International Conference “”More Europe” in and outside the EU. What role can culture play?” (Warsaw, 19/11/2012)

19 listopada 2012 (poniedziałek), godz. 9:30 – 20:00
Warszawa, Centrum Nauki Kopernik, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20  

19 November 2012 (Monday), 9:30 am – 8:00 pm
Warsaw, Copernicus Science Center, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20 

”MORE EUROPE” to obywatelska inicjatywa kulturalna, której celem jest podkreślenie i wzmocnienie roli kultury w relacjach zewnętrznych UE. Obecna edycja debaty ”More Europe“ odbywa się w stolicy największego kraju spośród tak zwanych „nowych członków“ UE. Polska, aktywnie współpracując w dziedzinie kultury z krajami spoza Unii, zwłaszcza z państwami Partnerstwa Wschodniego, pełni rolę „mostu“ pomiędzy Zachodem a Wschodem, także w obszarze polityki i gospodarki, kładąc jednocześnie szczególny nacisk na wzmocnienie społeczeństwa obywatelskiego przez kulturę. Debata dotyczyć będzie głównie sposobu, w jaki kultura może wspierać budowę europejskiej tożsamości kulturowej w oparciu o społeczeństwo obywatelskie wewnątrz i na zewnątrz UE; struktur do tego potrzebnych; a także sposobu, w jaki artyści i artystki oraz organizacje pozarządowe spoza UE, widzą te kwestie.

 “MORE EUROPE” is a civic cultural initiative that seeks to highlight and reinforce the role of culture in the external relations of the European Union. This edition of More Europe takes place in the capital of Poland, the biggest country among the so called “new” EU Member States and a very active player in the field of cultural co-operation with countries outside the European Union, notably the Eastern Partnership area. Poland acts as a “bridge” between the West and the East in terms of politics, the economy and culture, and puts special emphasis on strengthening civil societies through culture. The Warsaw debate will focus on ways in which culture can contribute to the development of a European cultural identity through the activities of civil societies inside and outside the EU. It will also look at the structures needed to support this process, and present insights of artists and NGOs from outside the EU.

Tłumaczenie: cała konferencja będzie tłumaczona na język polski i angielski
Interpreting: the entire conference will be interpreted into Polish and English
Informacja/Info:
www.austria.org.pl
prosimy o kontakt z /please contact at:
moreeurope@austria.org.pl; 0048 22 526 88 00

19-go listopada Centrum Nauki Kopernik, ul. Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20, będzie otwarte od godziny 8:30
Doors open at the Copernicus Science Center, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20 Str., at 8.30 am on 19 November

PM George Papandreou`s intervention at the plenary session of the Eastern Partnership Summit (Warsaw, 30/9/2011)

By virtue of its location, Greece is uniquely positioned as a bridge linking the Eastern and the Mediterranean dimensions of Europe’s Neighborhood Policy and has promoted the development of both since the ENP’s inception. Therefore, we are very supportive of the strengthening of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) envisaged in the new Neighborhood Policy, based on our shared principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
The re-launching and re-energizing of the Eastern Partnership, and of the European Neighborhood Policy as a whole, was long overdue. It was necessary in order to better respond to serious common challenges – political, economic, geostrategic, environmental or pertaining to security and energy – but also in order to better prepare for the future.
Structural reforms, internal political tensions, gas routes, energy supply, ecological risks, economic development, illegal immigration and organized crime, are only some of the challenges we are faced with in the framework of the Eastern Neighborhood Policy. Our engagement in the Eastern Neighbourhood is also a matter of consistency and credibility for the EU. Our strategic goal is and will remain the creation of a wider area of stability and prosperity, both in the South as well as in the East. This could only be done by boosting mutually beneficial institutional cooperation and by converging on a set of common values and standards, modeled on the EU positive paradigm and experience.

