MREGIO

EWS

#2

ISSUE #2 | Editorial | page 2 page 2 | Local News | ISSUE #2

The article

that no

one reads

News about the

I hope I got your attention with the title I chose for my edito-rial. It feels a lot nicer when you at least live with the impres-sion that people are actually reading your thoughts. I also hope that you enjoyed the first issue and the concept of the paper. Ev-erybody has been working really hard to make sure that you have the first issue handed in on your first day here in Menden. By the time you will be reading this you will be halfway through the Committee Work. How exciting! I remember with pleasure being a delegate and feeling important because I carry that much responsi-bility as a decision maker for the European Youth Parliament. I think that those are probably the strongest memories I have from EYP and they will never fade away, no matter how many sessions I attend. Being a delegate is an exceptional thing, especially if you con-sider the fact that all the officials are running around and preparing things for weeks or months before the session starts, just to make sure that you will have a memorable experience. Furthermore, the fact that you can have this position only for a few sessions – because of the natu-ral need for progress – makes it even more special. The only sad thing is that most of us realise how unique it is being a delegate only after a few sessions as an official, when the only thing left to do is to make the sessions unforgettable for others, just like the others did for you. Luckily for you, there are old and wise people like me to tell you how grand being a delegate is exactly when you are enjoying this position at its best, at the International Summer Forum in Menden. You will never be as privileged as you are now: able to go to sleep whenever you feel tired, get to attend all the parties, cultural or ac-ademic events and taking part in the General Assembly, the most exciting part of a session. So have fun, learn as much as you can, talk to as many people as you can, make more than just Facebook friends, deliver attack speeches, read the paper, watch the videos and follow us on Facebook. I promise that there is still plenty of great stuff to come!

In the 90’s, the participants of ISF Menden were chil-dren growing up who played Atari for hours and tried their best to save Mario’s Princess, were addict-ed to Pokemon and trading cards and watched Pow-er Rangers, Sailor Moon, Rugrats and Ninja Turtles every single day. However, for the amazing 90’s par-ty of the ISF Menden, they were all superstars that popped out of the TV- set of those good old days. The party started with the unforgettable ‘Wannabe’ of the Spice Girls and the Baby Spic-es took over the dance floor. The guys were jumping around when the Back Street Boys’ songs brought them back on line. They became the cool, ro-mantic and deep- minded gentlemen of the 90’s! The party was such a blast that the heat in the room boomed up, but endless German beer was

around the corner to cool down. For the ones who needed to take off their dancing shoes for a while, there was a cozy atmosphere outside. Guys with white tees stuck in the blue jeans were there, fixing their hair’s volume with 90’s style super strong hair gel. Although the theme of the party was visi-ble in every corner, no one could stop the partici-pants from following their trendy ways. Some, though mostly officials who could not stop having duck face photos with their cameras, where the ones who need-ed a change and rolled down the hill in front of the venue. Close to the end, even the music was changed and David Guetta took the stage from the N’SYNC. The first evening party tru-ly warmed up all the delegates and officials for an unforgettable session week to come!

Making History on the Dance Floor

ISSUE #2 | Local News | page 3 page 4 | Committee | ISSUE #2

Rumour has it that a bunch of weird and bizarre creatures have invaded Menden. There are miners, chicken machines, Eurostage stars, dwarfs, wizards, giants, chicken pilots and lots more to be seen. We don‘t know yet what they want and what they‘re doing here“. This is how most of the people possibly react when watching EYP Teambuilding. They also may see it as childish fun- just some juveniles that waste their time fooling around. What else could anyone think of 120 people forming circles and singing the Zulu song? Actually, we have to admit that from an out-sider’s point of view, Teambuilding sometimes seems to be a copy of a children´s birthday. But after expe-riencing this session‘s Teambuilding, we know that it

has a deeper meaning: it turns a huddle of people into a team. Just remember your feelings when arriving at the session. Standing in line with all those strangers in front of the welcome desk you probably didn‘t know what to expect from the upcoming days. But the team-building made it at least a bit clearer. You know now all your fellow delegates, their fears and hopes. Maybe you even call some of them your friends. During the last days you had to take up various tasks that chal-lenged you and required you to open up yourselves to each other. Anyways, you also know that there are still many tasks lying ahead. But facing those together with the team, you don‘t have to be afraid of them.

