Marburg

Blueprint - First Issue Members of Blueprint: Peyman Khaljani (DE) - Editor Kira Lange (DE) - Video-Editor Manon Lynn Sch端rch - (CH) - Journalist Gustaf Westin (SE) - Journalist Fania Christodoulides (CY) - Journalist Yannick Weber (CH) - Journalist Aleksandra Gajewska (PL) - Journalist Paul Sander (DE) - Journalist Irmak Ekin Karel (TR) - Journalist

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ear delegates, lovely officials. On behalf of Blueprint Press Team I would like to welcome you to the Marburg Academic Forum 2014.

During the next five days in Vilnius, strangers will get to know each other better and will work on serious issues of the European Union. These unique moments have to be captured and the session participants have to be entertained constantly.

Throughout the session will do its best to feed you with academic input by newspapers and topic days. Our topic days will be presented vis flipcharts in the entrence of the youth hostel. Not to forget that we will make the session unforgettable through photos and videos.

You will be able to see all of the input on facebook either on the Session Page or through #MarburgIF Give a lot to the session and try to get the most out of it. Enjoy!

Peyman Khaljani (DE) Editor of the Session

Erasmus‘ Death

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Cast as the Lead: Vladimir “Vladimirovich“ Putin (AFET)

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An almost “self-fulfilling Prophecy“

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Will we see the Light?

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How to kill a good Idea Women and Science: A Love Story? (FEMM)

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Dystopian Reality: Are we ending up in the Hunger Games11-12 When a System Fails (TRAN)

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Europe‘s Seperation Conflicts effecting us?

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The Graduate Illusion (CULT)

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The European Dream

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Shooting for the Stars! (EMPL)

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Burqa or Mini-Skirt?

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The EU Patent Package: Defective or Flawlece? (JURI)

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Erasmus‘ Death

by Yannick Weber (CH)

On February 9th 2014 the Swiss electorate accepted the popular initiative ‘against mass immigration’. Despite the pending implementation of the constitution’s new articles, Switzerland is facing consequences.

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elations between Switzerland and the European Union were unexpectedly challenged, when the Swiss electorate voted for the adoption of a controversial amendment to their constitution in a popular vote. The proposal, launched by the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party, established a ceiling on the number of immigrants, conjuring up the vision of a country bursting at the seams.

The apparent afflictions caused by population growth, backed by statistics on urban sprawl and traffic congestion with a somewhat scanty correlation to immigration, managed to convince a razor-sharp majority of 50.3% of the voters to accept the proposal.

The collapse of Swiss health, education and transport systems might have been prevented, as the initiators believe, but by challenging free movement, Switzerland has endangered the 2002 bilateral agreements upon which the country’s relation to the EU is built. With the EU calling the free movement of persons a ‚non-negotiable’ principle linked to mutual market access, it is unclear which path future relations will take; negotiations for an institutional framework were suspended just after the result of the vote was announced.

Contrary to the initiator’s expectations, February 9th swiftly led to concrete consequences. The EU announced the exclusion of Switzerland from the multi-billion euro research programme Horizon2020 and 1

Erasmus+, a European education fund primarily aimed at facilitating student mobility within Europe. Switzerland had participated in these EU-programmes since 2011, and whereas recent negotiations have led to a possible agreement allowing the country to partially re-join Horizon 2020 already in September, Switzerland is expected to stay classified as a third state in the Erasmus+ programme with very limited and expensive participation opportunities: Erasmus is dead for Swiss students. The EU’s reaction came as a surprise to many, as there is only little apparent relation between the prospective end to freedom of movement of EU citizens in Switzerland and pan-European cooperation in the fields of research and education. The Swiss government hastily made replacement funds available for student mobility, but Youth organisations who could rely on Erasmus+-money in the past are facing major funding gaps. Whether the EU’s reaction to the Swiss vote is appropriate as long as the concrete implementation of the initiative “against mass immigration” in national legislation is still pending, remains highly questionable.

The result of the vote has left the country divided. The French speaking part of Switzerland had rejected the initiative with a vast majority, but overwhelming acceptance in other regions lead to the close result. Discontent with the outcome, protesters marched in most major cities under the unofficial slogan “we are the 49.7 per

cent” after the vote was announced. In particular, the exclusion of Switzerland from the Erasmus+ programme and the insufficient interim-solution has left many enraged, but there are voices arguing that Switzerland should not depend on European funding mechanisms, and that the country had also prospered before the bilateral treaties with the EU were signed. The Swiss Federal government however has no intention of cancelling these treaties granting important economic advantages for Swiss firms and laying the foundation for cooperation in numerous fields. But the EU’s future course of action currently remains subject to speculation as negotiations are ongoing.

teral relations in the European Parliament and leaders of Europe’s right-wing populist parties such as Marine Le Pen of the French National Front and Geert Wilders of the Dutch Party for Freedom have congratulated Switzerland for the decision. Invigorated by the encouragement of their newly found friends, the Swiss People’s Party is currently making plans to abolish most of Switzerland’s asylum law.

Admittedly, the outcome of the vote has also been met with appreciation. Italian Member of the European Parliament Mario Borghezio, repeatedly convicted for racially motivated offences, waved a Swiss flag during a debate on future EU-Swiss bila-

While it is unclear when the diplomatic tensions between Switzerland and the EU will be resolved and what future relations might look like, the debate on immigration in Switzerland continues: a popular initiative seeking to limit immigration to 0.2% of the current resident population a year has been submitted and will be voted upon this November. Quite possibly, Switzerland’s foreign relations might await even frostier times. ■

above: “Excess is harm”: Advertisement for the Swiss People’s Party’s popular initiative against mass immigration

background: Erasmus of Rotterdam on a painting

by Hans Holbein: What might the name patron of the EU’s educational programmes think of Swiss voters?