PM George Papandreou at the EU Eastern Partnership Summit (Warsaw, 29-30/9/2011)

Prime Minister George Papandreou attended the EU Eastern Partnership Summit, held in Warsaw on September 29-30.
Addressing the summit, Papandreou urged his European partnersto explore ways of institutional cooperation that would help promote stability and prosperity in both the eastern and southern zones of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Papandreou proposed that the summit establish a small number of realistic and shared short-term and long-term targets, especially in areas of heightened interest that had a tangible impact on citizens, such as mobility, visas, tourism and energy.

“We will then be able to focus on their effective implementation for our mutual benefit,” he said, adding that too ambitious a programme could become counter-productive.
Η Σύνοδος για την Ανατολική Εταιρική Σχέση πραγματοποιήθηκε στη Βαρσοβία στις 29 και 30 Σεπτεμβρίου, στο πλαίσιο της Πολωνικής Προεδρίας της ΕΕ.
Στη Σύνοδο συμμετείχαν εκπρόσωποι 33 χωρών, μεταξύ των οποίων τα 27 κράτη μέλη της ΕΕ και οι έξι χώρες της Ανατολικής Ευρώπης και του Νοτίου Καυκάσου: Αρμενία, Αζερμπαϊτζάν, Γεωργία, Μολδαβία, Ουκρανία και Λευκορωσία. Την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση  εκπροσώπησαν οι Πρόεδροι του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου, Herman Van Rompuy, του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου, Jerzy Buzek, της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής, Jose Manuel Barroso και η ύπατη εκπρόσωπος για την εξωτερική πολιτική και την πολιτική ασφάλειας, Catherine Ashton.
Η Ανατολική Εταιρική Σχέση (ΑΕΣ) αποτελεί ευρωπαϊκή πρωτοβουλία που αφορά στη συνεργασία των προαναφερθέντων 6 χωρών της Ανατολικής Ευρώπης.
Την Ελλάδα εκπροσώπησε ο πρωθυπουργός Γιώργος Παπανδρέου.
Στο περιθώριο του δείπνου εργασίας στις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου, ο πρωθυπουργός Γ. Παπανδρέου είχε συνομιλίες με τους πρωθυπουργούς της Γαλλίας Francois Fillon, της Ισπανίας Jose Zapatero, της Πορτογαλίας Pedro Coelho, της Ιρλανδίας Enda Kenny, της Εσθονίας Andrus Ansip με την γερμανίδα καγκελάριο Angela Merkel, με τον αντιπρόεδρο της βρετανικής κυβέρνησης, Nicholas Clegg, με τους Προέδρους της Ουκρανίας Viktor Yanukovich, και της Γεωργίας Mikheil Saakashvili.
Στις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου ο πρωθυπουργός είχε, επίσης, συνάντηση με τον Πρόεδρο του Αζερμπαϊτζάν, Ilham Aliyev, με τον οποίο συζήτησε ενεργειακά και οικονομικά θέματα, καθώς και εθνικά θέματα, όπως το Κυπριακό.
Στο περιθώριο της Συνόδου στις 30 Σεπτεμβρίου, ο πρωθυπουργός Γ. Παπανδρέου συναντήθηκε με τον Πρόεδρο του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου, Herman Van Rompuy, με τον οποίο συζήτησε μεταξύ άλλων για την πορεία της ελληνικής οικονομίας και την υλοποίηση των αποφάσεων της 21^ης Ιουλίου.
Συναντήθηκε, επίσης, με την πρωθυπουργό της Σλοβακίας Iveta Radicova. 
Τα κυριότερα σημεία της εισήγησης του πρωθυπουργού Γ. Παπανδρέου στο δείπνο εργασίας των εθνικών αντιπροσωπειών έχουν ως εξής:
“Είναι γεγονός ότι φέτος η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση χρειάστηκε να εστιάσει την προσοχή της σε άλλες γειτονικές περιοχές, κυρίως στο Νότο, λόγω των ιστορικών και ευρείας εμβέλειας εξελίξεων που σημειώθηκαν εκεί.

