian investment fund, the F2I fund and the Strategic Italian Fund that could make them become the actors in new forms of investment and create a new way of making economic policy.

50 ˜ contexts United Kingdom, United Europe by Matthew Saltmarsh Having escaped the danger of Scottish independence, Britain seems to be experiencing a renewed European sentiment, but which it is also struggling to stabilize. In fact, while on the one hand European elections and referendums have warned of a rampant nationalism, on the other hand, England’s distance from the European Community model has ancient roots.

54 ˜ infographic Prying into the EU’s financial affairs

56 ˜ oxygen without borders The children of Zeus by Emanuela Donetti

58 ˜ scenarios Energy synergies by Francesco Starace Environmental sustainability, energy security, the single market: these are the challenges for European energy that lie ahead. And it is here that cooperation between the countries can be an opportunity, even at the global level. But one must know how to achieve it, and Enel, one of the protagonists of change in actions, has all the tools to do it.

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62 ˜ contexts

78 ˜ in-depth

projected to 2030 by Daniela Vincenti

Everything is European by Elisa Barberis

The largest importer of energy in the world, Europe, looks to 2030 with the knowledge that it must achieve important goals in the fields of climate and energy by that year. There are many roads to be taken, first and foremost all those that affect energy efficiency and the reduction of carbon emissions.

82 ˜ contexts

66 ˜ scenarios An interconnected market by Marco Zatterin Energy security is one of the most pressing issues for the future of the EU, and there are resources to meet the emergency demand. What is still lacking are the integration and interconnection of energy, objectives as old as the idea of t he EU itself but which are struggling to take off. And our economy and future winters are based on this.

70 ˜ contexts A dialogue for the energy network by Jacopo Giliberto

Working on reality by Dario Di Vico The labor market is changing fast; it is being formed according to the new technological requirements, thus giving rise to the birth of professional figures that were unthinkable a few decades ago. In order to give a real boost to employment, in addition to governments, businesses too must do their part.

86 ˜ contexts Cooperation on industry by Gianluigi Torchiani Europe, which is home to many of the major companies in the world, has seen its entrepreneurial credibility diminish over time. Yet, today this continent is an economic world power, and to support that, the EU has implemented many tools for small and large.

90 ˜ interview with

monique goyens

From email to music, to television and mobility, many of our most common gestures use electricity, the demands of which have changed, also because of the advent of renewable energy sources. The electricity network, which in Italy came into being in Milan more than a century ago, needs to be renewed; the United States is already at work on theirs, and now it’s time for Europe.

74 ˜ in-depth The move to bridge differences by Nick Butler There is no common energy policy, yet the 28 EU Member States are facing global issues and other nations as a single international actor. But to defend the positions taken against climate change, the EU must compete primarily with its own internal differences and create an energy policy that meets everyone’s expectations.

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In defense of consumers by Martino Cavalli The Internet, privacy protection, and food safety are many aspects of competence of the European Commission that have to do with consumer interests. There is the BEUC, directed by Monique Goyens, to ensure that they are always protected.

94 ˜ scenarios Economy bridges made of paper by Alessandro Barbera We often hear about the anti-euro faction, convinced that at the root of the economic problems of some countries there is the creation of the single currency. But are there really a lot of these voices? In a time of uncertainty, the only thing that is clear seems to be the strength that the euro can represent.

98 ˜ interview with

yves pascouau

Schengen: travel is free by Cecilia Toso The abolition of borders between different European states was undoubtedly a revolutionary process, not only for citizens but also for trade and consequently the economy. But what now seems a matter of fact has had a thirty-year history, specific access requirements and a clear idea of freedom and security.

114 ˜ in-depth Horizon 2020 The new future of research by Luca Salvioli

European sentiment

Research and innovation are strategic sectors for the economic growth of all countries, and the new EU funding program demonstrates not only their criticality but also the importance of a lively and fruitful exchange between the different realities. More funding, but also mechanisms of easier access to funds, incentives for interdisciplinarity, and healthy competition among countries.

104 ˜ enel foundation special

118 ˜ in-depth

Cities are the ‘raison d’être’ by Oriol Nel·lo

Open, data by Alberto Cottica

To make a continent, it takes a city. In many ways, Europe is based on its urbanization, a process that has made it what it is today. But the world is changing, its requirements are changing, and in order for the countries of the European continent to have healthy and competitive economies and societies, its citizens and institutions must unite to improve their cities.

Convergent data that gathers new information from the admixture and from which comparisons are made: the kind of knowledge that is open and ready to be exchanged for transversal usage without borders or owners. This is the scenario that open data offers, which is an opportunity that Europe has already partly cultivated and on which significant progress is being made in order to make the passage of knowledge between Member States more fluid.

102 ˜ data visualization

108 ˜ in-depth Traditions for all cults by Francesca Lozito

110 ˜ in-depth Progress made by the ‘e’ generation by Chiara Romerio Many European students have been able to have a unique experience thanks to the Erasmus program; studying abroad is not just about learning a language, but also about how to become better citizens of the world. Despite the strong push towards the internationalization of studies that has seen the emergence of other programs and reforms, there are still technical barriers to abolish.

122 ˜ contexts beyond Borders by Chiara Priante A passport? It is an exotic object, to be taken out of the drawer only in order to travel overseas. But it has not always been like that: Schengen has redefined the travel habits of European citizens, allowing them to move freely without being stopped at the border in 29 countries, giving new life to such a strategically important area as tourism.

126 ˜ the science of language Globish, a language for everyone by Andrea De Benedetti

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enel.com

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LET’S LOOK FORWARD Let’s build, write, invent, produce. Let’s do something new we can be proud of now. Not through nostalgia for our past glories. But through all the energy we now have inside us. Together with the energy of a leading, integrated player in electricity and gas. A group that started in Italy and today provides power to 60 million customers in Europe and Latin America.

Together with

contributors

Contributors to this number

01 06

08 09

01˜ Alessandro

02˜ Lorenzo

03˜ Angelo

04˜ Martino

05˜ Nick

Barbera

Bini Smaghi

Bolaffi

Cavalli

Butler

Born in Ferrara, he graduated in law from the University of Bologna and, after a brief stint at the European Central Bank, chose journalism. He started the news agency Ap.Biscom, now TMNews; he has written for the newspaper La Stampa for ten years and contributes to Aspenia.

He is an economist and the President of the Italian gas company SNAM. From 2005 to 2011 he was a member of the executive board of the ECB, contributing to its creation by directing the political division of the European Monetary Institute in Frankfurt.

German scholar and political philosopher, from 2007 to 2011 he was the director of the Italian Cultural Institute of Berlin. His publications include The German dream: the New Germany and the European Consciousness and German Heart. The German Model, Italy, and the European Crisis.

Managing editor of the weekly magazine Panorama, for a long time he dealt with economy, finance and European issues from Milan and Brussels, where he was a correspondent for the newspaper Sole 24 Ore for four years.

He was BP’s Vice President of Strategic Policies, and is now a consultant in the field of energy policy for the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. He writes for the Financial Times. From 2009 to 2010, he was an adviser to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

06˜ Alberto

07˜ Dario

08˜ Jacopo

09˜ Louis

10˜ Monique

Cottica

Di Vico

Giliberto

Godart

Goyens

He is an economist and expert on public policy and collaborative online participation. He works with the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Council of Europe, as well as being the founder of Edgeryders, the online project on youth policies.

A columnist and correspondent for the Corriere della Sera, he writes about the real economy, labor, and businesses. He has written for it since 1989, and served as its deputy director in 2004-2009. He published Screwdrivers, Robots, and Tablets. How to Re-start Companies.

A journalist at Il Sole 24 Ore where he writes about environmental and energy issues, he was the spokesperson for the environment ministers of the Monti and Letta governments. His publications include The Environment Wars and No Tav, Chronicles of an Angry Valley.

An archaeologist, philologist, and author of several books of history, he is an adviser for the conservation of the artistic heritage at the Presidency of the Italian Republic, a member of the Accademia dei Lincei, of the Institut de France, and the Academy of Athens.

Director General of BEUC, which represents 40 national consumer associations in 31 European countries, she has been part of the Liikanen Group and is a member of various representative bodies and research agencies in the EU.

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19 21

11˜ Maria Patrizia Grieco

11 10

Chairman of Board of directors since May 2014, she was CEO of Siemens Computers, and then in 2008, of Olivetti, becoming President of Board of directors until June 2014. She is also a member of the board of directors of Fiat Industrial, and Anima Holding.

12˜ Leonardo

13˜ Andrea

14˜ Oriol

15˜ Luca

16˜ Yves

Martinelli

Montanino

Nel·lo

Parmitano

Pascouau

The editor of Firstonline, he worked for the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore for 20 years, as a correspondent from different parts of the world (Brussels, Japan, South America, and from Paris). He is the author and presenter of programs for Rai Radio.

Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, he was Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Economic Advisor to the Minister Padoa-Schioppa, and economist at the European Commission and the Centre for the Study of Confindustria.

He is a geographer, specialized in urban studies and planning. He is a lecturer in the Department of Geography of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and was the director of the Institute of Metropolitan Studies of Barcelona from 1988 to 1999.

An astronaut of the European Space Agency and Italian Air Force pilot, he is an ambassador of the Italian Presidency of the European Council. In 2013, he spent 166 days in space with the Italian Space Agency’s mission Volare.

After receiving his PhD in Law on the EU’s migration policy from the French University of Pau, he became director of the European Policy Centre, a think tank on migration policies and mobility with headquarters in Brussels, where he works on immigration, asylum, and integration.

17˜ Matthew

18˜ Francesco

19˜ Giorgio

20˜ Daniela

21˜ Marco

Saltmarsh

Starace

Vasta

Vincenti

Zatterin

A journalist who, after having been director of Stockwell Communications and working in Paris as a correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, started working for Dais Media, a company of editorial content based in London, in 2014.

Enel Chief Executive Officer and General Manager since May 2014, he has been CEO of Enel Green Power. After a degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan, he held positions in the companies GE Group and ABB before joining Enel in 2000.

A writer whose book Il tempo materiale has been published in several European countries and the United States, he was selected for the 2009 Strega Prize and as a finalist for several literary awards. He contributes to the newspapers la Repubblica, il Sole 24 Ore and Il manifesto.

A graduate of the Sorbonne and the school of journalism at Columbia University, she is editorin-chief of the portal EurActiv.com. She has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years in Italy, the United States, and Germany, where she was a correspondent for Il Messaggero.

Born in Rome, he has worked for numerous publications: Ore 12Il Globo, Italia Oggi, L’Indipendente and La Stampa, of which he edited the business pages; since 2006, he has been a correspondent in Brussels. He is the editor of the European news blog Straneuropa.

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editorial

The best of all possible worlds by Maria Patrizia Grieco Enel Chairman

The energy sector, which has always been the engine of economic development, can be one of the key tools for reviving Europe in terms of competitiveness

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n recent years the lively debate about Europe and its future has been more heated than ever. The economic crisis has revealed all the weaknesses of the European Union, thereby fueling national movements and resentment towards Brussels, as well as reflections on the meaning and future of European integration. This kind of thinking is increasingly undermining the popularity of a process that seemed indisputable until a few years ago. The attention of the ruling class and of European public opinion has been focused more and more on economic issues; the search for a balance between rigor in the management of debt and the need to enlarge the mesh of austerity, and the debate on the introduction of the euro and macroeconomic imbalances are likely to create a huge gap between the member countries and foster the disaffection and hostility of citizens towards the EU institutions. In other words, the economic crisis, which is also a social and moral crisis, is likely to make us forget the ultimate meaning of the European project and all the positive things that have resulted since the Treaty of Rome: the unification process that began over sixty years ago has guaranteed European citizens decades of development and prosperity. The protection of rights, welfare, and the civil conquests that the European project has ensured are without equal. In seventy years of peace and democracy, Europe has been the best of all possible worlds. The model of voluntary cession of sovereignty and the creation, through treaties, of common institutions have led to the attainment of a market that has enabled great stability, development, and prosperity. And I believe that – despite everything – the citizens of the European Union are well aware this: if it is true that the most sensational and alarming aspect of the European elections last May 25 was the strong growth of the anti-European movements which achieved unprecedented results, it

is equally true that the five major pro-European formations (the People’s Party, the Socialist Party, the Liberals, the Green Movement and the United Left), won more than 550 seats out of 750 and they did so after the most difficult, both economically and socially, legislative session in the EU’s history. Therefore, the European Union is facing an important test, but also an opportunity for change and a revival that the Italian government, which has just been appointed to its Presidency for a term, will have to be able to deal with and lead. The crisis has highlighted the structural limits of our growth model: a model based on an extensive welfare system that is not sustainable, nor will be sustainable, in a continent with such rates of growth and productivity as the current ones. We must think of a new model that takes the great changes that have occurred into account and that will allow Europe to become competitive on international markets. The energy sector, which has always been the engine of economic development, can be one of the key tools for reviving Europe in terms of competitiveness. Through the creation of an energy system able to combine environmental awareness and energy while paying particular attention to the issue of energy security (which the Ukrainian case has highlighted) and the completion of the single market, Europe could once again compete on the international stage. In this context, technological innovation is the main lever on which to act in order to achieve these goals by diversifying energy sources, reducing CO2 emissions, and at the same time, reducing energy costs. For a continent that is relatively resource-poor, betting on its future also means investing in the ability to innovate and the ability to look ahead with courage and optimism. The same courage and optimism that the founding fathers had when postwar Europe envisioned a possible world. A world we all have the privilege of living in.

The European project has ensured the unparalleled protection of rights, welfare, and civil conquests. In seventy years of peace and democracy, Europe has been the best of all possible worlds

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timeline

A historical integration

European milestones

New Member Country

Historical background

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1951

1954

1957

Treaty of Paris The ECSC, European Coal and Steel Community, was created Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, made the proposal of pooling resources for the production of coal and steel to France, Germany, and any other country interested. The management and control of that industry, which was considered a harbinger of war, were to be assigned to new institutions with their own authority.

Failure of the Treaty on European Defense Community The project, under negotiation between 1952 and 1953, for the creation of common institutions and which would have accelerated the process of the European political union, was rejected on August 31 by the National Assembly of France.

Treaty of Rome EEC and EURATOM or the EAEC The members of the ECSC conceived the idea of a single market, an integrated space in which they could freely circulate goods, services, and workers, and in which there would be equality in the competition and the possibility of social assistance. The European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community were created.

The ECSC Member Countries Belgium France West Germany Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands

1951

1956

1960

Precarious peace The continuing threat of the Cold War undermined the hope of a lasting peace in the name of harmony and cooperation among the countries in Europe. Various hypotheses on ways to preserve the unity of Europe arose.

Soviet Invasion of Hungary and the Suez crisis There was the fear of new conflicts, and above all, of a crisis that would threaten European unity once again.

A smaller Europe The Belgian Congo, Equatorial Africa and French West Africa, and Madagascar achieved independence. Algeria would have to wait until 1962 for independence, and the Portuguese colonies until the end of Salazarism. The boundaries of the colonial empire began to shrink.

1965

1968

1973

1978

Merger Treaty The executive bodies of the EEC, the ECSC and the EAEC were united by establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities. Henceforth, these three Communities would share the same budget.

Free exchange The six founding countries abolished customs duties on imported goods, allowing the liberalization of cross-border trade for the first time. They also applied the same duties on their imports from other countries. This gave rise to the largest trading group in the world.

Europe of 9 Denmark Ireland The United Kingdom

Institution of the European Monetary System In order to ensure greater stability between currencies, the central rates of change, with regard to which the currencies fluctuated, were determined on the basis of a new European unit of account, the ECU.

1981 Europe of 10 Greece

1974 The third wave of democratization The fall of the dictatorship in Greece inaugurated the third wave of democratization, joined by Portugal, with its Carnation Revolution of 1974, and Spain, with the death of Francisco Franco in 1975. The basis were created so that these countries could apply for membership.

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oxygen | 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 10.2014

1985 Schengen The agreement, signed in Schengen by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, intended to phase out controls at common borders and introduced a regime of free movement for citizens of the signatory States, of the other Member States of the Community, or of other countries.

1986

1992

1997

Europe of 12, the new democracies Spain Portugal

Treaty of Maastricht, the birth of the EU Signed in 1992 and coming into force in 1993, its purpose was to prepare the creation of the European Monetary Union and lay the groundwork for a political union. The EU was established and introduced the procedure of co-decision, thus giving Parliament greater powers in the decision-making process. New forms of cooperation between the governments of the EU were created.

Treaty of Amsterdam The treaty, which came into force in 1999, reformed the European institutions in view of the accession of new member countries. By modifying, renumbering, and consolidating the EU and EEC treaties, it made the decision-making processes more transparent by offering a broader reference to the process of co-decision.

Almost in Europe Switzerland asked to accede to the EU, but the negative outcome of the referendum on its accession to the European Economic Area also affected its application for membership.

Europe of 15 Austria Finland Sweden

1987 Single European Act This Act completed the construction of an internal market, the liberalization of which had never quite materialized due to differences in national legislation. It sought to give it fresh air, after the economic crises of the Seventies, and to initiate a first embryo of political union, which would give more power to the European Parliament. Creation of the Erasmus program

014

1995

1985

1990

1993

Greenland, part of the European Community as Danish territory, asked to leave after a consultation by referendum.

United Germany After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, East Germany could also become part of the European Community.

Two from one Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and the Czech Republic and Slovakia came into being.

2001

2002

2004-2005

2007

2013

Treaty of Nice A new and broad enlargement of the EU was being envisaged and the Treaty of Nice prepared to reform the European institutions to enable the 25-member EU to operate efficiently. The main innovations were the methods for changing the composition of the Commission and the redefinition of the voting system in the Council.

Single currency The euro currency entered into circulation in the 12 EU member countries.

European Constitution The project, called “Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe”, was signed in Rome by the 25 EU Member States, but then it was abandoned following the negative outcomes of the referendums on the ratification that took place in France (May 29, 2005) and the Netherlands (June 1, 2005).

Treaty of Lisbon Entered into force in 2009, it makes the EU more democratic, more efficient, and better prepared to deal with the problems of global reach. The European Parliament was conferred with more powers, the voting procedures of the Council were modified, and a permanent President of the European Council was established, as were a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a European External Action Service. The Lisbon Treaty clearly defined the powers of the EU, those of the Member States, and those to be shared.

Europe of 28 Croatia

1999 Euro The beginning of the Monetary Union.

2004 Europe of 25 Cyprus Estonia Latvia Lithuania Malta Poland Czech Republic Slovakia Slovenia Hungary

Europe of 27 Bulgaria Romania

2003 Instrument of peace The EU takes over peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and then in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In both cases, the EU-led forces replaced NATO forces.

2004-2005 Worldwide issues Europe had to face terrorism after the attacks in Madrid in March 2004 and in London in July 2005, during the United Kingdom’s semester of the EU presidency.

015

interview

union is strength Interview with Lorenzo Bini Smaghi Economist

by Vittorio Bo

Created as an economic agreement to lay the foundations of lasting peace among the nations of Europe, the European Union has now become immense and complex: it brings together multiple areas, many more states, and plays a key international role. However, the steps taken are not always clear or discernible at all, and so to remember their importance, Oxygen has spoken to someone who actively participated in implementing some of them.

European Union is not perfect, it has a long road ahead of it, being built by the many professionals who work there, bringing their ideas and commitment to it. It is thanks to them that Europe can grow; it has already done so and it can do it again. This is the simple but practical thought of Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Member of the European Central Bank from 2005 to 2011, but even before that, in the mid-Nineties, involved in working on the creation of the ECB at the European Monetary Institute in Frankfurt. The European Union can be criticized and improved, but first of all it need to be known, a clear knowledge about what equilibrium has been established and to have in mind what it means to make choices over time.

Yesterday The first step towards European integration was an economic agreement: the European Coal and Steel Community. This may seem like a trivial idea, little more than a commercial manufacturing agreement between States, and instead, it was a revolutionary proposal. Peace through a commercial agreement. And arising from this need for equilibrium came a process which has led to the European Union of today, but for which all too often according to Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, “one tends to remember the celebrities, political figures, or historical dates such as the signing of the Single Act, the Maastricht Treaty or the start of Monetary Union on January 1, 1999”. These are all milestones that, based on the global balance of the moment, have pointed out the way to be taken from time to time. “But in addition to these symbolic dates, we must not forget that the European integration process is the result of continuous work, done at all levels, including by national and European officials who prepare the decisions with proposals, negotiations, and compromises. Overcoming national differences, and the resistance of the United States to the devolution of powers to the EU requires a lot of effort and patience, which are often not adequately acknowledged. It is thanks to the humble work of many people, often unfairly blamed as ‘bureaucrats’, that the political level then manages to make important progress for the Union.” Therefore, not dates and agreements, but human labor. Responding to a human need came CECA (European Coal and Steel Commission), which was also the first real stage of integration, a way to create collaboration in the aftermath of World War II and through specific agreements, and internally ‘lock down’ one of the industries considered harbingers of conflicts. The economy, therefore, at the service of human serenity, that of international politics and peace. Yet today’s economic issues are threatening the very balance that has been created, but at a broader level, globally. And the solution, so that the European States are not swallowed up by others, and so that the balance is maintained, is that it is important that the Union remains such. “In an increasingly integrated world, where new economic powers such as China, India, and Brazil are emerging, European countries taken individually may have only a marginal role. Being alone, they would have to accept the rules laid down by others. It is only by remaining united, in the European Union, that they can defend their interests and promote the values of freedom, including economic ones, that have established the prosperity of Europe after the war.” Today This is not a matter of scaremongering, and everyday life proves it: “The recent political problems in Ukraine highlight even more the need for European countries to work together and increase the integration of their policies also in new sectors, such as energy. Without a unified process, we are likely to return to national pro-

The first step towards European integration was an economic pact, the European Coal and Steel Community. It was a revolutionary proposal: peace through a commercial agreement

oxygen | 23 — 05.2014

tectionism, which would only impoverish our economies.” But today the EU does not seems as strong as it could be, and the problem, according to Bini Smaghi, is due to the national authorities “who oppose the devolution of powers to Europe. The most paradoxical is that of the Eurobonds, namely the possibility of issuing bonds in common, which is loudly requested by many, but without accepting a greater sharing of the powers of the public budget in exchange. We often hear national politicians who are opposed to the cession of sovereignty, even when it might help the economy.” Then along came the times of crisis and so “it is clear to everyone that it does not make sense to keep the authorities at the national level, and it is only by sharing them at the European level that you are able to overcome the difficulties. At this point, the national authorities agree to take steps towards greater integration.” We’re not talking about European defects, not at all: “it is the democratic nature of the integration process, which requires the agreement of everyone, and which paradoxically, slows down its speed.” Reflecting on the present, among the elements of Europe criticized the most by its Member coun018

tries is the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), the 1997 agreement requiring the members of the Economic and Monetary Union to timely meet some of those parameters that made them eligible to be part of the Eurozone, and which, according to many, is unmanageable in a time of crisis like the one we are experiencing. But according to Bini Smaghi, “A careful reading of the rules, and how they have been applied recently, shows that there is a lot of flexibility in the current rules. No one wants to strangle the economies of other countries with overly restrictive policies, but neither is it acceptable to postpone indefinitely the correction of imbalances in public finances accumulated in the past.” So how can debt be reduced? “There are two ways. The first is to increase the growth potential of the economy through reforms that increase the competitiveness of the system. The second is to apply austerity measures. Europe is asking countries to take the first way, but if they do not want to take it, or fail to do so, only the second way remains.” Acting is, without a doubt, the watchword, so as not to take refuge in blaming Europe as the scapegoat. “Countries that do not make reforms end up only discussing public finances, but they can’t criticize Europe for their own inability to act.”