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Cast as the lead: Vladimir “Vladimirovich“ Putin (AFET)

by Aleksandra Gajewska (PL)

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ven though the EU and Russia repeatedly had divergent viewpoints in terms of international politics, they needed each other’s economies, and thus, established trade links, which endured “inter alia” the Russo-Georgian War and conflict in Syria. However, Russia went even further and her aggression on Ukraine could not remain unanswered. Hours of dialogue with the Russian president, during which he seemed to hear, but not listen, proved to be ineffective and the death of almost 300 civilians from neutral states was needed to ap-

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peal to economy, which speaks louder than words.

Sanctions as an economic measure of political pressure, also proved not to be effective enough though. Most of the EU Member States reckoned that such a decisive measure would scare Putin to death making him harmless, and consequently restoring peace in Europe. Apparently, while thinking about Russia we have to set aside our western paradigms and prepare for the unpredictable.

One thing needs to be clarified. Russia is

not a fully democratic European country with similar values as Europe represents. It will not be acting as an EU Member State would.

While the EU is tangled in multi-faceted democratic procedures, Putin can almost immediately put any idea from his mind straight into practice. Let’s be frank, his authority could be compared to the power of a dictator. Moreover, the support for Russian president is constantly rising, drawing near to 90%. The society seems to, not merely, tolerate his unquestioned rule, but expect such strength in action. We constantly hear voices, which openly despise “the Western world” and articulate the will to rebuild might similar to the one the USSR had.

From a rational point of view, facing sanctions and a global indignation, Putin should step back, as his aggression in Ukraine becomes unprofitable. But who said that he is indeed acting rationally? When it comes to our relations with Russia, we are constantly encountering paradoxes. Instead of retreat Putin’s answer to sanctions is … sanctions, although as experts say this double-bladed weapon will hurt Russia, or rather Russian citizens, even more than it hurts Western exporters. Again, Putin turns the tables. Neglecting the economic influence of his decisions on Russians, he acts as if it was him, who struggled to neutralise the activity of the West, not the other way round. Startlingly, he converts the situation in such a way, that an ordinary Russian comprehends that it is not the EU, pointing the finger at Russia, but the Russian president punishing us for disturbing him.

propaganda. Russia‘s president is simply an extremely good actor. Even though the European audience can feel slightly confused, the vast majority of Russians enjoy the show and the worship for their idol is mirrored in the polls.

Now, Putin is also a director and thus, the EU should carefully consider all possible scenarios putting an emphasis on the energy independence from Russia. This crisis marks also an important trial for the European solidarity, which is undoubtedly crucial for the EU to be perceived as a strong, united entity on the international scene.

Maybe the EU should give specific incentive to break existing sense of insecurity.

Maybe such stimulus could be a creation of a common sanctions compensation fund, which would make the Member States feel financially more secure, and consequently the whole EU politically more decisive.

Notwithstanding, it is high time to realise that the game is no more centred on the highest profit from trade. Not only we have to switch our thinking about bilateral relations from the win-win account, towards which global trade accustomed us, to looseloose balance, which is the sanctions consequence. But above all, the EU has to be conscious that Putin poses a threat to the international security, the threat so enormous that it could affect each of us. ■

This does not indicate that implementing sanctions was a mistake, but illustrates the mechanism of Putin’s actions and how he is creating his own image in the sense of 4

An almost “self-fulfilling Prophecy“

by Paul Sander (DE)

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ack in 1989, „Back to the Future Part 2“ introduced a huge international audience to its vision of what life and technology would look like in 2015. Director and writer Robert Zemeckis never had any hopes of accurately predicting the future, saying „[...] rather than trying to make a scientifically sound prediction that we were probably going to get wrong anyway, we figured, let‘s just make it funny!“. So, when he dreamt up a time in which flying cars peacefully co-existed with fax machines he most certainly got some wires crossed. However, fans of the film grew up to become clever scientists instilled with an urgent need for “Hoverboards”. Even though their work could be deemed irrational, these scientists came far in making fiction become reality.

At the time of its release, floating high-speed skateboards appealed hugely to viewers and especially kids. The call for such a toy was at its peak met by rumours, that Mattel had already produced “Hoverboards” but held them back due to parental safety concerns.

That already, is a notable accomplishment for a fictitious skateboard-bar-the-wheels.

More recently, a hoax trailer for “HUVr Tech”, a real live Hoverboard, went viral stirring the hopes of many fans. Ultimately just a rouse for the internet company “funny or die”, the video showed one more time the power of the Hoverboard-hype.

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Showing that this public interest is a huge influence on science, there are also many legitimate attempts to create a Hoverboard. Most notably among them are, a bit different to the concept presented in the film, a for-sale, aquatic flying board and the “Mag surf” an actual magnetically hovering device! Unfortunately, the “Mag surf” needs a magnetic rail-road to float and in the film Hoverboards ironically never worked on water in the first place.

Long story short, all attempts up to now have been falling short of the enticing concept presented in the film. Hoverboards are still a long road away from happening.

Nevertheless, there is still some time until the 21st of October 2015, so you may keep on believing that an actual Hoverboard might yet be discovered! And even if they prove to never be happening, NIKE recently announced to introduce Marty McFly‘s self-lacing shoe-technology in 2015. A smaller case for the progress of science but at least some prove to dreams of high-futuristic technology happening now. In addition, it is also a considerable amount of consolation for any and every Hoverboard-enthusiast depressed by the current scientific prospects. For now, we are left with revisiting the expectations we personally held a couple of years, if not decades, back and comparing them to today. How many of them manage to get back to you – back to the future? ■

Will we see the Light? (ITRE)

by Fania Christodoulides (CY)

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magine a world without artificial light.

The glare from your computer screen, the cosy blur of a bedside lamp, the glow from your mobile phone being nonexistent.

