Can the new EU member states help strengthen the trans-Atlantic alliance?
24.6.2005 - Kerry Skyring

European Union leaders and the Bush administration wrapped up a summit in Washington this week at which they emphasised their friendship and common goals. President Bush said the United States supports a strong European Union and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said relations had improved markedly in recent months. The EU-US summit occurred against the backdrop of a crisis in the European Union over its constitution and it was a much more conciliatory tone between Washington and European capitals than we've been used to hearing.

So what's changed in the Trans-Atlantic tussle? We spoke to Sebestyen Gorka, Director of a Budapest based think-tank - The Institute for Transitional Democracy and International Security:

"We are talking about a new foreign policy in the White House, almost a 180 degree turn on several issues that are both ideological and practical. I think that many issues have come together for the Republican-led administration, which are potentially favourable. Even the failure of the EU summit could have a positive effect on trans-Atlantic relations."

Many commentators have been saying that Washington is swimming in Schadenfreude over the EU's problems. Are you saying that it's not really the case?

"There's an issue here: 'what is the future of the EU?' If one wants to be realistic about the new expansion, what countries are drawing from Central Europe, there is a potential here for a new bloc to develop. These are countries that really are not pro-federalist in the German or Brussels sense and wish to be part of the club on their own terms - a club that does not undermine their national interests. It looks as if in the next eighteen months Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic will have new governments that are pro-Atlantic and conservative and have a different appreciation of what 'project Europe' means and I think the White House knows this."

So the point you're making is that the new countries coming into the European Union with a more pro-Atlantic approach will improve the trans-Atlantic relations as a whole, between Europe and the United States?

"Yes, that is my expectation. I think the declarations and the kind of rhetoric that has been used by the White House at the moment best testament to the fact that they too have realised that despite what looks to be quite a scandalous state of affairs inside the Union at the moment, it could actually work to the benefit of certain countries here and to the Republican White House."

What about European attitudes to the United States. Isn't there a problem with growing anti-Americanism in Europe?

"If you look at it from a historic perspective then I don't think that any of this is new. If you go back to the student riots in the 1960s, or go back to Vietnam, even the 1970s, the oil crisis...there has always been a latent or sometimes even less-than-latent anti-Americanism many parts in the population in Europe.

"It's an unfortunate fact because the welfare state or the luxurious situation that Europe has managed to create for itself through the institutions of integration was only truly possible because the US guaranteed the security of Western Europe for forty years. Without the nuclear umbrella, without NATO, and Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, Europe would not have had the option of creating a welfare state. So, there is a little bit of an air of being an ingrate, with regards to how well Europe is at the moment and how little it has to do with the involvement of America. I think this is short-sightedness on behalf of many people."

EU experts discuss future of Union at Ljubljana conference
24.6.2005 - Ksenija Samardzija-Matul

After the rejection of the European Constitution there's concern that planned EU enlargement to take in Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia may be delayed. The Ljubljana-based Centre for Strategic Studies recently gathered together experts to look at the risks to further enlargement along with the ongoing crisis over the constitution.

Most of the participants in this expert panel agreed the rejection of the EU constitution by voters in France and the Netherlands is not a good sign for the continuation of enlargement. Mario Nobilo, Croatia's Ambassador in Slovenia said he was concerned about the situation in South Eastern Europe and the slowing of the reform process.

"The expectation of Croatia, our strategic goal is to start negotiations, of course at this point, because they have been stopped for a while. This is of course threatening the internal reform process within the country but generally at this moment we are more concerned for the region, not so much for Croatia, because we believe if the current internal crisis deepens it might threaten the enlargement process itself, which would then mean that there is no hope for Southeastern Europe. Southeastern Europe would definitely sink into instability, which would also in a reverse process affect the stability of the EU."

Alojz Peterle, a Slovenian member of the European Parliament and one of the authors of the rejected European constitutional treaty, insisted that the rejection is not directly associated with the previous or future rounds of enlargement. For him and the other members of the conference the French "no" in particular was a result of fear from globalisation and for the people, the EU represented one of the aspects of globalisation.

"Of course not, I am not pleased with the 'no's' in France and the Netherlands, especially now that in fact many areas I would say don't deal with the constitutional treaty but with other issues. There were 'no's' against the governments and the presidents, 'no' votes connected with the general atmosphere as far as globalisation is concerned. Of course I am sure that now we are in a crisis and we need time to reconsider to think slowly about this new situation. I think that some elements of this constitutional treaty will be approved in a different way afterwards."

Most of the experts agreed that the EU is currently in deep crisis. Borut Grgic the director of the Institute of Strategic Studies and host of the panel said the Balkan countries are likely to the main victims of the NO to the constitution...

"The biggest victim that I see in this enlargement fatigue is the Balkans, starting with Croatia. We know that the Nice Treaty provided enough room for another three members that is Romania and Bulgaria and the strategic decision to integrate Turkey. I definitely think that Turkey is the biggest fear of EU citizens but I also think that it is the biggest strategic goal of the EU enlargement process."

