the Periphery - Issue 4

ISSUE 4

The PeripheryMagazine of Joensuu 2013

19th National Selection Conference of European Youth Parliament Finland

TABLE OF CONTENTSEDITORIAL

PRIME MINISTERJYRKI KATAINEN

EGYPT

EU & RUSSIA

PICTURES

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES

EYP CONTINUED

Ms. PRESIDENT

COMMITTEES

EYP CONTINUED II

GREECE

APOCALYPTIC JOURNAL

ORGANISERS

EUROPE AND DRUGS

POST-APOCALYPSE

PERIPHERY OF THE DAY

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The human eye is peculiar. It can make out

objects as far as 32 kilometres away. But up close there is a 9 centimeter rule: the eye cannot focus on anything

closer. The vision remains blurry.

Same applies to EYP and sessions. In the first editorial we wrote how thanks to the dis-tance we are able to observe what happens better. We have aimed to live up to the expectations

and our own promises about documenting the session. Like the human eye, for all the participants of the session – including ourselves – it is difficult to fully comprehend everything that has happened, all the

experiences when they are still so close.

Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen gave us perspec- tive through his speech. Even today he remem-bers his Erasmus exchange warmly and appreciates the time as the Vice Chairman

of the Youth of the European People’s Party. Perhaps one day one of us recalls the Joensuu 2013 National Session as an event that remains important after

such a long time.

Whilst the newspapers and the video help you to look to the past and relive all the fond memories, we also wish to guide you towards the future. This is certainly not the end of anything, but rather a beginning. Delegations will travel abroad for new experiences, become officials, journalist try their hands in editing, chairs start presiding.

There are many paths before you. Whichever you choose, we are confident that you have made the right decision. Going forward is important, the direction less so.

We hope that the Periphery has been a good beginning. You have now taken the first step from the periphery towards the core of EYP.

Thank you,

Robert & Alex

Sedi aciti a con cuptatur? Qui optame volore, ut apellam nobis alit aut iliasperibus maio est optatem consed quo ventur?

Hicatur, si in porero etur?Ebis audae re nistemo dipsam, siti

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THE SPECIAL GUESTby Riikka Nieminen

On a last day of the wonderful ses-sion in Joensuu we had a truly amazing chance to have the Prime Minister of Finland Mr. Jyrki Katainen as our hon-orable guest as well as the official patron of this session. During the General As-sembly Mr. Katainen shared his thoughts about being an active young citizen of Europe. Mr. Katainen started his speech by

sharing his willingness to understand what today’s youth in Europe is thinking. He has visited many universities before as a guest, but visiting an EYP session was something new for him. Organisa-tions like the EYP are not totally new for him, since he has been the Vice Chairman of the Youth of the European People’s Party when he was younger.There are already some common prin-

ciples that we as Europeans share. Still Mr. Katainen talked about the need for even more European integration. Europe is becoming more and more a multi-cultural continent, but we should still remember that Europeans are similar. As European youngster we are the ones who have the responsibility to make this vi-sion come true. This is why Mr. Katainen challenged us to think: “What do we want from Europe in the future?”At the end of his speech Mr. Katainen

mentioned the high unemployment rate of the youth. He believes that for exam-ple by encouraging the youth to become

entrepreneurs this problem can be solved.After the actual speech there was time

for some questions. Three delegates asked about the qualities of a good leader, the salary reducement made by the President of Finland and Finnish government and also about the welfare in the future.Mr. Katainen shared his visions, and

told that in his opinio leadership must be

earned. A good leader is able to express oneself and is not afraid to disagree with others. It is also important to have high international awareness and to understand what is happening in the world.When discussing the salaries Mr. Katainen explained how the reducements have been a gesture to show that finan-cially challenging an unstable times have an effect on everyone, not only the poorest people.As a last thing the Prime Minister expressed his belief on the ability to maintain the welfare level of the countries in Europe. We just have to work hard and make sure that there will be private sector jobs also in the future.

“What do we want from Europe in the future?”

Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen

Prime Minister 22 June 2011 to presentParty Leader, Master of Social Sciences, Member of ParliamentNational Coalition PartyDate and place of birth: 14 October 1971, SiilinjärviPlace of residence: Espoo

Minister of Finance, Minister deputising for the Prime Minister (Kiviniemi), 22 June 2010–22 June 2011Minister of Finance, Minister deputising for the Prime Minister (Vanhanen II), 19 April 2007–22 June 2010

National Coalition Party, Chair 2004 to present, Vice Chair 2001–2004

Member of Parliament 1999 to presentSpeaker’s Council, Member 2003–2007Committee for the Future, Chair 2003–2007Foreign Affairs Committee, Chair 2007Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), Administrative Council, Member 2003–2005Parliamentary Supervisory Council of the Bank of Finland, Member 2005–2007

Regional Council of Pohjois–Savo, Assem-bly, 1st Vice Chair 2001–2004Regional Council of Pohjois–Savo, Board Member 1997–2000Siilinjärvi Municipal Council, Member 1993–2010, 2nd Vice Chair 1997–1998

European People’s Party, Vice President 2006–2012Youth of the European People’s Party, Vice Chair 1998–2000

Spouse: Mervi KatainenTwo childrenLanguage skills: Finnish, English, Swedish

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by Fredrik Hultman and Philippe Dehio

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CHANGE!BUT CAN WE BELIEVE IN IT?