Natural gas, oil and coal have all run out.

Our wasteful habits have caught up to us and the darkness remains mysterious.

Travel into the future 80 years from now.

The planet has run out of fossil fuels and it will take millions upon millions of years to replenish them. Poor planning in Europe’s past means that its citizens are left without basic necessities such as heat and light. One could say that it is too late to change the human race’s bleak outcome.

The committee on Industry, Research and Energy’s task during the session in Marburg is to prevent our energy-less future as predicted if we do not clean up our act. We need to become energy independent, and move away from fossil-fuels to more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy. However, we have known what needs to be done for quite some time now, so why are Member States failing to reach the 20-20-20 goals? We have a dependency of 53.8% on foreign imports, and of this, the EU brings in 34% of its natural gas and nearly one third of its oil solely from Russia.

Too many of our eggs are in one basket.

With top research facilities, why can we not find solutions to our everyday energy needs? Is it just a matter of pumping money into environmental studies for renewable fuels? Or is it an issue of weak energy policies?

Otherwise, is it simply the fact that we have energy policies and environmental legislation but Member States arefailing to comply?

The amount of fossil fuels which remain in Europe is finite. Therefore, we must use the non-renewable sources we have at present carefully. Pan-European initiatives such as energy networks connecting Member States which can regulate distribution proportionally in case of emergencies have not been achieved on a large scale. In addition to this, smart grids are yet to be constructed.

However, we know that our focus switch to target sustainable sources of energy. The European Commission needs to have a definite direction for the European Renewable Energy Fund and the European Efficiency Fund, especially when it comes to new projects. Nevertheless, we cannot predict urgent situations, so it is vital that Directive 2009/119/EC which obliges Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, is re-enforced.

Presently, there is a sensitive balance which must be maintained between renewable and non-renewable sources in Europe. Our dependency on other nations for imports puts us at risk in other areas, such as foreign policy. It is time to take action and advance research, but will we see the light in time?

Or will it be too late? ■ 6

How to Kill a Good Idea

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t was in 2010 that the app-based cab service Uber’s first taxi took to the road and transported its first passenger, and since then, the service has expanded and enjoyed success all over the world. By using an app for IPhones or Android, passengers can simply order a cab on their phone, seeing a picture of a background checked driver before the cab arrives. Payment, of which Uber takes a 20% fee, is automated, and is simply withdrawn from the account you registered in the app. Because of this, and the fact that passengers can check the route via a map in the phone’s app, the risk of getting ripped off is substantially lower. Passengers and drivers can also rate one another after the drive, resulting in sexist, rude or otherwise bad drivers not getting rides, and annoying or intolerable customers not getting lifts. Drivers can also sign up for as little or as much work as they want, and on top of all this, Uber is often significantly cheaper than other services.

It is a system that truly works for everyone; drivers get a simple and flexible cloud system they can use for management and bil-

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by Gustaf

Westin (SE)

ling, and consumers get a good service with little chance of getting cheated. Seemingly, a real win-win situation.

And yet, wherever Uber has gone, it has met fierce resistance in the form of protests and a minefield of old regulations and rules, sometimes making it very difficult for the company to offer its services. When the competition from Uber proved too tough for the two main established cab companies in Brussels for example, the regional government effectively banned the service, with the regional transport minister vaguely referring to risks of Uber drivers not having inadequate insurance, concerns that are not even necessary, since Uber always makes sure driver’s and the cars they drive are adequately insured and safe. In Washington DC the government complained Uber cars were taking passengers across state borders, something which is not permitted. Vancouver demanded Uber raise the cost for a drive to the equivalent of over 30 Euros, regardless of time or distance. Others have expressed concerns about a higher risk of customers getting assaulted, but that can happen in

normal taxis as well. In an Uber cab the passenger even has a better safety net, in the form of concrete GPS data of where an assault happened, as well as the possibility to track a driver and block them from the system.

The most odd of measures Uber has encountered, however, were those which they were faced with in the city of Paris. Uber drivers are forbidden by law to pick up customers within a distance less than a 15 minute car drive. Consequently, if a driver is two minutes away from a customer in Paris, the driver has to stand still and wait for 13 minutes before he can take the customer to his or her destination.

When hearing of Brussel’s decision to ban Uber, Neelie Kroes, the Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Digital Agenda, stated: “This decision is not about protecting or helping passengers – it‘s about protecting a taxi cartel”. Afraid of losing all their customers to newer and better services based on newer technology, old and established cab companies have gone on the offensive, and started lobbying for bureaucratic obstacles to be put in the

way of innovative companies such as Uber.

In cities like London, Madrid and Barcelona, cab drivers have cut off, barricaded and blocked busy streets to protest against Uber, while in Paris, unionised drivers followed the French tradition of grand protests by smashing up and destroying the windows of taxis using the service.

What has happened to Uber is a sad, yet good example of how old regulations and protectionism can be a formidable obstacle for technology, innovations and new competition. This is what happens when people decide not to embrace new technology and not to compete on quality, not to respect the choice of customers, and desperately try to keep their old privileges. Hopefully, services like such are here to stay, and Uber will weather the storm that is now upon it.

Luckily, more and more American cities are starting to legalise the service. As good news as this may be, Uber has only been capable of this because it had the resources, popularity and the strength enough to fight back. How many other entrepreneurs have had to give up their dreams because they could not? ■

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Women and Science: A Love Story? (FEMM)

by Manon Lynn Schürch (CH)

Why is it that so many talented and well-educated women cannot advance to the top and take over a leadership position? What are the reasons for their sudden disappearance out of the scientific working field and what should be done to win over those women for a permanent and stable career in science?

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hy is it that so many talented and well-educated women cannot advance to the top and take over a leadership position? What are the reasons for their sudden disappearance out of the scientific working field and what should be done to win over those women for a permanent and stable career in science?

