Mot Bryssel och förberedelser inför COP 15

Förra månaden så blev jag utvald att bli en av Federation of Young European Greens officiella delegater till klimatmötet COP 15 i Köpenhamn, vilket känns jättekul.

Så nu bär det av till Bryssel för att under helgen träffa de andra delegaterna och strukturera upp vårt arbete fram tills december då COP 15 börjar.

FYEG om vapenhandel

Pressmeddelande från Federation of Young European Greens:

This week, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released a report proving the limited impact of UN arms embargoes on arms flows to and behaviour of embargo targets.

Marina Barbalata, Co-spokesperson of FYEG, comments on the newly revealed facts: “The SIPRI report demonstrates once more the great imperfections and lacunae in existing international control systems of arms flows. It is shocking that governments committing gross human rights violations or being involved in armed conflicts have apparently no great difficulties in obtaining the instruments for carrying out their monstrous acts. The failure to control international arms trading inflicts enormous human costs, thus immediate and determined efforts to abolish this are needed. An effective and legally binding UN Arms Trade Treaty must be put into place at the shortest possible term. However, such a treaty can only be seen as an interim measure, for it is only through the progressive abolishment of all forms of arms production that we can come to a safer world for all.”

Bartek Lech, Co-spokesperson of FYEG adds: “As one of the world’s major arms producers, the EU should draw its conclusions from this report and take the lead by putting much stricter monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms into place to control its arms trade. It is an urgent necessity to make the EU Code of Conduct of Arms Exports legally enforceable and to encourage its adoption by third countries. However, such measures can only be effective if they also fully apply to private security companies and overseas production facilities. Furthermore, we call upon the EU to immediately end all arms-exports to countries involved in armed conflicts or having poor human rights records, such as Libya. Current arbitrary practices in this field completely undermine the EU’s credibility as self-proclaimed promoter of human rights and peace in the world”.

Valet i Polen del 2

Bartek Lech kommenterar valresultatet i Polen:

The Polish elections faced the highest turnout ever, even higher than in the first democratic elections in 1989. That’s another success of these elections, together with the good bye for the Kaczynski Government and the political death of the national-socialists from the League of Polish Families and the populists from Selfdefence (both parties are not in the Parliament anymore). What’s most optimistic is that young people that had a voting right for the first time went largely to vote.

The winning Christian-democrats, oriented towards liberalization of the market promised to bring back the hope for a better tomorrow, well we will see. But at least 2 promises of them are quite concrete- the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and signing the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. A good start of repairing Polish public life after the years of demoralisation of elites.

It is not summer, but the sun was shining a bit better today in the morning.

Valet i Polen

Det är val på gång i Polen. FYEGs manliga språkrör Bartek Lech, som också är från Polen, menar att det inte är någon större skillnad på de två ledande partierna:

As always, I will use Kinga Dunin comparison of the two leading parties. The difference between the Kaczynski brothers and Civic Platform is like the difference between potatoes and french fries- the first ones are simple and obviously dirty, the second ones are well shaped, so Western and speak English, but in fact inside they are both the same starch.

So besides potatoes I want to see on the political scene in Poland also apples, tomatoes- other colours! These elections will change Poland for sure and it is time to breed new vegetables and fruits that will be a reasonable alternative for the potato-potato debate.

Även om situationen i Sverige inte är lika illa, så är det inte utan att man känner igen sig.

FYEG om terrorismen

Igår släppte fyegs språkrör ett pressmeddelande ang årsdagen av 11 september:

Six years after the horrendous attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) condemns the polarisation and worldwide breach of fundamental human rights caused by the ‘war on terrorism’.

Marina Barbalata, spokesperson of FYEG says: ‘The so-called ‘war on terrorism’ is rather inducing terrorism than exterminating it. Instead of focussing its attention on global injustices, which are so often the cause of desperation and radicalisation, the strategy of the American government is focussed entirely on military means. In the process, basic human rights are grossly violated and justice and human dignity undermined.

Instead of the unilateral way in which the US government forces its failing strategy upon the rest of the world, thereby polarising it into ‘for us’ and ‘against us’, ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ and ultimately ‘the West’ versus ‘Islam’, we call for a different strategy: one of sustainable dialogue and justice. This is the only way in which differences can be overcome, understanding for each other can grow and radicalisation can be stopped.’

In addition, Bartek Lech, spokesperson of FYEG says ”Filip Dewinter and others that where demonstrating today in front of the European Parliament in Brussels against what they call ‘the islamisation of Europe’ should learn the lesson of the past six years- hate speech, war and discrimination will never lead to more safe societies. The ‘war on terrorism’ is being abused by all sorts of people and groups to justify their own agendas.

Be it the justification of the repression of dissidents by non-democratic regimes all over the world, but also closer to home, in the form of increasingly blatant islamophobia and limitations of civil liberties. It’s as simple as that: The ‘war on terrorism’ has become a war against citizens”.

Fem dagar i Bryssel, dag 4

Efter lite uppehåll för interrailande i Europa och allmänt brist på internet ska jag nu fortsätta min lilla Bryssel-krönika.

Dag 4, torsdag. Här är dag 1 del 1, dag 1 del 2 , dag 2 och dag 3.

Fem dagar i Bryssel, dag 3 (räknade fel förut)

Dag 3, onsdag. Här är dag 1 del 1, dag 1 del 2 och dag 2.

Fem dagar i Bryssel, dag 2

Dag 2 i redogörelsen för det fem dagar långa studiebesöket på EU-parlamentet i Bryssel. Här är dag 1 del 1 och dag 1 del 2.

Fem dagar i Bryssel, dag 1 del 2

Fortsättning av redogörelsen för det fem dagar långa studiebesöket på EU-parlamentet i Bryssel. Här är dag 1 del 1.

Fem dagar i Bryssel, dag 1 del 1

Är nu inne på den sista av mina fem dagar här i Bryssel. Här börjar redogörelsen.