The Future of the EU

Yesterday I attended a very interesting seminar with Professor Sverker Gustavsson, Swedish political scientist, and Annika Ström-Melin, head of the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies. Each approached the topic of the future of the EU and especially the future of the constitution from quite different angles:

Sverker Gustavsson

• The EU does not have to create clarity by writing down or bringing together the existing treaties into one. That would do more harm than good to the EU. Clarity is not always a good thing.
• Compare the Swedish constitution. The Swedish constitution does not provide clarity on matters that are regulated outside politics, albeit matters covered by the principle/freedom of assembly (e.g. the labour market and unions). This makes it a "living constitution". In reality nothing important is clear from the Swedish constitution except how to elect and appoint a government.
• There are two forces: the right to vote v. capitalism (or the right of ownership). It is the use of the rights in the constitution that decide politics, and that is very far from any sort of clarity.
• There is a similar "terror balance" between free trade and the right to vote / freedom of assembly in the EU. One result from this struggle is that free trade and the four freedoms are not applied to the same extent on services or on goods and services paid by taxes. This is an issue that could potentially be contested in the ECJ but since all or most of the EU member states have similar systems, the EU does not want to take on that conflict and disturb the balance. There is a a "mutual insight that either 'side' could destroy each other if the principle [of free trade] was applied fully".
• Instead of writing down the EU should decide where the breaking point between the two poles (rights) ought to be. In other words the EU should engage in a debate about basic values and concentrate on how to create more flexibility and reform. That is the real constitutional debate.
• In addition, the EU and its member states should iron out the formal aspects of the constitution and concentrate on the content of politics. Formality is not that important. It does not hinder further enlargement of the EU. If the EU wants to bring in new members, it will do so irrespective of any imagined formal restrictions. What is important is that the lawyers dare to do.

Annika Ström-Melin

• The period of reflection that the EU has announced is worrying because the conflicts in Europe are still just under the surface. And the European countries have not even started dealing with the years of communist oppression. In other words, one cannot be sure that Europe will continue to be peaceful.
• Europe should not underestimate the potential destructive force of nationalism. European integration has grown out of the fact that nationalism led to horrific events and circumstances. European leaders "tricked" countries to co-operate. Compare with the Council of Europe which is mostly about proclamations and solemnity.
• The EU is very good and effective - but lack of clarity is a huge problem. And it is linked to the question of democracy. In Sweden we have regulated basic freedoms and rights but in the EU democracy is only indirect. The member states have delegated more than free trade, areas coming very near to the inner core of the right to vote.
• The constitutional treaty was good because it summed up what European co-operation looks like today. Civil freedoms and rights must be engrained in a constitution in order to place limits on the expansion of the EU's power. For example, Sweden would not want the issue of abortion to be decided by the Polish government. Swedes' right to vote on that issue must remain in Sweden.
• The EU cannot continue as before, according to the usual method. The EU we have today functions pretty well; neither more nor less is needed. However, Europe needs clarity on what is it we have today.
• The democratic deficit is the price we pay for keeping conflicts out. Europe for peace is not an obsolete idea.
• The EU is the best available method. European co-operation is a method for our time. Decisions must in many areas be taken on another level than by the nation-state. But we will never have full franchise at the European level.

Sigh...

"I think, like, it is already dead, what's the harm."

Victoria Silvstedt, about her chinchilla fur coat. Swedish model who fulfils the stereotype of a stupid blonde.

Future Star

This is just sooooo adorable!

For a very special person

Blue eyes
Happy frame of mind
Oh, so blue
In times of despair
Shades of grey
Glimpse of your soul
If only eyes could tell

Gangsta' Style

A few weeks I went to a 30th birthday party with a 1930s/gangster theme. Here are some pics for you to enjoy!

Eavesdropping

There's a great new Swedish site with things people have overheard on the tube, at work/school or when out and about, Tjuvlyssnat (inspired by Overheard in New York). Unfortunately it's only in Swedish but I'll treat you to a sample:

On the Stockholm tube
High school girl #1: I can't wait to the summer holidays, I'm going to Greece again
High school girl #2: Oohh, nice, I would also like to do that, I have never been there. By the way, Greece is not in Europe, is it?!
High school girl 1 #1: Yes, it is.
High school girl #2: No, I'm quite sure it isn't.
High school girl #1: (irritated): Yes, I know it is, they had euros there.. and you haven't been there. So I know I'm right!
High school girl #2: Okay, but it wasn't in Europe before they joined the EU at least.
High school girl #1: No, that's probably true. But no country was.

Tom Tits Experiments

Despite a name that may lead your thoughts to something else, Tom Tits Experiment is actually Sweden's largest science park and it is located in my hometown Södertälje. Over the weekend Tom Tits won the Micheletti prize at the European Museum Forum, awarded to the most promising technical or industrial museum. The jury stated Tom Tits as one of Europe's most interesting museums and highlighted the museum's ambition to attempt to explain basic scientific principles to a broad general public.

(The Museum of the Year Award went to Cosmocaixa in Barcelona and Churchill Museum in London received the Council of Europe Award.)