Watch out! Teambuilding!

Eurovillage is always one of my favorite parts of a session. My usual plan is to eat as much as sweets as possible. But this time I promised it to be different. I could be more than just a guest, I was press now. And determined to use the criti-cal eye and taste of a real chef looking for all that’s rare and extremely popular. Turkey immediately catches my attention there were people scream-ing ‘serefe’ (Turkish cheers). When I got a closer look I discovered a magic drink. Deniz told me ‘Yeni Raki’ was a typical summer drink you have to drink it with watermelon. Unfortu-nately it contained 45 percents of alco-hol so I decide it would not be a wise call to taste it so early in the evening. Albania on the other hand, dressed up in there national colours, had some very popular pies. Sadly I came too late to taste it. According to Anja their popularity was based on the fact that her grandma had baked them.

Also Greece brought incredibly popular little octopuses covered in a red sauce and Rea used her cooking skills to make a lovely Greek summer salad. The Lith-uanian cake called ‘the lazy person’ was very remarkable because it is very easy to make; it is mixture of various sweets. Romania was dressed in one of the most remarkable costumes of the eve-ning; those were handmade of wool and cotton. The costume is often used to go with different dances and performances. But Romania was not the only in tradi-tional clothes, a German girl was dressed in a Dirndl, typical for the Bayer-re-gion and for going to the Oktoberfest. To conclude I saw, ate and smelled some extraordinary things, I behaved like a real journalist My evening was more than a success, I hope yours was too!

Welcome to Eurovillage!

Europe is now in a very unfortunate position, the de-cisions made by the European leaders are accused of being non-visionary, solving just the current prob-lems and not considering the l o n g term consequences. This is where Men-den’s ITRE was asked to look beyond the E u r o p e 2020 plan and create a safe and sustainable vision of energy pro-duction and d i s t r i b u t i o n for the genera-tion of our children. The team-build-ing showed that this committee simply has no weak spot. While colorblind or tangled by the spider’s web, this energetic team remains calm and patiently works out its way to the success.Oskar, the outgoing blonde Swede, will be definitely the first one who will catch anyone’s attention. He’s passionate about learning new things and shar-ing them with others. Once he summons enough knowledge, he would like to become an author. On the other hand, Jakob makes sure that the whole committee maintains its feet on the ground. As a proud Austrian he never forgets to advertise his country and hometown whenever it is possible. He spent fourteen months in the army, playing in the military band. Medi, however, is a proud mem-ber of the French army. When he is not firing guns at the shooting range he likes to explore the world of movies and art. Maike has faced some bad luck, due to the unfortunate fall during the cat and mouse game she had to visit the hospital. But when she is not injured, she loves to dance and is a very open person. Almost everybody in this team loves sports.

Petr chose jogging as his favorite free time activity and gives the credit for that to his (obviously) unique DNA. His favorite holiday destination is also unique: discovering the diversity of India. Alpi is also a fan of an active lifestyle; currently he is interested in bun-gee-jumping. He expressed his concerns about his

journey back to home, since he has never travelled such a long distance on his own. Gabriele de-

scribes himself as a very curious person and a good listener, which are not really common qualities among men. His favorite meal is mixed salad, preferably consisting of all the vegetables of the world. Guilia, same as Ga-briele, comes from Italy. She likes food in general, but mostly ice-cream as she lives

next to an ice-cream shop. She has a friendly attitude and her friend-network stretches out

all the way to Kenya. Martjin stole the show at the Eurovillage with his orange clogs, he admit-

ted that it caused his feet an incredible pain, but it was worth it. He is a very persistent person because he never runs away from a given task until he com-pletes it. That is a skill that can come in handy during the commit- tee work and also his future l i f e , since his dream is to

become a pedi-atrician. The

committee wouldn’t be com-p l e t e w i t h -o u t Harriet,

she is the first

time EY-Per. However

thanks to her d e d i c a - tion she keeps up with her committee like an experienced one. She came to Menden to meet new friends and I personal-ly believe that her ITRE-mates can help with that.