Two years ago, the world was astound-ed as thousands of people went out in the streets of central Cairo to protest against their political system. The protests that culminated in the ousting of Presi-dent Hosni Mubarak are perhaps the most well remembered part of the Arab Spring. Two years later the situation is very different from what it once was.In 2011, various dictators had for

long controlled the Arab world. Egypt was perhaps the prime example. Hosni Mubarak had ruled Egypt for 30 years, since the assassination of his predeces-sor, Anwar El Sadat. In every election, Mubarak had prevailed with the help of corruption and coercion. In late 2009, something happened that

would come to change Egypt more than anyone could imagine. A grocer in Tuni-sia set himself on fire in protest against the Tunisian government, a regime not that different from Mubarak’s Egypt. The desperate act soon earned him the status as a martyr. Soon, others were self-immolating themselves and later people were even taking to the streets in support and to protest. Suddenly, the protests started spread-

ing; it was a pandemic. Country after country in the region saw similar pro-tests, and Egypt was by no means an ex-ception. The country had for a long time had limited freedom of expression and freedom of press coupled with corruption and economic stagnation. The infamous police brutality also added to the burden borne by the Egyptian people; problems similar to those Tunisians also faced on a day-by-day basis. As the Tunisian dicta-tor, Ben-Ali, was overthrown, pressure was mounting on Mubarak to reform. On January 25th 2011, thousands of

people took to the streets across Egypt

to show their discontent towards the Mubarak-regime. After two weeks of constantly escalating protests, sometimes countered by police brutality, Mubarak resigned.On the 13th of February of the same

year, the parliament, elected under Mubarak’s reign, was dissolved. In its place, the highest military council in-stalled a committee to elaborate consti-tutional changes. The old constitution of 1971 was quickly suspended in order to prevent elections from being held within 60 days after Mubarak’s resignation. The committee’s opportunities to pro-pose changes were quite restricted by the military leadership. Alternations were made in the anti-terror article to restore basic human rights and modalities for the presidential election. On March 19th 2012 the changes passed the referendum and came into effect.Some days before, the parliamentary

elections were held and as expected the Muslim Brotherhood became the strong-est force in the new Egyptian parlia-ment with 47% of the votes. Although the Islamic party was unquestionably the

strongest force, the influence of the freely elected parliament was still restricted. The government was still the same in-stalled by the military forces.Due to the impression that the army

intended to keep their influence on governmental affairs, tensions between the Muslim brothers and the army lead to a designation of their own presidential candidate. With this a conflict broke out. Once again people took to the streets to express their anger – this time for the Islamists protesting against the old mili-tary merge. With a risky political coup, Mohammed Mursi, the newly elected president, disempowered the old military command and transfered their powers to the presidential post.With a huge Islamic majority in

the parliament Mursi started push-ing through a new constitution based on Sharia, ignoring the voices of the liberal minority in parliament. With the enlargement of power at the expence of justice, the president set off the next wave of major unrests. Notwithstanding, the opposition forces, contended against the constitution-drafts and the refer-endum on the 15th of December 2012, failed. The referendum passed with 63.8% but numerous electoral frauds had been reported.The new constitution allows the

violation of democratic principles and human rights. Naming only one of the many issues is the freedom of speech. Active journalists and bloggers often are charged with absurd accusations such as defamation of the prophet. Some of them claim that the current situation is even worse then the one under Mubarak. One can call this a change but it is surely questionable whether it is for better or for worse.

“The new constitution allows the violation of democratic principles and human rights. Naming only one of the many issues is the freedom of speech. Active journalists and blog-gers often are charged with absurd accusations such as defamation of the prophet. “

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Russia and the European Union (EU) have a complex and long-running relationship – despite the EU’s relatively short history. Indeed, the very origins of the EU are intertwined with the his-tory of Russia. In this way, the EU is similar to Finland. The parallels are striking: Russia’s diplomatic influence in the regions, the extensive trade between the nations, and the role of a gatekeeper between Russia and the United States (US) are all themes common between Finland and the EU. This similar foun-dation – and consolidation of existence – of both has then come to shape their relationship with Russia. The most notable difference between the two, however, is that each of these themes is more pronounced in the case of Fin-land. This is natural; after all, Finland gained its independence from Russia in 1917, was threatened by the Soviet Union up until 1944 and created its most significant post-Second World War trade relations through the war reparations

due to be paid to the Soviet Union follow-ing the lost war. On the other hand, the EU has nominally only been in existence following the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. However, diplomatically comparable entities – chief among them the Euro-pean Economic Community (EEC) – had previously been involved with Russia.It was the EEC that formed the basis

of the diplomatic relations between Rus-

sia and the EU. Upon the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe in May 1945, the political state of Europe was as divided as Europe itself: on one hand,

Europe was split into two rival factions (the Eastern Bloc headed by the Soviet Union and Western Europe supported by the US). On the other hand, there was a clear air of internal solidarity within each of them. This rift would set the tone for the relations between the two up until the service of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union in 1985. The rift is aptly illustrated by the post-war recovery

packages in Europe. While the US issued the Marshall Plan to support Western Europe in 1948, the Soviet Union created the Comecon in 1949 to strengthen the

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Upon the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe in May 1945, the political state of Europe was as divided as Europe itself: on one hand, Europe was split into two rival factions (the Eastern Bloc headed by the Soviet Union and Western Europe supported by the US). On the other hand, there was a clear air

of internal solidarity within each of them.

