ISSUE OTAKE OFF

MESSAGE FROM

THE EDITORS

A M E D I A T E A M L I K E N O O T H E R

Words have profound power.

The power to shape meaning, determine outcomes, create oppor-tunities.

In this editorial, our chosen words express a hope. The hope that our team’s vision will fulfil its simple aim. To inform, to entertain, to inspire you, the reader, through our media products which after the session might serve as a gentle reminder of a cherished EYP experience, an experience which informed you, entertained you, inspired you.

In the next pages, you will find articles and infographics dedicated to each committee topic. Some food for thought before you take off to a session which is for you to make something out of.

How will you use your words?

Arriana & Jasper

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Table Of Content

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The Struggle towards development - Adelaide di maggio (PL) - pg. 4-5

Secession in europe - Caspar spillman (ch)) - pg. 6-7

Mission impossible - Claudia dalby (ie) - pg. 8-9

The arctic, the eu and energy - liam mccourt (it) - pg. 10-11

from lab0ratory to dinner plate-antonio Gianfranco pittini (it-pg. 12-15

The ukrainian crisis - liam mccourt (it) - pg. 16-17

THE STRUGGLE TOWARDS

DEVELOPMENT

Imagine yourself playing a board game called “The European Entrepreneur.” In this game you have to open your own enterprise and the goal is to maximize the growth of the business and the quality of the provided services.

Business plans ready? Go!

The first step when opening an enterprise is acquiring the necessary funding. Thus, you decide to benefit from the financial assistan-ce opportunities offered by the European Union (EU). You fill in an application and submit it with the aim of obtaining a grant. The EU usually dedicates a certain amount of money for each project. However, projects first have to pass through the responsible institutions in the Member State before

being handed to the European institution responsible and the process continues for two more stages, before the entrepreneur is able to receive the required funding. Of-tentimes this means that the money will be significantly reduced along the way. What is more, half of these grants consist of funds which come from the central budget of the national government which is mainly made up of taxpayers’ money.

Mrs. Bozena Kurek, an art teacher and owner of “Arte” atelier in Poland, shares with us her personal experience with the bureaucracy: “Receiving a grant for opening your own enterprise is not very hard and there are many programmes that offer you the possibility to obtain one. Nevertheless, writing an application is not simple. There

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are designated words and phrases that you must use and you cannot replace them with others. There is a lot of paper work and the process is also very long, lasting up to nine months, during which you have to be unemployed. The amount of time and work required in obtaining a grant may be dispro-portional to the amount of money received.” Mrs. Kurek’s words highlight the struggles often faced by entrepreneurs caused by the bureaucracy.

The Innovation Factor

‘Innovation’ is the key word in the allocation of EU grants. For a project to be approved it has to be innovative. In EU terms, this me-ans that the project uses products that have been in the European market for no more than five years. Moreover, it is required that these products are from the EU, regardless of whether they are the most appropriate or efficient tools available for the business.

“In practice, this means that we invest in highly developed European countries like Germany, because these innovative products very often come from there,” states Mr. Kulas who owns his own enterprise which specialises in IT services and provides sup-port in writing applications for EU funds.

During the evaluation of such applications, 30% of the rating is based on the innovation factor, whereas only the 10% is related to the financial analysis and the business plan. Mrs. Kurek notes that, “this permits the applicants to actually sell unrealistic tales to the European Commission.” She adds that, “the fact that it’s composed by civil servants who often have no practical knowledge about business and economics makes mat-ters worse.”

After obtaining the funds that will allow you to make a full start in the market, you need to pass an evaluation period, during which

you need to account for any given purchases and submit evidence to prove that you meet all points stated in the application. Follo-wing this period of scrutiny, you are finally able to start your work and hopefully you will be successful in stabilising the company after surviving at least a year in the Euro-pean market.

Nevertheless, as in every game there are certain conditions and rules that are to be respected. There are also enemies and other participants that will do everything that is in their power to complicate your work. In re-al-world terms, for many entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized enterpri-ses, this means having to meet the require-ments of vast legal regulations coming from the EU on top of the national regulations where the enterprise is based in. Sometimes these legal regulations are unclear, incon-sistent and contradictory which may result in cumbersome effects for the professionals' activity.