ITRE

ISSUE #2 | Committee | page 5 page 6 | Interview | ISSUE #2

My dearest winstars,

I have only been your journalist for exactly 24 hours now, and it is my greatest pleasure to write you this strictly personal letter. On this very moment that I am writing this, I am watching you discussing growth, medium and small enterpris-es, advertising, inter-national trade and specia l isat ion. I should start this letter from the beginning. The days before the session I was look-ing forward to meeting you, but before I realised, it was al-ready Monday. There you were and I was a little bit nervous, but I bet you were as well. After playing some name games it was surpris-ing how fast you knew each other’s names. With the making of the family shields you showed each other a bit more of yourself, your favourite way to spend your holiday, free time and most importantly your beautiful smiles! After a short coffee break, Ja-mie put your cooperation skills to the test. Unfortunately for him, he failed. Because you broke your own record four times, not being aware you already controlled that tal-ent; you embraced it and started to use this newly discovered power wisely. For instance in the levitation game you successfully lifted each other by listening and communicating ef-fectively. Shortly before Eurovillage, I informed you on the challenges. I was happy to see your enthu-siasm and even further, we gained 70 points already. Unluckily, we did not win the Eurovillage game but

I have checked it and we won a bronze medallion with Rea’s impressive running and you all cheering! It was a lot of fun to watch you debate this morning: Nozizwe with a blindfold, Deniz dancing the macarena and Demi with a marker in her mouth.

Despite these obstacles, you were very serious and credible. You succeed to make good

statements and linked your arguments. In the afternoon things got more

serious and we started the actual committee work, you had a great brainstorming with over two hun-dred words on the blackboard in four different colours. Afterwards, for two hours you literally shook it off and got rid of all the stress

and the tiredness. With Meike as a choreographer you all put on your

dancing shoes and started dancing on ‘Call me maybe’. Jannis really enjoyed

watching your remarkable dancing skills. I was very impressed as well because for three

days now, the press team has been searching for a dance and having discussions on the songs but you just start dancing an amazing dance just like that. To conclude you are my personal winstars,

even if we don’t win the crown on Eu-

rostage on Friday. You

don’t need it because we’ve al-r e a d y b r o k e n more re-

cords and o v e r c o m e

more obstacles than what one

crown could ever carry.

INTA

A crucifix on the wall is the most noticeable decoration in Sister Maria Thoma Dikow’s office. It is affixed behind her large work desk. The nun and headmis-tress of our host school granted us with the opportunity to ask her some ques-tions. She’s listening quite carefully and is very mindful about her answers. ‘Menden is a little friendly town that is not very much known in the world and a prodigious event such as this session is not really common in the region’. Sister Thoma Dikow actually told that they never hosted a session like this before and had her concerns about it when the project was offered to her. The possible problems keep coming in her head such as the construc-tion workers, cafeteria facilities and the session dates being during the holiday time, but her skepticism turned into excitement as she shared the idea of the project with her colleagues. She figured out how a great possibility it is for them all and the town to connect with Europe. The national papers, EYP pag-es and local news reporting from the session are great opportunities to show how open-minded the school and the staff there are. ‘The monasteries have always been the places for hospitality’ and thus Sister Thoma Dikow is happy to be given the opportunity to host more than 100 young Europeans at her school. Her receptive outlook helped to over-come her initial doubts. It was a chance to bring different cultures together and spread friendship among the participants. The session also enables some of her students to gain valuable experiences and share them with their friends. ‘We don’t teach catholic mathematics, just mathematics’ said Sister Thoma Dikow who is also a mathematics and religion teacher herself. There are two nuns who are teachers as well, but the education is not affected at all by the religion. However, it plays a role in the daily life of the students. For example, they start every day with a short prayer and start the new school year with a service. The last time they got the entire community together was the day before the summer break. She wants her students to feel comfortable at school that is why she and her colleagues stress the importance of peace and friendship during everyday school life. ‘I was not afraid of giving him the keys to the school facilities’ which we can all, of course, understand. Sister Thoma Dikow describes our Head-Or-ganiser Max as a very engaged, constructive and reliable student. He found his own way in spending an exchange year in Finland rather than in the US or Australia like the most of his friends. She wishes us all an enjoyable stay at ‘her home’ and very good luck for our work.

Thank you Sister Thoma Dikow!