Despite the fact that educational establishments, such as high schools today keep the gender balance in mind and try to uphold an equal chance for both men and women to join into scientific studies, the scientific elite in all over Europe is mainly composed of males. Even if the percentage of female scientists in leadership positions has significantly increased, the amount is still less than the one at universities. Next to one’s personal biography, there is a vast amount of many different reasons existing why the potential of excellent and well-educated women remains untapped. Various results deriving from elite research programs indicate that gifted girls and young women hardly experience the motivation from their friends and family enabling them to systematically expand their abilities and invest time and effort to pursue a future profession in science. It happens more and more that parents often moderate their daughters’ enthusiasm for a subject that in the eyes of many people is considered a pure male dominated field of work. Such parents would try and support their daughters in being modest, well-behaved and adapted.

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Another problem in our society can be found in the continuous effort to match up with today’s ideal of beauty. Women who are not trying to follow the norm and are not trying to fit in with other groups are being discriminated. Being labelled as a “nerd” or a “geek” is only one amongst many reasons why there are not enough females in today’s scientific labour market.

Why is it that gifted women all over Europe have to be afraid of embracing their scientific interest and future in that field? After all, women take up more positions in Biology (65%) and Architecture (55%). However, the world of science is still mainly a male dominated field; however, women will have to deal with much more challenges than men in the same position.

Those female scientists who indeed overcome all those aforementioned obstacles and do reach the academic corporate ladder will be confronted by a strict organisational structure of universities and research labs.

One good example for existing restrictions in the scientific field is family life. In order for every scientist to succeed in his or her profession, he or she must continuously be involved in the same or similar scientific research to not lose one’s thread.

Having a child puts the mother out of this arrangement in an instant and it is almost impossible to go back and pick up where she has left off. Too much time would have gone by and research would have continued during that time. This shows that the worklife-balance for women is much harder to handle than for men. In order for the EU to secure a woman’s faith in a career in sci-

ence, it has to restore this work-life-balance and establish better maternity packages for women so that they do not immediately get discouraged by a future in this field. To correct the current deficit in equality amongst women and men in science, in the future this responsibility will no longer only lay in the hands of the female gender. It is crucial that this close-minded mentality and its resulting behaviour of each and every individual at tertiary institutions with regard to gender equality are being changed for good, by both men and women. Only this realisation and its further establishment of more female scientific career paths at universities serve the development of innovative and effective structures at research facilities. â–

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Dystopian reality: Are we ending up in the Hunger Games?

by Irmak Ekin Karel (TR)

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Veronica Roth’s Divergent Trilogies. The famous classics, Huxley’s Brave New World, Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984, Lois Lowry’s The Giver of the 20th century. Dystopian novels have been popular ever since. But why does everyone love them so much? Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Veronica Roth’s Divergent Trilogies. The famous classics, Huxley’s Brave New World, Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984, Lois Lowry’s The Giver of the 20th century. Dystopian novels have been popular ever since.

But why does everyone love them so much?

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here might be different answers: Maybe they relieve the constant stress we have about the future, or perhaps we are simply fascinated by the idea of how negative the near future could be – and how many different ways exist that could make the dystopian future become a reality.

Whatever the reason might be. All the answers, at the end, have one thing in common: The idea that dystopia can become a reality in a near future. We feel that what is shown to us as a dystopian society - the opposite of a utopian society – is more likely to be today’s reality than tomorrow’s fiction.

Dehumanisation, environmental disaster and oppressive societal control are common characteristics of dystopian novels and they do not sound unfamiliar at all. If we have a look at today’s world we can actually discover more and more advances in genetic engineering, new fertilization techniques, a development of CCTV cameras, NSA, military drones, drugs and consumption. Thus, they bring up the question: Has dystopia already become our reality?

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A personal-genomics company in California has been awarded a broad U.S. patent for a technique that could be used in a fertility clinic to create babies with selected traits, as the frontiers of genetic enhancement continue to advance. In theory, this technique could be used to create so-known “designer babies”. Parents who want babies with blue eyes and not brown eyes, black hair and not blond hair, and athletic and not frail would be able to create their perfect dream-baby which would have the traits and characteristics that its parents choose from a catalogue and later order. Comparing this with the ‘Brave New World’, where natural reproduction has been shut down and children are created, „decanted“, raised in „hatcheries and conditioning centres“ and given special traits that put them into their socio-economic castes, Huxley’s dystopian

idea of bottled babies does not seem inaccurate at all.

Furthermore, it would be appropriate to declare that the “Big Brother” of 1984 is, indeed, watching us. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are positioned all around the world, producing images or recordings for surveillance purposes. Especially in big cities like New York and London there are cameras on every street corner. Not to mention all the personal information we display on social networking websites it should not pose difficulties for the governments to keep an eye on us whenever they like to.

On a more serious note, a lot of people, during depression tend to consume not just illegal but also legal drugs like Prozac, Xanax and Adderall instead of coping with their emotions and dealing with the fact why they need drugs in the first place.

This coheres with “Brave New World”, where people regularly consume a drug called “Soma” to suppress their negative feelings and make them feel happy again.

Also, a lot of people nowadays cannot get enough of short-term relationships, sex and more and thus they tend to treat them like clothes. This pretty much overlaps with the dystopian idea of dehumanisation, where people are pushed to feel less and consume more.

To conclude, one thing is clear: Dystopian novels are drawing attention to real-world issues regarding society, environment, politics, morals, ethnics and technology and if unaddressed, these issues could actually lead to a worst-case Hunger Games scenario. ■

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When a System Fails (TRAN)

by Gustaf

Westin (SE)

It was in late Spring of 2010 that the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted, and created a massive cloud of ash that slowly and steadily spread over Europe and one of the world’s busiest airspaces. Very fine particles released from the eruption were carried into the plume and made it difficult or impossible for aircraft to fly through it. This led to the largest air traffic shut down since World War II, a shut down that, according to some, could have been prevented if Europe’s air traffic systems would have been better prepared, better organised, and more centralised.