union is strength

Tomorrow One of the new tools the EU has adopted to deal with the crisis is the treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism, also known as the bailout fund, which came into force in 2012. In 2014, an agreement was found for the establishment of the resolution mechanism and the bank-saving bank fund. Although these measures appear to be adequate to deal with isolated incidents of insolvency, will the European Union be able to ensure an economic and financial stability in the long run? The future is uncertain, but according to Bini Smaghi, “These are very important steps forward. Today we can see that the system is less fragile concerning imbalances and external shocks. But what has been achieved is not enough for jump-starting the economy and reforming the system, which in many areas remain backward. The risks have not disappeared and they can resurface at any time. The European framework is more solid now, but it still needs to be strengthened, for example, by pooling programs to support employment in the event of a crisis. To do so, however, it would take having more trust among the countries, in order to defeat the impression that they just want to take advantage of European mechanisms and it is always the same people who have to pay.” Trust that can be helped by the understanding that, in all respects, the EU is a highly democratic organization “because the institutional choices made at each step have been ratified by the national political systems.” For Bini Smaghi, there is not a lack of democracy, but of democratic trust: “We must further strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the European institutions by establishing a direct link with citizens, without the mediation of national structures. From this point of view, the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission, following the victory of the EPP in the European elections, is an important step forward. It is no coincidence that it was opposed by many national politicians, who are opposed to the European Parliament having a more important role.” In order to imagine a future that uplifts the European economy, we must uphold the reputation of an organization and institutions that are essential. “In the meantime, we must begin to make the new institutions and mechanisms operate well, starting with EU banking. It is necessary to convince skeptics that the devolution of powers to the European level was the right thing to do,

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Countries that do not carry out any reforms end up only discussing public finances, but they cannot criticize Europe for their own failure to act

and that perhaps should have been done before. So it reinforces the confidence in, and prepares the ground for new steps forward, in other sectors as well, such as energy. In this time of economic crisis, there is a natural tendency to withdraw into oneself, to believe that ‘small is beautiful’ and that problems are best resolved among the few. This is not the case only for the European Union but also for the national States, just look at what is happening in the UK or in Spain.” There is a tendency to accuse Europe of the economic crisis of its Member countries, but it is precisely the lack of trust that some have towards it that is undermining our economies. “This crisis is an identity crisis of the traditional nation-states of the EU.” 019

contexts

War and peace among nationalisms by Louis Godart Historian and adviser for the conservation of the artistic heritage to the Presidency of the Italian Republic

The European balance of power in recent centuries has been based on the meaning that the concept of nation has taken on. From time to time it has been the source of wars, of dreams, and great proposals. It is an idea can ignite peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds if it is confused with nationalism, and one that we have to be able to recognize today so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

020

On the threshold of 2015, Europe is going through a difficult time: the draft of the European Constitution has been rejected by France and the Netherlands, two of the six founding countries; nationalist movements have gained ground in the last European elections and have sometimes been manifested with disturbing echoes, such as in England, Hungary, France, Austria, and Greece; Italy itself has not been spared the action of the anti-Europeans who want to abandon the single currency and dismantle the construction painstakingly created by the Treaty of Rome; the enthusiasm generated by the momentum created by the founding fathers has largely faded away. Many countries of Europe that dispute a united Europe are dusting off the concept of ‘nation’ by often applying it to local entities such as ‘Padania’, ‘Brittany’, ‘Catalonia’, ‘Flanders’, to name only a few. Therefore, reflecting on the tragedies caused precisely by the emergence of the idea of ‘na tion’ can be useful. The Europe of the Eighteenth Century In the eighteenth century, a European republic of the spirit raised its barricades against intolerance; this is the happy time in France when the term ‘humanity’ came to replace that of ‘Christianity.’ Expanding their horizon to the ends of the planet, Europe’s citizens were enthusiastic about the great discoveries made by navigators who sailed the oceans and in their luggage brought back the image of the new man, the noble savage, “this caterpillar enclosed in its cocoon that one day will become a butterfly”, to borrow Voltaire’s phrase. The great cosmopolitan souls mentioned by Rousseau in his Discourse on Inequality, published in 1762, were jumping over the imaginary barriers that separated people and had begun to feel committed to what they saw as their duty, that of ensuring peace and happiness to all the families of mankind. All the men of the Republic of Letters throughout Europe in the first three quarters of the eighteenth century had a dream. They said that the century to be born would no longer be called “the century of Augustus and Louis XIV, the great era of France or Italy: it would be the glorious century of Europe as a whole.” That dream would never come true. Infinitely more dangerous than kings and rulers, nations with exacerbated concepts of nationality and nationalism were now at work and ready to ignite fires everywhere in order for their fanaticism to triumph.

the French threw themselves against the enemy, shouting “Long live the Nation”. In order to make a nation, there has to be a common consciousness, the desire to establish a political brotherhood and to nurture love and pride for a name that acts as a banner for rallying men and women. At the end of the eighteenth century, France began to think of an ideal that could materialize through the land of their fathers. Europe was still a long way off. So before it came to pass, France posited itself as the ‘Grande Nation’, according to the formula that appeared under the Directory and was enthusiastically adopted by the French population. Thanks to the example of France, the Germany of the early nineteenth century, celebrated as a nation by Hegel, felt the concept of nationality germinate within itself. That was when the

The birth of the concept of ‘nation’ The term ‘nation’ was a resounding success with the French Revolution. An entire population became inebriated by pronouncing it. At the battle of Valmy on September 20, 1792 which resulted in the first major victory of revolutionary France, 021

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myth of a creative Germany was born, which was able to build the queen of gothic churches in Cologne, the inventor of chivalry, tournaments, scholastics, gunpowder and, thanks to Gutenberg, the printing press in Mainz. Germany wagered on tradition, on historical acquisitions, and the genius of the race that had been able to invent them. The ‘Volkstum’ of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who was born in the early nineteenth century, contains all the embryos of the future conflicts. Nationality, the product of the nation, reveals two terrible concepts: the first is that of race, that powerful and mysterious animal, which is antithetical to any human being that is excluded from the herd; the second is the past understood as a justification for the primacy of race and then elevated to the rank of a powerful mass capable of suppressing the present. The clash between Germany and France in 1870 contributed to the creation of an imperial Germany under the aegis of Prussia. This was a newer conflict than those that over the centuries had seen the kingdom of France oppose that of Austria. Near Sedan, the armies facing one another were profoundly different from those of the past which had been made up of professional soldiers; this time it was the armies of citizens who felt they belonged to a well-defined nation that were trying to annihilate one another. After 1870, Europe became a continent populated by nations that were ardently eager to increase their possessions or to avenge insults or humiliations. In such a context, to speak of a ‘European union’, or ‘European republic’ seemed like a provocation. The nation armed itself and began to mobilize science, putting it at the service of war. Industry, the name once applied to a quality of intelligence, became the term used to describe a machine with enormous power that the leaders of nations used for purposes that were anything but peaceful. Krupp in Essen and Schneider in Le Creusot produced ever more powerful and sophisticated cannons. It was mostly France and Germany that were fanning the flames: the French defeat in 1870, resulting in the loss of Alsace and Lorraine, fostered a strong feeling in the country of a desire for retaliation against the Germans; Germany, in full expansion with a powerful army and colonial ambitions, was ready to fight. Other countries were in turmoil. Anxious to maintain its dominance on the seas, Britain wanted to oppose the German expansionism. Russia and Austria-Hungary clashed on the Balkan question: Russia, the protector of the Slav populations,

tried to impose its presence in the Mediterranean: by blocking access to Austria-Hungary, it was determined to break the Slav nationalism supported by Serbia and its King Peter I, who had ascended the throne in 1903. On June 28, 1914, after the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Serb militant, Austria decided to intervene to crush the outbreak of Serbian nationalism and declared war on Serbia on July 28. Due to the game of alliances, the conflict that should have been circumscribed only to the Balkans degenerated into a war of devastating proportions. In 1918, the defeat of Germany led to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The new regime could not cope with the increasing difficulties of postwar Germany: the violence of the economic crisis of 1929 showed its impotence in the face of rampant unemployment and poverty and helped the emergence of extremist movements which the National Socialism party knew how to exploit. Hurt and frustrated by the defeat of 1918, Germany was seduced by the passionate voice of Adolf Hitler who preached racial hatred and wanted to subjugate the whole of Europe to his wicked regime. On January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor. In short stages Hitler and his accomplices imposed a dictatorship based on virulent anti-Semitism that ended in a terrible persecution that claimed the lives of six million Jews. Conferred full powers, Hitler prepared Germany for war with a policy of great work within and of aggression against its neighbors: the new militarization of the Rhineland, the Anschluss (or the annexation of Austria), the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, and then the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, which triggered off the Second World War. Six years later, in 1945, the European continent was a vast field of rubble. On 17 January 1995, in his last speech to the European Parliament, François Mitterrand shouted “Le nationalisme c’est la guerre!”, or “Nationalism is war”, which admirably sums up the immense danger represented by the proclivity generated by those who bet on the nation at the expense of Europe. What is needed to defeat the monsters that have bloodied it, is to rediscover the passion that animated the founding fathers, mindful of the tragedy of the Second World War, and convinced of the necessity of union among countries that share the same values and are imbued with the same culture.

Since 1870, Europe has become a continent populated by ardent nations eager to increase their possessions or to avenge insults: talk of ‘European union’, or ‘European republic’ would have seemed like a provocation

022

On January 1995, in his last speech to the European Parliament, Mitterrand shouted “Le nationalisme c’est la guerre!” 023

data visualization

1914

Europe 1914-2014

1,400/2,500

edited by Oxygen Two distinct worlds: the Europe we know today and the one that existed in 1914. But above all, two opposite ways of how ‘to be European’. If at the beginning of the century, a culture of war prevailed – supported by a war economy, imperialist ambitions, and a different way of understanding human rights – today Europe is made up of many more countries than in the past, but countries that have been brought together due to their similar economic intents and purposes, with a strong and varied industry and a participatory and healthy society. And it has chosen the more convenient culture of peace, thus benefitting the economy, politics, and people.

1914

million km2

Imperialist nationalism European imperial ambitions of England were at the base of the envy between France, Germany and England. The British Empire was the largest in the twentieth century, with colonies – from Labrador to Ceylon – which accounted for 146% of its national GDP.

Continental size Today, now that there are no longer any colonies as at the beginning of the twentieth century, the square kilometers of surface area occupied by the sovereign states geographically in Europe is slightly less than 11 million.

Territory Economy Society 024

billion $

Worldwide spending The countries involved in the first conflict spent a figure calculated between 1,400 and 2,500 billion dollars on the war, roughly the figure that is now spent globally on the same industry.

A decline in business The annual military spending worldwide does not quite reach 2 trillion dollars. 2013 is the second year of contraction in this sector.

2014

million km2

1914

1,747

2014

Countries

A Europe with fewer voices In 1914, the entire continent was composed of only 22 countries: it was an imperial and artificial union that tried to govern cultures that were completely different from one another.

A real union Since 2014, more than 40 countries have been geographically and culturally defined as European. However, there is an apparent fragmentation that the European Union, with its 28 Member States, is helping to unite.

32.3%

1914

71%

2014

of workers

Concentrated in industry In 1914, 32.3% of European workers were employed in industry, in particular, the war industry, which, for example, gave employment to 200,000 women in Italy alone. Germany was one of the major producers of steel, the main raw material for weapons, with a production of 14 million tons per year.

The services economy Today only 25% of European employees work in the secondary sector and only a small part of our steel is used for military-related production. It is the tertiary sector that employs more than two-thirds of the total employed.

49.9

1914

39,290 $

Pre-war wealth On the eve of WWI, the average European GDP per capita was $2,643; the highest, $5,176, was in Great Britain.

Widespread prosperity Today the average European GDP per capita testifies to a certain wellbeing. The highest is that of the Principality of Monaco ($171,465).

1914

Prices at

+300%

44%

2014

women

Only men At the beginning of the twentieth century, no European country permitted women to have a political role.

New space Today, Sweden takes 1st place among the European countries for the presence of women MPs, with almost 45%. It is followed by Finland, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.

2014

2,643 $

Illusion of war With WWI, the inflation of the countries involved grew by more than 100%, and 300% in Germany. Their GDPs declined by about 30% during the war, with the exception of England.

1914

10%

1914

years old

enlisted

Life expectancy In 1914, life expectancy in Italy was 49.9 years of age on average. The French were the most long-lived (58.7) and the Spaniards the least (42.8).

Old Europeans The average age of Europeans is growing: the most long-lived today are the Spaniards and Italians, who on average live to the age of 82.

A population in war About 10% of the European population was involved in World War I. Of the 40 million enlisted, about 20% died.

2014

inflation European concreteness The Governing Council of the ECB aims to keep inflation in the Eurozone in the medium term at around 2%. This is a stability that, impossible without the euro, increases spending and gives oxygen to families and the economy.

2.7%

2014

enlisted A peaceful Europe Today, just over 7 million Europeans are employed in law enforcement. And there are only about a dozen European countries that retain mandatory military service. The first country to suspend compulsory military service was United Kingdom.

025

What would happen in a day without Europe, for example? That is to say, without the possibility of using any of the material culture or, above all, the immaterial culture that the Old Continent has managed to generate and put at our disposal? 026

opinions

Without, for a day

Clarence’s experiment by Giorgio Vasta Writer

If the European continent had never existed, would that be so bad? There would not be the European Union, nor, come to think of it, would there be any need for it. Or maybe there would, because the EU is first and foremost an opportunity: its whole is made up of many cultures that have always created elaborate concepts and achievements upon which the entire world has built its foundations. And on which its own history, as well as ours, has been created. In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra’s 1946 masterpiece, the ‘second-class’ angel Clarence subjects George Bailey, the main character of the film played by James Stewart, to a kind of existential experiment showing him what the life of people around him would have been like if he, George Bailey, had never existed. Through a series of encounters, Bailey realizes just how much and in what ways, by intersecting and modifying that of others, his existence has been and still is important. What would happen if we tried repeating Clarence’s simulation by changing its terms and hypothesizing that what was wiped out was not a single existence but that of an entire geographic region of the globe?

For example, what would happen if we were to imagine a normal span of our daily lives without a specific portion of land mass? A day without Europe, for example. That is to say, without the possibility of using any of the material culture but above all, the immaterial culture that the Old Continent has managed to generate and put at our disposal. Therefore, without any of the ethical, political, and social achievements upon which our history has been built. At the beginning of this experiment Clarence might decide to take us to an era – 461 BC – and a place – Athens – that played a founding role for European culture (when the physical and political knowledge of Europe was still non-existent). According to our experiment, and 027

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thereby contradicting history, in 461 BC Pericles, who was to refine the experience of the polis in a radically democratic perspective, did not give his famous speech (“Here our government favors the many instead of the few: and this is called democracy. That is how we do it here in Athens”) whose premises and whose effects, – this is the logic of the game – was not to stimulate per se social and political thought for centuries to come. Without ancient Greece, without the isonomia of the polis itself, i.e. that every citizen must abide by the same rules, without the Areopagus where law was and justice was administered, and also, without the right-law dialectic wonderfully illustrated in Antigone by Sophocles, the Mediterranean would not have become the theater of that fertile ‘meridian thinking’ of which Albert Camus wrote, linking culture and topology. A way of thinking about the light that acknowledged the sea – the natural border of all of Southern Europe – as having an irreplaceable collective heritage. Through a daring historical-geographical leap, Clarence may now decide to go from south to north back to a piece of land in a volcanic area on the edge of the northern Atlantic Ocean, more exactly Thingvellir, not far from today’s Reykjavík. The aim of our second-class angel in this land of rocks and faults in 930 AD, is to show that the Althing, i.e. the first documented instance of an assembly meeting, did not come into existence. Although Iceland is not part of the European Union today, it is nevertheless striking to see how the need for parliamentarianism, thus the vocation for a legislative dimension, has been an attitude common to regions even at the antipodes of one another. This is a demonstration of the fact that participation and collaboration are essential practices at any latitude. Continuing on his experimental journey, Clarence could take us to the year 1513 to show us that by not writing The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli did not establish modern political science. In his work, the Florentine philosopher was able to more planimetrically describe the most manifest phenomena as well as the more subtle implications of political action, the inseparability of light and 028

without, for a day

dark, and the link between disenchantment and pragmatism. These qualities are common to that other indispensable manual of political culture, The Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione. His absence from our encyclopedia of reference would once again result in a limit not so much as of a speculative but of an entirely practical order: without the critical reflection of The Courtier concerning the vices and virtues of power, we would not have the device of mediation at our disposal, nor even at times the reconstruction of conflicts – which is conversation itself, therefore the particular declination of language that, by imagining alternatives and formulating hypotheses, can lead to change. And it is at this pointthat Clarence’s experiment would entail two more stops – two more eras and two more places – necessary for understanding what we would be without Europe. First of all, we need to get to June 14, 1985, the day when the Schengen agreements were not ratified and the European space sector did not undergo a necessary and extraordinary revolution. Given that the transition from a time of separations to an era of passages, from a Europe that is compartmentalized to a culture of permeability and fluidity corresponding to a kind

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of collective entry into adulthood and at the same time fulfilling the teaching of Baldassare Castiglione in a geographical key, has made Europe into a conversing of spaces and cultures. Trying to imagine that this did not happen, imagining the disappearance of a mutual opening and a likewise mutual availability, is confusing, to say the least (after all, disorienting us is the purpose of this experiment). The next (and last) destination of Clarence’s journey is February 7, 1992, at a town in the Netherlands, specifically in the province of Limburg, when the Treaty of Maastricht was not signed and therefore, the European Union did not come into being. The non -occurrence of a series of historical processes would inevitably undermine one of the core values of the Union: the one for which each of the twenty-eight Member States cedes a portion of their sovereignty to the EU bodies. This is a matter of ethical principle and solidarity, a mutual accountability that has its roots in everything that has happened over time. Only that, without the speech of Pericles on democracy, without the experience of the Icelandic participation in the Althing assembly, without the Renaissance culture expressed by The Prince and The Courtier, without the cooperative thinking at the base of the Schengen agreement, without an incalculable amount of traumatic metamorphoses, of evolution and involution, progressions and arrests, essentially without what has been the adventure of an idea that has never ceased to become reality, we would not have reached the continuous critical reinvention of itself which is what contemporary Europe is. So let us take leave of Clarence with an awareness that we have inherited from his experiment: what we are talking about when we talk about Europe is not simply a geographical space but an accumulation of contradictions, possibilities, and visions. A form of knowledge. An opportunity that, fortunately, never ceases to happen.

What we are talking about when we talk about Europe is not simply a geographical space but an accumulation of contradictions, possibilities, and visions. A form of knowledge. An opportunity that, fortunately, never ceases to happen

029

future tech

Digital diaries, participatory archiving by Simone Arcagni Journalist photography by Europeana

Materials of all kinds, artifacts that tell stories, intersections, and discoveries: this is the collection entitled “Europeana 1914-1918”, an initiative of the EU digital library that brings together three major European projects to recount the Great War through digitization and sharing of heterogeneous texts, all strictly in the Creative Commons perspective.

The Great War was the time in history – dramatic and frightening – that redefined the national structures of Europe. It was precisely the tragedies of two world wars that pushed politicians and intellectuals to invent a Europe of collaborative nations, which later became the European Union. After the First World War, that war of trenches, bombers, tanks and machine guns, a new Europe emerged that led to the final fall of empires (German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian) in favor of the United Nation. This was a traumatic process that left a number of economic and political problems unresolved which, in fact, then resulted in another tragic World War. Now, in this centenary year, the nations that were once at war with one another have decided to commemorate a historical process considered central to their common history by starting with their documents, and thereby, try to create unity and participation where there was formerly division and violence. This is the objective of Europeana, the digital library

030

of the EU, with its project “Europeana 1914-1918”, which unites three large European projects dealing with different materials relating to the First World War. “The stories of the public”, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, Facts & Files, and many partners across Europe, collects different materials in order to digitize and share them on the Internet. The Europeana Collections 1914-1918 project with its “national collections” (from 2011 to the present) has gathered pieces from the collections of the national libraries from eight European countries, including Italy, into a single digital collection, with the participation of Central Institute for the United Catalogue of Italian Libraries and the National Central Library of Florence. This collection consists of over 400,000 items including books, newspapers, magazines, maps, documents, films, posters, photographs, and memorabilia (medals, coins, uniforms, flags, etc.). And finally, there is “Film archives”: the European Film Gateway 1914 project that has collected 650 hours of footage and

audio-visual material on the First World War that include reports, documentaries, fiction films, and videos of propaganda for and against the war. “Europeana 1914-1918” is an innovative project of participatory digital archiving: digital archiving that organizes the input, and therefore the presence of very diverse texts, into a single platform. It is an ‘open’ archive which is based on the adoption of Creative Commons to ensure that users can freely access it, as well as also make use of the documents (obviously, citing the source). It is an ‘open’ archive because it was made available to grassroots participation: users were able to enter their own texts or download them directly from the website or participate in the various Collection Days, established for encounters between those who had material on the war that they wanted to digitize and make available. There were those who shared a photograph, some who shared letters, or objects from the front. Some people tried to reconstruct the paths of their ancestors, which had maybe crossed those of other soldiers, even on opposing sides. The work of crowd-sourcing and the sharing of this documentation is truly creating new and transversal paths that overcome the divisions, and that instead foster welcome, comparison, and connection. The Europeana project on the Great War challenges the very idea of war by creating a contrary movement, one of recognition and sharing. The social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google Plus, Youtube, Vimeo, Flickr, and Pinterest) play a key role in this sense, as do the blogs that the project has opened (one for the general public and one for scholars) that allow for a constant updated dialogue between members of the community of scholars, enthusiasts, and those who are also just curious. The idea of ”Europeana 19141918” is that this huge archive of participation and sharing can also give rise to different paths of research and interpretation, as well as to a new and more entrenched European sensibility.

031

EUROPEAN COUNCIL

Instructions for use

It defines the general political guidelines. Headed by a President appointed by the Council for a term of two and half years, it consists of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States and the President of the Commission, and meets at least every 6 months.

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (Legislative)

Infographic by Centimetri

STATES

It consists of the Ministers It interprets EU law to of the Member States, which ensure that it is applied in together with Parliament the same way in all EU approves or amends the countries. It judges disputes Commission’s proposals. between the governments of It is chaired for a the Member States and the EU six-month period by institutions. Citizens, businesses, one of the Member or organizations may bring a States, using case to the attention of the a rotation Court if they consider that an system. EU institution has infringed their rights.

EU IN

COURT OF JUSTICE

PARLIAMENT It is the only European body elected by direct popular vote of all citizens of the 28 EU Member States. The number of seats allocated to each country is calculated on the basis of the population represented.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

CURRENT PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU

751 SEATS

UNITED KINGDOM

Europe of freedom and direct democracy (EFDD)

IRELAND

ITALY

from July 1 to December 14, 2014

FUTURE PRESIDENCIES

(starting date: month-year)

032

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECRG)

221

FRANCE

PORTUGAL

European People’s Party and European Democrats (EPP)

Latvia: 01-2015 Luxembourg: 07-2015 Netherlands: 01-2016 Slovakia: 07-2016 Malta: 01-2017 United Kingdom: 07-2017 Estonia: 01-2018 Bulgaria: 07-2018 Austria: 01-2019 Romania: 07-2019 million Finland: 01-2020

503.6 POPULATION

SPAIN

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

COMMISSION (Executive)

It manages monetary policy in the euro area, preserving price stability through modulation of commercial banks’ interest rates for loans. The ECB also promotes COURT employment and sustainable OF AUDITORS economic growth in the It is composed of one European Union. member from each EU Member State. Its task is to check that EU funds are collected and used properly, thus contributing EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT to the improvement of the EU’s financial (Legislative) management. The Court acts as an external It is the co-legislator in almost all areas of EU law. independent auditor of the other European Together with the Council, the Parliament approves or institutions and the governments modifies the proposals submitted by the Commission, and adopts of the Member States. the budget of the Union. It is the only European institution to be directly elected by the citizens and one of the world’s great democratic assemblies. The term of office is 5 years. It sets goals and priorities for action, can make legislative proposals, manages and implements the policies, and the EU budget. It is composed of 28 members, one for each country, and meets once a week.

PRESIDENT OF THE COMMISSION Elected by the European Council on the appointment of the European Council. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF FOREIGN POLICY Head of European diplomacy and Commission Vice-President.