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Eastern Bloc. Following this, the US gained significant economic and political influence in Western Europe, though its influence decreased gradually.It was under these conditions that,

upon its formation in 1957, the EEC became a gatekeeper between the US and the Soviet Union; its members retained cool but workable relations with the Soviets. As mentioned above, the same was true of Finland, but in a more pro-nounced manner: having been one of the few European nations to not receive aid from neither the Marshall Plan nor the Comecon, Finland was able to maintain a neutral relationship with both the East-ern Bloc and Western Europe. Thus, it developed congenial trade relations with both. Similarly, following the conclu-sion of the Berlin Blockade in may 1949, Western Europe began establishing trade relations with the East.This pattern continued throughout

the following decades, leading up to Gorbachev’s rise to power. At this point,

in accordance with the liberalisation of the Soviet Union, trade and dioplomatic relations increased further – between the EEC and the Soviet Union as well as Finland and the Soviet Union. This

became crucial when the Soviet Union inevitably collapsed in 1991 to re-form as Russia – among other things, the information of the collapse was transmit-ted through Finland onto Europe and from there on to the rest of the world, demonstrating the role the EEC and Finland had as gatekeepers between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. More importantly, the EEC, Finland and

the now independent former non-Russian Soviet Republics immediately became the most important trade companions of Russia. This, of course, has provided the basis for EU-Russian relations since.As Russia stabilised under Boris

Yeltsin, it quickly regained its domi-nant position on the European stage. However, this role has now been not one of opposition, of rivalry to the EU, but one of cooperation with it. The same is naturally true of Finland. Indeed, in the 21st century under Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s domina-tion has been as much economic as it is diplomatic and military, despite fac-tors such as its permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council and the second largest nuclear arsenal in the world. With Finland a part of the EU since 1995, it again aptly demonstrates the relationship: economic dependence, political proximity and mutual benefit.

by Erasmus Häggblom

TWO GIANTS- IT’S COMPLICATED

“As Russia stabilised under Boris Yeltsin, it quickly re-gained its dominant position

on the European stage.”

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If you ever intend to end up as a repre-sentative in a real parliament, you will soon notice that parliamentary proce-dures can be longer and more complex than they are in EYP. Even though the EYP-procedure is a fair reflection on real life, it can be far more intense and more complicated in real parlia-ments. GA might be hard to get through when you have barely slept for a whole weekend, but at least you do not need to wait for 24 hours to make a speech. In real parliaments, that could however be possible. EYP’s GA-procedure is made to reflect real life parliamentary proce-dures, but has been slightly altered to be able to conduct in a short time and for it to be fully adapted to the EYP concept.In the real European Parliament,

resolutions are sometimes proposed, but they are non-binding. The legislative initiative is taken by European Commis-sion that is the only body that can draft bills by itself. The non-binding resolu-tion the European Parliament can write and vote on are however more similar to the EYP counterparts. Committees work more with evaluating bills proposed by the Commission than with proposing bills themselves.A major difference between actual

parliaments and EYP is that parliamen-tarians are not seated in their commit-tees during votes and debates. Usually, parliamentarians represent a specific party and/or region, and are henceforth

seated thereafter. In other words, either members from the same region sit together or members from the same party sit together. It never happens that they sit in their respective committees while in parliament.This applies to the real Eu-

ropean Parliament, where they work in their committees but are seated according to what parlia-mentary group they belong to. As the members are allowed to speak in any of the EU’s official languages there are plenty of in-terpreters translating everything that is said. This means that the debates there rarely become as heated as in other parliaments (or in EYP).In EYP, all speeches have time

limits. Real parliaments do not need to be extremely strict on times, as they have more than a single day for GA. In the Euro-pean Parliament, the Finnish Parliament, most speeches have time limits, as there usually is little point in staging a debate on something that has already been discussed and agreed on by the different parties in the different committees. All parliaments do not have

rules on speech length though. One of the most absurd examples

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WHAT IF WE WERE IN

by Fredrik Hultman

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of that can be found across the Atlantic Ocean. In the US Senate, the record for longest ever speech is 24 hours and 18 minutes, and was held as a so-called filibuster in order to block a piece of legis-lation. Filibuster means that any member can speak on any given subject with regards to a piece of legislation. The member who held the 24-hour long speech found it difficult to stick to only speaking about the legislation, and even talked about his grand-mother’s bis-cuit recipe. That is not something that would be recommended dur-ing a speech in GA, as the board probably would not allow it. A filibuster in the US Congress however, can only be stopped by a majority of 60 % voting in favour of proceeding directly to voting. That way, any piece of legislation without a 60 % majority can be

blocked indefinitely. The EYP-format offers simpler and

less foul ways of presenting proposals. The whole EYP-process is quicker, from the beginning to the end. But in its most essential parts, it is not particularly different from the real process. Differ-ent committees are assigned different issues to address and they are debated in

the same way as in a real parlia-ment. Perhaps the resolutions are shorter, and perhaps the debates take less time. However, a parliamentary session can last for a whole year, while EYP ses-sions rarely are more than a few

days long. Henceforth, the procedure has to be different. EYP still incorporates the most essential parts of what a real parliament does. Letting people with different views discuss important issues, compromise, reach agreements and have their voices heard. As long as that is achieved, the other parts might not mat-ter that much.

“EYP still incorporates the most essential parts of what a real parliament does. Letting people with different views discuss important issues, com-promise, reach agreements and have their voices heard.“

A REAL PARLIAMENT?