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hen Eyjafjallajökull erupted, it did so underneath glacial ice, which caused the ice to melt, in turn causing melting water from the glacier to chill the lava from the eruption quickly.

This caused the lava to fragment into extremely fine particles of silica and ash that were then lifted into the ash plume. When flying a plane through an ash cloud such as the one after the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, you run the risk of damaging the surface of the plane, including the wind-shield, forcing pilots to rely only on their instru-

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ments. Since sensors can be blocked by the ash, instruments might not always be fully reliable however. Any cavities or holes on the surface of the plane, including the engine, also run the risk of getting filled up with ash. All this makes it potentially dangerous for planes to fly through ash clouds.

In response to the eruption, one European country after the other started to close down their airspace to commercial flights, resulting in millions of passengers either getting stranded in airports or rushing to train and

bus stations all over Europe, and around the world, as flights to and from Europe were also cancelled. The shut-down lasted between the 15th and the 23rd of April for most countries with sporadic closures from time to time afterwards, and let to the cancellation of over 100.000 flights. The International Air Transport Association, the IATA, estimated the total loss of the airline industry to around 1.3 billion Euros, around 150 million per day of closed airspace.

Even our own organisation was affected by the shutdown. The 63rd International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Tromsø, Norway, was scheduled to take place between the 16th and 25th of April 2010. Due to the extraordinary situation and the ensuing air traffic chaos, only 35 delegates made it to the session. Participants who did make it to the session say the session turned out a great experience in the end after all, but the fact remains; the volcano eruption, or our authorities inability to handle the situation better, deprived many EYPers of what could have been their best session experience to date.

Following the air traffic crisis, many airline and travel companies facing millions of Euros in losses directed heavy criticism towards national authorities for being overly cautious and not being able to handle the situation in a good way, criticism against

which national authorities defended themselves by stating the seriousness of the situation and the potential danger of flying when not knowing the exact ramifications of flying through ash.

Some took the crisis as a sign of how the Single European Sky (SES), an initiative launched in 2004 by the European Commission that aims to harmonise and centralise European air traffic control, was not being implemented fast enough, and lit a fire under the work with implementing the SES. At the time, the European Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas stated: „We need a single European regulator for a single European sky. Stronger European co-ordination will not solve every problem.

But faced with such a pan-European crisis, it would have enabled a much more agile response.”

Even today however, more than four years later, the implementation of the SES is still lagging behind. The slow implementation is partly due to many national governments’ unwillingness to relinquish control of their airspace, partly due to a lack of leadership, and partly due to few penalties for not meeting requirements, depending on who you ask. If Eyjafjallajökull would begin to stir again, would we be better prepared than last time, or is more crisis and chaos to be expected? ■ 14

Europe’s Seperation Conflicts Effecting Us?

by Fania Christodoulides (CY)

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e, as students, live in a bubble of a continuous cycle. Waking up, studying, eating, sleeping and largely repeating that. The monotony of this cycle is fuelled by, what most consider to be, the sequence of life. Primary school, secondary school, tertiary education and the following occupation. Normally, we fail to realise that current events and conflicts within European states can actually effect us in an immediate way, consequently disturbing our progression.

In less than a month, on the 18th of September 2014, the people of Scotland will be voting on a referendum, granted by the agreement of the United Kingdom government. They will be asked a seemingly simple question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” This will hopefully end the ongoing discussions of the region’s independence from the United Kingdom. However, if we are not actually from Scotland, how does this directly affect us? The answer lies in our 28-nation union. If Scotland cedes from the UK, will it still be a member of the European Union or will it become a third- country nation?

If the Scots decide on remaining a part of Great Britain, then for the rest of Europe,

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everything remains relatively the same. However, if Scotland declares independence two scenarios arise. Scotland could immediately become the 29th state of the European Union – or they could become a non- EU member state, which will be forced to reapply for membership. What most of us do not realise, is the effects of Scotland not being a member. Apart from free trade being an issue, our tuition fees for universities in Scotland potentially may not be waived if European students are classed differently to Scottish students. Currently, Europeans pay the exact same amount as the Scots - nothing.

Yet English students, who are classed differently, pay around 9,000 pounds per year, to receive the same studies in Scotland. Apart from the fees, studying in a non-EU member state will require for us to obtain student visas, and loans for living expenses will be harder to acquire as well. Study abroad programmes may also become scarcer, as burdensome regulations increase. As of early August 2014, the “Yes” polls in the referendum fluctuated from 45-54%, making this vote too close to call. Subsequently, the fact that there is no clear answer to whether or not Scotland will remain part of the EU upon independence is extremely frightening.

Another conflict, which sometimes cor

Another conflict, which sometimes correlates to the Scottish independence, is Catalonia’s push for separation from Spain.

Like in Scotland, the referendum will take place this autumn, and will ask the Catalonians “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent State?” However, the Spanish Government has not recognised this ballot and will try to obstruct it from taking place on the 9th of November 2014. In addition to this, the European Commission has clearly declared that if Catalonia seceded, they would automatically leave the EU and become a third- country nation, and EU treaties would no longer apply to the new independent state. Due to surveys conducted in March 2014, up to 59.6% of Catalonians want independence, so the likelihood of the region’s discharge from the EU is significant.

Therefore, with Catalonian independence, our free migration will cease to exist, and as a result studying in places such as Barcelona will be much more difficult, as well as study abroad programmes might become sparse. Moreover, we would not be able to use our common currency, the Euro, in Catalonia anymore, which will create a hassle, albeit small, if we wanted to visit the region.