SWEDEN

FINLAND

TOTAL AREA

ESTONIA DENMARK LATVIA NETHERLANDS

Not registered

LITUANIA

POLAND

GERMANY BELGIUM

European Left and Nordic Green Left (GUE-NGL)

CZECH.REP

LUXEMBOURG

SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA HUNGARY

ROMANIA CROATIA SLOVENIA

BULGARIA Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)

ITALY

191

GREECE

MALTA

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)

CYPRUS European Green Party and European Free Alliance (Greens -EFA)

52 033

interview

An ambassador from outer space Interview with Luca Parmitano Astronaut

by Alessandra Viola Journalist

The person who observes the world from outer space has a privileged view. Like that of the astronaut who is the ambassador for the semester of the Italian Presidency of the European Council. Parmitano ventures to compare life in a space station to the difficulties involved in sharing a continent. Here are his thoughts on Europe in space.

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Sicilian, Italian, European: Luca Parmitano, born in 1976, is an astronaut for the European Space Agency who, after 166 days in space in the long-duration mission Volare of the Italian Space Agency, could rightfully be called a ‘citizen of the world.’ Yet identity is still important to him. He explained, “Being European is a great opportunity and certainly does not mean ceasing to be Italian, French or German, but to build a greater common identity in which to benefit from the experience of others and to which to bring our own.” A talented military man also honored with prestigious awards, Parmitano is both a simple and spontaneous young professional – in this interview he let himself be addressed by the informal ‘you’ form, just like an old friend – on the side of young people, who wants to convey a message of openness, optimism, and confidence in the possibilities offered by Europe. Indeed, his own life demonstrates just which and how many opportunities a European and international context can offer to Italy and to each of its citizens: for this reason, as well as to emphasize the excellence of Italian research, the Italian government chose him to be Ambassador of the Italian semester of the European Presidency. What does your job as Ambassador entail? Mine is not a job but diplomatic communication: an ambassador represents whatever the country wants to be known about itself during their presidency. The great thing about this job is that I do not have to invent anything: when I speak about Europe as an inexhaustible resource for growth, I’m simply speaking of my experience. As a young man, I left Sicily to join the Air Force, and later, another sector of Italian excellence. Then, thanks to the defense agreements between Italy and other nations, I left to join a European context. That journey culminated with my experience as an astronaut when I joined the European Space Agency. Ultimately, it is Europe that has made my career possible. However, the mission of being an Ambassador is very different from the one you recently had in the International Space Station. Did that experience prepare you in any way for the role you are covering today? In the 166 days of the mission, I did many different things. I was an engineer on board, the equivalent of a co-pilot in charge of flight systems, and also in the space station, which means doing a bit of everything: scientific experiments, extra vehicular activities, and activities on board. I had to interface with an international environment, because there were people of

Being European does not mean no longer being Italian, but to grow as Italians, bringing our own contribution to the community, and at the same time taking from other cultures what is good for our own improvement 035

other languages and other cultures. I realized that feeling an European does not mean giving up being Italian but to grow as Italians, making our own contribution to the development of the community, and at the same time, taking what is good about the other cultures and improving it. What is it like to see Europe from space? What considerations did seeing it from up there arouse in you? The Mediterranean, which I consider our home, looks like blue velvet on which Italy is resting like a jewel. From up there, it is wonderful and always recognizable. Seeing Europe from up high is sobering: the boundaries, that our history and our cultural heritage have invented, are imaginary. During the day there are no borders, and the lands flow into each other, recognizable only by some particular shapes such as the Italian boot, the Scandinavian tiger, or the Spanish square. Mankind disappears, lakes and rivers disappear, and even mountains are mere white entities without any height. Instead, at night mankind appears in all its creativity and transforms the earth into a constellation of sparkling light, a starry sky in which our cities are all connected by highways and railways, where everything is visible and recognizable. In which Europe is truly interconnected.

international words like lasagna and risotto, but I also asked for ... good Sicilian eggplant parmigiana. The job of an astronaut is closely linked to scientific research and Italy is a worldwide excellence in this field. What new opportunities do you expect for research in the semester of the Italian Presidency? A major opportunity will open in a few months, when our Ministry of Education, University, and Research will be involved in the conference in which all the space agencies meet to decide the future of the space sector. It will be an opportunity to reaffirm our role of leadership and the absolutely cutting-edge level Italy has reached in aircraft construction. I don’t deal much with science in particular, but for example, I have seen that Italian experiments have been planned in the space mission of Samantha Cristoforetti, which shows Italy’s interest in space and in research. This makes me optimistic: putting our stakes on research is the right way to find a way out of the crisis, as history has also shown us.

When I think of how you work up there, it immediately leads to thinking about the European Union: there too the nations surrender part of their sovereignty for the common good, and this leads to great results, those of the Europe I like

What does it mean to an Italian to be European as well? What did it mean to you to be an Italian and a European in outer space? Since I started this job, I have always felt that we Europeans have a specific role, which is that of being an interface between our Russian and American colleagues. They are great professionals who, however, work in very different ways and who acknowledge our role as mediator. We carry two thousand years of history with us and this becomes important in the orbiting station. Our ability to create bonds comes from our culture, and what culture is better and more universally appreciated than our culinary art? So, when they asked me to customize the standard menu for the space mission, I decided to create a kind of space food that could be shared, for creating a convivial atmosphere and ties based on friendship, on being relaxed, and not just about work. I focused on 036

You happened to compare space to the European Union. What similarities do you find between two concepts and two places that are so different? I realize that it seems like a flight of fancy. Yet it is very simple. The Space Station is based on a unique concept of cooperation. At the end of the Cold War, the two nations that had historically been enemies, the United States and the Soviet Union, eventually agreed to create it, launching a pacific project in which the interests of humanity were put before those of politics and governments in order to create something historical. It was a giant step, and it is amazing to think that it is something that is still working today: even with all the political tensions of our times, the Space Station actually continues to work. When I think of how you work up there, it immediately leads to thinking about how you work in the European Union: there the nations also surrender part of their sovereignty for the common good, and this leads to great results, those of the Europe I like. The one that we all like. Similarly, as Europeans, we have to give up a small part of our national identity to identify with a larger entity, which helps us grow and which we are helping grow.

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Against Europe by Leonardo Martinelli Journalist

Representatives of the two most important Euroskeptic parties, veterans of the recent triumph in the European elections, Nigel Farage and Marine Le Pen, have more reasons for disagreement on their criticism of Europe than points in common. Starting with the role of Europe in the fields of economic and immigration policy: two fundamental issues, on which alliances and future differences are forged. 038

It is easy to say “against Europe.” In reality, aside from their many proclamations and similar positions, the two champions of Europhobia, Britain’s Nigel Farage and France’s Marine Le Pen, are traveling along two different paths. And when they run across each other in the corridors of the European buildings, they hardly greet each other: even temperamentally, they have very little in common. On July 1, at the inaugural session of the new European Parliament, when the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra performed the Ode to Joy by Beethoven, Farage and the other Members of his party, the UKIP, turned their backs to the stage, while Ms. Le Pen and company, elected to the National Front, remained seated. Even physically, they have two different ways of saying no.

market too. He was a militant in the Conservative Party, which he left it in 1992, when British Prime Minister John Major, Margaret Thatcher’s successor, signed the Treaty of Maastricht. After that, Farage and a few others founded the UKIP. Since then, he has been involved in politics full time, taking on evermore radicalized positions. Instead, the political choice was more obvious for Ms. Le Pen right from the start: she is the daughter of Jean-Marie, the founder of the National Front, the farright party in France. She was born into that world. Indeed, her route was the reverse of Farage’s, because, ever since she took the reins of the FN in 2011, she has been trying to soften the positions of her father in order to appeal to more moderate voters.

The two Anti-Europe champions Farage and Le Pen were the main winners of the European elections last May. They even pushed their parties to take first place in their respective countries: the UKIP, the Party for the Independence of the United Kingdom, with 27.5%, and the National Front (FN) with 24.85%. They are both about the same age: the Englishman was born in 1964, and the Frenchwoman was born in 1968. But they have two very different stories. The son of a broker in the City, Farage was a model student in high school but gave up college to go to work in the stock

The two anti-Europe champions, Farage and Le Pen, were the main winners of the European elections last May. They even pushed their parties to take first place in their respective countries 039

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Two different ways of being against Europe “I am against the European Union, but I love Europe”, said Farage. Le Pen declared, “I’m not against Europe, I’m against the EU.” So far, their speeches are identical. Not only that, both believe that the euro currency is a major cause of Europe’s economic crisis: Farage too, even though his country has not adhered to it. Both admire Vladimir Putin and share his concept of the nation-state, unassailable from the outside. Both see themselves as the champions of the impoverished middle class, over-burdened with taxes. But then, here too, the differences arise. Farage believes that the EU is ‘bad for business’: it does not help the economy because it imposes too many restrictions and rules and prevents companies from making profits. He favors a Thatcher-style ultra-liberalism, or, if you will, something like the Tea Party’s idea of a minimal State, where welfare is reduced to the bone and thereby, taxes too. Farage is absolutely favorable to free trade at the international level. Instead, in recent years the National Front has become a champion of anti-globalization. It believes that the European Union is too open-minded and too liberal. Ms. Le Pen would like to introduce new customs duties to protect domestic industry. And she is for a developed welfare state that safeguards the less affluent classes. Against immigration, at the limits of racism The two leaders also seem to speak the same language on this issue, but only in appearance. Indeed, with regard to immigration, Farage does everything he can to avoid being linked to Le Pen and to suspicions of racism (and even more serious in the eyes of the British electorate, to those of anti-Semitism) which affect the National Front. Farage assures that he is not racist and just wants to manage immigration better, with a pragmatic and non-ideological approach. His criticisms focus primarily on immigrants coming from the rest of the European Union, and in particular from Eastern Europe, rather than on non-EU immigrants and Muslims, as is the case of Ms. Le Pen. However, the statement on Romanians that “no one would want them as neighbors,” made by Farage immediately before the European elections sparked a real ruckus in his country. Farage had to buy an entire page in the Telegraph to apologize and deny any xenophobic connotation. Anti-Semitism has never touched him, even from afar. To tell the truth, Le Pen too has distanced herself from the strongly intolerant posi040

tions of her party in this regard. But, again in June, her father, the patriarch Jean-Marie, responded to the criticism of a Jewish French singer Patrick Bruel, by stating that “he would cook up a batch” of guys like him. The daughter immediately disassociated herself. But for many people, the mutual exchange of accusations seemed like a ‘play’ to appease both the electorate of the more racist Front, thanks to the father, and the more moderate and non-xenophobic electorate, thanks to the daughter. Le Pen calls, Farage does not answer Right after the European elections, even though nothing official was leaked, Ms. Le Pen tried to contact Farage in view of a possible alliance in the new European parliament. Farage, however, did not respond to these advances. He preferred to seek other partners, and found them, firstly Beppe Grillo, thus managing to form a group that doesn’t exist anymore (at least 25 MEPs from seven countries). Instead, Ms. Le Pen, who has found the support of the Northern League in Italy, has failed to form an alternative group. This means having to play a more limited role within the European Parliament. For the moment, Ms. Le Pen is looking ahead to the next French presidential elections in 2017, when she thinks she’ll have her chance. Farage is preparing for the 2015 political elections in the United Kingdom, where he might win a seat at Westminster (as he obtained in October when a member of the Parliament left). But where his party, due to the electoral system in force (single-member constituency in single shift) has no chance of winning.

What happens inside European buildings The European Parliament has three different locations: one in Brussels, where the Commission meetings take place, one in Luxembourg, where there are the administrative offices at the General Secretariat, and one in Strasbourg, where the plenary sessions are held once a month. The Commission has its headquarters in Brussels (Berlaymont Building), and it has representative offices in all EU countries, and some delegations in the various world capitals. The European Court of Justice is based in Luxembourg, in the Kirchberg district; the ECB in Frankfurt, Germany.

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Right after the European elections, Marine. Le Pen tried to contact Farage in view of a possible alliance in the new European parliament. Farage, however, did not respond to these advances

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interview

Institutions in a new light Interview with Andrea Montanino

Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund by Maria Chiara Voci Journalist

The desire for economic recovery in Europe is not lacking, and according to industry experts, the possibilities are not even all that remote. Indeed, the EU itself provides its member countries with institutional tools such as the Italian investment fund, the F2I fund and the Strategic Italian Fund that could make them become the actors in new forms of investment and create a new way of making economic policy.

There are many problems to be dealt with. And these involve not only Italy. Unemployment and inflation are at historic lows and the skyrocketing public debt weighs like a ton on the future and on the trust that the citizens of European countries are willing to grant the European Union. However, the road for improving the ‘balance’ exists, and it goes by way of the proposals of experts and economists who are looking beyond the crisis. Andrea Montanino, formerly the economic adviser to Minister Padoa-Schioppa and then director general at the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, has been an economist at the European Commission and currently holds the position of Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund. What are the main difficulties that Europe is facing? There are mainly three big obstacles, all closely interconnected. First, the high public debt is a 042

problem that plagues not just Italy. If in 2008 there were eight EU countries that exceeded the parameters set by the Treaty of Maastricht on the debt/GDP ratio, in 2013 they increased to 15. That is to say, the number has doubled. Second, the drastic drop in inflation which, in the case of Italy, is becoming deflation. The objective of the European Central Bank stands close to 2%, but the actual values are less than half of that on average. Finally, the low rate of growth. This is an issue that particularly affects Italy, but it more or less concerns all the nations of the euro currency. These three factors, combined, are the cause of stagnation. Low inflation can cause a delay in investment decisions and consumption while waiting for even lower prices, and consequently there will be less growth. In addition, the progressive lowering of prices automatically makes the effort needed for managing the repayment of loans and borrowings much harder. Including interest on government debt.

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Upon taking the office of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Matteo Renzi declared that “Italy will be the guide for the economic recovery of Europe”. In your opinion, what is the way to go to reach this goal? There are so many areas to work on, but I’ll dwell on one in particular, which is the gradual descent of the ratio of debt to GDP. States must demonstrate that even though their debt is high, it will fall steadily and at an appropriate pace. Only then will the financial markets really feel reassured and enjoy the conditions for a restart. In order to descend, the debt needs growth. In my opinion, there should be a plan that is reasonable and sustainable, perhaps through the use of innovative tools for the input of resources.

But is there still public money today to spend on new investments? In much of Europe, no. This is why it is necessary to use new forms to mobilize capital. For example, I’m referring to the so-called private equity, that is, the acquisition of company shares by specialized investors, who operate not with the purpose of speculation on the company, but in a perspective of growth in the medium term. This is a very popular mode of financing the economy in the United States, where there are financial institutions that are ‘crafted’ to buy companies or portions of companies in order to help them grow and put them back on the market. If done through institutional means, such as the Italian Investment Fund, the F2I Funds or the Italian Strategic Fund, this could be a new way of exercising economic policy. To give an idea of the space available, today private equity is investing about 300 billion euros in the United States: while in Europe, it accounts for just 35 billion euros. 044

Germany is focusing on austerity. Other states, including Italy, are seeking a softer line instead, for example, by allowing the possibility of separating the costs of the reforms from the criteria for the calculation of their deficit. How do you view this matter? This is an old debate which began in Europe at least ten years ago when there was the first crisis of the Stability and Growth Pact. I think that the real problem is not so much the principle itself, but rather its application. Surely we must find a way to speed up reforms, which the current mode of implementation of the Stability Pact makes it difficult to deal with realistically. But going further, governments should be prepared to accept some sort of exchange that puts into play a greater flexibility of the Pact in exchange for the willingness to submit to a closer monitoring of the implementation of the changes introduced. Let’s take a practical example. In the case of the International Monetary Fund, when funds are disbursed a very timely review is triggered simultaneously, that in the event of default also provides for the suspension of the payments of aid. A similar mechanism could be studied in the case of reforms. Having identified a necessary reform, the Commission could certify the cost for a state, allowing the country to divert that money from the obligation of stability. However, then the Commission itself should ensure the effective application of the measure in the course of work with the power of sanctions, if such be the case. One of the Renzi government’s recipes for reducing the deficit calls for focusing on the so-called spending review, that is, on a revision of expenditure aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the state machine. Is this a realistic way and one that could achieve results? The first attempt to implement a spending review action in Italy dates back to 2007. The Minister of Economy at that time, Padoa-Schioppa, asked a small group of officials including myself and the late Professor Riccardo Faini, to work on setting up a spending review in Italy. He sent us to examine and learn about the model put in place in England, an experience that allowed me to understand that the spending review will only work if it is understood as a process of reorganizing public resources and operational procedures through which the various governments can spend the money. It is a matter of micro, not macro, management. It must then be conceived not as something ‘extraordinary’ but as a normal and regular operation. Otherwise, the savings, despite the fact of being achieved in the immediate, inevitably wind up to be benefits that are not long-lasting.

There is growing unemployment in Italy, as well as elsewhere. What can be done in this regard? The main dilemma in Italy is not so much the labor market as the difficulty on the part of companies to invest in a system that is too complex. On the one hand, life needs to be made easier for businesses, while on the other, there needs to be a push for projects of a European breadth for boosting higher labor intensity sectors.

from a historical perspective. But, at the global level, the economic impact of each nation is poor, if not referred to the whole euro area. Until now, however, there has not been enough of a push to a supranational level. There is a lack of a European budget as well as a true minister of the Economy and a supranational strategy that goes beyond the work carried out to date and which is aimed at allocating resources to resolve imbalances between countries.

We need Europe more, not less. It is necessary that we achieve a better integration of economic policies

Given the increase in the cost of living and the economic crisis in many countries, however, anti-European sentiment has grown during the past decade. What are the mistakes that the EU has made up to now? The real mistake is not having fully understood that, especially in the face of the recession, we need Europe more, not less. It is necessary that we achieve a better integration of economic policies. The size of our national states is immensely small compared to such giants as India or China. Outside of Europe, the individual countries are recognized as a single entity only

The problem of integration is also on a regulatory level ... For sure. The legislative process currently reflects many of the weaknesses of the system. The transposition of European directives passes through the clearance of the relevant national standards and individual parliaments. With the result that it is often blocked and nobody monitors its implementation. Therefore important and essential principles remain unrealized, and are not translated into reality. On this front too, it will be necessary to be work on a greater simplification. 045

opinions

German Solidity by Angelo Bolaffi Political philosopher and Germanist

Germany, the country that seems to hold the fate of the European Union in its hands today, had in fact joined it in quite different socio-economic conditions. But over time its economic model and ability to think of the right strategies turned it into the strong country that we know: a nation that is not immune to the crisis that has hit Europe, just less exposed. At the beginning of this century-millennium, according to a famous and controversial cover of The Economist, Germany was ‘the sick man of Europe’: a country in crisis, unable to cope after the traumatic shock of reunification, and with the double challenge of globalization and the introduction of the single European currency. There was low growth, high unemployment, and a national debt potentially out of control in the face of a worrying disaffection of private investment. Today, a decade later, Germany is a nation that is admired and envied (and perhaps even feared), such that Jürgen Habermas, the most famous German philosopher, indicates Germany’s semi-hegemony in Europe as one of the causes of today’s economic crisis. This is not the place to discuss whether the diagnosis of that exponent of the Frankfurt School is acceptable or not. Suffice it to say that there are quite a few who think in completely different terms, instead indicating Germany as an economic and social model. For example, the reporter Fareed Zakaria, according to whom the German socioeconomic model is certainly not “the best of all possible worlds,” but it is certainly among those in Europe that 046

are “more efficient and better suited to a globalized world.” Instead, the real question of interest to answer today is how that miraculous transformation was possible. What are the reasons for the extraordinary transformation that has handed over the leadership and economic geopolitics of Europe to Germany’s Chancellor Merkel? The reasons are twofold: historical-structural and political-contingent. They have to do with the specific characteristics of what Michel Albert defined (in contrast compared to the Anglo-American one) ‘Rhenish capitalism’, which is based on the Modell Deutschland whose cornerstones are the social market economy and the Sozialpartnerschaft. This is a social partnership expression of a class compromise that ensures a monitoring role and the co-decision of the union, without which such an alliance of producers institutionalized in Mitbestimmung (co-management) would be crippling for decisionmaking or an obstacle to the introduction of product innovations in the companies. The structural divergence between the models of industrial relations – that of consensus which characterizes the Modell Deutschland and that of conflict in the countries of the Mediterranean area, albeit with some significant differences, including the British Labour Party – is reflected in the practice of the different strategies adopted by unions and employers. And it is also at the root of the growing productivity gap between economic areas in the euro zone which is one of the reasons, together with the difference in the rate of indebtedness of states, for the present crisis of the single currency.

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And yet the ‘second German economic miracle’ (the first was the one performed by the Republic of Bonn, coming to power in 1949 after the currency reform of 1948) consisted of reforms in the functioning of the welfare system, the labor market, training of the workforce, and the economic-productive system implemented in 2003 by the Red-Green government led by the Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The famous (and ‘infamous’ for critics of the European Left) Agenda 2010 has literally reshaped the relationship between citizens’ rights and duties of the state. Without the foresight of the timely and often unpopular decisions of reform (in the general election of 2005, the coalition led by Schröder, actually of quite a significant size, was defeated by the conservative one led by Angela Merkel), the Modell Deutschland would not have held up under the impact of the great transformation that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. That was a date, November 9, 1989, that marked the birth of the age of the global world a quarter of a century ago, just like the French ’89 had done two hundred years earlier, thereby announcing the birth of Europe in the age of Enlightenment and democratic public opinion. Today, Germany is a leading country (just as the Republic of Bonn had been at the turn of the decade between the ’80s and ’90s of the last century) of world exports, and at the same time, it has a very low rate of youth unemployment, unlike southern Europe. This does not mean that Germany, like all the industrialized countries of the West in these years of crisis, hasn’t also produced a dramatic social gap as a result of the polarization of wealth, and the exponential growth of economic inequalities to the detriment

The German model has been able, even in a situation radically transformed by globalization, to hold together systemic imperatives of the market and the ethics of social justice 048

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of the middle class and lower classes. It is just that there it has been done in a much more socially acceptable form than elsewhere due to the proper functioning of the systems of social security and labor market regulation. In fact, the reforms sought by Schröder have quantitatively changed but not qualitatively distorted the Modell Deutschland. However thus reformed, the German model has been able to hold together systemic imperatives of the market and the ethics of social justice, even in a situation radically transformed by globalization, by skillfully combining the necessary flexibility in the use of the labor force with the guarantee of the defense of the workplace. In fact, the German reforms have focused not so much on the multiplication of precarious jobs (although there are excesses in this sense trying to be remedied with the recent introduction of the minimum wage) as on mobility within companies, pivoting on flexible hours, and part-time and overtime work. This is an active mobility thanks to which, even in times of crisis, the workers can improve their training and their knowledge, and learn different tasks, generally of a higher level. This mobility works like “a social and professional elevator that is mainly used within the company and contributes [...] to the formidable and surprising affirmation of German industry in the world,” to quote Romano Prodi. Every nation-state in Europe, even the ‘Great Germany’, for demographic reasons and economic size, is unable to compete in a world dominated by continent-states such as China, the United States, Brazil, Russia, and India. If after the end of world war II, the idea of uniting Europe was conceived in the name of peace, today alongside that omnipresent imperative, as confirmed by the dangerous escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, the challenge of globalization is pushing Europe to be united. If what arises becomes the United States of Europe or a federation of nation-states is a question only the future will be able to answer. But what we already know is that Germany’s role as a leading economic power will be decisive in this process. Therefore, it is with a German heart that the future Europe will be born. But as to what the best strategy is for achieving this ambitious goal – a revival of public spending in the manner of Keynes or, as claimed by Germany’s Chancellor Merkel (together with Mario Draghi), a policy of structural reforms and the reduction of public debt – there is profound difference of opinion. A contrast that could prove to be fatal. 049

contexts

United Kingdom, United Europe by Matthew Saltmarsh Journalist photography by Mauro Guglielminotti/buenaVista*Photo

Having escaped the danger of Scottish independence, Britain seems to be experiencing a renewed European sentiment, but which it is also struggling to stabilize. In fact, while European elections and referendums have warned of a rampant nationalism, on the other hand, Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distance from the European Community model has ancient roots.