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by Alex Proctor

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Ash Ketchum set out on a journey in 1997 with a goal to “catch ‘em all”. He knew that he would not be able to carry all 151 Pokémon even if he stuffed all his pockets, but that did not stop him from wanting to. He just turned his cap around and faced his obstacles. European Youth Parliament (EYP)

Finland also wishes to catch as many of you as possible. The board of EYP Fin-

land exists to make it possible for people to join in what many have found to be a fun and self-developing journey. EYP offers the chance of levelling up, and possibly even evolving into a better you, through providing challenging experi-ences and offering a platform on which you can fight against your own limits.Pikachu travelled alongside Ash

from the very beginning, yet most of the

Pokémon found content in leaving their pokéball only when faced by a challenge. The same applies in EYP Finland. By being a member you are allowed to at-tend sessions and join in the activity in Finland and all around Europe. You can either come out for a challenge when-ever you feel like it, or you can choose to influence the entire journey through a Regional Committee or even the board of

WELCOME TOEYP FINLAND!

EYP Helsinki

EYP Helsinki is one of the four Re-gional Committees of EYP Finland. If you want to meet your new friends from the session again, I really suggest you to attend our sauna party this spring. There you will also have a chance to meet some of the older, experienced EYPers and hear their epic stories. You’ll have at least as much fun as at the sessions!We also have some trainings every once

in a while for our members, for example about how to become a journalist or a chair. From these trainings you will get much valuable information about EYP and about being an active participant. If you want to become a part of our

great group, the first thing to do when you get home is to add yourself to our Facebook group. There you can find information about upcoming events and other cool stuff.On behalf of the board of EYP Helsin-

ki I warmly welcome you to be a part of us. I really hope that I will see as many of you as possible in our events!

Riikka NieminenVice-president of EYP Helsinki

EYP Turku

In the land of the West, guarding the border against EYP Sweden, stands the mightiest of the Regional Committees – EYP Turku. Uniting EYPers of Western Finland, its members have travelled the corners of Europe and organised events celebrated throughout EYP Finland. Every year, a new generation of delegates joins our ranks, keeping our bastion strong and evolving.Jokes aside, as a long-time member of

our organisation, I wish to warmly wel-come you to join in in the many activi-ties organised by EYP Turku. Without a doubt, the Regional Committees offer the best way to stay active in EYP during the dark and gloomy months between sessions. If you are lucky enough to live in the Old Capital, you will be surprised by how many active EYPers crowd the streets of our home town. If you decide to continue in EYP, you will surely become one of them. See you in the next EYP café!

Juho NikkoBoard Member of EYP Finland for

Fundraising (and Dancing)

EYP Tampere

We hope you have had a great session and are getting excited about EYP. Our mascot, Väino von Tammer, is already itching to meet you.EYP Tampere organises a number of

events throughout the year where new and old alumni meet. We are always looking for new people to help in the organising: from informal EYP cafés to sessions – which we’ve organised three in the past two years. EYP Tampere is run by its board, which convenes in meetings every once in a month. The meetings are open to all alumni, and we wish to see as many of you as possible at our regular meeting table at Wayne’s coffee! Come join in the action!

Marja PentikäinenPresident of EYP Tampere

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“European Youth Parliament (EYP) Finland also wishes to catch as many of you as

possible.”

EYP Itä-Suomi

Dear delegates, right at this moment you are attending the first ever national session in EYP Eastern Finland. Your presence here, and this session as a whole is very important to us. We are a young Regional Committee, at 2 years old we are still pretty much at toddler age. Joensuu 2013 completes one of the first dreams our regional committee had, to reach all of the major cities in our area and bring a session here. In previous years, there have been regional sessions first in Kuopio and then in Savonlinna. We, the EYPers of Eastern Finland, meet up once in a while to catch up with each other and have some fun. We hope that you the delegates will also join us this year in our EYP cafés and events. And though I’m sure all of you have already heard it a hundred times, I still want to welcome you to Joensuu and to EYP Eastern Finland once again. We have our arms wide open and hope to see many of you very soon!

Tuusa ErikssonPresident of EYP Eastern Finland

EYP Finland.EYP Finland does not need to “catch

‘em all” but we would like to give every-one the chance to get “caught”. Our Gym Leader, Jari, challenges all who are up for it. Turn your caps and keep pushing your limits.

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As has already been clear before, Hanna Ollinen, the president of our session here in Joensuu, is quite a lively and active persona. She also demon-strates this when being interviewed. As many are fully aware, she has spent a half a year in Singapore last Autumn. This, of course, immediately makes her very exciting in the eyes of any EY-Per. After all, we do tend to be highly appreciative of travelling and exotic ad-ventures. When discussing her time in Singapore, the idea of it being a grand adventure is also high on her mind: “I would say that living in Singapore was kind of surreal. It was to be expected that it would be highly different from living in Finland, since the two na-tions really are quite far apart – and not just geographically. The major difference, though, was the simple fact that it was very natural to spend a lot of time out in Singapore, going for dinner or travelling via public trans-port. Eating out was cheap, but hous-ing was expensive. Thus, the home tended to not be particularly luxuri-ous, since it was far smaller in relation to price than what we would see here.” The image of an exotic, exciting session president is heightened when she describes what she would say is her greatest travel

EXOTIC ECCENTRICITY

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ling adventure. She was travelling in Burma and went to a small village. There she was “driven around by guys in vespas”, visiting pagodas and eating delicious food. As she sums it up: “It was quite an experience.”As she has now moved back to

Kopenhagen, Hanna has once again become more of a natural citizen of Europe. Knowing that she is highly experienced in EYP, the most inter-esting issue becomes the fact that she is clearly now more involved in EYP again. On this matter,

she says that the experience of being back doing EYP “always carries a friendly feeling in it. It feels good to be back to something like this, something in which I know the procedure and am really comfortable.” She does say, however, that there have been some significant chang-es within EYP Finland

while she was away: “I left Finland in 2010, at which point they had just estab-

lished regional com-mittees.