Introducing our lovely host

ISSUE #2 | The Regions | page 7 page 8 | The Regions | ISSUE #2

It is isolated and desolate. The home of Vi-kings, Angry Birds and most notably polar bears: the Nordic countries have many things to offer. Historically, the Northern Region has been barren and inaccessible, bearing little interest for the rest of Europe. The Roman Empire never stretched as far as to enclose the north, probably as it would have been a waste of time conquering such a wild and inacces-sible area. It was first around 800 A.D. when the Vi-kings began to spread across Europe that the isolation was broken. They set sail in longboats from Norway and Denmark, plundering along the British coast-line, even besieging Paris. Swedish Vikings instead made their way to the east, reaching far into Russia. As Christianity spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages the Scandinavian nations began to take shape. Denmark was first, soon followed by Swe-den and Norway. Over the years the countries devel-oped very strong bonds between each other. Finland was occupied by Sweden during the 13th century and remained under Swedish control for nearly 600 years, until it became a part of Russia, while Norway was a part of Denmark and later in a union with Sweden until its independence in 1905. Denmark and Sweden were both regional superpowers, and occupied large areas around the Baltic Sea, until Russia and Germany forced them to surrender large parts of their territories. Despite some rivalries, the four countries have close bonds to each other, and are culturally as well as po-litically very similar. For a start, Sweden, Norway and Demark are all monarchies. In essence this means that

the formal head of state is an un-elected monarch, chosen by birth. The monarchs still have little or no real influence on actual politics, but fulfil a role as rep-resentatives of their respective countries. Henceforth, there is a constant debate about the monarchies’ con-tinued existence, although they remain very popular. The similarities between Sweden, Norway and Den-mark do not end there. Linguistically they are very close to each other. Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are so similar that Swedes, Norwegians and Danes can understand each other’s languages, albeit to dif-ferent extents. Danes normally understand Swedish, but Swedes normally do not understand Danish, while Norwegians tend to understand both, where-as both Danes and Swedes are able to understand Norwegian. Finnish is on the other hand complete-ly different and incomprehensible for the others. The Norwegian, Swedish and Danish views of each other are in some ways affected by their respective languages. Swedes and Danes tend to look at each other with suspicion. Danes see Swedes as uptight and arrogant, while Swedes see Danes as untrust-worthy drunks. As Danish sounds like Swedish spo-ken by someone with sedated jaws or who is gross-ly intoxicated, and as Swedes look down on Danes, those views are somewhat understandable. Danes and Swedes both regard Norwegians as friendly, per-haps partly because Norwegian sounds like jollier version of their own languages. Like how one would sound after having taken some sort of happy pill.

Scandinavian countries have in many ways managed to ex-cel during the past century. For example, according to the OECD, Finland has, believe it or not, the best educational system in the world. Studies comparing countries in areas such as quality of life, equality and even economic freedom tend to place all four Scandi-navian countries in the top 10, or at least top 15. This might be because of their isolation, as they were never occupied by the Soviet Union, nor were they significantly affect-ed by the world wars, which in turn has ensured stability. On domestic policy, Scandi-navian countries stand out on a lot of issues. Taxes tend to be extremely high; all countries apart from Denmark still have monopolies on alcohol distri-bution (which somewhat rein-forces the view among Swedes that Danes drink too much) and some adopt very liberal stances on issues such as immi-

gration, like in Sweden where 15% of the population has been born in another country. In 1972, Denmark became the first country in the region to join EU. Sweden and Fin-land both became members during the 90’s, while Norway has for a long time resisted applying for a membership for chiefly economic reasons. Norway is by far the wealthiest country in the region, mostly due to its oil, which is why it is reluctant to join the EU, as it would most likely register a net loss from being a member. To conclude, when one says that the North ‘has more to of-fer than meets the eye’ is more than a cliché. Of course it has a lot to offer. For being a very small region, it has however done remarkably well, eco-nomically and socially. And if you are still wondering after the introduction: no, there ac-tually are not any polar bears.

Northern Europe

page 9 | FUN | ISSUE #2 ISSUE #2 | FUN | page 10

HOROSCOPEARIES

The stars may not be completely in your favour right now, yet they deliver an important mes-sage: speak loudly and clearly when making a point during the GA, and the higher powers will

be grateful.

TAURUSThe Moon is set in Gemini and in your 2nd house, so talk is definitely on the table today. Don’t be surprised if your chair gets a little grumpy at

some point – he/she didn’t get much sleep.

GEMINIThe heavens will be busy fighting off and you should avoid heated discussions during the committee work at all costs. The tension is about to rise, even within your “perfect” committee. Maintain your calm attitude and listen to what

the others have to say.