By voting to stay part of Britain in the recent independence referendum, the Scots preserved the unity of the United Kingdom for a generation and gave a massive fillip to the cause of European stability. Policy makers from London to Berlin breathed a deep sigh of relief. In Europe, a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; would have brought agitation from want-away regions and nationalists in areas like Catalonia, the Basque region, Corsica, the Italian Alpine region and Moldova. It would have distracted the focus of the new European executive and legislature from the economy. In London and Edinburgh, an independence vote would have presaged protracted domestic political uncertainty, triggering years of tortuous negotiations over issues like the division of natural resources, revenues, economic structures and the British nuclear deterrent. Still, the debate has had a profound effect on politics, uniting the three main Westminster parties to defend the union and energizing discourse across Britain. For many idealistic, pro-independence Scots, it was not merely nationhood at stake. Some also sought a new response 050

to globalization amid disillusionment at the prevalent Anglo-Saxon economic and social model. A key issue now for the British political parties – and the European Union – is whether they can offer the more accountable and equitable polity that was called for during the debate. If they fail, fears around a fracturing Britain and a polarized and paralyzed Europe will reemerge. During the run-up to the vote, the Scots were promised further devolved powers by a coalition government itself in a temporary coalition with Labour. Domestically, the debate will now move on to those details and the degree to which more political leeway will be granted to Wales, Northern Ireland and England. The process also awoke English sensitivities around the fact the Scottish MPs can vote on laws affecting England – while the reverse is not the case – and resentment that the Scots receive state benefits not available to the English. But where, then, does the vote leave Britain’s role in Europe? Behind the initial relief, there remains deep-seated uncertainty about the relationship. London remains an awkward partner. Prime 051

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The independence debate in Scotland has had a profound effect on politics, bringing together the three main parties in Westminster in defense of the union 052

Minister David Cameron has pledged a popular vote on continued membership, in 2017, after renegotiating powers with Brussels. Past referendums on European integration in France, Ireland and Denmark show just how perilous such votes can be. In 2000, the Danes voted against joining the euro by 53.2% to 46.8%. Opinion polls in Britain are extremely volatile around the EU membership issue. Mr. Cameron will only be able to deliver a poll if he wins a general election next year. The two other main political parties, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, oppose guaranteeing a referendum. Still, all the major parties must frame their approach to Europe in the knowledge that the Scotland referendum and EU elections in May have stirred populism and, in some cases, nationalism. Mr. Cameron has been under pressure to address the advances made by Nigel Farageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s UK Independence Party in the European poll by veering right and continuing the rich tradition of British obstructionism in Europe. Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973 under Conservative

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Prime Minister Edward Heath. When continued membership was put to a vote in 1975, more than 67% voted in favor. But that did not end the debate. The 1970s downturn and growing friction between Britain and Brussels during the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher sought to check the federalist impulse of Jacques Delors at the European Commission, drove a wedge between the British political class and Brussels. Since then, Britain has remained aloof, seeking to slow political integration, which it equates with federalism, and trying to bury policies it sees threatening the financial primacy of the City of London. During the financial crisis, London did not participate in bailouts, other than that of Ireland, and it has a formal opt-out of the euro, alongside Denmark. With Ireland and Denmark, it also chose not to participate in the Schengen agreement on free movement of citizens. At home, UKIP advocates quitting the EU and curbing immigration; it won more votes than any other party in May. UKIP has only one Westminster MP although it hopes to change that at upcoming by-elections. UKIP could also make common cause with right-wing parties in Europe to push nationalism up a regional agenda. In France, National Front leader Marine Le Pen topped a presidential opinion poll after winning the recent European vote. The anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats have just doubled their representation in Parliament, while the anti-European Alternative for Germany party has also made advances. Populist movements in Greece and the Netherlands are mobilizing. The Scottish Nationalist Party, and its charismatic former leader Alex Salmond, tapped into a similar hostility towards Westminster, elites and established political parties although their European stance was more nuanced (some say naive). They expected to be fast-tracked into the EU, while avoiding entering the euro and opting out of Schengen.

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It remains unclear how far the Scotland debate will affect Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in Europe. The Brussels elite will be hoping Mr. Cameron is not in power come 2017, and hence unable to implement a vote on EU membership. Either way, the process has created expectations of change among the electorate. And that is something political elites in London and Europe ignore at their peril.

UK, both inside and outside A symbolic case of integration struggle, the United Kingdom has been a member of the European Union since 1973, but it has not adopted the single currency, appealing to the opt-out clause, which lays down that member countries would not have to participate in joint structures in certain fields. The other opt-outs that the UK applies concern the Schengen agreement (in which it participates partially maintaining border controls), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the GAI, the area of â&#x20AC;&#x2039;â&#x20AC;&#x2039; police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It is a member of the EEA, the European Economic Area, thus adopting EU legislation on the common market (excluding fishing and agriculture).

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The EU is a common piggy bank, with its wealth deriving almost entirely from contributions from Member States, which in turn will benefit through the funds allocated for the different sectors. Uniting their forces is mainly to compensate for economic disparities between countries and to put Europe in a position to act as a single player in the international arena.

Prying into the EUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial affairs

Countries that have paid more than they have received

LEGENDA Countries that have received more than they have paid 054

Source: European Commission, Eurispes

CROATIA

290

-63.20

226.8

FRANCE 21,874.4 7,635.10

14,239.3

10,375.6 -3,376.60

SPAIN 13,752.2

1,794.2 -5,420.40

7,214.6 GREECE

190.3 1,520.6 -783.00

-353.70

973.3 1,874.3 ESTONIA IRELAND

GERMANY 26,125.1 13,069.10

13,056

DENMARK 2,606.0 1,172.00

4,893 CZECH REP.

Figures in millions of euros

1,434

1,445.0

422.8

1,976 BULGARIA

149,503

7,209

REVENUE

BELGIUM

are national contributions

-3,448.00

-3,277.70

83%

-1,553.20

3,931.3

Infographic by Centimetri

5,909.8 173.7

HUNGARY MALTA

Funds disbursed by the EU to the Member States

43% 6,162.8 5,560.6 813.6 2,026.1

PORTUGAL ROMANIA SLOVENIA SLOVAKIA

AUSTRIA

3,027.5

FINLAND SWEDEN UNITED KINGDOM

2,031.5 3,768.9 14,509.5

368.1 713.4

1,369.0

1,678.9

3,830.6

NETHERLANDS

ITALY

4,744.6

77.5

920.2

310.5

349.4

170.0 248.3

15,748.1

124,378.3

134,654.1

Preservation and management of natural Sustainable resources: growth

49.9% 8,201.20

2,107.90

534.70

-1,312.70

-445.50

-4,191.60

-4,483.90

-12,348.90

1,165.50

2,480.50

-96.20

-4,989.60

-1,287.70

-1,531.80

-57.10 -814.90

3,193.80

45%

6,308.3

1,661.0

1,496.8

16,179.5

POLAND

1,862.0

2,264.1

227.1 1,063.2 1,881.2 1,598.2

CYPRUS LATVIA LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG

12,554.3

Funds received from the EU by country APPROPRIATIONS SPENT IN 2007-2013 ITALY

61%

14.39 billion euros to be spent by the end of 2015

EU average

80% LITHUANIA (best)

EU as a global partner (actions on the international scene)

0.16%

Citizenship, freedom, security, and justice

1.24%

Administration

5.64%

Compensations

0.06%

EU SPENDING BY SECTOR

055

column

| oxygen without borders

The children of Zeus by Emanuela Donetti Journalist photographic project by White

Divine origin, human evolution. Europe has a fascinating and hard-fought history, always in search of its identity. An identity which can be found in its multiplicity of cultures, bestowing it with beauty and originality, starting with the very names of its villages.

There is no real founder of Europe. To be honest, it is not even a real continent, because physically and geographically, it is the western end of the Eurasian continent, or the third part of the Afro-Eurasian continent. It is only based on cultural factors that the area to the left of the Urals is considered a continent in itself with respect to Turkey, Russia, China, and India. Just like the entire cultural basis of Europe, its name comes from a Greek myth. Europa, the daughter of Agenor, king of Tyre, was, as always, a beautiful and – from all the portraits by painters from the Greeks to Titian up to today – shapely young woman that many fell in love with. A girl of rather difficult tastes, she loved to enjoy the beach in solitude and to walk in the pine forest near the sea shore. That was when Zeus, who as we all know had a roving eye as far as beautiful girls were concerned, suddenly fell in love with her: he turned himself into a bull, a magnificent white bull with long horns, a bit like those of the Chianina cows that we see grazing in Tuscany. He left the herd, which being the King of the Gods, he could do very well, and

056

approached Europa, who was fascinated by the meekness of this mighty animal and let herself be transported – literally – beyond the sea. Riding Zeus – the bull, which must also have had good swimming skills – across the strait that divides Tyre from Crete, they came to a pine forest where three sons were conceived: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. Recalled to his duties as a divinity, Zeus left Europa in the arms of Asterion, king of Crete. The beautiful face of Europa was chosen for the new euro banknotes (the five euro bill, circulating since 2012, and the ten euro bill in circulation as of September 2014). That particular watermark image is taken from a vessel, kept at the Louvre in Paris, which was discovered in southern Italy and dates back to over 2,000 years ago. The first time Europa’s name was used to indicate its land was when Hecataeus of Miletus, a geographer living in 500 BC used it to indicate the land north of the Mediterranean, the northern borders of which were not accurately known. In his reconstruction, the Earth was composed of only two continents divided by the Mediterranean, the center of the

How many? × Europe is made up of 50 countries, but only 43 are geographically in Europe, then there are the separate dependencies such as Greenland, the partially recognized countries and territories straddling Europe and Asia. What is certain is that there are 28 EU member states, excluding those on the list for membership, of course!

world: on the one hand, there was Europe confined to the north by unknown hyperborean regions; and on the other, Asia, which also included Egypt and Libya. Even though the center of the world is now ascertained to be elsewhere, the center of Europe has been in question for centuries, and not even the satellite instruments of today are able to resolve the issue. Opinions differ because there are different interpretations of the borders of Europe and its extreme points. The candidates for being the center of Europe are: Bernotai, or Purnuškės, near Vilnius, in Lithuania; a point on the island Saaremaa, in Estonia; the village of Krahule, near Kremnica, in central Slovakia; the town of Rakhiv or the village of Dilove, in western Ukraine; Suchowola, north of Białystok, in north-eastern Poland and Toruń in the north-central part of Poland; and Polotsk in Belarus. Naturally each of them has a monument, normally in the form of a totem or gnomon, erected on the point in question. And why not: a tour of these monuments could be the theme of summer holidays for years to come. Today’s Europe is a territory of almost eleven million square kilometers, and eight hundred and fifty million inhabitants, who with the European Union, share the legal structure established in Maastricht in 1993 by 28 of the 46 states that compose it. The other 18 are nations that are not fully European (such as Turkey) or islands of complex jurisdiction, such as Jersey and the Channel Islands. Did you know that the European town with the longest name is the Welsh village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwl. Apparently unpronounceable even for its residents, for convenience sake, it is usually shortened to Lianfair PG. But don’t think that this is the record: it is only the third municipality in the world as to the number of letters in the same name. Competition in Europe comes from Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä in Finland, Siemieniakowszczyzna in Poland, and Newtownmountkennedy in Ireland.

057

scenarios

Energy synergies by Francesco Starace Enel Chief Executive Officer and General Manager photographic project by White

Environmental sustainability, energy security, the single market: these are the challenges for European energy that lie ahead. And it is here that cooperation between the countries can be an opportunity, even at the global level. But one must know how to achieve it, and Enel, one of the protagonists of change in actions, has all the tools to do it. The energy sector, which has always been at the basis of the social and economic development of a community, can and should be a fundamental tool for a new leverage for the competitiveness of industries, to release new investments and sustain employment and innovation. The experience and expertise that Enel has accumulated in its more than fifty years of history have led it to become the second largest operator in installed capacity of electricity in Europe. This is a position, and above all a role, that has made it highly aware of the need for a profound and synergistic integration of European policies in order to tackle the complexity and typical dynamics of a global context such as that of our era.

It is important to promote greater market integration at both the European and the national level: this is an element that will directly benefit our customers, the environment, and the European economy 058

The challenges of the energy sector So in order to take the right path, the energy sector, together with the policies, must know how to identify effective solutions to some of the more pressing challenges, such as environmental sustainability, energy security, and the implementation of the single energy market. These issues are often presented as antagonistic to one another, but in reality they are characterized by strong synergies able to usefully contribute to the definition of a sound energy policy. And in fact, by addressing them in a strategic manner, long-lasting common benefits can be obtained. Sustainability and the environment Europe has developed a global leadership on the issue of combating climate change and sustainability. In September 2014, a summit desired by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has be held at the United Nations, in view of the 2015 meeting in Paris of the COP21 where it is hoped that an international agreement on climate will be reached. It is essential to succeed in channeling the efforts made so far for that meeting to reach an agreement on the reduction of emissions at a global level. Europe is already moving in this direction with the establishment of new objectives in the field of environmental energy (reducing emissions, developing renewable energy, and improving energy efficiency).

Today Europe imports more than 50% of its primary energy needs, more than 65% of its gas and over 86% of oil: the real challenge will be to effectively manage our dependency

Energy security It is therefore evident that the response to the environmental challenge should also bring direct benefits to energy security. Today Europe imports more than 50% of its primary energy needs, more than 65% of its gas and over 86% of oil. If it is probably true that we will never achieve total energy independence, the real challenge will be to effectively manage our dependency. In this context, European policy must aim with strategic ability for: 1. diversification of sources, to achieve an effective generation mix using all the technologies available today, and in particular those which, like renewables, do not generate new dependency on other countries; 2. diversification of supply routes, through the definition of new routes for provisions such as LNG (liquefied natural gas); 3. greater attention given to the efficient use of energy, with direct benefits for the environment and costs to consumers.

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The single energy market The European countries have another great resource available to them for influencing energy security: the creation of a single energy market. In fact, Europe is a highly interconnected area and it is equipped with a vast and diversified portfolio of generation facilities, the legacy of national energy policies that are not always consistent and in harmony with one another. The definition of common rules would take advantage of this diversification in an efficient manner, thus making it available to a wider area of consumption, and no longer tied to national or regional boundaries. At the same time, it would have benefits in terms of reducing costs and environmental impact. Leverage and Enelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution Our Group considers our contribution to the solution of these challenges as an essential element for perpetuating our leadership in global markets. Long gone by now are the years in which the monopolist Enel played a role as a champion in a national market: today, we are one of the top European players, and we have greater responsibilities that go well beyond our national borders. For this reason, we believe it is important to promote a greater integration of markets at both a European level (the European Commission) and a national level (in our own countries): an element that will directly benefit our customers, the environment, and the European economy. The challenges outlined are complex, but we already have the effective tools to address them. The competitive development of renewable energy sources One of the most important kinds of leverage is the competitive development of renewable energy sources. Through its dedicated company Enel Green Power, Enel has the characteristics to actively contribute. In fact, it is the largest global player in the renewable energy market with complete coverage of all technologies, from geothermal to hydro-electric, from wind power to solar power, without overlooking biomass. However, to continue the competitive development of these technologies, and consequently to allow the relative investments, it is necessary to define some new rules that look to the single market and which would set clear signals of prices for the long term.

060

Technologies for energy efficiency and the relocation of production centers A second kind of leverage is the development of technologies dedicated to energy efficiency and the future relocation of the centers of electricity generation. With regard to the first point, it is essential to remember that electricity is the most efficient carrier of energy and it has features of strong adaptability and a variety of uses. However, the electricity vector could expand its areas of application even more, for example in the transport sector, or in the air-conditioning of buildings. In both cases, Enel is already at work: in the first case, it is accelerating the preparation and development of the necessary infrastructure, in accordance with a range of services dedicated to energy savings for its customers. With regard to the relocation of production facilities, the complete digitization of the medium and low voltage network implemented by Enel already allows us to manage this production with one of the most efficient procedures in the world. In 2016, Enel will begin a campaign to replace digital meters with a new generation of meters that are more sophisticated and ‘smarter’. This will allow us to maintain our leadership in the world and move further forward the frontier of the field of services that the network of low and medium voltage may offer in Italy and in Europe. Change is possible Europe has decided to undertake the path of the decarbonization of its economy by 2050. This is a feasible objective that cannot be separated from an almost total decarbonization of the electricity generation processes. This would therefore open a phase of change – almost a revolution, I would say – of the current European scene. We already have all the skills and leverage to be able to do so, we just have to seize the opportunity. The benefits are multiple and long-lasting.

The energy sector, together with the policies, must know how to identify effective solutions to challenges such as environmental sustainability, energy security, and the implementation of the single market

061

contexts

projected to 2030 by Daniela Vincenti Journalist photography by Philippe Echaroux

In October, EU leaders signed a clima package of targets for a 40% cut of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and a 27% increase in the use of renewable and energy efficiency

Shortly after Matteo Renzi was sworn into office, seasoned Brussels commentators were convinced that the former Florence mayor had the personal charisma and courage to take on deep structural change, offering a different vision of European leadership. The results that have been achieved, in part lower than expected, have shown how difficult it is, despite the brief Italian stint at the helm of the EU, to persuade other European leaders to be courageous and forward-looking, especially in the energy and climate dossiers. As things stand, the autumn is becoming a prolonged Indian summer. In October, EU leaders signed a clima package of targets for a 40% cut of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and a 27% increase in the use of renewable and energy efficiency. The package represents Europe’s contribution to a global climate change agreement to be inked in December 2015 in Paris. The European Council meeting in June had agreed on a strategic agenda of key priorities for the next five years. The pursuit of an Energy Union with a forward looking climate policies topped these priorities. Outgoing European Council President Herman Van Rompuy had led the talks over how to spread the burden of a 40% emissions cut from 1990 levels by 2030, to find an acceptable agreement. The proposed and accepted 40% target is not, however, nearly enough to put Europe on track for its decarbonisation objective of 80-95% CO2 reductions by 2050, which scientists say is needed to keep to a trajectory of under 2 degrees warming. But EU countries have proven to be still very split over the distribution of the new package’s related costs and efforts. In the midst of this horse-trading game between EU member countries, a document leaked in early September, showed that European leaders would have liked to propose a 30% target for renewables’ market uptake, and a 30% improvement in the energy efficiency goal for 2030, both measured against 1990 levels. Neither would be binding for member countries. This target, as far as renewable are concerned, of above 27% as initially proposed in January by the Commission, in line with the wishes of the European Parliament, the co-legislator of the package, but not with those of governments which were not in tune with lawmakers on energy-efficiency, as MEPs had called for a 40% target and agreement was reached at 27%. Mostly greeted as a first step in the right direction, the EU target will still need to be corroborated by effective national targets, according to experts. To be truly effective, they say, national targets are still needed to deliver the energy transition that Europe requires to meet its CO2 reduction commitments. “An EU-wide target, without meaningful na063

oxygen | 24 — 10.2014

tional targets would not provide the stability and predictability an investor would need,” commented James Watson, CEO of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association. Critics complain that EU member countries have not taken on board the arguments of the wind and photovoltaic industry associations – that a higher renewables target would reduce dependency on imported Russian gas. Europe is the world’s largest energy importer and spends 545 billion euros a year on the 60% of gas and 80% of oil in its energy mix that arrives from abroad. Russia supplies around a third of Europe’s gas. According to EU analysis, a 40% energy efficiency target for 2030 would not only have cut gas use by 42% and gas imports by 40%, but also grown Europe’s economy at a rate of 4% a year, sparked an annual 3.15% boost in employment and cut fossil fuel imports by 505 billion euros a year. Growing tensions between Europe and Russia has not sufficiently boosted leaders’ ambition on efficiency targets. When presenting the former energy effi-

Painting with Lights The photographic project by the Marseilles photographer Philippe Echaroux lets him take advantage of the night’s darkness and make judicious use of artificial lights to “paint” cities, creating amazing visual effects. The light projections have toured several cities in southern Europe, such as Marseilles, Barcelona, and Cannes.

064

ciency review proposal in July, former Energy commissioner Günther Oettinger pointed out that efficiency requires renovations of buildings or homes, as well as investments in innovation for utilities or products. “The 30% target has a decent chance to get support in the European Council,” Oettinger said, suggesting that a higher target would likely be refused. Some member countries have blocked the proposed targets and negotiators have worked at length on measures aimed at appeasing reluctant states such as coal-dependent Poland and other poorer member eastern European nations. Poland has positioned itself as a champion of the Visegrad group of countries, by having tried to postpone debate on the 2030 climate package until an agreement is found on burden sharing or support from richer EU countries. Beyond targets: Shale gas and nuclear options Beyond targets, some continue to advocate for a huge expansion of nuclear power, a

projected to 2030 |

oxygen

shale gas revolution using the cleanest and greenest extraction methods, and a breakthrough in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). While CCS technologies are still at an experimental stage and might well remain a demo project, nuclear power, which provides about a third of the European Union’s electricity generation, is seen by critics as costly and unpopular. Some energy companies, already feeling the pinch from falling energy prices and weak demand, want to extend the life of their plants into the 2020s, to put off the drain of funding new builds. Shale gas is also expensive. As Enel Executive President of the Upstream Gas division Marco Arcelli put it, for all its potential, “the costs of production of the gas that we import today is more competitive than that of shale gas.” Shale has had a ‘minimal impact’ on the US’s manufacturing industry, and will have even less significance for Europe, according to a new report by the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). According to the report, the US shale boom has contributed to cheaper household energy prices and helped the competitiveness of gas-intensive manufacturing sectors such as plastics, petrochemicals and fertilizers. But these sectors only account for about 1.2% of US GDP and 3.3% of all manufacturing, and IDDRI estimates the maximum long-term effect of shale gas on US GDP at around 0.84%. In this scenario, some analysts believe that the only way to cut emissions is to hike the European Trading Scheme price by 400-500%, which seems unlikely. Where to on energy security In the midst of the Ukrainian crisis, the autumn will see heated debates on how to increase energy security. Among options, the EU is also testing ground on how to diversify gas supply routes to avoid Russia and improving storage facilities, reverse-flows and grid interconnections to flexibly transport gas already on the continent. Proposals are possible to adjust the 2009 Gas Transmission Networks Regulation or even to bring forward a new directive dealing specifically with gas storage and security of supply. Experts also say that measures to promote the use of biomass, district heating and heat pumps too are back in vogue. If Renzi wants to leave a mark with the Italian presidency and focus minds on how to move beyond austerity, give people hope and secure a fiscally stable future for the 28-countries bloc, he needs to recognize the immense potential of an ambitious climate and energy package – possibly with a strong energy efficiency element – to deliver the change that he says Europe needs. 065

scenarios

An interconnected market by Marco Zatterin Journalist

066

Energy security is one of the most pressing issues for the future of the EU, and there are resources to meet the emergency demand. What is still lacking are the integration and interconnection of energy, objectives as old as the idea of the European Union itself but which are struggling to take off. And our economy and future winters are based on this.

