Just when stability seemed closer than ever, last month saw alarming Eurozone statistics – for the first time since 2009, the Eurozone found itself in economic recession.
In December 2008, EU leaders agreed on a €200 billion stimulus plan to help boost European growth following the global financial crisis, which obviously impacted on Europe significantly. However, by November of 2009, investigations were being made in to debts of EU member states. It was revealed that Greece had fallen in to debt of €300 billion, 113% of it’s GDP.
From then on, Greece’s …

The decision to postpone a vote on the implementation of controversial EU quota legislation has been largely welcomed on all sides. Proponents hope that a delay will allow them time to bolster their vote whilst opponents feel that a victory is in sight.
The proposition by EU justice commissioner, Viviane Reading, to accelerate the rise of women at board room level has prompted widespread debate. Her current suggestion is to create a minimum requisite of 40% female non-executives across all EU public listed companies by the year 2020. Ms Reading’s proposal …

Last Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prestigious Peace Prize to the European Union – a choice that has sparked intense debate worldwide. Controversy of this magnitude has not surrounded Oslo since Barack Obama became a Laureate in 2009, the main point of contention being the EU’s dangerous proximity to a bloc-wide economic catastrophe. The understandable criticism being levied at the committee is that awarding a peace prize to the Union is redundant, as the mounting pressure of the debt crisis is likely to fray relations both within and between member …

The Board at a National Session consists of the President of session, who is in charge of guiding the direction of General Assembly and Teambuilding and the three Vice-Presidents who are responsible for aiding the President throughout the session. The most obvious role of the board is to guide committees through General Assembly by chairing the debates of each committee. Each board member takes turns chairing each debate; this is more difficult than it looks since the board must try and make sure that the opportunity to speak is divided …

The role of a Chair at EYP is an exciting one. It is no surprise that being in a room with 14 strong minded and opinionated teenagers is quite a daunting prospect for anyone, however at a National session, that is precisely what happens. Each delegate is placed into a group containing themselves, 13 other strangers and their Chair. The role of a Chair is to use a variety of ice breakers and teambuilding games to effectively ensure that what starts out as a room full of strangers, ends with them becoming a room …

I’m sure many of you will have a good idea of the job of the jury during the session. The principle of EYP is to offer a forum for constructive debate for the youth of Europe on matters that affect the whole of Europe. The jury is looking for a team that they feel will be able to truly represent the country at an international session. Do not be afraid to share your views. Be keen. Be passionate.
And most of all, have fun! The Jury at the Autumn National Session 2012 consists of …

The Press Team at the National Session have the role of documenting the session for the delegates. During the session you will see us creeping around with our cameras, but don’t worry, that’s our job! We will be taking lots of photos and videos of you all with a view to involving the delegates in order to create a lasting memory of the session. In the next few days, you may notice the introductory
articles on the session topics that will appear on this website; we hope that these will enhance your knowledge of the …

1 in 7 – the number of people in the world who are living in starvation. In a world where compassion takes the backseat to globalisation, this statistic is alarming to all. However, even more alarming may be that it is in balance with the number of youths in Europe who are overweight, also 1 in 7. The obesity rates in EU member states has more than doubled in the past 20 years, leaving adulthood obesity at 50.1% and childhood obesity at 14.2%. Despite our ever-growing deficit and debt, we …

   The past few years have seen increasing calls for the reform of both the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. As far as the Court of Justice is concerned, serious problems are emerging. It is overburdened with the sheer volume of cases that it has to review and the protracted length of proceedings. Even the French language regime means lengthy translation is needed at each stage of the legal process.
   There is also much need for reform in the European Court of Human Rights. …

Turkey’s accession to the EU has been a long and painful process that, unfortunately, does not seem to be getting any easier. In 1999 Turkey gained Candidate Status for the EU at the Helsinki Summit, and up to 2004 large steps were made by Turkey to fulfil the Copenhagen Criteria, which are the criteria which define whether a country is eligible to join the EU. Turkey successfully fulfilled the political section of these criteria to allow accession negotiations to begin in 2005. It was acknowledged that Turkey would be, politically …