If you vote, others won’t be able to chose for you
You’re a nice person, you trust people and people certainly know what’s good for you. Just let them pick some decent politicians… You’ll feel good.
*
*
*
*
If you vote, it will look as if you feel responsible for what’s going on in Europe. You certainly don’t want to feel responsible, do you? Nooooooooooooo, get me the remote control!!
*
*
*
*
If you vote, the EU parliament will have more legitimacy. More what? Legitimacy, it means that the EP can make laws because people want them to make laws…

But it’s always easier to say they are crap because they were elected by 30% of the people. Too bad for them, buhahahahahahaha!
*
*
*
*
So stay at home, watch a movie, be happy… or keep complaining.

The pic we used has the fancy name
“The European institutions: the European Parliament – the voice of the people”

It belongs to the EC and can be downloaded from here:
http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/download/photo_download_en.cfm?id=14030&type=4

Related posts:

1. Moving street target There are various reasons why we decided to have a blog on Europe, sorry… on the EU. We thought that writing a blog must be a cool thing. And it’s cool indeed! “Writing to the world” corresponds more or less to our paternalistic aspirations. In fact, teaching ignorant people how the EU works makes us [...]...
2. Why Barroso-bashing serves EU democracy This week, José Manuel Durão Barroso, the former and now also future President of the EU Commission, has been reelected with a narrow absolute majority vote in the European Parliament. But his reappointment has been far from uncontroversial: Not only did four major political groups in the Parliament, namely the Socialists, Liberals, the Greens and [...]...
3. Brussel, ma belle! A tourist talking to a local in Brussels: - Little boy, does it always rain in your country? - I don’t know, sir, I’m only eleven. This joke tells a lot about the weather in Belgium. Perhaps it doesn’t rain that much in this country, but the weather here is often gray, cloudy, gloomy, sunless. Yes, we often [...]...

This conference forms part of a series of Strategic Dialogues on the political, economic and security relationships that Europe is building internationally. Held during the 60th anniversary year of the People’s Republic of China, the event will examine how policymakers in Brussels and Beijing see the new global order and what obstacles remain in the way of EU-China links comparable to those across the Atlantic between Europe and the US.

Where: Bibliothèque Solvay, Brussels.

When: Tuesday 19th May, 2009.

Speakers include: Aurélia Bouchez, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, NATO ; Robert Cooper, Director General for External Economic and Politico-Military Affairs, Council of the European Union ; Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy ; James Moran, Director for Asia at the European Commission Directorate General for External Relations ; David O’Sullivan, European Commission Director General for Trade ; Véronique Roger-Lacan, Deputy Director for Strategic Affairs, French Ministry of Defence ; Zhe Song, Ambassador, Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the EU ; May-Britt Stumbaum, Fritz Thyssen Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University ; Jian Yuan, Vice President, China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

Registration and Programme: http://www.securitydefenceagenda.org/

Related posts:

1. Conference on the Power of Europe Title: The power of Europe, affirming the EU as a global actor. Where: Egmont Palace, 1000 Brussels. When: 7th and 8th of April. Registration: send an email to conferences@egmontinstitute.be Programme: http://www.egmontinstitute.be/news/09/090507-Power-of-Eur-Prog.pdf ...
2. Obamania: European collective hysteria! Europeans think that the 44th president of the USA will call a halt to the unilateral and bellicose decisions of the only one superpower. They hope in particular that Barack Obama will adopt a foreign policy centered on the multilateralism. Actually they wish that America takes better the european opinions...

Title: The power of Europe, affirming the EU as a global actor.

Where: Egmont Palace, 1000 Brussels.

When: 7th and 8th of April.

Registration: send an email to conferences@egmontinstitute.be

Programme: http://www.egmontinstitute.be/news/09/090507-Power-of-Eur-Prog.pdf

Related posts:

1. Europe and China / May 19 This conference forms part of a series of Strategic Dialogues on the political, economic and security relationships that Europe is building internationally. Held during the 60th anniversary year of the People’s Republic of China, the event will examine how policymakers in Brussels and Beijing see the new global order and what obstacles remain in the [...]...
2. Conférence sur le Parlement Européen Titre: Le Parlement Européen, un parlement comme les autres? Lieu: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bâtiment S, Salle Dupréel, Avenue Jeanne, 44 – 1050 Bruxelles Horaire: 29 Avril 2009, 09h-19h30 Plus de renseignements sur: http://www.iee-ulb.eu/pdf/82_6.pdf ...

There are various reasons why we decided to have a blog on Europe, sorry… on the EU. We thought that writing a blog must be a cool thing. And it’s cool indeed! “Writing to the world” corresponds more or less to our paternalistic aspirations. In fact, teaching ignorant people how the EU works makes us feel intelligent.

Nah, we actually don’t know how it works: nobody does! But we felt we could share a few clever thoughts with you. In fact, we know some stuff ‘cause, at the end, we’re studying in the capital of Europe and it happens that some Euro-technocrats give us courses. Yes, they do give us courses! As if they were not getting enough shekels, man! Perhaps, they need to teach stuff in order to feel useful. Just kidding, my dearest professors. I appreciate your hmmm… hard work.

More seriously, our idea was to make “uninterested people from the street” the blog’s  main target group. You know, Europe is fascinating but – sorry but I love this useful expression – people from the street (ALL THESE POOR PEOPLE WALKING PURPOSELESS IN THE STREETS OF THEIR CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES) just don’t know how enthralling Europe is. They simply don’t know. As Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgium’s most famous philosopher, would say: “ils savent pas, les pauvres, they are not aware”. Ignorance irritates us.