It has been months that energy experts, such as politicians, diplomats and economists, have been keeping their eyes on the numbers of the flow of gas pumped by Russia in the pipeline that runs through Ukraine and heads towards Central Europe. There has been a major crisis in those parts, even several times, and now once again, anything is possible, maybe even the worst. If methane arrives in the desired terms of normality, then it means that we can continue to believe in peace, but also in the fact that the winter will slip by quietly without anyone being left in the cold, even though Crimea is lost and, as denounced by the leaders of the West, the multi-sanctioned Russians “may have had an obvious role in the destabilization” of the former Soviet republic. If the gas stops, there will be trouble. First of all, for Kiev, and then the rest of Europe, which despite its fine words and big projects, still

buys 39% of its methane from the companies of the Kremlin. That’s right: 21 out of 28 countries depend on Moscow to a great extent. It is odd to admit that the goal of a single market and European integrated energy is still far from being accomplished. It is a project as old as the post-war dream of integration: even Robert Schuman in his declaration of May 1950 suggested the creation of CECA, the European Community of Coal and Steel, “to oppose the international cartels that aim at the distribution and the exploitation of national markets with restrictive practices and which maintain high profits.” The recipe was clear to the then French Foreign Minister: “Merge the markets and expand production.” Sixty-four years later, the construction of the site remains open. In order to harmonize and liberalize the internal energy market, between 1996 and 2009 the European Union adopted three packages of legislative measures aimed

The Commission has estimated that until 2020, 200 billion euros of investments in energy infrastructures across Europe will be required: 33 infrastructure projects considered crucial to the EU’s energy security

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oxygen | 24 — 10.2014

at boosting the transparency of rules, consumer protection, supporting interconnection, and attaining adequate levels of supply. The third group of rules was drawn up in April 2009, and rather resembles what we would need. To intervene on the organization of the companies, establishing the principle of separation of supply and production activities and the management of networks. To strengthen the national regulatory authorities. To promote solidarity through the coordination of national emergency measures and the development of the interconnections of gas. This third energy package, which came into force on March 3, 2011, “in several Member States has not yet been transposed and implemented in full,” say European sources. And the EU is “not on track to meet the 2014 deadline for the completion of the internal energy market.” The market is integrated, but it rather resembles a puzzle of assembled pieces that are not necessarily compatible. The European summit in June called on states – that is, itself – to accelerate progress towards integration so as not to miss the appointment at the end of the year. On paper, the pilot objective is the definition of the large grid on which to extend the relative objective for the interconnection of installed electricity capacity of 15% by 2030, taking into account the impact on the costs and the potential trade in the regions involved. The 28 States of the European Union have already voted to ensure interconnectivity of 10% within six years. The effort is in progress. The common network is needed in order to be more secure, reduce spending and hence prices, and thereby the dependence on third-party manufacturers, which has increased in recent years. During the last crisis between Moscow and Kiev that led the Russians to close the pipelines of the southwest, the Commission has repeatedly stressed that the problem was not the amount of gas available in the Baltic countries or in Slovakia, but the possibility of rapidly redistributing the existing gas, thus running the risk of not being able to turn on the 068

heating. Many countries, starting with France and Germany as well as Italy, had sufficient stocks to intervene on behalf of the former Iron Curtain countries left without any. The hurdle to overcome was related to how to get the methane to destination without having networks connected in a pan-European grid. This problem is as banal as it is paradoxical. It would suffice to have a common network, of course. But not everyone agrees in the same way. What should be done? Marry the networks, for example. Starting along that path, the Commission has estimated that until 2020, approximately 200 billion euros of investments in energy infrastructures across Europe will be required. Brussels has identified 33 infrastructure projects that it considers crucial to the EU’s energy security. It has achieved only a part of them. Numerous items of expenditure have been included in the 12-star budget: there is a dowry assigned to the trans-European energy networks (TEN-E), designed primarily to pay for feasibility studies. The funds allocated to the regions of convergence can make a significant contribution, while tools are being implemented to tie in the EIB, the European Investment Bank. This money could end up as a matter of priority in the 12 priority corridors and areas relating to the networks for the transport of electricity, gas, oil, and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, last year the Commission drew up a list of 248 projects of common interest which it found to be compatible with the common objectives, from traditional to renewable energy through energy efficiency (homes are responsible for 40% of consumption) and the network. The outgoing Commissioner for Energy, Günter Oettinger, always reminds us that “work on the definition of key infrastructure projects that need to receive the support of the EU in the years 2014-2020, have to be concluded in the fall of this year.” In the face of the crisis, to respond to the common request coming from the capitals for a countercyclical action to sustain the demand through fresh investments, the new President of the EU ex-

Geo-localizing The images are extracted by the Enel application Geographic Patterns, a geo-location tool of the Network Medium Voltage that allows realtime visualization on geographic maps.

an interconnected market |

The market is integrated but it looks like a jigsaw puzzle made up of pieces that are not necessarily compatible

oxygen

ecutive, Jean-Claude Juncker, announced a 300 billion euros plan which is expected to have a strong Keynesian component. Energy is one of the pillars on which the initiative must stand. There will be some new money that will fuel the interest of the private sector, especially the large pension funds that are hunting for safe and guaranteed application. It is necessary to create a virtuous module that acts as a catalyst of interest. Feasible, really. So then, the problem is not money. With low interest rates, liquidity is as abundant as ever. What we need are clear plans and willingness to accompany them with EU government guarantees, through the budget of the EIB or that of the European Union. One effective way would be project bonds, which last spring came out of the experimental phase begun more than two years ago. There must be the political will to move forward. Together. Since we are talking about integration, Germany – today undergoing a tough transition in exiting from nuclear power – is accused of failing to be open with the right enthusiasm toward others. “They want to protect their own,” says one EU source. Now the tensions on the eastern front, the tug of war with Moscow, and the need to put fresh blood into the body of an asphyxiated European economy could change the attitudes of Frau Merkel on her coalition government. Unite and diversify. The Commission estimates that the net annual benefits of the sharing of reserves would be half a billion euros, while additional gains would be in the order of four billion euros through the use of smart grids to help meet the demand. Straightening out the network would have effects on the economy and, once in place, even on energy prices, which are much higher in Europe than those of international competitors, starting with the United States. Everything conspires to say that there is no time to lose. However, in many chancelleries, there are those who are hiding their heads in the sand of bilateralism and market protection. Which, as we have seen in recent years, is more of a problem than a solution. 069

contexts

A dialogue for the energy network by Jacopo Giliberto Journalist

From email to music, to television and mobility, many of our most common gestures today use electricity, the demands of which have necessarily changed, also because of the advent of renewable energy sources. The electricity network, which in Italy came into being in Milan more than a century ago, needs to be renewed; the United States is already at work on theirs, and now it’s time for Europe. The next frontier of technology and investment in Italy and in Europe will be their network. More precisely what is called – a term that in the modern sense derives from economic studies deriving from Marxist critique – an ‘infrastructure’ . Of course, production technologies will continue to attract investments and stimulate research and innovation. But these technologies will not be the ‘frontier’ . The electricity sector is now in the same situation as the IT world of telecommunications. Much of the network used today was designed and built to carry signals for the TACS and GSM handsets, so substantially for voice traffic, and it is now inadequate for the enormous increase in data traffic generated by the diffusion of smart phones and tablets. The functionality of these tools no longer depends on the evolution of their technology (which still continues to develop), but on the evolution of the network connection. The same is true for electricity. The instruments of production and use of current, i.e. the various forms of power plants and the end devices that use energy, require a new way to dialogue with each other. There has been a debate going on for years about how the advent of renewable energy is changing the energy structure. In 1883, 070

the first power plant in Europe was created at Via Santa Radegonda in Milan, a wonder of the world. The electrical wires (they really were wires) were strung across Piazza Duomo, and continued along the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, replacing the gas lighting by Thomas Alva Edison’s light bulbs (to international amazement), and amidst murmurs of universal consensus, the lights of the Teatro alla Scala went on: that was the first electricity network in the world and it already took the shape of those today. It had a stellar shape: from the center, the power plant, the current flowed along the rays of the star to reach the points of consumption. Today this scheme which was born in Milan more than 130 years ago is inadequate. The way we produce and consume electricity is changing, because with the new technologies, electricity is no longer just a commodity for light and power but the carrier of a lot of very different kinds of services. Today it is used for air conditioning, heat pumps, the phone signal and e-mail, online purchases and consumption control, the security of closed-circuit television cameras and accounting, listening to music, and the TV decoder. Soon electricity will also be used for personal mobility, because electric cars are much more fun to drive and safer in their maintenance than the classic engine

with cylinders and pistons. The other technological element that requires the renewal of electrical networks is so-called distributed generation, i.e. small local power stations in the vicinity of the points of consumption. This is the reversal of the classic starshaped structure initiated in Milan more than a century ago, namely a large power plant from which the rays of transmission lines and distribution radiate. Added to this are the characteristics of the small â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;distributedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; power plants. Most of them are production plants powered by renewable energy that have two characteristics: the first is that some technologies (such as wind and hydropower) may not be built where they would be convenient for the market, but where there is an availability of raw energy, or rather, wind or water. The second feature is that the major renewable sources are not constant and do not follow the desires of the market. The wind blows when it wants to, water rains down only when it rains, and the sun shines on solar panels only when there are no clouds in the sky. These power plants are arranged along the rays of the star network, mixed with the points of consumption, and they produce current erratically. The electrical current flows in an intermittent manner and without any apparent regulation in both directions of the cables, according to the time and the irregular directions of the production and consumption.

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For some time now, distribution companies have begun to feel the expense of the maintenance of the inadequate wiring scheme. Materials and devices are subjected to a stress test for which they were not designed. Breakdowns and irregularities have become more frequent. And this is happening not only in the less structured countries, but even in Italy, where the mesh of the grid – the oldest and most massive in Europe – is dense and efficient. A great investment in the renewal of the electricity grid is in progress in the United States, a country that has been overcoming its historical backwardness regarding electricity only in recent years. In Europe, the process is more difficult because the networks and technologies are more recent and they have always had a more thorough maintenance. It is not a coincidence that Europe is pushing to create the largest modern network of continental interconnection. The other technological front for networks relates to the measurement instruments, i.e. the meters. Italy is the first country to already have smart meters in every home, and Spain has been gearing up quickly. But almost all the other countries are still using the old electro-mechanical meter with the turning wheel which does just one thing: it measures. As consumers in Spain are now experiencing with the new meters, they may develop different contracts according to the various household appliances: such as a flat rate contract for a guaranteed supply of electricity for the refrigerator, and a contract for an interruptible supply at variable prices for television, differentiating among the different household power outlets. If you have an electric car – the technology gap is really so great that the transition to electric mobility is irreversible – you may even have a specific provision for the car when it is parked (and recharging) in the garage. Electric mobility opens up a scenario that will accelerate the networks’ transformation into smart grids. In the evening, when cars are parked in an apartment building’s garage and charging, the consumption of all these cars raises the demand for energy in the neighborhood. In the morning when these same cars are then moved to their drivers’ workplaces, which are also equipped with charging stations, consumption will move along with the cars. This would be as

if entire apartment buildings of consumers were to move every morning and every evening. And this will require an acceleration in the changing of the network structure. The other element induced by the diffusion of electric mobility will be the availability throughout the network of large accumulations of energy in car batteries that are plugged into electricity outlets. In this case too, a similarity with computing is useful. Today, in addition to major computing centers, scientists are making use of the availability of thousands of PCs connected in the network. At home, every person in the network that has a contract of this kind allows a part of the computing power of their computer to be used remotely by the major areas of scientific research. Each single PC connected to the network is unable to replace the large university computer, but instead, an infinite number of PCs active simultaneously all over the world, in zones where it is day and in zones where it is night, can do so. The same system can be adopted when thousands of cars will be connected to the electricity network. With special contracts, the current flows can be alternated towards these thousands of batteries or vice versa, from these batteries to the points of consumption. Meanwhile, in April Spain launched an electricity reform that already provides forms of extreme contractual variability, and each consumer can choose the time of use of electricity in relation to its cost, hour by hour. The system with quarterly prices that has existed since 2009 (the newspaper El País wrote, “Han pasado solo cinco años, pero diríase todo un siglo,” “Only five years have passed but it seems like a century”), has been replaced by the instantaneous price. For many people, the smart grids are more intelligent management systems for collective and public consumption. For example, the experiments carried out by Enel and its affiliates in Genoa and Bari, in Malaga and Barcelona, Búzios in Brazil, and Santiago in Chile have shown that this vision of the smart grid is already old. The people who will work on the new infrastructure and the second electrification will graduate from the smart grid course promoted by Enel and the Polytechnic University of Milan, the same Polytechnic of Milan where the first major electricity network in the world was conceived a century and a half ago.

Electric mobility opens up a scenario that will accelerate the networks’ transformation into smart grids because consumption will move along with the cars

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The way we produce and consume electricity is changing, because with new technologies, electricity is no longer just light but the carrier of many different kinds of services

in-depth

The move to bridge differences by Nick Butler Journalist and writer

There is no common energy policy, yet the 28 EU Member States are facing global issues as a single international actor, and as a unit they are dealing with countries like China and India. But to defend the positions taken against climate change, the EU must compete primarily with its own internal differences and create an energy policy that meets everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectations, even the more skeptical countries such as Britain.

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The overall scheme was refined, elegant and entirely consistent. But supporters of the Global Deal were unaware that nations have different interests and tend not to act in a uniform way

Energy remains an area of policy firmly under the control of national Governments. The competence and remit of the European Union in the area is very limited and until 2008 barely existed. There is no Common Energy Policy to match the Common Agricultural Policy. There are no European wide agreements or directives which can tell France to develop shale gas or make Germany retain nuclear power. Each country’s mix of energy production and consumption is determined locally. So is energy pricing. Energy prices – for electricity, petrol and natural gas all vary, often by considerable amounts from one nation to another. There is considerable cross border trade – the UK for instance trades electricity and natural gas through interconnectors which link Britain to the continent – but the trade remains marginal – a fraction of the total volumes produced and consumed. That, however, is far from the end of the story. Other European policies, originally established with the UK’s full and enthusiastic support, are beginning to shape what happens in the UK energy market. The outcome of those policies has not matched the intentions of their original authors and could yet make energy a future arena of conflict between Britain and Brussels. The story goes back to 2008 when the European Union adopted a set of ambitious targets designed to reduce carbon emissions as part of a long term, global approach to the challenge of climate change. It was agreed that by 2020 Europe should deliver: a 20% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20%; a 20% improvement in the EU’s energy efficiency. These were set as interim targets in a long term process of decarbonization which would by 2050 contribute to a global effort sufficient to limit the warming of global temperatures to a maximum of 2 degrees centigrade. On this model different countries would move at different but agreed rates towards the ultimate objective. If 075

others move faster Europe would do even more. Behind the 20:20:20 targets were national plans reflecting local circumstances. The exercise as a whole was grounded in the belief that the prices of fossil fuels – particularly oil and natural gas would inexorably increase over time, making low carbon fuels particularly wind and solar power competitive after an initial period of subsidy. Developing local power from renewables would also enhance energy security at a time when indigenous oil and gas production was declining. The overall scheme was a polished – elegant and completely internally consistent. But in common with those who created the League of Nations and the proposed international language of Esperanto, the advocates of the Global Deal ignored the fact that in the real world nations have different interests and tend not to act as one. The Copenhagen conference in December 2009 which was supposed to agree the deal failed. From different reasons the US and China would not sign up. That left European policy isolated – the objective of emissions reductions remained in place, as did the detailed national plans including that for the UK which was enshrined in law through a formal Climate Change Act. European efforts, however, were rendered irrelevant because in China and India in particular, emissions continued to grow as the use of coal for power generation increased with no agreement on participation in internationally coordinated action. Even within Europe the policy was not secure. To be effective the development of wind and solar and other low carbon technologies depended on the establishment of a carbon price which would make coal and other fossil fuels more expensive. An elaborate trading system was established designed to set a carbon price which would rise each year, gradually forcing consumers to switch. But that system too has failed. The European carbon price which would need to be at least 40 euros per tonne is currently at just 6 euros. At that level it remains economic for European utilities to use coal, the price of which has fallen on the international market as US exports have grown. The shale gas revolution in the US, which displaced coal from the American power has had the net effect of exporting emissions to Europe. Coal use, in the UK, Germany and elsewhere, is up but so too are energy prices – to business and domestic users – because of the growing volumes of heavily subsidized renewables. High prices for power generated by wind and solar are encouraging a geographic shift in the production base of industries which rely on energy as feedstock or a major input away from the EU. Why produce in Europe when you can relocate industrial operations to areas such as China, India or other countries where energy

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costs are materially lower? As a result European jobs are being lost but there is no net reduction in global emissions. According to an independent study produced last year by the International Energy Agency a continuation of these trends could contribute to a dramatic reduction in the industrial base of Europe particularly in areas such as petrochemicals over the next decade. In the UK that is easily translated into a fear of further job losses in what remains of the manufacturing sector. For Britain the European approach is far from satisfactory and there is strong public opposition to rising energy prices. Support for action on climate change remains relatively strong but there is a sharp realization that even a totally carbon free Europe would make little difference to the global problem. The issue has not yet come to the fore but could do so over the coming years if attempts to extend the European targets are made and as the costs of new wind and other low carbon sources – such as very expensive new nuclear – begin to appear on consumers bills. Much will depend now on whether any global climate deal can be reached at next year’s major summit meeting in Paris. If not (and the odds are against ) the impact of current policies could drive a wedge between the UK and those countries within the European Union, led by Germany which remain determined, regardless of the costs to complete the transition to a carbon free energy system.

The European team Golf unites Europe: the team that faces the United States every two years in the Ryder Cup golf tournament is the only one competing in sports under the European flag. Nine players, the top four in the world rankings, the top five of the Race to Dubai, and the captain’s three wild-card players, make up the team. The Cup this year has just ended on the Gleneagles golf course in Scotland, resulting in Europe’s third consecutive victory, led by the Irish captain Paul McGinley.

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in-depth

Everything is European by Elisa Barberis Journalist illustrations by Undesign

It has an influence on the daily life of its citizens, through its decisions and directives. It searches for solutions that facilitate communication, trade, sharing, and independence. The European Union is not some distant organization, but rather, one that enters into every aspect, object, and situation of our day, making it simpler and more contemporary.

Mobility that unites If mobile phone rates have continued to drop over the years, credit should also go to the European Union, which mainly due to number portability – or the ability to maintain the same number at no extra cost – has increased competition between operators. And as of Christmas in 2015, using your smartphone abroad will be even easier and cheaper with the reduction of roaming costs: you will no longer pay for incoming and outgoing calls and the operators will have to offer packages that provide prices equal to those in your own country or, alternatively, make it possible to use another operator without changing your SIM card. As provided by the EU, the prices are also blocked for international calls, which may not exceed those of a normal national long distance call, whereas for calls from the 078

mobile network, the maximum cost will be 0.19 euros per minute (including VAT). There is news in sight regarding the charging of batteries: the German Socialist MEP Barbara Weiler proposed in Parliament that it become the same for all types of mobile phones. This is a measure that could already be applied starting in 2017 and will not only benefit the coffers of the countries and the pockets of consumers, but it will also have significant implications in environmental and practical terms. In short, a united continent no longer appears to be a utopia, at least with regard to the mobile phone market: this is the dream of the four major operators – Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, France Telecom and Telecom Italia – who are already studying the possibility of creating a pan-European network.

Help for the environment The needs of citizens, as well as those of the environment, change: in recent years the EU agenda has also imposed new standards inspired by sustainable design, including the design of everyday objects that can consume less energy to reduce climate-altering emissions. The first legislation to impose ever more stringent rules in that sense, that lie outside consultation of national or European parliaments and governments, was in 2005. The bureaucratic ax has already fallen on different daily habits, while for many others, bills are being worked on that will probably see the light very soon. One of the first measures taken was the switch to incandescent bulbs through the elimination of normal bulbs, banned since 2012 because they were â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;accusedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of transforming only 5.10% of the energy they consumed into light. It will no longer be possible to buy high-powered vacuum cleaners either: as of this year, appliances with a maximum of 1,600 watts are in circulation, while the threshold will be lowered again to 900 watts by 2017. And another must for Italians will be relegated to the attic, the appliance that keeps coffee hot after it is made: it is convenient, but requires excessive energy consumption. Next year the only ones on sale must turn off automatically or have a thermos timer that in any case will stop after 5 minutes. No more long showers either: a limit will be set for the amount of water available, as well as the water used in flushing toilets. War has also been declared on lawn-mower noise, as well as plasma TVs because they waste too much energy, especially if very large.

Schengen health care The historic turning point for European health care has an exact date: December 4, 2013, the day Directive (2011/24) came into force: it allows citizens to choose any Member State other than their own and the hospital system for treatment. So if they want, an Italian can decide on a clinic in Sweden, just as a Frenchman can choose to have surgery in Milan or Berlin. It is expected that after returning to your own country, you can ask for the reimbursement of costs incurred but at the level of costs that the system would have covered if the same treatments had been performed within its borders. This is a sort of Schengen health care that will concern 600 million people, two million doctors, and 20 million nurses: the most important revolution since the introduction in November 2004 of the European health insurance card â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which entitles access to state medical care in the event of a temporary stay in one of the 28 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Now it will have to be the Renzi government to establish the manner and time of the enactment of the first Italian guidelines for cross-border healthcare, in particular with regard to authorization procedures, reimbursements, and recognition of medical prescriptions. The fear is that it will worsen the already negative deficit of the NHS, but it is also hoped that the excellence of the Italian facilities can bring increasing numbers of patients in need of diagnosis and highly specialized care to Italy. 079

Ease of purchase In recent years the EU’s efforts have been focused primarily on the protection of consumers who choose to make purchases online. Introduced by Directive 83/2011, the innovation that has just come into force regards contracts concluded via the Internet: it increases the time available for exercising the right of withdrawal (14 days against the current ten), while reducing the time for getting a refund. The Competition Authority will be vigilant for any vendors who violate the rights of customers. Imposing higher rates if payments are not made in cash is also prohibited, as well as misleading advertising. On the other hand, European citizens have now become accustomed to the CE mark, which guarantees the conformity of a product to EU standards, and the ability to withdraw cash abroad with their own ATM card, paying a small fee. This is a great con-

venience for those who want to travel light, without waiting in line to exchange currency before departure or the terror of going around with large sums of money in their pocket. Since February of this year, SEPA credit transfers – the Single Euro Payments Area that provides the same ease of operation and safety at home and in the Member States – have replaced the traditional national and international ones, with the goal of reducing the cost and time of execution. Finally, there are also common rules on electronic invoicing to facilitate interoperability in EU Member States, where currently there are still different, even conflicting, regulations.

Protection has no borders Whether by plane, train or bus, moving within the European Union has never been so easy. In summer, there are millions of citizens who choose it as a destination abroad, but what happens if we leave for an ‘all inclusive’ holiday and the tour operator goes bankrupt? Or if the proposed luxury hotel in reality turns out to be something else? The legislation is clear: tourists should be guaranteed their return trip and compensation if the service does not correspond to what was promised. Travel expenses are reimbursed in the event of delays, 080

cancellations, and overbooking: that problem has been solved thanks to the EU directive requiring that customers be provided with a ticket on another available flight or train or indemnified the corresponding amount when the postponement exceeds 4 hours. This is a necessary protection in a scenario that, thanks to the liberalization of air transport commissioned by Brussels in 1993, allows everyone to fly at a low cost in the continent, but also for the airlines to take advantage of the regulatory gaps. Finally, among the many guidelines that have changed the lives of citizens, there is the one established in 2003 that imposed compulsory car seat belts for passengers in all seats, with even stricter rules regarding children under 4 ft. 5 in. in height. In fifteen years, this measure has reduced the number of road fatalities in the 28 countries from over 75,000 to just 28,000.

To each their own GMOs After four years of heated debate, in mid-June the EU Environment Ministers reached a historic turning point: the new agreement leaves the Member States free to restrict or prohibit – not only for health or environmental reasons, but also socio-economic ones or specific agricultural policy – the cultivation of GMOs, authorized in all or part of their territory. The Commission will act as the intermediary between the request of a company to produce and sell genetically modified seeds, but the last word is up to the individual countries, regardless of any assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. Nations such as Britain and Spain, who have always been favorable, can follow their path, while Italy, France, and Austria, the fiercest opponents, will ban GMOs from their own borders. This is a choice of compromise with a high political value – for the first time, the 28 countries will be released from any obligation to comply with an EU decision – which, however, does not shield it from criticism. On one hand, there are the producers who accuse it of wanting to ‘re-nationalize’ the European regulatory framework, on the other hand, there are the associations warning of the risk of legal retaliation by the biotech industry and that the fields of neighboring countries that have had the strength to say ‘no’ to GMOs can still be damaged. Eight out of ten Italians have already spoken out against transgenic agriculture: now the ball has been passed to the Italian Presidency in order to find a legal agreement with the new European Parliament. Time is short and it is an uphill battle. 081

contexts

Working on reality by Dario Di Vico Journalist

The labor market is changing fast; it is being formed according to the new requirements put in place by the development of technologies, thus giving space to the birth of professional figures that were unthinkable a few decades ago. In order to give a real boost to employment, in addition to governments, businesses too must do their part and both must look to reality as the starting point for reform.