Iraq? Nah, never heard of it

National Geographic reports that young Americans do not where Iraq is. Despite the US having invaded the country twice and having fought a war there for the past three years, a war that features in the news basically every day, two of three or 63 % youths between 18 and 24 could not point out Iraq on a map. Even fewer knew where Israel or Iran are situated. Moreover, and maybe this is the most scary result, only 50 % could locate New York...

And these are the people that will run that country in the future...

Easter Bunnies

It's long overdue but here's the picture of Marianne (right) and me when we met up at in Brussels at Easter, which I promised her I would post.

The Society for Threats to Western (American) Thinking

Posted in the St Antony's college (Oxford) JCR (Junior Common Room) newsletter:

Society for Threats to Western (American) Thinking – Monday April 24

The Society for Threats to Western (American) Thinking is proud to announce a special screening of “The Rock” (1996). Monday 24 April 20:00 in the CCR.

Dear friends,

As Trinity Term opens for business and we all get down to the serious regime of examinations, theses, jobs, or procrastination it is - above all - a time for reflection. We have come a long way since SARS and, in the spirit of reflection, it is time we redefine the paradigm surrounding terrorism. Once upon a time we actually UNDERSTOOD this debate, however, as global events conspired against us, academics had to ruin it for everyone with lecture series, books, articles, journals and laborious debates. Through the infinite glory of Hollywood we will engage and defeat this tangental thinking.

The Rock delves into the disgruntled mind of the military machine, threats from deadly biological agents, and a man's search for justice in the face of statist domination. Set in San Fransico and Alcatraz the subtle comparison between liberal freedom and state oppression.

Starring: Connery S., Cage N. and Harris E.
Director: Bay M.
Producer: Bruckheimer J.I

t is time to reclaim the knowledge we have lost. Join us. Threats to Western (American) Thinking is a strategic think-tank, operating from Oxford, dedicated to simplifying debates into soundbite analysis. We aim to destroy subtle discussions with crass generalisations, simplisticanalysis, and overblown PR.

Royal Stats

In honour of Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday on 21 April (though officially celebrated in June), the Royal Court has published 80 more or less essential facts about the British Head of State. A selection of her "accomplishments":

• Has modelled for 139 official portraits (even a hologram one)
• Inaugurated 25 ships and 15 bridges
• Sent her first e-mail from an army base in 1976
• Treated her staff to 78,000 Christmas puddings
• Has sent 280,000 telegrams to couples celebrating diamond their anniversary
• Travelled on the London tube for the first time in 1939 (perhaps the only time?)

Perhaps telling of her age and her early succession to the throne; there have been ten British PMs and ten American presidents as well as six Archbishops of Canterbury during her reign.

Kid Fun

You can learn a lot from spending the day with a six-year-old:

• Kids get pretty cranky when they haven't eaten for a while (don't let the kid at the table next to yours stare too much at your kid before he or she has a stabilised blood sugar level)
• Kids talk (and laugh) all through the film while at the cinema (at least when seeing Ice Age 2)
• Kids can eat a huge box of popcorn and drink a supersize soda just after having had lunch (okay, I helped but still)
• Not all kids like spaghetti and meat sauce - at least one Swedish girl wanted black pudding (or pancakes - more normal) for dinner on a Saturday
• McDonald's face paint itches a lot and needs to come off five minutes from home, not a minute later
• Six-year-olds can be surprisingly good at sudoku
• Three bedtime stories and two sudokus later the kid is still not tired ("I'm not tired at all") - as soon as she's allowed to sleep on the sofa in the living room, she's out in three seconds
• It's good to have a few household chores to do as an excuse to get out of playing a fifth boardgame in an hour
• Six-year-olds are already familiar with the local slang

On the Rocks

"You have to be pretty drunk to want to sleep here."

Ryszard Kapuściński, literary journalist visiting the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi in the very north of Sweden. He felt the hotel's beds were a bit too chilly for his taste.

Vanity

Would you do it?

Top Five Female Ops

1. Breast surgery. Resizing or reshaping under full anesthetic; 1 or 2 nights in hospital, stitches out in 7-14 days
2. Rhinoplasty. Nose reshaping, needs an overnight stay and 7-10 days for the swelling to subside
3. Liposuction. Fat removal under local anesthetic takes 1-2 hours; anoterh week or two for the area to heal
4. Blepharoplasty. Excess tissue around the eye is surgically removed; stitches removed in 3-7 days
5. Abdominoplasty. Surgery to remove excess skin and fat from the belly; needs 2 weeks off work and lots of bed rest

Top Five Male Ops

1. Rhinoplasty. Nose reshaping is the most popular op
2. Liposuction. To reduce breast size or get a flatter belly
3. Blepharoplasty. Men also dislike saggy, baggy eyes and laugh lines
4. Otoplasty. Ear reshaping by removing skin and cartilage and restitching into place. In bandages for a week
5. Penis enlargement. A small incision at the base can extend flaccid size by about 2,5 cm; body-fat cells can be implanted to increase girth. Expect a week off work and no heavy lifting for a month

* Source: Harley Medical Group / Time

The right to own a pet

You might have seen this being reported the other week...

