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Ever since their European Union accession, Romania and Bulgaria share, to a greater extent, the values of good neighborliness. This is clear, at least in the economic domain. It is true that in many cases the initiative belonged to Bulgaria. The best example is the second Danube bridge that is significantly called New Europe. It was completed in 2013 and it links the two banks of the Danube through Calafat (Romania) and Vidin (Bulgaria). It is the most grandiose Romanian-Bulgarian investment. The other days, European Commissioner for Regional Development Corina Cretu (photo) gave us even better news for the near future. As part of the Interreg cross-border program, the EC has approved a volume of investments of EUR 260 M, the EUs contribution totaling EUR 216 M. The program will improve living, study and labor conditions in the 15 border regions in Romania and Bulgaria, thus enhancing their attractiveness both for tourists and investors. Especially since the development level of these areas is one of the lowest in the entire European Union. These regions represent an area of Europe where good collaboration and the attempt to solve joint problems are essential. The area also offers considerable opportunities because of its proximity to the Danube and the Black Sea. Corina Cretu announced that this year marks 25 years of the EUs Interreg cross-border and cross-regional cooperation. The news that Commissioner Corina Cretu offered strengthens our conviction that good neighborliness with Bulgaria is increasingly becoming, from one year to the next, the most fruitful that Romania has. Our country does not have to its east, west or north the chance of such a promising neighborliness like its southern one with Bulgaria. In this context, we welcome the Romanian Prime Ministers promise to have a joint meeting of the Romanian and Bulgarian governments in the near future.

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Issue of the Day: Good economic neighborliness

Photo by Patrick Peoples.

Eighty students from 46 American universities and one European college gathered on campus Friday and Saturday to attend the first annual European Student Conference.

Participants came to campus to discuss the future of the European Union and to create a student-led think tank for EU policies during the two-day event. They arrived from colleges across United States including Harvard, Stanford and the University of Florida and a small cohort hailed the College of Europe in Brussels. The event, according to the conference website, was created in order to give American and European youth a voice in pivotal transatlantic debates. Through a series of five workshops and keynote addresses by European Union political figures, issues such as borders and immigration, democratic participation and European solidarity were discussed and debated.

The impact of the conference lies in the fact that students around the United States of America will start a debate on their campuses about which kind of Europe they would like to live in, and which kind of Europe they would like to contribute to I think that is something that hasnt really happened, said Igor Mitschka 15, ESC team president.

The five workshops, which were led by an amalgam of Yale University professors, scholars and European policy-makers, concentrated on the vital issues and challenges impacting the European Union. Workshops consisted of much more than idle discussion, according to conference organizers. Students presented policy papers on specific issues, which were then critiqued and discussed by presiding policy makers and professors. Each workshop then worked collaboratively to produce a cohesive collection of strategies, individual talking points and a specific policy recommendation, which were all presented at plenary sessions.

We didnt just want this to be a conference, a one-time event that participants went to, attended, had fun at and forgot which is why we integrated this conception of a think tank into the project itself, so the impact of the conference really doesnt end with this specific conference, said Alicia Tee 16, ESC director of logistics.

Tee added that ideally, students would establish branches of the ESC think tank which they called European Horizons at their home universities, and Yale would become the umbrella group for these different organizations. The groups would meet annually for future iterations of the ESC conference.

Speakers included former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair who participated via video message, and members of the British, Austrian and Italian parliaments who flew to campus for the conference.

Lapo Pistelli, Italian vice minister of foreign affairs spoke about the impact of immigration in Europe and the need for common standards of protection new common European policies to address human rights violations in immigration. Pistelli emphasized that immigration is not always a negative phenomenon, and said that in many cases the influx of new citizens leads to increased economic development.

Mobility and the freedom to move is one of the fundamental freedoms, Pistelli said.

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European Student Conference encourages activism on campuses

Special to WorldTribune.com

LONSON The European Union has expressed concern over the prospect of a Jewish exodus.

A senior official has warned that the flight of European Jews could harm member states. European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans acknowledged rising anti-Semitism and said a Jewish exodus would challenge the core of European integration.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans.

In some [EU] states the majority of the Jewish community is not sure they have a future in Europe, Timmermans said.

In an address in Brussels on Jan. 21, Timmermans compared the prospect of Jewish flight to the future of the Euro, Middle East Newsline reported. He did not elaborate.

We can talk till kingdom come about the euro, about internal markets, about whatever initiative we take, Timmermans, a Dutch national, said. But if this fundamental value in European society, which is that there is a place for everyone whatever your creed is, whatever your background is, your race is, the choices you make in society if that is challenged, we have to answer that challenge by a policy that offers hope and prospects for everyone in European society.

Officials said tens of thousands of Jews were fleeing Europe for Canada and Israel. They said the biggest flight was in France, with the largest Jewish community in Europe.

France is your homeland, French President Francois Hollande said. The government is taking measures to make sure synagogues, as well as Jewish businesses and schools, are protected. But I want to go further than this.

Jewish leaders have confirmed the prospect of massive flight amid rising anti-Semitism. They said many Jews view Europe as being similar to that on the eve of World War II.

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EU leader worries Jewish flight could threaten future of Euro

Dr Marcus Papadopoulos talks about Ukraine, the European Union and the Customs Union
Dr Marcus Papadopoulos talks about Ukraine, the European Union and the Customs Union Government offices in Ukraine are functioning again, after troops and ri...

By: Dr Marcus Papadopoulos

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Dr Marcus Papadopoulos talks about Ukraine, the European Union and the Customs Union - Video

Algiers European Union Foreign Affairs Council, met recently in Brussels, stressed EU's commitment to international mediation led by Algeria to reach a political, all-inclusive and lasting solution in Mali, the ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday in a statement.

The council underlined that "EU remains committed to the international mediation, led by Algeria," and called on all the parties to get involved in it and respect the ceasefire agreement of 23 May 2014 and the Declaration on Cessation of Hostilities of 24 July 2014, "to reach a political, all-inclusive and lasting solution."

European Union Foreign Affairs Council said it was willing to facilitate "the implementation of the future political agreement, through an active participation of the follow-up committee, in close collaboration" with the United Nations and the African Union (AU), the statement said.

The council stressed the need to implement an "integrated" regional approach to face instability in Mali and urged for a "rapid" finalization of the EU regional action plan for the Sahel.

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Algeria: European Union Committed to International Mediation in Mali Led By Algeria