It is interesting to see how European conflicts regarding autonomy do directly affect us, but in our little bubble we tend not to notice. Much of what the European Union has given us, we now take for granted. Most of us cannot remember the time when we needed visas, passports and currency converters to simply visit another country within Europe. The referendums in Scotland and Catalonia, with possibility of partition, remind us that what sometimes seems to be none of our concern, can actually change a lot in a unified Europe, thus bursting our little bubble. ■

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The Graduate Illusion (CULT)

by Yannick Weber (CH)

One of the five headline targets of the EU’s 2020 goals is to increase the percentage of 30-34 year olds completing third level education to at least 40%. This quota, however, is anything but worthy of aspiring towards.

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ith the OECD proclaiming that economic success is based on increasing tertiary education, the EU’s political goal of aiming for more university graduates is widely accepted.

France and Spain for example have long surpassed the target of 40% set out by the Europe 2020 goals. But surprisingly, these are also the countries struggling with some of the highest youth unemployment rates of 23% for France and a troubling 53% for Spain. Unemployment is not only affecting the under-qualified, also university graduates have difficulties entering the job market. According to a current EU estimate, more than a fifth of all Europeans holding a university degree are working a job that does not require tertiary education.

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The EU Education Council noted in its February meeting that graduates’ skills often do not match employers’ expectations. But instead of questioning the trend of upgrading education even in fields such as nursing. The Education Ministers want universities to equip their students with skills such as negotiating and entrepreneurial ability, instead of striving for academic excellence.

What the policy makers thereby fail to recognise is that not every set of skills can be acquired in a lecture or the classroom. The job of a plumber is simply not a graduate profession.

Indisputably, Switzerland’s economy is amongst the busiest and most successful in Europe with a youth unemployment rate of 7%. Remarkably, only 27% of the

country’s inhabitants have completed tertiary education. The vast majority of young people completes a 3 to 4-year apprenticeship, which includes state-regulated vocational training at a company and accompanying schooling. This system creates a unique skill match, as the private sector is involved in young people’s training and many apprentices continue working where they were trained. Apprenticeships cover a wide spectrum from very basic to rather demanding occupations, enabling the system to accommodate most young people.

The success of the Swiss economy largely builds on this workforce. Due to the relatively small number of university graduates and the possibility to still complete a tertiary education after an apprenticeship, unemployment among graduates is very rare in Switzerland. Apart from Austria, Germany and Denmark no EU-country knows a similar system. In Italy for example, where 75% of young people reach a baccalaureate, there is not even vocational training leading to an officially recognised degree, causing a dramatic lack of craftspeople.

By decreasing the hurdles for a university degree, the academic level of any course will automatically decrease as well. If a course is no longer tailored to the needs and the intellectual potential of the top 20%, but the top half, educational quality for the former group will be significantly lower. Universities should be the place where many of the thinkers and innovators of tomorrow are educated, they do not teach to a job. But a society does not only need thinkers, it also needs people who can work and create value. And mediocre thinkers are not the people moving society forward.

But instead of learning from its neighbour, the EU unquestioningly follows the reasoning of the OECD. The latter bases its call for more university-level-education on studies which found that people holding a university degree on average earn more money. The OECD does not take into consideration though, that there are other reasons to the correlation, such as intelligence or diligence, and that it cannot be extrapolated indefinitely – simply equipping more people with a degree does not miraculously lead to economic growth.

Instead of adopting the Swiss best practice, the EU overly focuses on reaching an arbitrarily defined quota of graduates. The more advisable alternative, sadly, is often forgotten. ■

Increasing the quota of university graduates at all costs has two major downsides: Not only does it create a mismatch of skills, but it also devalues university courses. If nearly half the population holds a university degree, it cannot serve as a certificate of an individual’s competence anymore.

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The European Dream

by Aleksandra Gajewska (PL)

No sleeping beauty, no happy ending, but an old lady and a disease. This is the naked truth about Europe.

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ying in her massive bed between Scandinavia and Mediterranean Sea, Europe was fast asleep. Her face was covered in wrinkles and under a layer of powder an attentive observer could notice scars. Solid and long-awaited sleep brought relief to this old lady, exhausted after a turbulent and tragic era, but finally fulfilled.

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In front of her eyes appeared her twentyeight children, holding their hands, smiling, just like shining stars on a cloudless sky. The old Europe sighed with satisfaction seeing them finally united and strong. Dreaming on about shared values on stable foundations of democracy, she saw her grandchildren. Strong voices of these serious leaders in suits were enunciating laudable aims and elevated ideals. Their determined glances were not accepting any disapproval. She was proud of them, expressing an unconditional affection, which only a grandmother can have for her grandchild.

In her fantasy, peace and long-lasting security seemed to be unshakable. Oh, poor Europe. So aged and yet so naïve, she does not know that only children believe in fairy tales, that every dream comes to an end and it is time to wake up. Oh, poor, poor Europe. While she was dreaming, a well-known disease, which she herself had experienced some time ago, came back and threatened her. The illness was called i m p e r i a l i s m.

It had been consuming Europe’s children and her friends’ offspring for ages, mirroring sense of superiority and human endeavour to obtain an absolute power. Fratricidal wars had lasted for ages. The emperors of the Roman Empire, Mongolian Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, British, Spanish and French colonisers, and Hitler in his search for “Lebensraum“, they were all linked with imperialism. Some justified themselves, or probably in fact idealistical

ly believed that they are bringing enlightenment to conquered nations, others from the beginning had no illusions about the nature of their conquests. After all, imperialism in every form led to the same miserable end, causing above all destruction and death of native populations. By all means, it turned out not to be a manifestation of philanthropy, but merely a search for economic benefit, maximisation of profits and extension of authority on allegedly inferior nations. This realisation facilitated slow recovery of the nations from this insanity. When they were finally convinced that the nightmare came to an end, the disease reappeared in calculating mind of Eurasia’s grandson, rekindled the desire of dominance and created a concept of restoring the old hegemony by the extension of power on independent territories.

