The European Journalism Centre will organize next year a contest for bloggers that want to cover the European Parliamentary Elections.
That’s a great idea - especially for countries like Romania, where the voters still need a great deal of information on this matter. And the Internet seems, for the moment, the best way to do it.

Only three conditions should be fulfilled before you register:

1. Nationality of EU Member State
2. Possibility to submit your posts in English
3. Previous publication(s) if applicable

and afterwards:

1. Participation in the launch event in Brussels (25-27th January, 2009)
2. At least one post per month (from February 1 to June 9, 2009)

Think about it!

The presence was: 22.79% for referendum and 27,29% for European elections (I have my doubts, but close to what I was predicting earlier)
Anyway, I was listening (until I’ve turned off the TV, it was too much for my stomach) the speeches of political leaders: it’s a collective deliria, they really think this was their success (what success?!!) and the other parties’ failure. All of them. Obviously, their mental health should be urgently tested, they’ve lost any contact with reality.
Or they just have lost any form of common sense, the nerve they have is incredible.

Till this hour (around 16:00) only 14% of Romanian have voted. I cannot say that I am surprised. Any figures above 20-25% presence (and I am optimistic) might be suspicious, from my point of view. What surprises me is that there were approx. 50-50% urban/rural voters. Usually, Romanians from rural area are more ‘disciplined’ and do vote mainly in the morning. I wonder if the politicians will get the [real] message: they are no longer credible, any of them (including all parties, Prime Minister and President). I think not.
And something tells me that the number of voters will miraculously increase in the evening, and the share of traveling voters (even though it is autumn, foggy day, cold, bad weather etc.) will be very important.

Latest figures: 19%

All this craziness regarding the xenophobic campaign against Romanian citizens in Italy happened to have even a benefic outcome: the far-right group of in European Parliament - The Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty (ITS) has been finally dissolved. The Romanian MEPs leaved the group, after Alessandra Mussolini’s comments, granddaughter of former fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

Many MEPs welcomed the group’s dissolution:

“We are happy that this group, which does not belong in European democracy, has been dissolved”, [ …] ultranationalists” […] no longer use European taxpayers money to support “xenophobia and neo-fascism”.

(Socialist leader MEP Martin Schulz)

ITS’s “inherent radical nationalism” made its implosion inevitable, […] “they are a casualty of their own philosophy, which […] encourages xenophobic and racist comments […] which have no place in the European Union”.

(Liberal democrat group leader MEP Graham Watson)

“a welcome blow to the prejudice and bigotry” it promoted, […] “united only by hatred […] it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to a hatred of each other as well”. […] “great news for the European Parliament and the fundamental and democratic values of tolerance on which the EU is built”. “We must now […] try and convince those voters who supported these candidates to change their minds at the next European elections.”

(Green MEP Jean Lambert)

Later edit: Well, I’m not the only one who tries to see the full half of the glass. Still … it could be another way. Maybe…. someday.

Faith Akin’s newest film, ‘The Edge of Heaven’, has just won the European Parliament’s first Lux Prize (the trophy was inspired by Tower of Babel).
In the film, talking about her troubles in Turkey, Susanne, a film character played by Hanna Schygulla, keeps repeating the same phrase: “Maybe things will be better when Turkey joins the European Union …”, but when the frustration is reaching its pick, everything is reduced to: ‘F*** the European Union!‘
Sounds familiar?
Here is an interview that director Faith Akin gave for Cineuropa.

Today starts the first campaign for EU Parliament in Romania, but my hopes for real debates on European issues are, once again, ruined.

The elections will be on November 25th. Our President and our Prime-Minister (seems to me that the ‘great’ minds do really meet) decided to have referendum on the uninominal vote at the same date, if possible each of them with his own referendum, because the Prime-Minister announced that the Government intends to assume responsibility for the Uninominal Vote Law, yet the clown at Cotroceni published a decree for the same matter.

They both know this is a useless referendum - the citizens are asking for uninominal vote for years (although I doubt that they really understood what it means).

In consequence, the campaign for the European elections is taking place at the same time with the campaign on the uninominal vote referendum - Guess which of them will attract more political circus? The second, of course. Who cares about our future in Europe? Nor the Romanian President neither the Prime-Minister, for sure.

N.B. When Basescu decided to allow US military bases (US, not NATO, guys!) on Romanian territory, the possibility of organizing a referendum just slipped his mind. Or his mind slipped? I cannot really tell …