Coming back now, it is incredible to see just how many people are involved in these session and the organisation in general, and how active and clearly competent those people tend to be.”

Though she certainly seems to be very much in control and on top of things in her role, she does admit that there are some things that she has been uncertain about. “There’s always something,” she says and continues on to say that “this is my first time presiding at a session, and so it was always going to involve quite a bit of learning and development for me. But I would not be here if I had nothing to learn. Also, though there can be some uncertainty on occasion, it is exciting to see how I will work in situ-ations I have already seen others work and even thrive in. The charm in this, the thing that is really motivating, is finding my own way to do things, so that I don’t need to simply follow a template someone has established.”

Hanna’s views on what she might change about EYP, if there were any one thing in her

power, fall in a similar vein. “I would have to say that I would look to change the way of thinking in EYP a bit. A lot of the time, there seems to be a belief that there is a certain way in which you should act or a certain person you should be to become the ‘perfect’ EYPer. I think we should avoid grouping people like this, since there are a number of roads that you can take in EYP and be just as great. Many of the most compe-tent people I know came via a somewhat unvoncentional route. I think we should not be too quick to proclaim whether or not someone is EYP material based purely on quickly formed impressions.”As the interview with Hanna winds

down, it is this combination of extrover-sion and introspection that sticks in the mind. As she says: “I would say that my close friends probably see me in a couple of ways. First off, they would likely mention my smile; I smile quite a bit. They would probably also say that I am pretty weird, but also trustworthy.” As a final remark, she makes it clear what food she would be if she could. “I would definitely be a crème brülèè. It is as complex as me and is of course absolutely delicious. Being french adds just that little bit of zest to it – I have been desrcibed as a bit of a francophile.” On that note, it seems prudent to allow Hanna to continue her busy day as the session president.

EXOTIC ECCENTRICITY

“I would definitely be a crème brülèè. It is as complex as me and is of course absolutely delicious. Being French adds just that little bit of zest to it – I have been described as

a bit of a francophile.”


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The committee on REGI

A committee comprised of charming individuals that have almost fallen off a rock in Norway, attended the Swedish king’s birthday party by accident, won silver in swimming contests and frequently sing in public places.

The committee on ITRE

“You know who was also fond of ITRE? BACON.”

The committee on EMPL I

“With you guys it was always two up, because the spirit you had was amazing ! Keep on wondering do you like EMPL or employment… Thank you Gandalf for leading the group so wisely!” xoxo Riikka N.

The committee on DEVE

“I was so nice to see how you guys worked as a team! I have one more wish, please watch “The good, the bad and the ugly” if you seriously don’t know that movie yet!” xoxo Riikka N.

The committee on ECON

The Committee on Economic and Monetarhy Affairs ran the gambit. Having gone through the boom and bust cycle, it can now restructure its budget so as to achieve a surplus. There is no doubt that there are forms of easing that may well aid them, but it is also possible to consider a controlled exit by other, insolvent nations who’s woes may have influ-enced the economy of the committee.

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The committee on AGRI

“Statistically all delegates of the Committee on Agricul-ture and Rural Development are Unicorns living at Sugar-Candy-Mountain…”Lots of love, Philippe

The committee on SEDE

“You have done great throughout the session, from per-forming the committee song, to Teambuilding, to Committee Work, to playing silly games during committee dinner, to rocking the General Assembly. Whenever I have walked in to your committee room, I have known that I can feel secure with you guys. I really hope to see all of you at a session in the future.

The committee on INTA

The Chinese reindeer committee. Whether figuring out how to maximise the EU’s trade efficiency or baring through endless hours of Karlis’s hipster music, you always gave at least 100% and valiantly pushed through even the most tedious of times. Be proud of yourselves and wear your Antlers with pride.P.S. Karlis is 20.

The committee on AFET

“The committee on foreign affairs was proposed with a real challenge this session. Instead of the common how to respond to a specific situation they had to write a template. A template for the EUs reaction to any crisis across the globe. The committee worked hard even into the night. The synergy they exhaled was awesome. They were AFET, the best.

The committee on EMPL II

They are enthusiastic, lively group of people spiced up with a serious, hard working spirit. It has been amazing to be around them and their wonderful chair, Lukas. I almost didn’t apply to this session as a journalist, since I like being an organiser so much, but thank god I send the application. These past four days has been legendary, thank you!

The session has come to the end and exciting times are ahead of you, since about 20-30 delegates will be selected to represent Finland in different sessions abroad, two of them being the ten day International Sessions in Munich and Tbilisi. Being selected to a session abroad from circa 150 delegates is a great honour and an amazing opportunity; you could actually say it is a once in a lifetime situation. If you get selected, do nott turn that chance down, no matter what! International sessions are something totally different and awesome on so many levels. Imagine your feelings about this session in Joensuu, multiplied by ten times – assuming of course that your feelings are nothing but positive. If you turn the opportunity down, I guarantee you will regret it. But if you happen not to be selected for a session this year, don’t worry! EYP has so much more to offer than just these sessions and I am going to tell you step by step how to continue on your journey in EYP.First of all, the best way to continue is

by doing it as a delegate. You have only been to two sessions, so it would defi-nitely be more than wise to gather more experience. As I already mentioned, vari-ous different events are held all around Europe and you actually do not always need to be selected by EYP Finland to at-tend one. The Alumni-website is of great help when you are applying for a session abroad all by yourself, but of course it is