CANCERThe Moon enters your house of romance, so keep a close eye on solid new opportunities during the evening parties. Luck will be on your side,

but remember the Golden Rule!

LEOAs Mars enters its strongest phase you discover your inner strength and finally you will be cou-

rageous enough to step up during the GA.

VIRGOYou might have felt completely lost during the committee work. Don’t worry though. The stars will provide you with deeper insights about your committee topic, which will show you that solu-tions can be easily found and you will success.

LIBRATensions might be growing in your committee as the delicate Moon tests powerful Pluto and the disruptive Uranus. Try to put those tensions aside and keep an eye out for attack speeches you might be facing: they provide you with a window

to the future.

SCORPIOThe coffee breaks will be your greatest ally today, since you are already quite intuitive by nature. Find something caffeine-filled and allow your-self to get carried away by your thoughts: power-

ful insights will come your way.

SAGITTARIUS The sensitive Moon clashes with shady Neptune and severe Saturn to create friction in your com-mittee today. Needs will be incompatible and you

may need to learn the value of compromising.

CAPRICORNThe Moon will stop by your 5th house (Europe & GA), so put all the worries aside and enjoy your-self, Capricorn. Also spending lots of time with your fellow committee members is definitely a

must.

AqUARIUSIt may be hard to find the true meaning of your topic behind the fancy wording. However don’t loose your hope! As the Moon passes through your 4th house (Committee work and Resolu-tion typing), Pluto will give you the needed im-

pulse to understand the depth of your topic.

PISCESTalking about Committee Work, it will probably be a highly demanding day, but also quite pro-ductive. As the day ends, take time to relax, en-joy the session newspaper and search for more

information and new ideas.

Common misConCeptions

“NAPOLEON WAS SHORT”. A very common mis-conception is that Napoleon was short, but in fact he was not. Napoleon was 169 centimeters, which might sound as short, but at the time, the average length for men in France was 168 centimeters, while it was only 164 centimeters in Sweden (!). Henceforth, Napoleon was actually taller than aver- a g e length! Although, in British pro-paganda, he was often por-trayed at satire and smear campaigns as short, which might have caused the miscon-ception to begin with.

“VOLTAIRE ONCE FAMOUS-LY SAID ‘I DISAPPROVE OF WHAT YOU SAY, BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT’.” This quote is very famous, but is un-fortunately too good to be true. In fact a historian used those words to summarize his views. He never uttered them himself, but the quote became his most famous one. The quote has also

been attribut-ed to Jean-

J a c q u e s R o u s -s e a u and Ed-m u n d B u r k e .“THE VIKINGS WORE HELMETS THAT HAD HORNS

ATTACHED TO THEM.” In popular culture Vikings are al-ways with horned helmets, however they never used any helmets of that kind. No such helmets have ever been found. In fact, only one Viking helmet has ever been found, which is a clear indication that the Viking might not have been that keen on helmets. Hel-mets with horns would have been downright dangerous in combat, as a properly attached helmet would break the neck of its bearer if a sword had struck it.

page 11 | Interview | ISSUE #2 ISSUE #2 | EU Facts | page 12

FLORENCE WELCH is one of the most eclectic and pop-ular artists working today and she will be here in con-cert for you in Menden*. Andreia, our editor, is a huge fan. It’s scary really. But before Florence will be perform-ing at Eurostage we had a chance to ask her why she chose to visit us here at the ISF and more importantly, to find out if she is a human being or some heavenly creature.

MEWS:Florence – Welcoming you here in Menden will go down in the EYP history.How are you feeling about your performance tomor-row and what were the decisive reasons for you to come here?FLORENCE (smiling):Thank you. I’m glad to have finally arrived here. Finding the way wasn’t very easy but after performing at countless festivals and concerts this year Menden seems to be the best place to be at right now. It’s just something very special…MEWS: What exactly makes this evening so special for you?FLORENCE: It’s the international character of this event. Nowhere else can I feel that spirit of unity and peace like I’m expecting to have here this evening. I love the fact that people from different countries come together and form new, lasting friendships. I try to create this unity through my songs and you’re doing the same so I had to come. MEWS: Can you tell us what is your most important accessorize when performing?FLORENCE: I never wear shoes on stage. MEWS:Your album Ceremonials was voted the best