Americans know more about Simpsons than about their basic rights and freedoms

McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in Chicago is a new museum aimed at informing the American public about the Constitution. The museum did a survey of Americans' knowledge of their basic rights and freedoms and found that:

• 28 % were able to list two out of five basic freedoms in the First Amendment
• 69 % knew that freedom of speech is one of the five freedoms
• 24 % knew about freedom of religion
• 11 % were aware of freedom of the press
• 10 % were familiar with the freedom of assembly
• only 1 % knew about their right to appeal

This can be compared with the fact that 52 % could name at least two members of the Simpson family.

Another finding of the survey is that many Americans think they have constitutional rights that are not found in the Constitution:

• 1/5 thought the right to own a pet was part of the First Amendment
• As many believed the right to drive a car was in the same amendment (even though the car was invented a century after the establishment of the Constitution
  

If only it was that easy!

Italian PM Berlusconi has advised his country's poor to make more money. Italy's richest man apparently started his business by picking up paper off the streets and crumpled them to little balls that he sold to people who used them to light their stoves. And when someone gave the young Berlusconi a camera he started taking pictures at funerals and weddings.

All good ideas...hm...unsurprisingly Berlusconi's popularity is falling as a result of his government's difficulties to get the Italian economy going. The latest opinion polls show that Berlusconi's centre-right alliance will lose to former Commission President Prodi's centre-left bloc - I hope so!

Petition against Trafficking during the Football World Cup

With International Women's Day coming up on Wednesday I want to highlight a very important fight.

A petition against trafficking during the Football World Cup in Germany in June.

As prostitution is legal in Germany and plans are under way to set up mobile brothels, it is very likely that trafficking of women and forced prostitution will significantly increase during the event.

Let's help protect women from such exploitation.

Olof Palme

I wanted to blog about Olof Palme already on February 28 (the anniversary of his murder) but haven't gotten around to it until today. But instead of writing about him myself I will link to tributes from my fellow bloggers:

Olof Palme...and Bruce Springsteen

En märklig känsla av vemod (Swedish)

And a news article.

For those of you who need an introduction, here's his life (and death).

I was 10 when Palme was murdered. Having grown up in a Social Democratic home I was already very familiar with who he was and with his politics. And it's obviously not every day a country's Prime Minister is murdered (though sadly it happened in Sweden yet again in 2003 when Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was knifed down; fortunately that case has been solved) so it's one of those things you remember forever. I had spent the night at my grandparents' and turned on the radio in the morning to listen to a radio play. We couldn't understand how the writers could joke about such a thing, before it started to sink in that it had actually happened. I remember that my grandmother cried but I don't think I did. I also remember that they cancelled all TV shows and just played sad music on TV all day. I will also always associate Palme's murder with getting my ears pierced. I hadn't had it done that very day but two days earlier and I guess my ears were still hurting. Weird how one's memory works.

Olympic Success

Sweden had its best Winter Olympics ever in Turin! We finished 6 in the "medal league", after:

1. Germany 11-12-6=29
2. USA 9-9-7=25
3. Austria 9-7-7=23
4. Russia 8-6-8=22
5. Canada 7-10-7=24
6. SWEDEN 7-2-5=14
7... R.o.W

Most Swedes would say that winning the Gold in ice-hockey was the best, but I'm the most excited - and proud - about the women's curling team who actually have to work for a living (e.g. one team member is a consultant, another an accountant) and train in their spare time. A reality quite far from the luxury life of the ice-hockey players who are almost all professionals playing in the NHL. The curling team even had to finance part of the trip themselves. Of course, the ice-hockey players have worked hard to get where they are today, but it doesn't make them bigger stars or their gold worth more than the curling ladies' golden medal.

Congestion Charges Update

I wrote earlier about the congestion charges introduced in the centre of Stockholm at the beginning of the year. I am very pleaset to tell you that so far they have been a huge success! Such a success that the political debate has if not died out but almost disappeared. The parties that were against charges (or "tax" as they call it) are still against (though they were the ones that had launched the idea in the first place, as I mentioned in my previous posting), but they are not as vocal about it in the fear of (I think) alienating voters.

The results so far:

• Substantial decrease in congestion on the streets of Stockholm - halving of travel times in rush hour and buses having to hold for a minute at bus stops not to get ahead of their timetable
• 25 % decrease in traffic on weekdays
• No significant increase in traffic on ringroads (e.g. Essingeleden)
• 40,000 more people commuting by public transportation, without any major problems for SL
• Well-functioning technical and administrative system and not total chaos as critics feared

Reservations exist of course. Traffic always increase gradually from a winter low to a peak in May-June so the congestion charges will have to be continuously evaluated before a final assessment of the results can be made. We also have to wait for an evaluation of the environmental effects, e.g. emissions and noise.

But so far so good! I really hope the continuous success of the trial period leads to Stockholmers voting for a permanent (or as long as congestion and the environment so require) introduction of congestion charges!