While Europe was sleeping, imperialism

had already taken its toll in Georgia and Chechnya. The old lady only shook her head in discontent, but continued dreaming. So the disease lurked waiting for another good moment. When the time came, it displayed its tentacle again, took over Crimea and hid behind supposed will of nation. Now it is preparing to attack eastern Ukraine, which short while ago, was to be adopted by Europe. Behind what will the imperialism hide now? Alleged will to prevent humanitarian disaster, which in fact was caused by the imperialism itself? Or maybe aggression of Ukrainians, who are trying to protect their own country?

Wake up dear Europe until it is too late.

Wake up and acknowledge threat. Wake up and unmask hypocrisy, illegal invasion and insane imperialism. â–

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Shooting for the Stars! - How all Science can be Conducted without Public Funding (EMPL)

by Paul Sander (DE)

On 06th August 2014, the European Space Agency (ESA) managed to put the spacecraft Rosetta into “orbit” around its target comet named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Rosetta will try to reveal secrets about the origin of our solar system, earth itself and possibly even the origin of life. Funded by European Union Member States, the ESA obviously belongs to the so-called “public sector”. Very unfortunate for Team Science, public funding is at an all time low. Yet, you would not expect a private company to delve into such questions, nor should you,

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which leads right to the problem at hand: With waning funding for public scientific output and the limited options of companysponsored research, how can projects such as spacecraft missions be carried out in the future?

Let me quickly guide you through the differences between privately and public-sponsored research to prove the urgency of the changes in progress. Taking a look on its intentions, private scientific output is determined to add or create value and to do so in

an economically short-term self-sufficient way. Arguably, this makes private research more effective and even efficient by producing high-quality research with an almost immediately positive effect on public welfare. Therefore, private research obviously has its place and is very much needed. Yet, there are some distinctive downsides on this specific road to success. Private research needs to follow the trail of money and therefore only the interests of a relatively wealthy demographic. Additionally, due to the focus on economic profitability, its efforts concentrate on consumable products and not necessarily on scientific and technological progress. In contrast, the ESA mission is exemplary for many things, characteristic and admirable in public research. Public funding makes scientific studies less vulnerable to economic interests, thus aiming it at high academic value. Furthermore, in progress for already over 10 years, Rosettas lift-off took place in 2004, the spacecraft is concrete evidence for the patient long-term effort involved. In short, company-sponsored research needs to watch its financial profitability, while publicly sponsored ones only need to maximise their scientific gain.

Nevertheless, public institutions are facing a problematic development. Public funding is at a low and private entities offer appealing salaries and working conditions to researchers, effectively drawing high-level scientists into their sector. It is the combination of both, which is draining public scientific output. Unable to compete with the private sector, European science is facing a problem. Sadly, it is not going to just solve itself with a couple of media campaigns to increase public awareness, we need to talk money. Maybe, it is time to just shoot for the stars and come up with far-fetched ideas concerning science and funding. I pitch to you, “crowd-funding” for science. “crowdfunding” might seem like the oldest trick in

the book to some, yet others still have to discover it. And admittedly, projects such as the internationally funded James Webb Space Telescope with an estimated value of 8.8 billion Dollars are far too much to be handled by a bunch of enthusiastic space-friends on the internet. Nevertheless, “crowd-funding” paid for the first publicly accessible space telescope, called ARKYD, in 2013, collecting over 1.5 million Dollars via the Internet. Additionally, there are, right in this moment, a great deal of smaller scientific projects being active, financed through “kickstarter” and various other sites! Could all our problems be solved so quickly?

Being perfectly honest, I can not really advertise “crowd-funding” as valid alternative to the status quo. There are still many European Member States with a high budget for scientific research and some of those commendable lovers of science even raised theirs in the recent past! Neither is the situation already so dire, that we would need such a radical fix. I‘m afraid to tell you, many of the scientific projects financed via “crowd-funding” do not actually aim to expand public knowledge or find cures to diseases, which were deemed by companies financially not worth their time. They just try to make pets glow in the dark or ask for money to attempt another bound-to-fail go at creating hoverboards out of “Back to the Future 2”.

But ever since Pluto was demoted from its status as a planet, I have been taking an interest into the ways and activities of public scientific output. Is it not ever so great to know more? ■ 22

Burqa or Mini Skirt?The Modern Muslim Woman in Europe

by Manon Lynn Schürch (CH)

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Western civilization and can the new fresh face of modern Islam only be expressed through an uncovered, educated and rhetorically strong and beautiful woman?

However, some Muslim women have already embodied a strong role in our modernised European society. They do not only hold professions such as doctors, lawyers and bankers, they also uphold a very important part in our society. Be it Sahira Awad, a famous Berlin rapper, Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, a Danish politician or Dr. Houaida Taraji, gynaecologist and president of the Muslim community in Germany, all of those strong and influential women have scavenged vast and glamorous roles. It is success stories such as those that are progressed by the media and presented to the public as a sign of felicitous emancipation and integration of Muslim women. In European society, the image of the weak and obedient Muslim woman has been tossed aside more and more and out of this, strong role models have emerged. Though not all of those females are what we call “revealing”. Those women who choose to honour their religious code of conduct by wearing a hijab, niqab, chador or a burqa find themselves continually discriminated by various authorities. Is modern European emancipation always going to mean that women such as the above-mentioned will have to give up an important aspect and tradition of their religion in order to be socially accepted into

A strange spectacle was presented to the public in July 2010 where two young women started walking the streets of Paris wearing a burqa, however, dressed in a mini skirt and high heels. Their faces were covered, though their legs remained revealed.