album of the year 2011 by the magazine NME. What do you think people loved about the album?FLORENCE: (blushes). That was a huge surprise! Es-pecially given that the album was quite late. It was humbling really. I think maybe songs like “Shake It Out” were quite anthemic, they made people feel something joyous inside of them. For a world in cri-sis, I thought those songs would be good to write. It maybe made people feel good about themselves, which I’m very pleased with!q: You recently (on Sunday) made an appearance at a concert in Ireland, which I’m very jealous that I didn’t get to see! What do you try to include in your con-certs?A: I loved the Irish crowd, amazing singers! Erm… what I like to have is to create a huge experience for everyone, like every single person would feel that they are part of the music. I want them to have fun! (giggles)q: And finally, what advice would you have for the delegates at the ISF Menden?A: Ooh, I’m sure they’re all much smarter than me! I guess I would just say that make sure to enjoy your-selves and try to keep those memories of the session. I would have loved to have a chance to do EYP!

*That may all be made up.

the main EU institutions

• EuropeanCouncil• consists of the national heads of

the state or the government and the president of the Commission

• is led by its President• states the agenda and offers EU

the necessary impulses for its development

• meets at least every half an year

• TheEuropeanParliament• - represents the citizens, directly

elected by them every 5 years• - one of the EU’s main law- mak-

ing institutions: the branch of legislative attributions

• - depates and passes the Europe-an laws in cooperation with the Council

• - monitors the other institutions, especially the Commission and holds them accountable to work democratically

• TheEuropeanCommission• represents the interests of the

union as a whole • consists of 27 commissioners, one

from each member state • holds a monopoly of legislative

initiatives • holds the power of administrative

attributions

• TheEuropeanCentralBank• the emission bank for the euro • manages the euro- the EU’s single cur-

rency- and safeguards price stability in Europe

• takes care that the financial markets and institutions are properly super-vised in order to keep the financial system stable

• TheCourtofAuditors• a member from each member state• the main function is to monitor the

financing of the EU activities • checks the accounts, the incomes

and the spendings of the EU • holds no legal powers of its own

• TheEuropeanCourtofJustice

• the representative of the EU- law, making sure it is applied in the same way in all of the member countries

• consists of 27 judges from the member states, who are assisted by eight advocate- generals

• serves as a mediator between the EU institutions and the national governments

• welcomes cases also from in-dividuals and from non- state

page 13 | The Decades | ISSUE #2

YoU onLY

LiVe tWiCe

the 60’s & the 70’s

The 60’s. It was maybe the most iconic era in the world history. It was certainly one of the most eventful ones: the Space Race, the Cold War, the assassination of Kennedy, counterculture and civil rights movements were all part of this, a decade that held awe and shock like no other. The fashion, the music and the excellent hair styles all remind us of a world that seems far removed from today’s society. Life in the 60’s was fasci-nating; when watching television shows like Mad Men, you get a glimpse of the world where peo-ple drank and smoked casually at work. It was very much a man’s world, but women were building their way up in the world, despite the casual sexism which now ap-pears hilarious and out-of-place, but back then must have been torturous. ‘Holy gender inequal-ity Batman!`, a certain 60’s TV- show character might have said. The 60’s was very much a decade during which the west-ern society changed. The James Bond- films clearly display a world which, at the beginning of the decade, was fractured by the Cold War tensions and the shadow of a not-long-past Sec-ond World War. It was a world of mystery, intrigue and hidden conflict. The world was proba-

bly ready to move on from those shattering times and the people to become more optimistic, as evi-denced by the emergence of Free Love- movements later on the decade. The Woodstock- festival stands as an evidence of this: the sixties were the decade of hippies; a group of people whom we can only wish to be our cool grand-parents. As Margot Kidder (a hippie) said, it “was a wonderful time. We all believed in ‘Make Love, Not War’. We were inno-cent idealists, despite the drugs.” Again, a rather out-of-touch phrase, but it does capture the life lived by the youth at the time. The 60’s were not all danc-ing on roses. Martin Luther King’s dream to end inequality was an-swered with a bullet to his spine, the Vietnam War loomed, wom-en’s rights still encountered diffi-culties and drug problems were rife. For all the wonder, progress and hope the 60’s gave to the world struggling with Cold War, there was also a vast amount of prob-lems present in the society. John Lennon (member of a band pop-ular at the time, ever heard of the Beatles or their song ‘Imagine’?) said that “the thing with the sixties was that it showed us the possibil-ities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn’t the answer.