The debate on labor in Europe suffers from a certain monotony. In many speeches made at international forums it seems that the speakers are seeking more originality in their slides than a true monitoring of reality. We shouldn’t be surprised if in the end, despite their efforts, the watchwords are often the same and relate mainly to legal regulations. Rules on the labor market are used as one of the litmus tests to see if this or that national government is moving forward, or not, on the road of the all too often-mentioned reforms. But their formulation is always highly 082

politicized and looks at the flows of reality with approximation and nonchalance. The key partners of labor market regulation are increasingly governments and never businesses, and the limitations of this approach are obvious. So let’s try to overcome these by comparing some basic trends in employment. Let’s start from the effects of technology. It is clear that ‘smart’ factories cannot be classified as labor inten-

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mc jobs These jobs with low added value take their name from the McDonaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restaurant chain. The term mc job was in fact coined in the Nineties to describe short-term and underpaid jobs often by using fast food employment as an example.

sive: the number of employees is reduced to the minimum and qualifications are quite high, in a mix of workers in white lab coats and system engineers. It is clear that the pilot plants should be evaluated for direct employment and for generating externalities that grow around them, but even so, we are still speaking of low numbers which do not have a significant impact on the stock of the unemployed. If the labor is decreased when the automatic factory makes strides, instead with services, we are witnessing a different phenomenon. For example, job opportunities are being created in retail and in the supply chain related to electronic commerce. Of course, these are 084

standardized jobs with low-level pay, which consequently are likely to be characterized by a fast turnover of the labor force, which in some cases abandons them even without having any alternative. We must therefore take up the debate on mc jobs and try to find new ways rather than those of the past: companies must undertake to ensure the internal paths of upward mobility thereby securing the loyalty of the young people who have been hired. It is remarkable that we talk so little about all this; reality is obviously the enemy of the slides. The second issue concerns the analysis of the markets. In Italy, there is a clear specificity that is given by the dual character of the offer. The public and private sectors coexist thanks to the profundity of private agencies that play a role that the state struggles to fulfill. In fact, the private sector operates concretely on employability by performing an educational function for those who apply to them when looking for work. They compete in drawing up a curriculum, therefore in

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creating a professional identity and finding a path of opportunity. Secondly, the private sector is also turning to companies and somehow asking them to program manpower requirements in order to be able to train new people in a timely manner and in the quantities needed. Will the state ever be able to do likewise? This is where we must start, from the reality that has been created instead of pursuing management models of the labor market which differ greatly. An example of this: there is talk of copying the Germans, but do those who support this thesis know that in Germany, the national agency for jobs alone

The key partners of labor market regulation are increasingly governments and never businesses, and the limitations of this approach are obvious

oxygen

has 100,000 employees? Is there anyone who thinks we can actually copy this experience in our country? A third and largely underestimated point concerns the increase in self-employment, which is still considered an abnormal form of employment, a mode that will be absorbed one day or other by modernity. Nothing could be further from reality: Western societies are moving towards an increase in the figures of freelance work, just think of journalism, once composed entirely of employees and which now has already reached fifty-fifty. More generally, the increase in self-employment is related to the socialization of the risk necessary in order to increase employment, and especially, to accompany the transformation of the production system after years of restructuring, and the emergence of an organization for long supply chains, in which the work of the artisan supplier and that of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal technician end up strongly resembling one another. Then we mustnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget that in the Italian labor market, one in four young people aim for self-employment in an attempt to solve the problem of market entry, burdening themselves with a wide range of responsibilities. Are we doing anything to recognize that and act to facilitate their path towards an affirmation of the market, or do we just ignore them and turn our heads the other way? If we enter into the order of ideas of recording increased self-employment, it is clear that it is necessary to discuss the revision of traditional welfare and come up with new forms of protection at the national or European Community level. We are slaves to a concept of welfare state compensations whereas what we need is to start putting in place experiences that perform their function ex ante and become the tools for increasing employment and stabilization. It is easy to understand that if you want to open your eyes and look at the real economy, the agenda of priorities is almost complied by itself, but if on the contrary, we continue to trifle with clichĂŠs, everything becomes more indistinct and elusive. 085

contexts

Cooperation on industry by Gianluigi Torchiani Journalist

Europe, which is home to many of the major companies in the world, has seen its entrepreneurial credibility diminish over time, especially due to the economic crisis. Yet, today this continent is an economic world power, and to support that, the European Union has implemented many tools for small and large businesses and new ideas that find their strength in transnational cooperation. 086

There has been a lot of talk and a lot has been written about Europe that has not always been in flattering terms. In fact, the problems affecting Europe and its debated and debatable financial policies have made the vast majority of people forget that Europe is nevertheless still one of the major economic powers globally. Measured in terms of the production of goods and services (GDP), the EUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy exceeds even that of the United States, with a value of approximately 13,000 billion euros (2012). The EU has only 7% of the world population, but its trade with the rest of the world accounts for around 20% of exports and imports on the planet. And some of the leading multinational companies on a global level are based in Europe: according to the Fortune Global 500 2014 index, the Dutch company Shell is number two in the world in terms of turnover, second only to the American Wal-

mart. There are also other European companies in the top 10: in fourth place there is another an oil company, the British BP, while the German automaker Volkswagen rates at eighth place. In total, among the top 50 global companies that invest in research and development, 15 are located in the European Union, 18 in the United States, and 13 in Japan. In short, the foundations are still there, despite the six years of recession that have rocked the continental economy (-2% in the EU-27 between 2008 and 2013). This shock was certainly not healthy, but it did help to understand one important aspect: Europe needs companies capable of producing real goods and services and which can compete effectively in international markets. A turning point in this sense finally entered the agenda of the EU institutions: last March, the European Council en-

dorsed the Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a European Industrial Renaissanceâ&#x20AC;? to promote investments, foster innovation and most importantly, to restore the manufacturing sector throughout Europe. The plan provides for the adoption of proposals in the fields of energy, transport, industry, the space sector, and digital communication networks, as well as the implementation and enforcement of legislation to supplement the internal market. But this is not only a matter of nice words: behind the EU policy, there is actually significant funding (much of which was established several years ago) to assist European businesses.

Behind the EU policy there is actually significant funding (much of which was established several years ago) to assist European businesses

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What the Single European patent is Protecting one’s ideas and projects at both the European level and the national level. And not through two different bureaucratic paths, but with only one. This is the single European patent, approved in December 2012, which allows companies to apply for EU patent protection for original inventions in 25 EU countries, as well as in their own country. This is a significant economic advantage, leading to savings of around 70%, and an element that favors the small and medium enterprises and research centers. The patent can be filed in the mother tongue of the company, which within one month must be followed up with the translation in English, French, or German, the only languages accepted for discussing the deliberations. Not all European countries have joined though. Patent protection is not currently valid in Italy and Spain, who have not joined because their languages were not included in the official ones.

Indeed, the abbreviations and names are so numerous that some clarity in the matter would be good, given the many different forms of support available, not all of which are direct. In fact, the EU provides a range of financial tools (loans, guarantees, etc.), most of which are available only in an indirect way, and in principle, are already allotted to the big important enterprises to support their development of specific entrepreneurial projects. Many of these tools are actually operated by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), and are disbursed to beneficiaries through financial intermediaries. Alongside these tools, there are the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund, which constitute the financial tools of EU’s regional policy to mitigate the economic differences between the regions of the Community. These are what is being referred to when it is periodically stated that Italy has not been able to spend its EU funds. In particular, the 2014-2020 ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) will contribute around 100 billion euros to European businesses, focusing on four key priorities: innovation and research, the digital agenda, support for small and me088

The Enterprise Europe Network is a European network that aims to promote cross-border cooperation among businesses by encouraging the exchange of technologies and results of scientific research and stimulating commercial cooperation

dium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and a lowcarbon economy. There are also subsidies directly administered by the EU, the so-called thematic programs, and the main ones aimed at enterprises for the period 2014-2020 are the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME, with a budget of 2.3 billion euros) and the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, which focuses on research and innovation (with 80 billion euros of resources). In addition to actual economic aid, there is another kind that is just as important, which is guaranteed by the Enterprise Europe Network: this is a European network that aims to promote cross-border cooperation among businesses by encouraging the exchange of technologies and results of scientific research and stimulating commercial cooperation between Italian and foreign entities. The network also provides assistance and support to businesses on all EU matters. This is a rich European catalog that in previous years, and perhaps under other names, has produced thousands of real success stories. Such as the one of Gumiimpex, a small Croatian company that recycles old tires into a powder used to construct noise barriers along motorways. Thanks to a grant of

0.5 million euros allocated as part of the European program â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eco-Innovationâ&#x20AC;?, the company has been able to make a leap forward in its business, hiring about 30 people and doubling its production capacity. Then there is the case of the Organic Supermarket in Dublin, specializing in the sale of completely organic groceries. With a loan of just 25,000 euros, allocated through intermediaries of the European Investment Fund, the small supermarket was able to create an effective e-commerce portal, so much so that it also won the title of The Best Irish Website for small businesses in 2010 and 2011. Europe is also at the basis of the fortunes of the Prospero bakery in Timisoara, Romania: thanks to the support of the local Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, which is part of the Enterprise Europe Network, a business plan was drawn up and, more importantly, a European grant of 750,000 euros was obtained. So the business was able to invest in a new building, cutting-edge machinery, and six new delivery trucks: the result has been an increase in turnover of 25% and the hiring of 60 new employees. Luckily for us, there are also cases of success in Italy: among them is that of the Italian company Relight, established in 1999, which works in the field of WEEE with regard to the collection of electronic waste in the entire national territory and its recycling. Contact with Europe has been established by its participation in the Glass Plus project, a program that received funding from the EU as part of the Eco-Innovation program. Thanks to the idea of adding a mixture of plaster to the glass recycled from old televisions, the Glass Plus project has enabled the making of hundreds of thousands of square meters of ceramic tiles. 089

interview

In defense of consumers Interview with Monique Goyens General Director of the BEUC by Martino Cavalli Journalist photographic project by White

The Internet, privacy protection, and food safety are many aspects of competence of the European Commission that have to do with consumer interests. There is the BEUC to ensure that they are always protected. Its director Monique Goyens has illustrated for us the expectations and views of a body which has great importance in the international relations of the European Union.

“Our greatest success? Easy, just think of roaming charges. All Europeans use mobile phones and they often do so in other EU countries: well, the cost of roaming has gotten lower and lower and now work is being done to definitively eliminate it. Isn’t that amazing?” Monique Goyens is the General Director of the BEUC (Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs), the agency in Brussels that represents the interests of consumers and therefore has to put pressure on the European Commission to ensure that its directives never lose sight of the interests of this transversal category. And although public attention in recent years has been focused rather on economic issues, Brussels can do a lot in this direction. Such as in the food industry, for example, with the rules on labeling and indications of origin, or on the terms of the contracts that today allow you to change your mind and return a purchased good. Of course, there are also some weaknesses.

Italy will hold the presidency of the European Union until the end of 2014. Is there any dossier on the table that you would like to see ‘sped up’ by Italy? What comes to mind is the issue of privacy protection, concerning which there is a very ambitious directive text that has had some difficulties in the Council (the institution that brings together the ministers of the individual EU countries). It would be important if Italy could give impetus to this text, which is really important for all European citizens. Speaking of Italy, how would you rate the country’s level of consumer protection? We know that the ‘champions’ are the countries in Northern Europe ... Yes, they are countries that have a tradition in this sense. But that is exactly what the European directives are for: to standardize rules and regulations throughout Europe. Italy has achieved excellent results in this sense: its Antitrust Authority, for example, is very active and has demonstrated a strong ability to intervene in defense of consumers.

What are the areas in which the most work is to be done? First of all, I can think of the activities linked to the Internet, where there is a universe of rules, sometimes very good ones, but which are outdated by now because they often do not take into account the development of the Internet itself. Could you give us an example? Surely one concerns what happens when you buy software: if there is the physical media, such as a dvd for example, the purchase is covered by warranty, which does not happen if it is downloaded directly online. Or the directive on package travel, dating from 20 years ago: today you can book hotels, rental cars, and other services from the site of a low-cost airline. The world is changing and so is European legislation struggling to keep up? Yes, in fact that is quite true. I would say that with regard to the digital world, the very concept of an internal market, of a single European market that is well established in many other fields, still has to make significant progress.

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However, consumers in Europe do not seem to have much confidence in the level of protection. The Consumer Conditions Scoreboard survey showed rather disappointing results. We mustn’t generalize. The aggregated data is an average of countries with different situations and especially in areas that are very different from one other. We are quite aware that there are some activities, such as banking services, in which satisfaction is still low. Of course, we are working and no one is resting on their laurels, although I would like to reiterate that compliance with the European directives is up to the individual, and in order to do so in the best way, financial resources are needed which unfortunately are not always available. The European Union is involved right now in a difficult negotiation with the United States for the creation of a large free trade area, precisely between Europe and America. The impression is that Europe is afraid of losing some of the results it has gained with effort. An example for all is that of chlorinated chicken, which the press has spoken about a lot ... There is no doubt that the free trade agreement between the EU and the United States, the so-called TTIP, is one of the great challenges we face, and in fact we do not want to have to give up the results that we Europeans have already achieved. This story of chlorinated chicken has sort of become the symbol of this volition. Can you tell us about it? Certainly. Also because it perfectly expresses the diversity of approach in consumer protection. In Europe, where the security level is very high, it was decided to have the entire chain of breeding and 092

Food labels: Europe watches over our food As of December 13, the level of protection on European consumers’ food will be even higher. This was declared by the new EU regulation on labeling, the tool that helps consumers to make their purchases in a conscientious way, and which by year-end will cover every stage of the food chain and all foods. The goal is maximum clarity, so ‘no’ to labeling, presentation, or advertising which can confuse the consumer about the features and properties of a food, and ‘yes’ to stating the nutrition values, which until now was up to the discretion of the manufacturer, but will be mandatory by the end of this year.

in defense of consumers

Regarding the digital world, the very concept of an internal market still has to make significant progress. There is a universe of rules, sometimes very good ones, but which are outdated by now

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slaughtering of chickens protected as far as possible from the risk of bacterial infection such as salmonella. How is that done? This approach is commonly referred to as ‘farm to fork’, which requires a series of steps in the production chain to ensure that the food sold to the final consumer is actually healthy. In the case of poultry, the hygienic rules of the breeder begin with the use of appropriate clothing and footwear, designed to avoid carrying around bacteria on the farms. Then there is the need for a series of measures in transport and slaughtering, and the way the meat is processed at the end. Doesn’t all this happen in the United States? On the contrary, in the United States, they prefer to act only at the last step, that is, by subjecting the chicken meat to an antibacterial ‘chemical wash’ before sale. Now, beyond the fact that it may seem particularly unpleasant to wash chicken meat with a product that we use for cleaning toilets, chlorine to be precise, I think that Europe should not accept the use, and therefore, not even the import of chemically treated meat. But can a free trade agreement between the two most industrialized areas of the planet be sacrificed due to chicken meat? Put like that it does sound a bit insolent, but certainly we should not and we cannot sacrifice the level of public health and consumer protection in exchange for advantages in negotiations with the TTIP.

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Economy bridges made of paper by Alessandro Barbera Journalist illustrations by Undesign

We often hear about the anti-euro faction, convinced that at the root of the economic problems of some countries such as Italy and France there is the creation of the single currency. But are there really a lot of these voices, or is it just hearsay without representing a common opinion? In a time of uncertainty, the only thing that is clear seems to be the superficiality of this attitude and the strength that the euro can represent. What has happened to the euro? Is it possible that the greatest utopia created by post-war politics has quickly turned into the nightmare of millions of citizens, the scapegoat for all the evils of Europe? Today, the unpopularity of the euro is the result of an error of perspective. It is wrong to believe that in the years of crisis, Europe has not changed: the process of integration has been faster than in the previous sixty years. The steps forward have been sudden, contradictory, and often in the wrong direction. The problems of the euro architecture are largely unresolved: a single currency built around different economies, segmented and fragmented markets, and without a real European government. Yet even in 094

the worst moments of the crisis, no-one really felt like putting their permanence in the eurozone into question. Some people did – in Italy and France – but at the most, intercepted the belly of an electorate that finds the euro to be an easy answer to the great problems of the two glorious and ailing nations. In 2007, Tommaso PadoaSchioppa said: “With the single currency, Europe overcame the Asian and Russian financial crises of the late ’90s, the attacks of 2001, the bursting of the bubble in technology stocks, and the sharp rise in crude oil prices. Without the single currency we would probably have reached this point while dying, if not already dead.” Today the anti-euro arguments are popular

but never really enforced. How many would be ready to face the global competition alone? What would become of the tranquility of banks and businesses used to operating without exchange risks, with their backs covered by a European Central Bank, a web of cash flows and investments that is based on the presence of a common currency? What would become of the peace of families that can take out a mortgage without fear of frightening fluctuations in interest rates? In the years of the crisis, without detracting from the responsibilities of countries in difficulty – Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal – Germany’s Angela Merkel has transformed the difficulties of a political project and a continent into the sum of faults and failures of individual countries. Berlin, Brussels, and Frankfurt have imposed, as the only priority binding the individual states, adopting economic policies that are sustainable in the long term. This is a forward-thinking choice, but one that has come to stratify bureaucratic controls and procedures, by subjecting the member countries to all too frequent checks on national policies. If there is one country that has taken advantage ever since the changeover to the introduction of the single currency, it has been Germany. Statistics show that between 2002 and 2010, the German economy exported capital of a thousand billion euros. Flows of money that were invested above all in the securities of the countries of southern Europe. German investors are satisfied because they are raking in handsome profits in the face of a low risk. Debtors are equally pleased,

because the public debt is easily underwritten at reasonable costs and without worrying about the reforms. The alleged virtues of the countries of the North discourage those in the South from following them on their own road, in a kind of carry trade (financial transaction with which a country procures a lower cost of borrowing funds, which are then used in a country with high interest rates, editor’s note) between economies, masked by belonging to a common currency. But who would have thought then that one or more of the euro countries could actually fail? Who would have bet on the arrival from the United States of a financial crisis unprecedented in the last century? Someone will say: all of these are good reasons in favor of a return to national currencies and the flexibility that they guaranteed. Let us leave aside for a moment the question of costs, assuming that leaving the euro would result in an immediate default of all the major corporations and banks in weaker countries, including Italy. And let’s leave out the legal argument, if it is really possible to do so. Those who support the thesis of a return to national currencies do not say (or worse pretend not to know) that the devaluation of currency, which was in vogue in the ’70s and ’80s, does in fact allow for recovering competitiveness, but it only works if it does not cause inflation. If it is used to finance the States, the outcome is a certain increase in interest rates and public debt: exactly what happened thirty years ago, before the ‘divorce’ between the Treasury and the Bank of Italy. The alternative – as in the ’70s – would reintroduce

How many would be ready to face the global competition alone? What would become of the tranquility of banks and businesses used to operating without exchange risks, with their backs covered by a European Central Bank, and of families?

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controls on capital movements, forcing the citizens, the central bank, and other banks to necessarily finance debt. The advocates of a return to the lira have a short memory: the decision to build a single currency was not the result of the desire for power of the Germans, whose currency had been the dominant one in Europe since World War II – but of those who then suffered from the strength and the decisions of the Bundesbank. It is true that the euro and its governance have been built in the image and likeness of the German mark, just as – always easier in retrospect – you could question some of the conditions that Italy agreed to in order to join the club. This does not mean that the euro wasn’t a step forward, and not backward, by subtracting European economies from the hitherto unchallenged domination of German influence. Just try to imagine what the shock wave of the 2007-2008 crisis would have been like, when the subprime mortgages from the Atlantic reached the shores of the Mediterranean. Before the beginning of the financial crisis, the euro was contending the role of a reserve currency with the US dollar. In 2012, emerging countries such as China and Brazil lost confidence in the euro, and their central banks reduced reserves in euro by 8%, and the rise of the European currency was interrupted. Since then, in

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order to fill the space left and to mark the new geopolitical balance, it has been up to the Chinese renminbi, while the euro has had to deal with deflation. However, upon a closer look, this time the problem is not caused by the architecture of the euro, but by the old foundations on which Europe has decided to continue to support itself.

Paper money bridges “Today I’ll pay with a gothic bridge.” A shopkeeper would not react well to such a proposal, even if would be perfectly legitimate: every euro banknote represents indeed a particular architectural period. Therefore every day we exchange images, drawn by the Austrian illustrator Robert Kalina, of classical, Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance bridges, up to the modern architecture of the 500 euro banknote. These are symbolic bridges representing the monetary union. Trivia: none of them really exist, but the Dutch artist and designer Robin Stam decided to remedy this lack with the project Van De Bruggen Europe, that is “The Bridges of Europe”, currently underway on the outskirts of the Dutch town, Spijkenisse.

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Schengen: travel is free Interview with Yves Pascouau

Director of Migration and Policy Mobility of the European Policy Center by Cecilia Toso

The abolition of borders between different European states was undoubtedly a revolutionary process, not only for citizens but also for trade and consequently the economy. But what now seems a matter of fact has had a thirtyyear history, specific access requirements and a clear idea of freedom and security. What has become a habit today, moving back and forth between the territories of different European countries without having to worry about border controls, is actually a revolutionary milestone. But, as often happens, we have forgotten what life used to be like for travelers, if we exclude the nostalgic moments when we think back to the long lines at the border, or when we set foot in one of the European countries that were unwilling or could not join the Schengen area. And above all, we know very little about how this important achievement of free movement came about. Therefore, we have spoken with one of the people who is responsible daily for our mobility in Europe, Yves Pascouau, the Director of Migration and Policy Mobility of the European Policy Centre, an independent think tank specialized in integration. How was schengen converted from an agreement by 5 States to an es098

sential part of European Union law? The story of the Schengen Area started in 1984 in France and Germany. At that time, both States were performing checks at their common land border, creating major traffic problems. The existence of long queues of lorries, buses, and cars was a double failure: the proclaimed freedom of movement was not ensured in Europe and internal border checks had a strong economic impact in delaying goods and products from being rapidly delivered in the Common Market. In order to overcome this situation, in 1984, France and Germany decided to sign a bilateral agreement establishing the progressive suppression of border checks between them. Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, already engaged in a similar type of cooperation, asked to join the project. It started a few months later with the 1985 Schengen Agreement which was supplemen-

ted five years later with the Schengen Implementing Convention. Under the Schengen Agreement, signed on June 14, 1985, five countries committed themselves to gradually abolishing the borders between them, accompanied by more effective surveillance of their external borders. It established: short-term measures simplifying internal border checks and coordinating the fight against drug trafficking and crime; and longterm measures such as the harmonization of laws and rules on drug and arms trafficking, police cooperation, and visa policies. The Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, signed on June 19, 1990, set out how the abolition of internal border controls would be applied, as well as a series of necessary accompanying measures. It aimed to strengthen external border checks, define procedures for issuing uniform visas, establish a Schengen Information System, and take action against drug trafficking.