never inappropriate to ask help from ex-perienced EYPers, like from your chair for example. If you are too shy to ask help via facebook or do not even have a facebook-account, you can confront them

face to face in meetings, or “Cafés”, occa-sionally held by the regional committees of Turku, Tampere, Eastern Finland and Helsinki. After a few new delegate-experiences,

you could start thinking about taking the next EYP step: becoming an official. But

it’s extremely important to understand how hard it is to go back to the delegate-level once you have experienced a session from an official’s point of view. Each role of a session gives basis for another: journoing gives the basis for chairing, chairing for editing, editing for organis-ing. If you start your official-path as a chair instead of a journo, going back to being a delegate will be quite a disturb-ing idea, especially if you turn out be a great chair. These, however, are not something like the Ten Commandments; these are mere guidelines for a lovely and enjoyable EYP-journey. Whichever role you decide to take, EYP Finland will offer you training for it.

“Which ever role you decide to take, EYP Finland will offer you training for it.”

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HOW TOCONTINUE IN EYP?by Riikka Koskinen

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EYP, AND SO MANY REASONS TO LOVE IT.

by Riikka Nieminen

These past few days have hopefully been full of amazing and memorable ex-periences for each one of us. Some parts of the session have been more exciting than others but you can not deny the fact that EYP can offer something for all of us! Passing the orange, chicken pilot and

other activities to get the groove on!Teambuilding and playing games are

so much fun, and that is definitely one of the reasons to love EYP. Solving a human knot for almost an hour may be exhausting but at the same time you’re having a blast with your committee. In EYP you are never too old to act like a ninja and the energisers keep you going through the long days.Vous parlez francais?In EYP sessions our working lan-

guages are English and French. Play-ing games and discussing with others improve your language skills better than any teacher in a classroom. You also have an opportunity to gain confidence to speak a foreign language. Often when you

get home from a session you notice that you are thinking in English or just can’t remember some basic words of your own language…Flying, driving, sailingIn EYP you have a chance to attend

sessions all over Europe and see the world. The feeling when you are flying on your own for the first time to a for-eign country is something that everyone should experience at least once. You get to know different cultures and European youngster and notice that they’re actually pretty much like you with same issues and same interests. When you travel a lot, you’ll also realise how lovely it is always to return home.Fiscal policy, social affairs and other

fancy wordsIntense discussions with fellow del-

egates can be the thing that inspires to continue in EYP as well. The academic point of view is also one to remember when talking about what you can get from EYP. In EYP you learn about things that even many adults do not

understand and for example the knowl-edge what you get from committee work won’t go wasted! What else would keep you up writing yous speech at 3 am than the great feeling of learning? You may even realise what you could maybe study one day!You have 37 new friend requestsLike in the results of the love poll

showed, it is even possible to find your true love from an EYP session. Meeting all these new people who are same mind-ed as you are one of the greatest forces to keep you continuing in EYP. End-less conversations late at night, funny random moments and all in all the great time you spend together shows, that you can make dozens of new friends in just a few days. And what would be a better way to get to know people than spending a whole weekend with them in a same building 24/7? Friends are the true core of the European Youth Parliament. You can never have too many and with some of them you can become lifetime pals.

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by Sofia Rostén

ON A DANGEROUS PATH

Founded in 1993, the Golden Dawn has due to recent recession risen as a parliament party in Greece – at the moment Greek has 18 Golden Dawn parliament members as the party was able to get 7% of the overall votes in the last election. The party has been beckoned as both neo-nazi as well as ultra-nationalist. The rise of the Golden Dawn, however, is not a mar-ginal phenomenon: the same kind of far-right movements have now been strengthening on the European politi-cal field ever since the recent recession and the Euro crisis hit.As the Golden Dawn party has

gained popularity in Greece and Greece has been one of the focus points of the problems in Europe, the inter-national media has naturally become increasingly interested in its targets within the society. The ideology of the party has frequently been described as totalitaristic, non-democratic and rasist with a special hatred for the Roma peo-ple. Then again the Golden Dawn itself is known for positioning the targets in a slightly more neutral way: their own

description tells about a popular and social nationalistic party. However, words are deceitful and

actions have more of a truth-revealing nature. Possibly one of the most im-portant factors in the publicity of the Golden Dawn has been the way they have tried to achieve their targets. This neo-Nazi party seems to truly deserve the image the media has given it.

Members and supporters of the Golden Dawn have been frequently in the headlines: they are known for writing Nazi-admiring articles and terroriz-ing immigrants in an organized way. Groups of supporters have been attack-ing both immigrants and supporters of the left-wing parties, encouraging hoo-liganism during a variety of different events and sending threats to members

of different ethnic minorities.The Golden Dawn is, however, only

one of the many far-right, overly-nationalistic movements in the Europe. For example Hungary has its own ver-sion of a neo-Nazi, anti-semitic group that goes by the name Jobbik. The Netherlands had the highest voting per-cent for a islamophobic far-right party in Europe, and the same kind of party got a high percentage in Denmark too. The connection between extremism and the hardships of the economy of the continent is clear.As the spreading of rasist, non-dem-

ocratic state of mind is a result of only a couple of unstable years, our highly appeciated freedom might fall under a totalitaristic, dangerous cape unless Europe finds a way to stay strong - be-fore it being too late. Democracy is not something that we can afford to let go and fighting economic inequalities is a key factor in preserving the European standard of tolerance and freedom.