It just gave us a glimpse of that pos-sibility.” His words apply very well all around Europe. The EU, only a fledging economic community at the time, began to gradually move on and becoming a true political union. The U.K.’s first application to join was vetoed by France, who thought that England wasn’t com-mitted enough to the EU integration. In 1967, a treaty that created the Eu-ropean council and the Commission came into effect. Europe was slowly moving towards a united continent. The 60’s was a decade of change. But in the 70’s, a change oc-curred again. This decade was yet another famous one in the history books. It gave us disco, awful hair-cuts, Microsoft, post-it notes and most importantly, Star Wars. The Free Love- mantra continued from the 60’s and this change in the soci-ety’s values, or the emerging coun-terculture, left a massive mark on this decade. Vietnam was a constant factor in the 70s. Even after Amer-ican withdrawal from a bitter and violent war, the aftermath of the war ruined many soldiers’ lives who wished to forget the terrors of Viet-nam. Another event that marked this period was the Watergate- scandal, which caused President Nixon to resign. The Munich- massacre also took place in the seventies. This de-cade had its share of horrors. How-ever there were moments of light of

course. Like the Star Wars- movies. The E.U., as previously men-tioned, morphed into something that resembles more to E.U. that we know today: it expanded from six to nine countries in 1973, acquiring Den-mark, the U.K. and most notably, Ire-land (yes, I am Irish). This meant that EU was now much closer to achieving its goal of being the United States of Europe, as Winston Churchill imag-ined. In 1974, the European Region-al Development Fund was set up to transfer money into poorer regions (like Ireland). It may sound kind of boring but this grew to represent one-third of all EU spending, so thank you Europe for that! Lastly, in 1979, the members of the European Parliament were elected directly by the EU citi-zens for the first time. The 70’s were a key stage in the development of EU. Two incredible decades and many fantastic events in each, we ar-en’t likely to forget the 60’s or the 70’s very soon. From the cultural icons that still remain prominent in our pop cul-ture to the milestones like the Space Landing and Vietnam, these were years like no other and those will last forever in our minds. Even though they might seem a long time ago, these decades remain important and they should be remembered in the future.

ISSUE #2 | The Decades | page 14

page 15 | Committee | ISSUE #2 ISSUE #2 | Committee | page 16

Every team, just like a relationship, takes time to form. Time is essential to get to know each oth-er, to find out what you have in common and discover how special you are. As days pass, you can start to feel as a part of something bigger. The committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) have spent only two days together when I’m writing it, but I already know that they are special. And so do they. It all started on Monday when we met at the stairs by the pond. I was a bit apprehensive, not really sure what to expect but still excited to see how things would work out. The names learnt, delegates of the magnificent LIBE moved to more ambitious tasks. They discovered the depths of the ninja- game and the complexity of the hu-man knot. I never thought that it would be possible to unknot a complicated 9-peo- p l e knot in 35 seconds, but apparently for LIBE it is. With the c o m m i t t e e confidence level in-c re as e d , n o b o dy w a s afraid to face the dangers of the minefield or to form a 7-legged monster. As the team build-ing proceeded, the uneasiness began to disappear. And soon it became

clear that LIBE is an amazing mix of personalities and point

of views chaired by Eoin who knows

exactly how to bring out their full potential. Paraskevi, in-volved and thinking, al-

ways manages to introduce

a new perspec-tive. Caroline is

passionate and al-ways succeeds in get-

ting exactly to the point. Levent, open minded and ded-

icated, is not afraid to lead a blindfolded group through the wilds of the team building venue. Felic-itas is a lovely fresher, about four times better than I was. Siebe, an inquisitive mind who can unknot.

Paddy brings in his positive energy and makes everyone around feel comfortable. Anja is

always looking at the bright side of life (apart from the T-shirt stating the sen-

tence “forever alone”), Klara is an enthusiastic disco lover, while Kris-tina has an irreplaceable and bright sense of humour. It’s only been two days, but I al-ready know that the debate is go-ing to be really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing more of

the LIBE relationship’ magic. Don’t believe me? Take a look at their com-

mittee chant:You all love Muslims, we know you do

so vote for LIBE, we’ll make it through.