This humorous protest, later to be known as the “Niqabitch-Walk”, against the newly implemented ban of wearing a burka in France, was acknowledged as a sign for the growing dilemma which many Muslim women are faced with today. In an ongoing process, Muslim women are asked to pick a side. They either must go for the old and patriarchal Islam or choose the modernised, democratic and liberal western value system. Burqa or mini skirt, piety or emancipation, Muslim or feminist. A balance seems impossible to find. Indeed, it was the highest authority that recognized France’s newly implemented ban of Burkas as ”a legitimate tool for a state to fight for a better coexistance in society”. The ban was not considered to be a discrimination and also, supposingly, was not restricting anybody in their private life. This was justifyed by none other than the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg which caused a massive uproar, not only amongst Muslims.

This fanciful declaration, however, cannot be taken seriously. Does Europe react this way because it is afraid of different views or is it something else? The prohibition of

uslim women today are faced with more and more challenges and discriminations. As a woman, as a migrant, as a Muslim. Between assimilation and self-assertion, they continue to search for their place in modern European society.

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wearing headscarfs in German schools is only one amongst many restrictions that has been implemented in the past few years.

Muslim women are challenged with being accepted into Western European society. On the one hand, they are being discriminated through a stereotypical western view of Islam, on the other hand, they feel cramped by the patriarchal moral concepts of their stamped surroundings. Everyone forms their opinion by whether a woman is wearing a headscarf or not, leading to always designating the Muslim woman’s place in society without even considering that Muslim women are indeed capable of embodying the role of an emancipated and strong female, as well as at the same time acting out their freedom of religion. We have to stop

finding a controversy between tradition and Western society, between Islam and feminism. It is extremely important for Muslim women that they realise that in the present Western society, appointed laws will not be annulled by means of political action alone, but with the tool of religious argumentation.

The key to acceptance and integration lies in the happy medium. The choice between modernity and tradition should no longer prevail and what European society must do is to start embracing old tradition in new and personal ways.

The answer will not be found in Vogue, nor in the Scharia. The answer is the “burkaskirt”. ■

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The EU Patent Package: Defective or Flawless? (JURI)

by Irmak Ekin Karel (TR)

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patent is a form of intellectual rights protection that enables inventors and innovators to prevent competitors from stealing their ideas in a global world, where innovations are valuable for the economic competitiveness. Patents are also of great importance because they encourage companies to make the necessary investment for innovation, and provide the incentive for individuals and companies to devote resources to research and development.

The new “unitary patent package” seems to make everything as easy and perfect as possible for inventors and patent proprietors across the EU. This package will not only provide huge cost advantages and reduce administrative and bureaucratic burdens, but it will also mean that inventors will spend more time on research and development. Additionally, this package will guarantee that the businesses sector, which need to defend their ideas, will go to only one court – the Unified Patent Court, which will be represented in the EU Member States as the only competent patent court both on a local and regional level. But will this new system, expected to be up by early 2015, be as flawless as it sounds?

Considering the earlier attempts of the European Union to agree on a community patent, the unitary Convention failed twice because although signed, it was then not ratified by enough Member States of the European Economic Community at that time.

Later in 2004, the Community Patent Regulation again failed due to disagreements on the details of the Regulation. That was when EU commissioner Bolkestein said: “I

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can only hope that one day the vested, protectionist interests that stand in the way of agreement on this vital measure will be sidelined by the over-riding importance and interests of European manufacturing industry and Europe‘s competitiveness.”

25 Member States finally agreed to participate in the enhanced cooperation on the unitary patent protection. And now that all of them except Poland signed the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, the only step missing is the ratification. The Agreement needs to be ratified by 13 of the 26 signatory states, these must include the UK, France and Germany as major patenting countries, for the new system to come into effect in those states which have ratified.

Unfortunately, one obstacle in the way of the EU patent package could be the UK. It was expected to ratify the UPC agreement in spring or summer 2014, which, considering that summer 2014 is almost over, has still not happened. On the other side, the fact that British Prime Minister David Cameron promised an „in/out“ referendum on British membership of the EU causes great suspicion, too.

Furthermore, the costs of a unitary patent will loom large in the decisions of patentees. For now, the cost to obtain a European Patent with unitary effect seems to be approximately 5.000 Euros, which is still higher in comparison to the United States (US), where a patent costs arond 2.000 Euros and China, where it is about 600 Euros. Keeping in mind that in 2011, 224.000 patents were granted in the US, 172.000 in China, but only 62.000 in Europe, it is

uncertain if the unitary patent is good and cheap enough to be the inventor’s choice.

On the other hand, although the unitary patent aims to provide protection throughout the whole 28 Member States, the number of countries that the patent proprietors want to obtain patents in, differ. According to patent statistics from 2013, half of patentees pay protection for only 3 Member States, whereas 2/5 patentees pay protection for only 5 Member States. The amount of patentees interested in 28 Member States‘ protection is only 2/100. Hence, it again becomes very clear that the costs of the unitary patent, including the amount of the renewal fee, will play a major role in the decision to opt for the unitary patent or for a national patent issued from a European patent application.

decisions negatively. In the current European patent system, companies that have chosen to designate multiple countries often allow registrations in particular countries to lapse before the patent term has ended. As a money saver, this flexibility is significant, and will not be possible in the new system.

So, if renewal costs are high for the patent proprietor, he or she will not be able to reduce them, which is an evident disadvantage.

On the whole, the Committee on Legal Affairs will have to decide on how to boost the advantages of the new unitary patent package, whilst dealing with the obstacles and disadvantages that could prevent businesses and inventors from obtaining the European Patent with unitary effects.■

Given the last point, it is worth mentioning that the inflexibility of the new system might affect some companies’ or inventors’

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