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The full participation in the Schengen Area is made conditional upon a unanimous decision made by the Council of Ministers of the European Union

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The implementation of the Schengen Agreements started in 1995 with the abolition of borders controls between the five founding States and also Spain and Portugal. From that point onwards, the Schengen Area has constantly expanded to new States. While developed as an intergovernmental cooperation, the Schengen Acquis (the 1985 Agreement, the 1990 Implementing convention and decisions taken by the Schengen executive Committee) was integrated into the legal framework of the EU by the 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam. What requirements do States have to meet in order to join the Schengen Area? Joining the Schengen Area is a technical and political decision. From a technical point of view, applicant countries must fulfil a list of pre-conditions, such as their readiness and capacity: to take responsibility for controlling the external borders on behalf of the other Schengen countries and the issuing of uniform Schengen visas; 100

to cooperate efficiently with law enforcement agencies in other Schengen countries, in order to maintain a high level of security once border controls between Schengen countries are abolished; to apply the Schengen Acquis including inter alia control of land, sea, and air borders (airports); issuing of visas; police cooperation, protection of personal data; to connect to, and use the Schengen Information System. The European Commission evaluates whether the applicant State fulfils the requirements. If so, the European Commission issues a report stating that the conditions for joining the Schengen Area are technically met. The full participation in the Schengen Area is made conditional upon a political decision taking the form of a unanimous decision made by the Council of Ministers of the European Union. This double mechanism explains why Romania and Bulgaria remain outside the Schengen Area. Although these States have satisfied the technical requirements, there is

still no unanimity among the States to let them in. Does any European Union Member countries have not adhered to it yet and why? Is the free movement of their citizens in the Area restricted accordingly? While some States are in the process of becoming a Member of the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom and Ireland choose not to take part in this project. This decision does not affect the rights of freedom of movement their citizens enjoy under EU law. More concretely, UK and Irish citizens have the right to enter and reside in another Member State for up to three months or for work, family, or study purposes for a longer period. By remaining outside the Schengen Area, United Kingdom and Ireland continue to perform border checks at their external borders. Conversely, people flying from Ireland or the United Kingdom to the Schengen Area are subject to border checks at Schengen Area entry points.

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It is also commonly perceived that the abolition of controls on persons, whatever their nationality, when crossing internal borders represents a danger for the security of the European Union. Do you share this concern? It is a widespread idea that the Schengen Area brings â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;security deficitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It should be underlined that from the very beginning, the Schengen cooperation (the 1985 Agreement and the 1990 Convention) has devoted several provisions to police and justice cooperation in a number of fields related inter alia to combating crime, particularly illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and arms, the unauthorized entry and residence of persons, customs and tax fraud, and smuggling. Cooperation in the security field has constantly evolved over the years. Hence, and since the opening of internal border checks, the Schengen zone has not been transformed into an insecure Area to live and travel in.

The European Policy Center continuously works on a range of themes, also covering mobility and immigration. In order to clarify for States their obligations on these issues stemming from their membership in the European Union. Last year you and some other researchers launched an interesting project. The European Migration Law project has been developed alongside

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duce internal border controls? Member countries are allowed to reintroduce internal border checks for one reason; where there is a serious threat to public policy or internal security. This can happen in three specific situations: immediate action (Utoya massacre), planned situation (sports events) or where deficiencies in controlling external borders constitute a serious threat to public policy or internal security within the area without internal border control or within parts thereof. In all of these cases, reintroduction of internal border checks has to follow a specific procedure and should be temporary.

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my position at the European Policy Center. Gathering a group of lawyers and academics, the project is based on one strong belief, rights created by EU immigration and asylum law will produce their full effect if professionals and practitioners know those rules and use them. But professionals and practitioners (judges, lawyers, trade unions, social workers, academics, researchers, NGOs, governments, international organizations ...) may struggle to keep on top of constantly evolving EU rules and their interpretation by the Court of justice of the EU. EuropeanMigrationLaw.eu has been developed to respond to their needs. It is a useful tool that offers direct, simple, and updated information on legal and jurisprudential developments in this particular field. In addition, the website offers users the possibility of subscribing to regular updates sent by e-mail informing them about relevant news (texts, jurisprudence, reports, press releases, etc.) adopted at EU level.

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European feeling

EUROPe

by Oxygen With the contributing factor of the impact of the economic crisis on Europe, in the last Eurobarometer, citizens’ trust in institutions showed some signs of faltering. For example, the Italians’ lack of trust in the European Commission rose to 35% compared to last year’s 32%, and with regard to the European Parliament, increased to 41% from the previous 36%; these figures are not very encouraging, but they nevertheless attest to the fact that the trust in the EU institutions is three times greater than that felt toward the national bodies. Italy is still part of a minority of the five countries whose citizens say they do not feel European, in contrast to 39% of EU citizens who said, instead, that they felt very European. There is also a great feeling of belonging recorded in the younger age groups.

61% EU power Many citizens believe that the EU has the power and means to defend its interests in the global economy

59% European membership There is a full majority of citizens who feel European

41% The approaching crisis A good percentage of respondents feels closer to citizens of other EU countries as a result of the economic crisis

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27% Trust is young The percentage of European citizens between the ages of 15 and 24 who have confidence in the EU is 7 points higher than that of respondents aged over 55

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The future of the EU There are many who believe that the EU is not going in the right direction

More information There is also a high percentage of those who think they are not sufficiently informed about European issues

53% The consensus regarding the EMU The majority is in favor of the European Monetary Union (EMU)

53% Negative feelings More than half of the respondents do not feel European

45% A seven-point drop compared to 2012 The percentage of citizens who feel European has dropped from the 52% recorded in 2012

40% A minority without trust Less than half of the respondents have confidence in the future

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special

Cities are the ‘raison d’Être’ by Oriol Nel·lo Professor of Urban Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

To make a continent, it takes a city. In many ways, Europe is based on its urbanization, a process that has made it what it is today. But the world is changing, its requirements are changing, and in order for the countries of the European continent to have healthy and competitive economies and societies, their citizens and institutions must unite to improve their cities.

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The contemporary process of urbanization has European origins, for the most part. It was in Europe that at the end of the eighteenth century, the necessary economic and political changes took place, allowing cities to extend their physical and legal boundaries and begin their gradual territorial expansion. And once again, it was in Europe, with the end of the Ancien Régime and the birth of industry triggering the increase in urban populations, that the first modern metropolises emerged. Ultimately, it was largely in Europe that the foundations were laid for changes that would lead to the expansion of the urbanization process and to the formation of the world system of cities. This process has continued over the past two centuries until reaching the current situation, in which the vast majority of the European population (73%) lives in areas classified as ‘urban’, and the habits and conditions of urban life, first exclusive only to a part of the territory, have reached almost all the European area. Thus, it is not surprising that in studying the role of cities in the history of Europe, Leonardo Benevolo saw them as the “raison d’être, perhaps the main one, of Europe as a distinct historical entity.” Any reflection on the future of Europe must therefore first of all consider the challenges and opportunities that the historical process proposes for its cities. To any attentive observer, the picture that emerges from this reflection will present a number of chiaroscuri, just as if it were a painting by Caravaggio or Zur-

barán. On one hand, it is clear that European cities now offer a good part of the population levels of well-being, security, and culture that are among the highest on the planet. On the other hand, it is undeniable that these benefits do not cover all the citizens, they have very high environmental costs, and find themselves under serious threats. In fact, in general terms, European cities enjoy a high quality of urban services, infrastructures, and housing – both in terms of construction, surface per inhabitant and access to urban services – which many other urban realities, developed through processes of more informal and polarized growth, do not have. Furthermore, European cities are found in the most accessible areas on the planet, and they generate a substantial part of the goods and products consumed worldwide. Finally, despite the persistence of substantial inequalities, today European cities offer the majority of their population levels of personal security and access to basic services – health, education, social protection – that are not so common in other parts of the world. This reality, which is the result of a largely troubled history full of effort and hope as well as conflicts and unspeakable tragedies, is now facing substantial historical threats. First, in many European cities, the average age of the population is increasing dramatically. In some cases this factor, combined with economic restructuring, is causing depopulation (some examples are Łódz´, Liverpool, or Leipzig), while 105

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in others, is attracting immigrant populations that are not always well accepted. On the other hand, European cities consume large amounts of resources and contribute to a significant extent to the fact that the ecological footprint of the inhabitants of Europe is now more than twice the global average. It is also to be taken into account that many European cities are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In addition, a substantial part of the resources consumed in them comes from other regions of the globe, making European society highly dependent on external inputs. Furthermore, this set of changes is taking place at a time when the global economy is causing rapid and profound changes in the hierarchy of the world urban system and the location of the centers of gravity of power. This means that – unlike what happened at the dawning of the contemporary process of urbanization – the major urban centers of the world tend to be outside of Europe and that cities like Milan or Turin, for example, now no longer have Amsterdam or Barcelona as their major economic competitors, but cities of Southeast Asia or Latin America that many Europeans would find difficult to locate on a map. In this context, the future largely depends on the way in which Europe will be able to take advantage of its undeniable assets and deal with the serious challenges that are arising in its urban areas. The role of the government of cities, regions and, ultimately, Europe, will be crucial. Some of the most important pacts that have contributed to shape contemporary European cities are undoubtedly the process of the European institutional construction and the acceptance, after the great convulsions of the first half of the last century, of the economic system in return for the guarantee of general well-being and universal access to basic services. Today, these basic agreements are at risk in much of Europe, threatened by the evolution of the economic situation and deregulatory pressures. Therefore a new social and political impulse is needed on a European scale in order to reverse the trend and ensure that all European cities continue towards greater social equity, efficiency in service management, environmental protection, and democratic quality of their governance, that is, those elements that, despite all the limitations, gave the city its distinctive European character. In recent decades, urbanization has spread throughout the territory, creating large areas of low-density settlements. This dynamic has contributed greatly to the deterioration of the consolidated parts of cities and the segregation

The transformation of cities alone will not solve the inequalities in European societies, but it can help to make them more equitable

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cities are the ‘raison d’être’ |

of certain social groups, it has also fragmented open spaces, and increased the need for citizens’ mobility (resulting in higher energy and infrastructure costs) and made the cost of basic services increase. It is essential to correct and manage the effects of these processes, so as to protect environmental quality, efficiency, and social cohesion of European urban areas. In order to do that, collective projects for the development of cities, that are only possible through the public-planning tools oriented by European guidelines, need to be democratically established by the citizens. Closely linked to this issue is the need to reduce the environmental impacts of the urbanization process. European institutions have established ambitious goals in this field, in such a way that energy efficiency programs and the progressive introduction

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of new sources of renewable energy have met with some success in recent years. However, it is clear that it will be impossible to reduce the consumption of energy and resources in urban areas without a progressive yet radical, change, in lifestyles and patterns of consumption, which is still a long way off. The idea that technological improvements and IT – smart cities and big data – can solve urban problems by themselves is a mirage: the more powerful the technologies and the greater the amount of data, the more necessary it will be for politics to manage the use of both for the benefit of the community. The challenges of the territory and the environmental impact are accompanied by very relevant social problems. These make necessary changes in policies both at the European and at the city level: the rehabilitation of neighborhoods, public transport, and the protection of housing rights are essential to avoid an increase in social disparity in cities and to prevent the territorial factors from becoming one more barrier to equal opportunities. The transformation alone of cities will not solve the inequalities in European societies but can help to make them more equitable. This set of initiatives on planning, the environment, and urban policies clearly requires a strong political will. There is a need for citizens to be involved and active, and political forces and institutions to be able to transform this momentum into concrete actions by governments. There is need for a rescaling of European politics, a double impetus to strengthen the governance mechanisms on a European scale while giving the opportunity to the people to decide on the basic issues at the regional and urban level. This reorientation should involve first a decisive improvement in the EU’s ability to contribute to urban policies, which are a key element for the environmental quality, economic efficiency, and social cohesion of Europe. Secondly, urban governance needs to be enhanced in order to promote transversal policies, cooperation between governments, citizens’ participation, and the quality of democracy in making decisions and assessing public policies. It is only through this renewed political impetus that Europe’s raison d’être will continue to be found in its cities. 107

in-depth

Traditions for all cults by Francesca Lozito Journalist

The fact that there are many populations all together in one continent can also mean having to deal with different, yet intertwined, religious cults, traditions, and cultures. There is a variety that excludes no one, that keeps pace with the spiritual evolution of the European population, and does not forget the sometimes difficult history that Europe has experienced.

There is a majority of Christians in Europe and they coexist mainly with Muslims. Then there are also Jews, as well as Buddhists and Hindus. The religions in Europe would not be such a complicated puzzle if they were viewed this way. If it weren’t for the fact that within Christianity, distinctions which have contributed to characterizing the history of Europe for so many centuries still persist: of the 555 million Christians, slightly more than half are Catholics (269 million), one-third are Orthodox (170 million), 80 million are Protestants, and 30 million are Anglicans. Today, if we look at Europe through the eyes of these presences, we realize that, even in a world that some define as secularized, those religions still count as to history, customs, and popular beliefs. Take the case of religious traditions. The Three Kings and their relics unite the north of Europe with France and Italy. This year Cologne will celebrate the 850th anniversary of when the relics were taken from Milan to that German city: the reliquary with some of the ‘remains’

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of the Wise Men who came to worship Jesus not only became the foundation of the local Church, but also of the entire city. The relics were taken to Germany from Milan by Frederick Barbarossa. It was not until the early twentieth century, when Cardinal Ferrari obtained the restitution of a part of them in 1904, that the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio could enshrine them once again in Milan. Those relics, which presumably arrived in Europe from Jerusalem during the so-called Holy Wars, have left their mark on festivals, bridges – in Lucerne and Basel there are still bridges dedicated to the Drei Koenige (the Three Kings) – and cakes, like the ones that are still baked for children in France. Something very similar happens in Spain where El Niño, the Child, is always worshiped on January 6. People in Seville still hang a red cloth with the image of the child Jesus on the balconies of their homes. Of course, if traditions were enough to unite the pieces of the puzzle of European religions, it would be much easier. But we cannot deny that the Holocaust almost wiped out the presence of the Jew-

ish population in Europe, reduced to three and a half million people. And we cannot forget that twenty years ago, the war in the Balkans saw human barbarity lash out against the Muslim community, precisely where the population had been trying for centuries to build a possible coexistence. “And where there is still a moderate Islam that those who want to thwart the violence in order to build a future of peace must take into consideration,” said Alberto Quattrucci, who is responsible for the annual meeting of ‘Men and Religions’ for the Community of Sant’Egidio. This is an event that, after the meeting in Assisi in 1986 when Pope John Paul II brought together representatives of the world’s major religions, is held every year to continue in that spirit. Without fear of the difficulties. “Religions in Europe have a particular historical heritage: they are the bearers of an education on dialogue and how to live together. In a Europe where there are many populations and the expression of different religions, there is the possibility that human rights can be respected more. It is no coincidence that here in Europe, compared to other places in the world, the death penalty has been abolished for quite a while.” According to the representative of Sant’Egidio, this must be the starting point for “condemning the use of religion as a form of violence. Dialogue is work in progress, under construction, and if it is stopped, then conflict resumes.” This is why Quattrucci says: “Christianity in Europe must be more courageous in dialoguing with Islam. It must look to the moderate traditions like that of the Balkans.” Instead, what can be said about the presence of new religions in Europe? “They are an expression of a profound demand for spirituality. “They occur in two ways” – says the expert. “On the one hand, there are the immigrants from Asian countries, and on the other, Europeans who convert, for example, to Buddhism.” The Italian Conference of Bishops will soon be held in Rome, where the Christians and Buddhists of Italy will be able to exchange views.

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Progress made by the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; generation by Chiara Romerio Journalist

Many European students have been able to have a unique experience thanks to the Erasmus program; studying abroad is not just about learning a language, but also about how to become better citizens of the world. Despite the strong push towards the internationalization of studies that has seen the emergence of other programs and reforms, there are still technical barriers to abolish.

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In the beginning there was … Erasmus. Today there is Erasmus Plus. But first things first. When it comes to studying by traveling in Europe, the Dutch humanist and the program that bears his name through the acronym for European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students comes to mind. Founded in 1987, the program has ‘mobilized’ more than three million students in the EU Member States (plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey), giving them the opportunity to attend a European university for a period of study legally recognized by their university. In 2007, Erasmus joined the Lifelong Learning Programme, which supports education and lifelong learning in the European Union, and which also includes the Comenius project in support of the actions for schools (from nursery to the secondary level), Leonardo da Vinci, an exchange program for students and university professors, and Grundtvig, for actions in the field of adult education. As of 2014, the new Erasmus+ program combines all the existing schemes for EU funding in the areas of education, training, youth activities, and even sports, and also includes the entire Lifelong Learning Programme, Youth in Action, and some international cooperation programs. With a budget of 14.7 billion euros for the 20142020 period, in the current year the program has provided one billion and 800 million euros for funding to promote, inter alia, mobility opportunities for students, trainees, and teachers, as well as to create or improve partnerships between institutions and organizations working in the areas of reference. The ‘internationalization’ of studies in Europe – meaning along the lines of Erasmus, with a portion of their studies to be carried out abroad – nowadays does not just come by way of the Erasmus channel. There are many initiatives that are being created and developed on the basis of bilateral agreements between universities in different Member States of the EU. In Italy, under the Ministry of Education, the Office for the inter-university cooperation of the Directorate General for the University contributes to the internationalization of higher education by promoting activities

that look beyond national borders, and liaising with counterparts in international forums. Promotion is accomplished through the funding and management of the programs of the universities created for this purpose and through measures for the implementation of intergovernmental agreements of cultural cooperation. The initiatives undertaken by the universities translate into the international mobility of students, for the purpose of attending courses, thesis work, internships, or the acquisition of a double degree or joint degree. But there is plenty of uncertainty when it comes to the academic titles and their recognition. The process of reforming the system of higher education with an international character, which arose in Bologna in 1999 from the need to make the system of European training as competitive as possi-

As of 2014, the new Erasmus+ program combines all the existing schemes for EU funding in the areas of education, training, youth activities, and even sports

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ble, has taken – through a long and arduous journey done in stages – huge steps forward in an attempt to break down barriers and create harmonized training spaces, in what is nevertheless an ongoing process. For example, this has led to the definition of a general framework of titles to which the national ones must adapt, but at the end of the twenty-first century, only six countries had developed a framework compatible with the general one. There are still inconsistencies in the approval of the duration of the courses of study established by the system of cycles: the threeyear bachelor’s degree, the biennial master’s, and the doctorate degree, which is often less circumscribed. And one cannot help but consider the fact that the goal of building the European Higher Education Area, formalized in 2010 during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the conference in Bologna, is suffering from the difficulty of States to provide adequate funding for the public education sector. But it is not only at the university level that European students have the choice of travel in order to study. A few words should also be said about the situation for secondary schools. In terms of student activities, there are initiatives of agreements and partnerships between schools, ministries, and institutions in different countries, aimed at (once again) the recognition of qualifications or – an aspect not to be overlooked – dedicated to the development of the linguistic preparation necessary to pursue their studies abroad. For example, in the context of international high schools in Italy, there is the option of classes in English, again created thanks to the partnership established with Cambridge University, and in particular, with Cambridge International Examinations. The EsaBac program allows Italian and French students to pass just one examination in order to achieve two diplomas, the Italian State Exam and the French Baccalauréat. The students of the international sections with the Spanish language option, based on a bilateral agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, take a fourth written State exam in Spanish: 112

The process of reforming the system of higher education with an international character has taken huge steps forward in an attempt to break down barriers and create harmonized training spaces the diploma granted also allows them to be obtain the título de Bachiller, after a procedure through the Spanish embassy. Similarly, the international sections with the German language option, created with the express purpose of creating a new kind of ‘European citizen’, take a state exam integrated with a fourth written test and an interview in the German language; the legal basis is the bilateral cultural agreement in 2004 that allows access to German universities without a language exam. This is an advantage of no small importance when you consider that access to university (or the admission tests) is allowed to those who are in possession of the certification of B2 language level in Austria and the C1 level in Germany. In terms of teacher training, there is the Pestalozzi program, an activity of the Council of Europe for the training of educators of primary and secondary school, created in 1969 by the forty-nine States that signed the European Cultural Convention. Every year the program

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organizes a series of seminars on topics related to the priorities identified by the Council of Europe in the field of education, including intercultural dialogue, the practices of social inclusion, and citizenship education. The seminars are an opportunity to learn about the work of the Council of Europe in the field of education and exchange information, ideas, and teaching materials with colleagues from other countries, and this is why the participation of faculty and staff is facilitated by the allocation of scholarships. Of the 2,000 European educators participating in this program every year, 500 are entitled to the reimbursement of travel expenses: this is a practical initiative to create a space for discussion and educational alignment for the trainers of ‘European students’.

The Bologna Process The Bologna Process is the name given to the meeting, held in 1999 in the city of the same name, to define an international reform of higher education systems in the European Union; its aim was to create the European Higher Education Area by 2010. Its history has roots in previous treaties and agreements, the last of which was the Sorbonne Declaration of 1998, which stressed the need to create diverse and multidisciplinary curricula and encourage the use of languages and new technologies. Over the years, the goals of the Process have expanded, including the ERA – European Research Area, up to the effective implementation of this ‘double European space’ during the conference in Budapest and Vienna on March 2010, where the EHEA declaration was signed by 47 parties.

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Horizon 2020 The new future of research by Luca Salvioli Journalist

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Horizon 2020 is a Community Framework Program which aims to fund research and innovation, with 78 billion euros, at current prices, for the best projects submitted from December 2013 up to the end of 2020. This is an important opportunity for the world of universities, research centers, SMEs, and start-ups, starting with the fact that the budget has been increased by approximately 30% compared to the previous project. Taking a broader view, you could say it is a program that is crucial for Europe. Not by chance, it is the only area of the EU budget that is growing. The studies that correlate economic growth and investment in research and innovation are a point of departure that is now imperative, and as Europe looks to the innovative technologies, it struggles to carve out a space between the United States and the largest Asian countries. Aside from the figures, Horizon 2020 is also distinguished by its approach. The Commission’s objective is to make the program simpler than previously in order to encourage the participation of small and mediumsized enterprises and research centers, with response times that are more rapid, and more flexible criteria. Not only that: interdisciplinarity is a winning approach, in line with the fact that the knowledge economy requires the ability to combine a vision and technical skills. Therefore the sectors are no longer separated by insurmountable barriers: the same project may participate in a number of areas and seek the collaboration of companies, private centers, hospitals and so on. The simplification results in various technicalities, but in general, we can say that the Commission has decided to integrate the financial tools for research and innovation by reducing the number of specific programs, simplifying the rules for participation, and reducing the time frame: the ‘time to grant’, which is the period that goes from the presentation of the project to the signing of the loan, is eight months. The program is organized into three ‘pillars’: excellent science, industrial leadership, and social challenges. The first area is dedicated to the highest quality cutting-edge research, looking to the long-term by aim-

The environment, food security, energy are the major challenges that call for a response

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ing for the funding of individual researchers. The objective is to make Europe into a land that is capable of attracting researchers. In the case of industrial leadership, the mission is to facilitate access to venture capital, innovation in SMEs, and provide targeted support to a number of priorities: ICT, nanotechnologies, advanced materials, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and processing, and space technology. Finally, the ‘social challenges’ are the strategic choices. This is the entry with the most funding (over 29 billion euros) and includes: health, demographic change, food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research, bio-economy, clean energy, intelligent transport, climate, and raw materials management. How does one participate? In order to reduce rigidity, there are no funds allocated to individual countries. It is therefore the actual projects contending for resources based on the assessments made by independent evaluators. Funds are awarded through each competition and the appli-

cations can be submitted through a single online portal (you can get there easily by using http://ec.europa.eu/horizon2020). The projects foresee co-financing by the EU and the participants, but this depends on the circumstances: for research and development, the share borne by the Commission can be up to 100%, while for innovation it reaches 70% (100% for non -profit organizations). The competitions have already started and September 30 was the ‘click day’ for winning the resources of the competition for the projects of industrial research and experimental development, from the fund for sustainable growth that was started within the context of Horizon 2020 by the Ministry of Economic Development. There are several steps to submitting a project: it starts with the preliminary phase, then there is the business planning phase funded with 50,000 euros and finally, if the plan is approved, the final financing. Any enterprise, university, research center, or other legal entity established in a Member

Interdisciplinarity is a winning approach, in line with the fact that the knowledge economy requires the ability to combine vision and technical skills

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State, in an associated country, or a third country may participate. Compared to previous research programs, the Commission has decided to focus the efforts of researchers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists by dictating the priorities on which to focus their projects. The environment, food security, energy, and the other priorities already mentioned are the major challenges that call for a response. In an interview published in Il Sole 24 Ore on February 19, 2014, Dario Braga, pro-rector of research at the University of Bologna, wrote: “Some people do not like to be told what to study and do research in. Does this offend the researcher’s free initiative? Does it inhibit their ability to make major new discoveries in a serendipitous manner? Could be. In fact, that is partly true, but it is also true that the debate on approaching H2020 has also collected our contributions. If we have not been able to impose some of our interests on the system (such as the preservation of cultural heritage), it is a bit our fault too ... as we are perpetually busy dealing with other matters. That’s how it is. But now that the field is more or less defined, are we actually going to be able to deal with the game?” This is the big question for Italy’s re-

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search and for its entrepreneurial fabric. Europe is placing Italy to face the challenge of overcoming the gap between academia and industry, and not only that: between faculty and faculty, and between horizontal and vertical expertise. Knowing how to meet it means not only intercepting a framework program, but also feeling European, being European, and going back to betting on growth.