Romania and Bulgaria are scheduled to join the EU in January of 2007. Croatia's membership bid is on hold because of a fugitive general wanted by the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. But if the EU keeps to its promises all 3 should become members in 2007 or shortly after. But as the Ljubljana panel identified, there's a change of mood in the European Union following the collapse of the constitution ratification process - and, in the aspiring member states, there's real concern that this will lead to their membership being delayed.

Hungary's Academy of Sciences assesses first year performance of new EU member states
24.6.2005 - Sandor Laczko

Slovenia has come out on top in a survey that looked at economic performance in the eight East and Central European countries which joined the EU last year. The Performance Index was prepared by the World Economy Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

For the details, Radio Budapest talked to the director of the institute, Professor Andras Inotai:

"The ranking, of course, may have some subjective elements but we tried to be as objective as possible and we found that according to the general experience, Slovenia was the leading country, followed by four countries that were practically on the same level - Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Lithuania, and the three countries that were lagging behind a bit were Latvia, Poland, and Slovakia."

What does mean for the future?

"Well, we have to be very cautious about drawing long-term conclusions from the first year experience or performance because we did not measure a long-term development of the individual countries. So, this ranking does not necessarily reflect the development level, not even the EU adjustment level of the individual countries. It just showed their first year experience and what country did better or worse in the first year of EU membership, starting from very different levels of development sometimes. So, we should be able to compare next year's performance to the first year's and so on so that we can construct a performance index which, in about five years time, will be a very credible indicator of a medium-term adjustment process as a member of the European Union."

Based on this report, can one assess whether or not EU membership benefited these countries?

"We also assessed how public opinion has changed and what we found was that generally the overwhelming opinion is still positive and in some countries it has even changed for the better. This is particularly the case in Poland, where a large number of those farmers working in the agriculture sector were extremely concerned about the impact of EU membership on Polish agriculture and they were against membership to a large extent. But the first year turned out to be an exceptionally good year for the Polish farmers because their income, mainly due to the direct payment system of the EU and also subsidies from the state budget, went up by 74 percent in one year, which the farmers did not experience for decades. So, this has changed the attitude of the farmers and most of them today support the EU, which is a very interesting development also with respect to the upcoming national elections in Poland."

Refugees in Poland bring attention to plight of asylum seekers with theatre
24.6.2005 - Michal Zajac

"Journeys in a New Homeland" is the title of a play written by a Cameroonian refugee, Simon Mol, and shown to Polish audiences by a team of refugee-actors seeking asylum in Poland.

The play opens with a symbolic argument between a drummer and guitarist. This, in turn, leads to a widespread bloody conflict.

[Excerpt from play] Voice 1: Stop talking nonsense! Voice 2: No, you are talking nonsense. Voice 1: Oh, sacred sound of the guitar. [Laughter]

As a result of the chaos in the country, the main character - played by Vivien Myambone, who arrived in Poland from Burundi 7 months ago - is forced to leave her homeland.

[Excerpt from play]: Voice 1: I said, Lilly, wrong, wrong, here. Voice 2: But where do I go. What about my children. Voice 1: I said go! You know what the hell. Voice 2: But where do I go without my children, please.

Then she finds herself in a new country where, just like in the case of other characters, a long difficult journey is awaiting her before she can be granted a refugee status. Simon Mol, the author of the play and a refugee himself, says that even though based on individual experiences, the story has a universal dimension.

"I think it's very, very universal because this is what asylum seekers go through everywhere. In fact, I think it's even worse in some other countries right now at this moment, because the issue of, you know, granting refugee status on this is a priority in European policy particularly. But even as far off as Australia and the U.S., you know, people are tightening the security rules and so it's a very universal thing. The main character, the protagonist is a woman. This also has a special significance because women really suffer a lot and the process of leaving their country forcefully. So, this has a special message that a woman had to flee her country because of war."

The actors are all amateurs coming from 7 different countries. Simon Mol: "We have people from Chechnya. We have one lady from Belarus. We have Poles as well here - about six of them. We have one guy from Pakistan. I am from Cameroon, the president of the Association; from Liberia. We have a volunteer from England, who is also taking part. So, you'll find about seven different nationalities involved. So, it's a very, very dimensional play."

To regulate the situation of refugees, Poland has signed an agreement on abolishing visas for refugees. However, the agreement covers 19 nations, purely European ones, most of which are members of the European Union, while most refugees seeking asylum in Poland come from Africa or Asia.

Slovakia turning from transitional to target country for refugees?
24.6.2005 - Katarina Richterova

United Nations' World Refugee Day was marked this past week. Since 1992 Slovakia has hosted around 45,000 refugees from all around the world. As a member of the EU it's possible that the flow of refugees into and through Slovakia will increase.