Finally, bigger companies and corporations coming from more affluent European coun-tries can provide quicker and cheaper servi-ces, which SMEs can’t compete with. These companies can easily dominate the market and get rid of the competition. These are the main problems that may prevent entrepre-neurs from concentrating on their real goal of developing their enterprises and provide better service for their clients.

“The EU has technically given us more free-dom, but practically gives a better chance to the bureaucracy to tackle us. They have the possibility to interpret the law in their ways and will require a confirmation of every activity we do, which means that we will care more about providing the required do-cuments, instead of focusing on our growth and the quality of our services,” comments Mr Kulas.

Written by: Adelaide Di Maggio5

Secession in Europe

Seceding Movements

Parties demanding secession

In the EU In Europe (Incl. EU)

Over 75 Over 100

Prospective secessions

Over 30 Over 45

De facto states

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

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Military Organisations

10 Over 20

Governments in Exile

None

Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)

Countries with

secession movements

14 22

Secession

Justified?

Freedom of Association

Economic Freedoms

Will of Majority

Self-Defense

Self-Determination

Preservation of Cultureand Language

Human scale political entities

Protecting LegitimateExpectations

Self-Defense

Minimizing Strategic Bargaining

Soft Paternalism

Threat of Anarchy

Preventing Wrongful Taking

Distributive Justice

AFCO

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Secession in Europe

Seceding Movements

Parties demanding secession

In the EU In Europe (Incl. EU)

Over 75 Over 100

Prospective secessions

Over 30 Over 45

De facto states

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

7

Military Organisations

10 Over 20

Governments in Exile

None

Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)

Countries with

secession movements

14 22

Secession

Justified?

Freedom of Association

Economic Freedoms

Will of Majority

Self-Defense

Self-Determination

Preservation of Cultureand Language

Human scale political entities

Protecting LegitimateExpectations

Self-Defense

Minimizing Strategic Bargaining

Soft Paternalism

Threat of Anarchy

Preventing Wrongful Taking

Distributive Justice

Made by: Caspar Spillman7

“So you’re telling me I have to get experience before I get experience ?”

CULT

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In theory, the European Youth Guarantee seems like a fantastic idea. It’s amazing to think that, just four months after I lea-ve University, the European Union (EU) will ensure that I am either employed or on a productive path towards potential employment in an internship or appren-ticeship. However, results have shown that perhaps it was a bit too ambitious of a plan. It seems like the EU overestimated itself, and is not yet progressive enough to make this expensive yet vital scheme into a reality.

At this point, youth unemployment feels like it has been around forever. I could have never imagined how long it would take to find a student job in Ireland. For me, the hunt begun two years ago and at the age of 18 I have yet to find part-time employment. I’ve seen it all; job search websites, notices in windows, group interviews and of course, rejection calls and emails. It seems daunting to consider that getting a job while at University is so incredibly hard. What will my chances be of getting a graduate job in today’s com-petitive labour market?

The problem with the European Youth Guarantee is manifold. Firstly, incorrectly allocated funds and secondly, not nearly enough funding. The EU allocated €6 mil-lion of the budget for the European Youth Guarantee, yet research shows that triple or even quadruple that amount would be required to properly and efficiently carry out the programme. It can be said that EU underestimated the severity and long-term persistence of youth unemployment

as a key side effect of the Euro Crisis and hence miscalculated its response.

It is necessary for the European leaders to invest more time and resources in resol-ving the plague of youth unemployment since its effects will be even more pro-found in the years to come. If a man can fish he can feed his whole family; in the same way, if the youth are given the op-portunity to learn how to solve problems, it will benefit Europe immensely in the long run.

We live in the age of information where the future is becoming less and less secure with the labour market landscape chan-ging dramatically. With rapid, growing re-search and development into better, more efficient and more intelligent technologies, the demands for labour are changing and young Europeans need the right tools in order to be able to meet these demands. This accelerating problem is a new one, but plans and solutions must be adapted to accommodate it. Giving the youth of Europe, the preparation they need to res-pond to these technological challenges is no longer optional, it’s imperative for the future of Europe.