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“ Greece for the Greeks. Blood, Honour, Golden Dawn” slogan of the Golden Dawn

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Entry no. 1814.01.2013 Monday

The cult is gone. They’re all gone. Somehow they’ve managed to pack up all of their belongings and leave within the few hours that I passed out for from my inhumane exhaustion. The school, which they’ve been inhabiting for who knows how long, has been left without even the smallest piece of evidence of the cult’s existence. I have no idea where they’ve gone, the only clue I have is from a conversation I overheard last night, with mentions of ‘it’- whatever ‘it’ may be – happening tomorrow and the end drawing nearer. I thought I’d ask about it later, but never would I have imagined waking up to find a chilly emptiness fill-ing the school that had been mere hours ago so full of life. So here I am alone once again and I can’t help but feeling a

bit hurt. I felt that I finally really connected with the cult after last night. It was unbelievable: Everyone was dressed in pure white ritual garments and we all gathered together into a beautifully veiled room. Everyone quieted down as a few of the cultists began telling a peculiar story about the Four Rid-ers of the Apocalypse with song and dance intertwined to en-hance the experience. Afterwards a few cultists began to play some very interesting music and I must say: I’ve never seen such an explosion of energy: everybody danced and shouted, and when the paints were brought out the cultists began painting strange symbols, glyphs and sigils all over each other’s clothes, trans-forming the white garments into beautiful splatters of bright colours. I can honestly say that yesterday night was one of the best things I have ever experienced. And now they’re gone There was so much more I wanted to learn about them, so much

more I wanted to experience and all I got was a measly four days. Still, these few days are a memory I won’t ever be able to forget and I guess the mysterious cult was never intended to be anything more than an enigma. There’s no point in lingering and there’s no doubt that the cult isn’t coming back. I’ll be off to search for more survivors of the apocalypse as soon as I’m done with this entry. I wish the cult safe travels to wherever they’ve gone. Goodbye.

“Goodbye.”

DEAR APOCALYPTIC JOURNALby Christopher Proctor

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LET MEORGANISE YOU!

by Philippe Dehio

Always happy, always cool. No matter whether you need curly hair, a mug or just coffee the organisers will do almost everything to make your wish come true although they slept less than you or might are doing something else such as eating. The last few days delegates, chairs and journalist enjoyed a wonderful time free of any worrying. “I’ve never seen a Finish session running that smooth!” is just one of the quotes about the terrific organising performed throughout and before the session.Organisers go later to bed to clean up after you and get up earlier to prepare break-

fast and make the wake up call. For example a group of six organisers yesterday night prepared Sandwiches for your breakfasts. It is hard to imagine what organisers suffer through sometimes and how hard they work to make this session happen and as regu-lar participant one often tends to underestimates it.Being an organiser can be an ambivalent role at sessions – it takes a lot but gives

you the even more back. Without question the press team weren’t the only ones who enjoyed session. We would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to Tim, Saga and the whole organising team to having made this marvellous session happen. To give our loved organisers what they deserve I call for the “Hug an Organiser Day” to express our gratefulness for their sacrifices in order to make this session happen and make this session for them as well truly unforgettable.

With all our love,The press team

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By Tom Molenaar

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SO WHAT WE SMOKE WEED?

The 10th of December 2012 has been a turning point in American history. The state of Colorado passed the 64th amend-ment into its constitution. From that day on it was legal to use marihuana for recreational purposes. The US has been known for its conservative point of view towards drugs. However, the European Union, the liberal and the tolerant, should take drastic measures to regulate the usages of drugs. With only three EU Member States having functioning legis-lation in place there have to be changes. The European Union should legalise the usage all drugs. The first argument for a pan EU

legalisation of all drugs is the quality of the drugs. The dangers of malicious deal-ers have become apparent over the last couple of years. Users have died because they were sold rat poison. In light of the responsibility to protect its citizens the EU should face the facts. The population is and will be using drugs. Instead of fo-cusing on prosecution, the product should be made safe. Then the EU will be able to monitor the quality of the product sold. The regulation of the quality will make it safer for the users. Moreover, the EU can tax the product sold, this tax can be used as a leverage to establish a prize that gets rid of the black market. The ostracizing the EU has done until now has resulted in many addicts, who can forget about their dreams and aspirations because of the actions of a few elusive criminals.Another reason to why the EU should

legalize all drugs is education. Many first

time users are young people who want to experiment. Drugs are exciting, frowned upon and new. However, young people are not aware of the effects and what to do when their plans goes south. The lack of proper education is the reason for this.

The EU can implement lessons about the effects of drug use. Furthermore, to help (ex)-addicts the EU can employ them as teachers; they know both sides of the coin. The education will make teenagers aware of the risks and the possible posi-tive sides. Their education provides them with the chance to make an informed decision. The key component of legisla-tion that is on the edge is to have a solid basis. Both the general public and the experts should agree on it. Legislation akin to this plan has to be well rounded and based upon scientific knowledge. As mentioned earlier there are just

three member states that have success-ful legislation in place. Portugal has a

proven record in reducing the number of addicts. Spain has a very social com-munity of users, which looks after each other. The Netherlands has been on the forefront of drug legalisation and the recreational usage of it. However, the sta-tistics have shown that these are not the countries with the most users. France, the United Kingdom and the Baltic states have far more users. The data is the evidence for the need of a pan Euro-pean legalization. The three nations with proven track records can lead the way. They should provide the base for all the laws. One should bear in mind the motto of the EU: ‘united in diversity. Each nation has the exact same laws, but the sovereign states will be allowed to adapt and implement the laws differently. When the EU cooperates and pursues a common goal things can be changed. The drug cartels can be hampered. The EU will then be able to live up to the expecta-tions of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Local populations in non-member states can be helped, the repressive Mexi-can Cartels and the Taliban will suffer a major blow.Having a common drug policy is vital

for the future of the EU. The supernatu-ral organ should face the facts and help its citizens. The quality has to be con-trolled. Moreover the future generations have to be educated about the risks and the positive sides. Only then will they be able to make a decision. With the US changing its policy, the EU should again be the example for them.