In the days of communism Slovaks were often among those seeking help and asylum in foreign countries. Now democratic and free, Slovakia is in a position to provide this kind of help to people in need. These are often people of great courage, willing to leave their country and loved ones behind to escape unrest, oppression or political persecution.

Until recently Slovakia tended to be a transitional country for asylum seekers says Maria Cierna, public information officer of the UNHCR branch office in Slovakia. However, in the last 2-3 years and mainly since its accession into the EU Slovakia is no longer a starting point for refugees traveling and seeking asylum further west.

"Slovakia has started to be more and more the country of destination, the country of asylum. Or at least the asylum seekers would really like to stay in this country and start their new life here."

... says Maria Cierna from UNHCR Slovakia. However, some argue this is not true and that most of the asylum seekers are economic migrants wanting to continue further west.

In comparison to the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland or Hungary Slovakia has registered a very high increase in the number of asylum seekers. In 2004 the number went over 11,000. But the percentage of positive decisions, granting refugee status is extremely low. Maria Cierna:

"Only 15 refugees with granted asylum have been allowed to stay in Slovakia."

In the Czech Republic, Poland or Hungary the number of approved asylum claims is incomparably higher than in Slovakia. And the reason for this? Maria Cierna from UNHCR:

"The legislation of the European Union in the area of asylum and migration is very strictly implemented in the concrete procedure with the asylum seekers. Sometimes even in a restrictive way."

In the eyes of UNHCR this restrictive policy is discouraging asylum seekers but also supporting smugglers and contributing to a growing number of refugees who simply disappear. To see what the situation is really like, I went to a refugee camp in Gabcikovo. I talked to a number of young men from countries like Congo, Nigeria and Afghanistan, and brought up the sensitive question, whether they really wanted to stay in Slovakia or only saw it as a transit country.

"... I haven't traveled before. This is my first time in Europe and Slovakia was the first place I went to. I would love to stay here until everything is settled down. I feel like staying here, because there is peace and safety for me here ..."

"... Slovakia doesn't give anyone a chance, because they say Slovakia is a transit country. But no! I'm not going anywhere. I asked for asylum in Slovakia and I want to settle down here..."

"... These people are staying here 1, 2, 3 years, they are spoiling their work ability, spirit, everything. But everybody would like to stay here. The people, the government, everything is nice here. But this is the problem. Nobody can work, we can't study or visit schools and nobody has any ambition or chance to do something here..."

... say asylum seekers in Gabcikovo. European Union legislation states that refugees requesting asylum in one EU country can't request it anywhere else in the Union and if caught will be transported back to the first country of asylum request. Transitional or not, asylum or economy migrants, refugees In Gabcikovo say one thing is essential:

"I think everyone should consider our problems as problems of human beings."

Czech football becomes involved with international aid project for first time
24.6.2005 - Ian Willoughby

For a country of ten million, the Czech Republic can boast many world famous football stars, from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech to Pavel Nedved of Juventus. What's more, the country currently stands at second in the world rankings. Now, reflecting the Czech Republic's status as a "world power", the Czech Football Association is about to become involved in an international aid project for the first time - linking up with an NGO in Africa. Radio Prague's Ian Willoughby has the story.

George Wachira is a community worker in the slums of Kenya, where his organisation runs street football leagues for 15,000 children.

"We have a project in Kenya called MYSA, meaning Mathari Youth Sports Association. Basically we bring youth from the slum and use football as a tool to mobilise them together, and give them an opportunity to seek jobs, to get jobs and empower them with knowledge on how they can go about it.

"And we hope in the very near future we're going to get a sort of development co-operation between the Czech football federation and...some project somehow."

George Wachira and a colleague from Nairobi have spent the last month in the Czech Republic. They came at the invitation of aid worker Robin Ujfalusi, whose cousin Tomas Ujfalusi plays for the Czech national team; the player has been instrumental in helping the Kenyan NGO build ties with the Czech Football Association.

Robin Ujfalusi has spent three months in Kenya working for the German NGO Street Football World. He explains the new Czech FA-backed project.

"Our goal is first to join football activities in slums, to organise tournaments for the poorest kids in the slum, probably during August because that's holiday time. And then we have some ideas, or some plan about marketing and fund-raising activities for MYSA."

Some people might say that people in Kenya or other African countries need food, not footballs. What does football give them?

"Football can give them opportunities, chances. It can give them the feeling that somebody cares about them. You know the whole development movement is moving from just giving development aid and food and money, and leaving them to it. It is moving towards development co-operation. And I think this project is perfect in that respect.

"We can teach them something from our knowledge, but we can learn a lot from them. Because as you probably know, the development between social work and development activities in our country and football is not that deep, and not so self-evident, so we can learn a lot over there."

Ties between football and aid may not be deep in the Czech Republic, but Robin Ujfalusi says Czech internationals, like his cousin Tomas, are finally beginning to understand that charity work is part of the game.