And we were sure that the under-informed Mr. Smith and Mme Dupont from the street would be delighted if they had a chance to read our blog. Instead of using their soles walking aimlessly from one corner of their street to the other, Mr. & Mme should get a seat, grab a MacBook and learn how Europe works. Yes, we were hoping they would finally leave their avenues, boulevards and cul-de-sac, go home, type www.nicetomeeteu.com and let the EU imbue their mind.

There are actually so many people in the streets who don’t know how diverting and interesting Europe is. As you can see, our target group is quite large. Here’s where our main problem pops up: the marketing issue. We actually can’t really reach the guy in the street. The only way people find our blog is through Google (via tags) or YouTube. The rest is family, friends, friends’ friends, friends’ friends’ friends, etc… Believe us or not, but we have good stats. A relatively high number of internet users visit our site daily but we kind of know these are no “people from the street”. I suppose they are EU lovers. Yep, we’re mostly getting EU sweethearts here! Why is it so?

Like all political parties, EUTube and even Barack Obama, nicetomeeteu.com is confronted with the same notable communication problem: the principle of selective exposure. It means that people will always tend to go to websites that contain information they’re already familiar with. You’ll avoid visiting sites that will say something that doesn’t really correspond to your expectations, opinions or knowledge. That’s why a Europhobe with some self-esteem won’t bother watching YouTube clips explaining EU policies. He simply knows this is “EU propaganda”. At the same time, an eager “defender of the EU” will find it difficult to devote a couple of minutes to listen to someone complaining about the “undemocratic character of the EU”.

So what about us? We can’t do anything about the fact that people are very limited in the choice of their information sources. This is why I’ll suggest to my co-editors either to stop being too idealistic and merely concentrate on the “EU-veterans” or to start a street campaign for our blog. In fact, if people are not eager to spot a new information source, the source should spot them. The campaign could involve a BBQ and an ukulele concert on the Schuman round-about (which is in the middle of the European district), coupled with a distribution of free water and flyers containing the internet address of the blog. Sounds compelling.

And how about making a nice YouTube vid of the street campaign involving our readers? If you live nearby Brussels, send us an e-mail to contact@nicetomeeteu.com with your name, age, phone number and a short motivation letter stating why you would like to take part in the pioneering marketing campaign in the streets of Brussels. You’re also encouraged to attach a picture to the e-mail. It’s not that we won’t take you if you’re ugly. You might simply do another job, not involving your face being visible in the clip. The applications will go through a harsh selection procedure consisting in the members of the panel (blog editors) randomly choosing the most suitable solicitations. Financial contributions are also very welcome.

We’ll keep you posted. For the time being, enjoy our blog and feel free to share your thoughts with us.

[The above pic belongs to the EC and can be downloaded for free from here: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/photo/photo_thematic_en.cfm?id=012491]

Related posts:

1. No summer break – But a fresh start for NiceToMeetEU As you might have noticed, our blog has been been granted a face-lifting. But this should not be understood as an attempt to simply please your eyes, but rather to tease your mind. Our aim: Let’s focus on the essential! NiceToMeetEU is becoming more up to date, more personal and thus more blog-like. We will try [...]...
2. Don’t vote or… Don’t vote! If you vote, others won’t be able to chose for you You’re a nice person, you trust people and people certainly know what’s good for you. Just let them pick some decent politicians… You’ll feel good. * * * * If you vote, it will look as if you feel responsible for what’s going on in Europe. You certainly don’t [...]...
3. Superpower vs. fake vodka A Polish candidate in the EP elections, Bogusław Sonik, decided to follow Mr. Obama’s and Mr. Sarkozy’s example by going on-line during his campaign. Surprise, surprise: Mr. Sonik posted some clips on the video-sharing website… YouTube (ever heard of it…?). Sure, the use of YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc. is becoming common practice when it comes to [...]...

Europeans think that the 44th president of the USA will call a halt to the unilateral and bellicose decisions of the only superpower. They hope in particular that Barack Obama will adopt a foreign policy centered on the multilateralism. Actually they wish America to better take into account the European opinions about the management of the world affairs. And as much as possible without dividing Europe as Donald Rumsfeld did during the beginning of the current Iraq war.

Europeans think that the Obama administration will cooperate with the EU by trying to avoid stiring up European diplomatic cacophony. This way the USA would encourage the EU to play a greater political role in the world. What would reinforce and facilitate the construction of political Europe which seems a little incomplete. Only future will tell us if theses hopes will be carried out…

Nevertheless, I think that these hopes are completely disproportionate! The belief that Barack Obama incarnates a deep change appears obvious for the USA but it seems exaggerated when it is generalized to other countries. I think that the relations between the USA and the EU member states will not change radically.

In my opinion, Barack Obama will not let easily the EU (or even the UN) thwarting the American intentions. He defends the concept of a war against terrorism and he wants to increase the American military presence in the Middle-East to fight the Talibans. Thus I have the impression that he disapproves of the European foreign policy which is rather pacifist. Therefore I think that the co-operation of the EU and the USA as regards foreign policy will remain difficult. I believe Barack Obama will cause directly (or even indirectly) only very little change in Europe. So dear European friends, I wish you welcome in continuation!

Etienne

Related posts:

1. European self-denial? I’ve been reading an extremely stimulating book in the last days, “L”Europe chrétienne?” (“A Christian Europe?”) by Joseph Halevi Horowitz Weiler. I have to admit that I still have a few pages to go but I couldn’t wait to share my first impressions with you… In fact, sharing is a truly Christian virtue, isn’t it? To [...]...