“The population is and will be using drugs. Instead of focus-ing on prosecution, the prod-uct should be made safe. Then the EU will be able to moni-tor the quality of the product sold. The regulation of the quality will make it safer for

the users.”

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282828

The world stood at a standstill. The end had come. The Doomsday was here.And then it passed. This, of course,

is a scenario that has been repeated many times throughout history. Romans believed their city would be destroyed in 634 BC, 120 years after the founding of Rome. Upon the coming of the second Millennium, the Pope himself predicted that the rapture had come. Even Martin Luther predicted a specific doomsday, as did Christopher Columbus. Perhaps the most persistent Doomsday manifacturer in the modern age, Harold Camping, has publically predicted six different raptures, revising the date as each one failed to transpire. And all of us are aware of the Mayan Doomsday predic-tion for December 21 2012. All of these predictions, and the multitude of other

apocalyptic predictions, have one thing in common: none have actually occurred. And yet, these predictions continue to be made – with their frequency and convic-tion stronger than ever.The phenomenon is at its most basic

simply explained by human curiosity. Similarly to the way religion of some kind is a common theme across the cul-tures of the world, humans tend to look to find sense in the world, to understand why they exist and when this exist-ence may end. In fact, religion is one of the primary motivators of apocalyptic predictions. Of the predictions mentioned above, all but one gain their inspiration from religion. The reasons for being at-tracted to religion and doomsday predic-tions is similar: both offer a sense of pur-pose and even belonging. Here it is key to

note that the vast majority of those who believe in either religions or apocalyptic predictions are not the ones “behind” the predicitons; they merely hear someone preach it and follow suit.This, though, is where these predic-

tions may become problematic, even dan-gerous. Case in point: in 1997, Marshall Applewhite’s cult reached its zenith. Founded in the 1970s, Heaven’s Gate was a UFO religion based in California. Its members believed that earth was going to be “recycled”, and thus they had to exit it in order to survive. Ultimately, this meant that the members of the group (for the most part) committed suicide on 26 March 1997. Thus, a simple, harm-less doomsday prediction had led to the – completely unnecessary – death of dozens. Similar results may occur and

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indeed have been documented in other cases as well.Although these potential fatalities are

the most dramatic results to occur from false predictions, they can be argued to be a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. There are two major issues that have a far greater impact: unnecessary expenses and indoctrination. In fact, the latter is perhaps the main reason for the suicides; they are symptomatic of it. Regarding the former, one key exam-ple stands out. Upon the dawn of the third millennium, a global meltdown of computer processes was predicted. It was presumed that communication and data storage could not cope with the necessary new encoding methods to be adapted. As a result, a frantic flurry to fix mostly im-

aginary problems occurred. The total cost of the measures taken has been estimated at US$ 405 billion, a simply silly cost for something like this.On the matter of indoctrination, the

most notable thing is the influence lead-ers of doomsday cult leaders may have over their followers; the prediction of a doomsday, together with the promise of salvation, is a powerful compelling factor. Additionally, many cults, such as the Heaven’s Gate cult, also double as re-ligions. The impact of this, together with the disappointment of the predictions be-ing false, can have a devastating effect on the followers of these cults. It also grants a disproportionately high amount of power to the cult leader, the exploitation of which is criminal in its own right.

And of course, all of this really boils down to the recent 2012 frenzy, origi-nally arising from the Mayan doomsday prediction. This prediction, though, was fundamentally misinterpreted: the Mayan end of the world did not signify an apocalypse, but the start of a new astronomical cycle for Earth. However, the frenzy seen for this prediction was rather different from what was seen with many others. The public rethoric of it was mostly satirical – people understood that its relevance was, ultimately, a com-mentary on those who believed it. This, then, is encouraging in terms of public understanding for doomsday scenarios and their realism.


MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

by Victoria Lampe

PERIPHERY OF THE DAYRiikka Koskinen, talent of the day and

the committee on EMPL II’s journalist, has a talent many EYPers must envy. She has perfected the art of staying awake. Even if she is sleeping on the inside, her eyes will be open and focused, fuelled by pure willpower. Riikka thinks she was born with the peculiar talent, and that it has been honed during the eight EYP-sessions she has previously attended. When asked what it is that keeps her

awake, she states that it is the embarras-ment of falling asleep at unfavorable times that does it. Outside the EYP, she uses her talent for surviving long days at school, but now she does not have any other use for it. However, it should be

mentioned that as Riikka does not like coffee at all, she manages to stay awake without any caffeine at all. Must be that Finnish stamina. Other skills that Riikka possesses in-

clude an intense Gollum-interpretations, and excellent drawing skills. Riikka loves any movie starring her favourite British actors, Simon Pegg and Bill Nighy, and will watch any series that include British accents.

Joensuu 2013 – the 19th National Sessionof European Youth Parliament Finland

is supported by

European Youth Parliament Finland has received funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture and

the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 2012.

European Youth Parliament Finland – EYP-Finland ry

Hämeenpuisto 17–19 A 10, 33210 Tampere

http://www.eypfinland.org

[email protected]

Documents

the Periphery - Issue 4