LiBeeCon

Unfortunately already before the start of a session one seems to know everything what the committee of ECON is about. It appears to be the committee with the best prepared delegates – of course with-out the help of the preparation kit. Generally they are ambitious during the committee work and be-have very professionally in the GA. Here in Menden ECON showed some different sides that were very surprising, funny and sometimes even scary… Already during the first name games of teambuilding the delegates had to present their most embar-rassing sto-ries. Without giving any names, let’s just say some girl was stuck in the mouth of a pelican with really fishy breath odor. Fur-thermore another girl met her “future hus-band” in a bank; love at first sight, but sadly it turned out that she couldn’t open her mouth to ask him out… Besides these lovable little secrets there were some frightening facts about them that one might be interested to know. It really looks like there are some criminal cases going on among the delegates’ lives outside of EYP. Having heard of the “Mafia delegation” being present in Menden, one delegate singing “Die darling, die” when it came to the fa-mous pop song, and the story of the girl who almost killed someone during her driving lessons, we prob-

ably all have to watch out and treat them very nice-ly! However, a person always has multiple char-acteristics; so does ECON. Besides the frightening stories, everyone could feel the calm and friendly atmosphere from the very beginning of the team-building which worked as a prerequisite for their

great success in those usually so tough prob-lem solving games. ECON’s strate-

gy: effective communication. Even though they weren’t

allowed to talk or were blindfolded, they

seemed to solve each exercise by reading each oth-er’s’ thoughts. Furthermore even life les-sons can be taught during the first day.

The delegates expressed their

proper essentials of life by quoting Socra-

tes, Haxley and for sure Star Wars.

“A goal without a plan is only a wish” – that could be the key quote

for the ECON committee. Most likely every single one of them has amazing plans for the way the session is going to look like and how the group will grow together! Stick to that plan! For me, listening to your language, learning about your math, music and of course debating skills and smiling to the easy ways you found to solve the most challenging games were pretty impressive and fun. I’m looking forward to the committee work with you, guys. Will you also be the ones with the best and first finished resolution?!

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Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has been caught in a row with his country’s religious leadership, after proposing a law that would discard religious reasons for avoiding military duty. The ultra-orthodox Jews have for years been ex-empted from the otherwise obligatory military ser-vice in order to allow them to pursue religious stud-ies instead. But since last year’s general elections Netanyahu’s government coalition includes the sec-ular centre-right party Kadima. It joined the coali-tion under the pretence that law would be reformed. A parliamentary committee was formed to pro-pose amendments to the law, but was disbanded by Netanyahu when it became clear what was going to be proposed. The leader of Kadima has threatened to leave the government coalition if there will not be a reform based on the committee’s conclusions. For the ultra-orthodoxies this is a matter of reli-

gious freedom, as pursuing religious studies is a piv-otal part of their faith. But for those who are not ul-tra-orthodox consider that the current law is giving their children an un-proportionally heavy burden to carry. The exemption originally only covered a few hundred orthodox students, but today that number has increased to more than 60 000. Netanyahu is now facing a possible parliamenta-ry crisis. He has to choose between risking his gov-ernment’s vital support in parliament and upsetting the ultra-orthodox parties. Netanyahu has relied on their support in the past, and has also enjoyed some popularity among those groups. His popular-ity could however be vaporized very quickly, if he decides to change the current system.

israeli military Row Creates Controversy

On the 22nd of June a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet was shot down in Syria, bringing a completely new perspective to the Syrian conflict. Until now Turkish leaders have restrained from criticism against the Syrian regime. After the downfall, the Turkish Prime Minister Re-cep Tayyip Erdogan warned that any Syrian military vehicle close to the Turkish border will be treated as a military target. Many argue that this is the moment when Turkey will finally stop blocking arms supplies to Syrian rebels. Erdogan sends out a clear message: “Our friendship is powerful, but so is our anger”. So is there a possibility of a Turkish – Syrian

war? Not likely. The public opinion in Turkey doesn’t support Erdogan’s moves and they for sure don’t want to mess up with Russia, a Syrian ex-arms supplier and an ally that has successfully blocked every UN Secu-rity Council resolution against Syria since the begin-ning of the uprising. On the 9th July Kofi Annan, an UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, held talks with Assad and reported that they managed to find a common “ap-proach” to stop the violence. There is some progress- but it doesn’t seem to bring the end of the conflict any closer.

turkey vs. syria?

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