Obviously, the EU has its hands full. There are a lot of problems which take priority. However, unless the obstacle of youth unemployment is overcome, the long-term effects will be extensive. We need the brightest, most able people for the job, and these people are smothered by unemploy-ment. They need help getting out.

“So you’re telling me I have to get experience before I get experience ?”

Written by: Claudia Dalby

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Made by: Liam Mccourt1110

From the laboratory to your dinner plateG M O

W hat is a genetically modified organism (GMO)?

A GMO is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering in order to be used in a variety of fields such as re-search, medicine, food and agriculture. The con-struction of a GMO is certainly complex, since it involves the mutation, insertion or deletion of genes to alter the DNA of an organism. This now means that scientists can modify almost every all organisms.

Why are genetic modifications made?

The first GMOs were used to improve the re-sistance of plants against bacteria and viruses, in order to improve productivity and reduce the use of pesticides. GMOs were then used in to create fortified foods to aid in deficiencies in people’s diet. One key example was golden rice which was grown and consumed in areas where people suffered from shortages of vitamin A. The introduction of GMOs in the people’s diet has been a source of grave concern and contro-versy due to the numerous problems which have surfaced with regards to health, the economy, and their use in food production. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM)

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stated that “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with genetically modified (GM) food.” This includes infertility, problems of the immune system, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation and changes in major organs and the gastrointesti-nal system.

What is the European Union’s position on the production and consumption of

GMOs?

The EU has the most stringent GMO regulation in the world, with the Eu-ropean Food Safety Authority (EFSA) being responsible to control the use of GMOs. Its main aim is to safeguard of human and animal health and for the environment safety. Member States retain the right to cultivate GMOs on their land. However, should decide to cultivate GMOs it is required to consult with the EFSA which then draft pro-posals about the production of GMOs to be sent to the European Commissi-on which is the body responsible for granting authorisation for the growth of GMOs. If the decision is positive, the Member State can cultivate GMOs for ten years. The European Commis-sion grants authorisation based on “environmental or agricultural policy objectives, town and country planning, land use, socio-economic impacts, avoidance of GMO presence in other products, or public policy, to name a few”.

One of the most prominent exam-ples of GMO production in the EU is

“MON 810 maize.” Since 2013 it has been cultivated in five Member States including Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia. The cultivation spanned on almost 150,000 hectares with 137, 000 hectares being in Spain. These figures merely repre-sent 1.56% of the 9.6 million hectares of maize cultivated in the EU and 0.26% of the 57.4 million hectares of GM mai-ze cultivated worldwide.

A number of questions arise with re-gards to the production and consump-tion of the risky GMOs and the EU is called to answer. Can GMOs continue to be used given the associated health risks? Are GMOs the result of an eco-nomic policy that doesn’t care about human health? Is the cultivation of GMO’s cheaper than natural growing processes?

Dear delegates, what is your stance on GMOs? Tell us what you think!

Written by: Gianfranco Pittini15

Russia has the 3rdlargest military

budget in theworld;

Ukraine has the40th largest

military budgetin the world.

The UkrainianParliament votes to

depose ViktorYanukovich as

President;

Russia officiallyincorporates

Crimea where 95%ofthe population had

voted in favour of theannexation;

February 22nd

March 18th

2014

April 12thClashes break out withthe Ukranian army as

rebels start seizinggoverntment

buildings;

May 26th Petro Poroshenko iselected as the newPresident of Ukraine;

July 5thUkrainian forces free Slavyansk, rebels fallback almost 100 miles

after a hasty retreat;August 26th

300 Ukrainian soldiersare massacred byRussian and rebelforces at Ilovaisk;September 5thA 12-point ceasefire

accord is signed inMinsk by Ukrainian,Russian and rebelenvoys;

2015

January 21st

Ukrainian forces loosecontrol of Donetskairport;

January 23rdRocket attacks onMariupol kill over 30civilians, the Minskceasefire is all butover;

February 11th

Vladimir Putin, PetroPoroshenko,FrancoisHollande and AngelaMerkel,aree on a new13 point ceasefire;

The Ukrainian Crisis

The Russian federation Ukraine

Russia is the 9thlargest

economy in theworld;

Ukraine is the55th largest

economy in theworld;

AFET

Made by: Liam Mccourt