Επίσκεψη Υπουργού Εξωτερικών Δημήτρη Δρούτσα στη Βαρσοβία (19/1/2011)

Ο Υπουργός Εξωτερικών Δημήτρης Δρούτσας πραγματοποίησε επίσημη επίσκεψη στην Πολωνία, κατά την διάρκεια της οποίας συναντήθηκε με τον πολωνό ομόλογό του, Radoslaw Sikorski, και στη συνέχεια με την Κοινοβουλευτική Ομάδα Ελληνο-Πολωνικής Φιλίας.
Κατά την συνάντησή του με τον πολωνό Υπουργό Εξωτερικών συζητήθηκαν θέματα διμερών σχέσεων, καθώς και θέματα ευρωπαϊκού ενδιαφέροντος εν όψει της Πολωνικής Προεδρίας της ΕΕ το δεύτερο εξάμηνο του 2011.
Το πλήρες κείμενο της συνέντευξης τύπου που πραγματοποιήθηκε μετά την συνάντηση των δύο Υπουργών Εξωτερικών έχει ως εξής:

Greek PM Meets with Outgoing NATO Secretary General

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis met on Thursday (May 14) in Athens with the outgoing NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.  Pointing out that during Scheffer’s term the alliance was enlarged twice, while in the field of operations NATO was called to meet very demanding challenges, Karamanlis praised the efforts to promote the Alliance’s relations with Russia as well as the progress made in relation to Ukraine and Georgia and the countries of the ‘Partnership for Peace’, the ‘Mediterranean Dialogue’ and the ‘Istanbul Initiative.’  On his part, the NATO SecGen stressed that “Greece’s participation in NATO’s operations and missions was and still is very important.” He also referred to energy and internet security issues as well as to the participation of Greek Navy frigates in the efforts to combat sea piracy.  De Hoop Scheffer also met with Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and National Defence Minister Evangelos Meimarakis.

Greek Prime Minister: Let’s go for Energy

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The 27 members of the European Union have agreed that the time is ripe for the EU to inaugurate a new framework of cooperation with its Eastern Partners, engaging in dialogue with 6 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.   On May 7, the Czech presidency held the Prague Summit, which officially launched the “Eastern Partnership,” with the participation of EU’s 27 members and representatives from the 6 countries.   Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis addressed the inaugural session of the Eastern Partnership Summit, emphasising the importance of energy interdependence between the European Union and its partners in Eastern Europe, noting that energy security must be safeguarded at all times by all EU members, regardless of their level of dependence and that this constitutes a perception that needs to be endorsed widely by all Europeans.  Lastly, Karamanlis stressed that the importance of the EU’s strategy for the Eastern Partnership Summit lies in the possibilities that the strategy provides for strengthening regional stability. Greece supports the economic and social development of the 6 countries without this being associated to accession to the EU. In particular, Greece’s chairmanship at the OSCE is already in cooperation with all six EU’s Eastern Partners within the Organisation’s structure. Moreover, pledging to deliver tangible results in troubled region such as Georgia, the Greek chairmanship has assumed the responsibility to act as a broker to promote peaceful settlement of conflicts.

Environment Matters in Greece: Rainwater Collection

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Water reservoirs to collect and channel rainwater are the focus of a pilot programme involving municipal buildings on the Cyclades islands, as part of a Rainwater Collection Programme launched this month by the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company and the Coca-Cola company in cooperation with Global Water Partnership as part of the firm’s “Mission Water,” which began in 2006.  The technology used to collect rainwater from roofs and other surfaces ranges from simple containers to water reservoirs and underground cisterns, all originating in practices used by ancient civilizations in Greece and North Africa and which are still used today as sources of drinking water in rural areas.  The islands of Naxos, Paros, Tinos and Syros have been chosen for the pilot programme because of their limited rainfall, geology, and sparse vegetation and human activities, which have all contributed to water shortages. Apart from water collection, the programme also includes training for local services and information campaigns.  Athens Plus: In Brief – Island rainwater collection (p.6)  See also: Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean; New website: Apostoli Nero (“Mission Water”)