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open ,data by Alberto Cottica Economist

The kind of knowledge that is open and ready to be exchanged for transversal usage without borders or owners: convergent data that gathers new information from the admixture and from which comparisons are made. This is the scenario that open data offers, which is an opportunity that Europe has already partly cultivated and on which significant progress is being made in order to make the passage of knowledge between Member countries more fluid. Governments, corporations, and other organizations collect and process data in order to perform their functions and achieve their goals. When such data is published so that it can be reused, it is called open data. Businesses can reuse it to orient their decisions; civic leaders and activists to monitor their government’s performance; scientists to enhance their research. Open data can be combined across different data sources, giving rise to compounds whose information value is greater than that of the st sum of its parts. Imagine a list of driving accidents, collected from police reports. For each episode, the report lists the date and time, the place, the number of injuries, and fatalities. Now imagine you have map data that can localize addresses on a map. If you superimpose your list of accidents on the map, you get a map of driving accidents. Previ-

ously hidden knowledge is suddenly revealed: are there any patterns? Are some areas more accident-prone than others? Does the proximity to certain landmarks play a part? You can’t extract this information from the list of accidents alone, nor, obviously, from a city map. It is only when you combine the two that you learn new things. Open data is also about opening up new spaces for civic engagement. My own country, Italy, publishes online open data about projects funded by cohesion funds. Citizens can now look up any project they know of and see how much it costs and what stage the endeavor is at. This has spawned a civic monitoring initiative called ‘Monithon’; citizens are encouraged to gather information about government projects and file reports on how the work is being carried out. These reports are then used to enrich the government dataset, allow-

Many believe that data is the new oil, the fuel powering growth in the 21 century

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ing the monitoring of public spending to be cheaper, more comprehensive, and open for citizens to participate in. This potential for recombination is the ‘open’ in open data. It requires datasets to be online, in raw form (as granular as possible) and machine-readable (so it can be processed by computers without any human intermediation); additionally, its owners must agree that anyone can reuse it. Openness means that all open data, from whatever source and wherever it is released, is added to a global resource that anybody can tap into. It has considerable potential for business: many believe that data is the new oil, the fuel powering growth in the 21st century. This is a global resource that can fuel democratic participation and the growth of the next century. What’s not to like? And indeed, open data is generally believed to be a good thing. It has no real political opponent, at least in the west. This has allowed the open data scene to make a lot of progress very rapidly. Let the case of Italy illustrate this point. I was among the founders of Spaghetti Open Data, the main Italian-language Internet resource, in September 2010. At that time there was no national open data portal, nor policy (I am pretty sure that the minister in charge of the public service at the time had never even heard of the word); only one of the twenty Italian regions had released any data at all. There were about 15 people on our mailing list. Four years later, the Italian government does have an open data portal (dati.gov. it launched in late 2011); most regions and many important cities have followed suit; Italy boasts one of the largest open data operations in the world, the mighty OpenCoesione (financial data on six hundred thousand government-funded projects); the Prime Minister Renzi has firsthand experience on the matter, gained in his previous job as mayor of Florence. Most importantly, Italy has spawned a small but effective cadre of civic hackers: activists, developers, and entrepreneurs who are highly skilled at finding new, creative uses for open data. Our mailing list now has one thousand subscribers.

The European Union supports the societal shift towards open data. That means leading by example, publishing its own data in open format through a reasonably well-run open data portal but above all, Europe’s open data policy means regulation

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Europe’s role The European Union supports the societal shift towards open data. That means leading by example, publishing its own data in open format through a reasonably well-run open data portal and running flagship initiatives such as Europeana, a large meta-library giving access to millions of digitized documents (from books to music, films, museum objects, and archival records) that relate to Europe’s cultural heritage. But above all, Europe’s open data policy means regulation of the Directive on Public Sector Information, issued in 2003 and amended in 2013. As with all things European, the different member countries have come to terms with the data revolution at different speeds and with different degrees of conviction. European regulation has played an important role in encouraging the less enthusiastic member countries to jump on the bandwagon. Two models: government-led vs. civic hacker-led There is still plenty of diversity in Europe. Two models coexist: some national governments, probably inspired by President Obama’s bold stance (he signed a presidential order making federal data open by default on his very first day in office in 2008), have been aggressively driving the shift towards open data. Though activists in these countries (most notably the UK and Denmark) did follow suit, this gave rise to scenes in which governments are the main actors. The private sector and civic hackers sometimes cannot keep up with the pace of the release of new data; this might lead to a downward adjustment of expectations, as happened in 2011 in America, where the Obama administration slashed the budget of e-government policies, including open data. In other countries, like Italy and the Netherlands, the balance is reversed. National governments have been slower to adopt full-fledged policies; this has created a space for activists to seize the initiative, and maintain it. In these countries, the ability of civic hackers to reuse data (the ‘demand side’ of open data) has generally been able to keep up with the release of new data (the ‘supply side’), leading to a more organic growth of the whole scene. 120

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The Nantes initiative: towards a convergence? Despite tremendous progress and European Union initiatives, there is no continent-wide open data scene yet. The supply side has been harmonized, with standards and practices for release being more or less consistent throughout the continent. But the same is not true for the demand side: civic hackers in one country talk mostly to data providers and other civic hackers in the same country. This leads to a duplication of effort and waste of opportunities: many – probably most – reuse cases could be exported from one country to another. As an example, take archaeological data. Italy has many Roman and medieval sites that generate rich, multimedia data (photos, stratigraphy, notes from archaeologists taking part in the excavations, financial data …), and all of it should be open. But then so do Greece, France, Spain, and many other European countries, and they should be keeping in close contact: solutions that work in one country are likely to also work in the others. Recently, a small group of internationallyminded civic hackers has made a move to-

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wards a deeper Europe-wide integration of the open data scene. It all started from one of my own posts: I pointed out that even in a highly successful and lively grassroots open data event – ostensibly the community engagement Holy Grail of European policies – Europe was completely absent from the picture, and I proposed an Erasmus-like program for open data, so that civic hackers could learn from each other and circulate skills and hacks across Europe. This led a French association called LiberTIC to organize a European meetup calling for Erasmus Open Data in the French city of Nantes. Digital Agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes enthusiastically endorsed it (to the point of claiming it as a Commission initiative, which it is not). The shift towards an open data society is happening, and it only natural that it should happen at the European level. However, continent-level integration is not entirely left to European institutions: the community is playing an important role, often as the trailblazer for the Commission’s moves. For what it’s worth, I think this is a healthy setup, and look forward to its further developments.

I proposed an Erasmus-like program for open data, so that civic hackers could learn from each other and circulate skills and hacks across Europe

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Beyond borders maramures romania

by Chiara Priante Journalist

A passport? It is an exotic object, to be taken out of the drawer only in order to travel overseas. But it has not always been like that: Schengen has redefined the travel habits of European citizens, allowing them to move freely without being stopped at the border in 29 countries, giving new life to such a strategically important area as tourism.

alentejo portugal Nowadays campers are parked at the border in Menton, between Italy and France. They are not in the queue. They may stop for days under the shelters where the police once controlled documents, with lots of tables, chairs, and bicycles leaning against the former offices. This is a snapshot that captures the freedom to travel in Europe thanks to the Schengen agreement, a quiet revolution in terms of tourism which took its name from the village in Luxembourg where the pact among the first countries was signed in 1985. Today, in the common view, this transformation hardly gives pause, moving around and traveling has become a lot easier since then. Thus, Europe has changed but so have the lives of its citizens: there are 29 countries (22 Member States plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and little Monaco, San Marino, 122

and the Vatican City). These are countries where you can circulate without worrying about having to show an identification document. You can go through the Sant’Andrea pass in Gorizia without lifting your foot from the accelerator. You can fly from Paris to Berlin as if it were Paris-Nice. “Thanks to this agreement, more than 400 million Europeans can travel without a passport, and every year there are more than 1.25 billion tourist trips,” says Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs. The data in order to understand how the flows have changed in this space – delimited by 42,673 km of sea borders and 7,721 on land – does not exist: as explained by DG Entreprise Tourism in Brussels, abolishing controls has removed any form of counting. If you want, you can just call it absolute freedom to travel in Europe. But even if there are no numbers, common sense shows that Schengen has worked. In Italy, where tourism accounts for 9.4% of its GDP, there are 46.1 million tourists arriving each year. In order of origin, they come from Germany, the USA, France, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Belgium, Russia, Poland, China, Australia, and Canada. Eight out of 15 countries, almost all of them in the first places, belong to the Schengen area. This is why Commissioner Malmström is sure: “The creation of space is one of the most tangible, popular, and positive results achieved by the EU: an achievement that we must protect and take care of, and where possible, improve”. The Commission is working to strengthen the Schengen rules to consolidate cooperation between Member States. Management of the external borders is the current debate and one that has also emerged since the last Biennial Report on Schengen. But it also aims to grow: four countries (Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia) are on the launch pad; they do not yet have all the technical expedients to join, yet for example, their citizens will also be able to visit Madrid without any difficulty. But Europe – which has the highest density and variety of tourist attractions in the world – is not thinking only of borders for boosting tourism, a key sector of the its economy with 9.7 million employees. It is primarily working on ‘shaking up’ the Europeans. From your smartphone you can connect to the portal Your Europe (www. ec.europa.eu/youreurope), which provides practical information for traveling in Europe. There is the Europe Direct information center that responds to phone calls (00/800 67891011) and e-mails

The abolition of border controls has also removed any form of counting: if you want, call it absolute freedom to travel in Europe fjords Norway

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But Europe – which has the highest density and variety of tourist attractions in the world – is not thinking only of borders for boosting tourism: it is primarily working on ‘shaking up’ the Europeans camargue france

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(europa.eu/europedirect) and has several branches throughout the area. Websites and numbers that will be helpful to the many Europeans, for example, who are coming to Italy for the Expo 2015. But services aside, there are the policies. The objective today is called the Third Age. After having moved Europeans from their home countries with the elimination of borders, it now wants to remove the slippers from the feet of that slice of the population over the age of 55 – 25% of residents in Europe – that can also travel off-season. The Calypso initiative brought together 21 EU countries between 2009 and 2011, to begin to build a common strategy to create a social tourism in Europe, precisely for people over-sixty-five, those who are not able to travel, with families in economic difficulties, and disabilities. This has been followed by other actions: in May 2012, the Commission launched the pilot phase of Tourism of the Third Age, which defines the conditions for encouraging older people to move around Europe, and a call for proposals in 2013 gave impetus to the initiative. In practice, the aim is to develop tourism products and travel packages for the elderly outside their own country, creating partnerships between the public and private sectors. But the EU is also trying to help tourism grow with funding, which on the one hand supports businesses, and on the other, Europeans themselves, enriching the offers. There is the European Regional Development Fund (the so-called ERDF) that helps more sustainable patterns of tourism to enhance natural and cultural heritage. The European Social Fund (ESF) co-finances training courses for those who want to work in tourism, promotes professional mobility, and offers small prizes for starting micro enterprises in the sector. The European programs for lifelong learning and the Erasmus Program for Young Entrepreneurs allow you to go abroad to study and train in tourism. The European Agricultural Fund for

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Latest Heritage of Humanity sites in Europe

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Rural Development (EAFRD), in addition to helping to improve the quality of agricultural products, encourages tourism in that sector: farmers are being invited to create accommodation facilities on their farms. Even the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) is appealing to the areas dependent on fisheries to try other activities, such as ecotourism. The feature that is common to all these initiatives is the search for a more sustainable tourism. But the future? It means most certainly looking beyond Europe, to nationals of third world countries who today often face long, complex, and expensive procedures to obtain their visa. In April, a plan for the simplification of these aspects was discussed for the first time: the EU is working on creating practices that are shorter and simpler. According to the forecast, this will lead to 1.3 million jobs in tourism. This is oxygen in a time of crisis, something that never would have been imagined 30 years ago. A bit like the swimsuits hanging next to the customs offices at the Mentone border.

2014 • Vineyard Landscapes in the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato areas (Italy) • Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) • The Cliffs of Stevns (Denmark) • Cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche (France) • Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey (Germany) 2013 • Wooden Tserkvas (Orthodox churches) in the Carpathian region (Poland and Ukraine) • University of Coimbra (Portugal) • Medici villas and gardens in Tuscany (Italy) • Mount Etna (Italy) • Wilhelmshöhe Baroque hillside park (Germany) 2012 • Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin (France) • Mining sites of Wallonia (Belgium) • Opera house in Bayreuth (Germany) • Historic farmsteads of Hälsingland (Sweden) • Garrison Border town of Elvas and its Fortifications (Portugal)

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| the science of language

Globish, a language for everyone by Andrea De Benedetti Writer and linguist

Instead of the 24 official languages of the European Union that the Europeans have to use in order to communicate with each other, what if they were to take just one, perhaps from one of the countries trying hardest to keep its distance from a real union, and reduced it to its essence, shaped it, and turned it into their own. That is what Globish is, the ‘tutti frutti-language’ which has become a real communication tool in Europe.

The saying goes: We are being colonized by English. From economics to information technology, from pop culture to science, there is no branch of modernity in which we do not acknowledge a sense of being tardy and of inferiority compared to the United States and Great Britain, which we then try to make up for by deluding ourselves that simply importing containers full of Anglicisms we pronounce poorly and use even more poorly is sufficient. The matter generally arouses much more alarm among academics in the fields concerned, where the prevailing idea is that linguistic surrender is the inevitable toll to be paid to ensure competitiveness for the economy and research in Italy. And it may well be that in the end they, the Anglophiles, are right about the fact that English is the only weapon we can think of – us Italians, but not only us – to still be able to engage with that part of the world that continues to rush onward. But what kind of English are we actually talking about? What is the language variant used at international summits, conferences, business meetings, and in the European Parliament building or the U.N. headquarters? Certainly not the sterilized version

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mixed with literary allusions that is taught in high schools and language departments, and not even the filthy and picturesque slang that one can easily pick up by becoming a dishwasher or waiter at any pub in Birmingham. The English we’re talking about is a simplified variant, an ecumenical pocket-sized version. An ideal language to enable non-English speakers to communicate with each other, but one that Anglophones would be hardpressed to recognize as their own: approximately fifteen hundred words, tenses reduced more or less by half, pronunciation cleared of any local coloring, and correct but bare-bones grammar. The name Globish®, a word-salad that with a single term conveys the idea of a globalized English, was coined by Jean-Paul Narriere who wisely registered the trademark and illustrated its features in a 2009 book, Globish the World Over, which has already become a best-seller in many countries around the world (but not in Italy). According to Narriere, Globish is essentially a spoken language, and like all spoken languages, it is also a natural language to the extent that its grammar and its vocabulary were not conceived at the drawing board

like Esperanto, but are the result of a slow and continuous layering of vestments and conventions based upon which the non-English-speaking speakers daily negotiate the confines of a common language. Because that is what Globish is: a free port, an extra-territorial linguistic space subject to a jurisdiction other than that of English itself, a common ground where, unlike all the other issues that occupy them, ministers, diplomats, businessmen, and intellectuals seem to immediately understand one another. Therefore it is inevitable in the European context – beyond the EU institutions, where English coexists with French and German as the language of proceedings, and also where the spoken language is usually borrowed from the written language – that Globish has become the lingua franca with which almost everyone communicates, as well as the main factor of cohesion in a continent where, from the single currency to the Schengen treaties, it has become more and more difficult to find good reasons for sticking together. And it is a longstanding paradox that imposing its own language as the prevalent one is the very country – Great Britain – that has never wanted anything to do with the euro or EU rules. Unless the paradigm is overturned. Because the subjects of the Queen may have also imposed their own economic hegemony and linguistic diversity, but what they gotten in return? A Europe that can do without them after all and which speaks a kind of English that is not English. Think about it: and what if after all, we are the ones who are corrupting their language, barbarizing it, sterilizing it, enfeebling it with our broken English, our pocket-dictionary lexicon, and our Italian (and Spanish, and French ...) pronunciation while on an excursion? What if it isn’t actually the English language that is risking its own safety much more than Italian risks by importing Anglicisms? After hearing more than one political representative in the European Parliament massacre the language of Shakespeare, the doubt seems legitimate. It’s a pity that among the fifteen hundred words in the Globish dictionary, the word ‘legitimate’ was never contemplated.

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Oxygen 2007/2014 Andrio Abero Giuseppe Accorinti Amylkar Acosta Medina Emiliano Alessandri Nerio Alessandri Zhores Alferov Enrico Alleva Colin Anderson Lauren Anderson Martin Angioni Ignacio A. Antoñanzas Paola Antonelli Marco Arcelli Ben Backwell Antonio Badini Roberto Bagnoli Andrea Bajani Pablo Balbontin Philip Ball Alessandro Barbano Ugo Bardi Paolo Barelli Vincenzo Balzani Roberto Battiston Enrico Bellone Mikhail Belyaev Massimo Bergami Carlo Bernardini Tobias Bernhard Alain Berthoz Michael Bevan Piero Bevilacqua Ettore Bernabei Nick Bilton Andrew Blum Gilda Bojardi Aldo Bonomi Carlo Borgomeo Albino Claudio Bosio Stewart Brand Franco Bruni Luigino Bruni Giuseppe Bruzzaniti Massimiano Bucchi Pino Buongiorno Tania Cagnotto Michele Calcaterra Gian Paolo Calchi Novati Davide Canavesio Paola Capatano Maurizio Caprara Carlo Carraro Bernardino Casadei Federico Casalegno Stefano Caserini Valerio Castronovo Ilaria Catastini Marco Cattaneo Pier Luigi Celli Silvia Ceriani Marco Ciurcina Corrado Clini Co+Life/Stine Norden & Søren Rud Emanuela Colombo Elena Comelli Ashley Cooper Barbara Corrao Paolo Costa

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Rocco Cotroneo Manlio F. Coviello George Coyne Paul Crutzen Brunello Cucinelli Roberto Da Rin Vittorio Da Rold Partha Dasgupta Marta Dassù Andrea De Benedetti Luca De Biase Mario De Caro Giulio De Leo Michele De Lucchi Gabriele Del Grande Domenico De Masi Ron Dembo Gennaro De Michele Andrea Di Benedetto Gianluca Diegoli Dario Di Vico Fabrizio Dragosei Peter Droege Riccardo Duranti Freeman Dyson Magdalena Echeverría Daniel Egnéus John Elkington Richard Ernst Daniel Esty Monica Fabris Carlo Falciola Alessandro Farruggia Antonio Ferrari Francesco Ferrari Paolo Ferrari Paolo Ferri Tim Flach Danielle Fong Stephen Frink Antonio Galdo Attilio Geroni Enrico Giovannini Marcos Gonzàlez Julia Goumen Aldo Grasso Silvio Greco David Gross Sergei Guriev Julia Guther Giuseppe Guzzetti Jane Henley Søren Hermansen Thomas P. Hughes Jeffrey Inaba Christian Kaiser Sergei A. Karaganov George Kell Parag Khanna Sir David King Mervyn E. King Tom Kington Houda Ben Jannet Allal Hans Jurgen Köch Charles Landry David Lane Karel Lannoo Manuela Lehnus Johan Lehrer

Giovanni Lelli François Lenoir Jean Marc Lévy-Leblond Ignazio Licata Armin Linke Giuseppe Longo Arturo Lorenzoni L. Hunter Lovins Mindy Lubber Remo Lucchi Riccardo Luna Eric J. Lyman Tommaso Maccararo Paolo Magri Kishore Mahbubani Giovanni Malagò Renato Mannheimer Vittorio Marchis Carlo Marroni Peter Marsh Jeremy M. Martin Paolo Martinello Gregg Maryniak Massimiliano Mascolo Mark Maslin Tonia Mastrobuoni Marco Mathieu Ian McEwan John McNeill Daniela Mecenate Lorena Medel Joel Meyerowitz Stefano Micelli Paddy Mills Giovanni Minoli Marcella Miriello Antonio Moccaldi Renata Molho Maurizio Molinari Carmen Monforte Patrick Moore Luca Morena Javier Moreno Luis Alberto Moreno Leonardo Morlino Dambisa Moyo Geoff Mulgan Richard A. Muller Teresina Muñoz-Nájar Giorgio Napolitano Edoardo Nesi Ugo Nespolo Vanni Nisticò Nicola Nosengo Helga Nowotny Alexander Ochs Robert Oerter Alberto Oliverio Sheila Olmstead Vanessa Orco James Osborne Rajendra K. Pachauri Mario Pagliaro Francesco Paresce Vittorio Emanuele Parsi Claudio Pasqualetto Corrado Passera Alberto Pastore Darwin Pastorin

Federica Pellegrini Gerardo Pelosi Shimon Peres Ignacio J. Pérez-Arriaga Matteo Pericoli Francesco Perrini Emanuele Perugini Carlo Petrini Telmo Pievani Tommaso Pincio Giuliano Pisapia Michelangelo Pistoletto Viviana Poletti Giovanni Porzio Borja Prado Eulate Ludovico Pratesi Stefania Prestigiacomo Giovanni Previdi Antonio Preziosi Filippo Preziosi Vladimir Putin Alberto Quadrio Curzio Marco Rainò Virginie Raisson Federico Rampini Jorgen Randers Mario Rasetti Carlo Ratti Henri Revol Gabriele Riccardi Marco Ricotti Gianni Riotta Sergio Risaliti Roberto Rizzo Kevin Roberts Lew Robertson Kim Stanley Robinson Sara Romano Alexis Rosenfeld John Ross Marina Rossi Bunker Roy Jeffrey D. Sachs Paul Saffo Gerge Saliba Juan Manuel Santos Giulio Sapelli Tomàs Saraceno Saskia Sassen Antonella Scott Lucia Sgueglia Steven Shapin Clay Shirky Konstantin Simonov Cameron Sinclair Uberto Siola Francesco Sisci Craig N. Smith Giuseppe Soda Antonio Sofi Donato Speroni Giorgio Squinzi Leena Srivastava Francesco Starace Robert Stavins Bruce Sterling Antonio Tajani Nassim Taleb Ian Tattersall

Paola Tavella Viktor Terentiev Chicco Testa Wim Thomas Stephen Tindale Nathalie Tocci Jacopo Tondelli Chiara Tonelli Agostino Toscana Flavio Tosi Mario Tozzi Dmitri Trenin Licia Troisi Ilaria Turba Luis Alberto Urrea Andrea Vaccari Paolo Valentino Marco Valsania Nick Veasey Matteo Vegetti Viktor Vekselberg Jules Verne Umberto Veronesi Alejo Vidal-Quadras George Vidor Marta Vincenzi Alessandra Viola Mathis Wackernagel Gabrielle Walker Elin Williams Changhua Wu Kandeh K. Yumkella Anna Zafesova Stefano Zamagni Antonio Zanardi Landi Edoardo Zanchini Carl Zimmer

Testata registrata presso il tribunale di Torino Autorizzazione n. 76 del 16 luglio 2007 Iscrizione al Roc n. 16116 Printed in October 2014 at the Tipografia Facciotti, Rome

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Europe:

the perfect harmony The European Union, with institutions, assemblies, important buildings, and offices scattered throughout its Member States, can sometimes seem distant and difficult to understand. But it is closer than it seems. It is in your wallet, in your documents, your freedom, your food, your shopping bags, at work, in school, and in your domestic tranquility. And therefore the European Union must be recognized as the organization that has long been positively affecting our present and our future. On the occasion of the six-month Italian Presidency to the European Council, Oxygen recounts Europe as it is today and as it has been in the past, explaining its positive influence and reflecting on the steps still to be taken to continue to perform. Because, as Jacques Delors said, “Europe is like riding a bicycle: if you don’t go forward, it falls.”

together with