LIVER OR DELIVER?

Words are not neutral and in an exposed leading political position, there is rightly even less space. When EU Commissioner Öttinger pretends that he was just frankly speaking about Chinese and same sex marriage and other issues in a speech delivered in Hamburg, his excuse was that he spoke just “frei von der Leber” (free from the liver) which is the German wording for speaking from the heart. Can this be considered as an excuse? Probably not, because then there is no conscious on what such expressions may mean, the weight of wording.

This incident came just at a time when Öttinger was about to become in charge of the budget, a key responsibility within the Commission. Even if there is no doubt on his competences on the matter, competences have to come along with social competences and respect for differences. This is matter of political maturity. Already some voices are rising calling for him to be dismissed which would be the clearest and cleanest solution. Probably the culture of bad compromises will allow him to stay member of the “most political of all Commissions” as its President formulated when taking office.

It is often forgotten that the EU has delivered on anti-discrimination although not at the level we would have expected. Considering discrimination as a cultural expression (humour) does not make it any better. It is even more than collateral damage on image and perception. It is on the credibility to stick to European values and acquis of the Commission. It is also a matter of credibility for a German Commissioner whose party has contributed to unleash discriminatory speech at the beginning of the Greek crisis and pointing with the finger to those “who do not do their homework”. With the rise of populism we cannot accept such deviation as it would give even credibility to the discriminatory talk of populists and extremists, which Commissioner Öttinger is certainly not. Breaking taboos means breaking barriers and dives. Therefore it is serious and far from a joke.

An American friend once told me “German humor is no laughing matter”. If there would be need for proof, in this sense Commissioner Öttinger has delivered it!

SOLIDAR NEWS

SOLIDAR CONDEMNS THE DETENTION OF THE HDP LEADERSHIP IN TURKEY
We are deeply concerned about the detention of the leaders and Members of Parliament of the People´s Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey. SOLIDAR joins the international calls for the immediate release of Selahattin Demirtas, Figen Yüksekdag and many other legally elected Members of Parliament of the HDP. In addition, SOLIDAR calls for the release of unlawfully held journalists and civil society activists who have the courage to stand up for democracy and pluralism. In arresting representatives and spokespersons of the people, the Turkish government is abusing its power and is completely disregarding the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and freedom of speech as basic principles of democracy as well the rights of the opposition. These detentions are a next severe attack on Turkish democracy, led and implemented by the Erdogan government.

SOLIDAR IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE VICTIMS OF SUNDAY’S EARTHQUAKE IN CENTRAL ITALY
On 30th October Central Italy was hit with another earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6. The epicenter of the quake was in Norcia reaching the areas of Preci, Norcia, Visso, Ussita, and the entire area between Amatrice and Tolentino. About 20 people were injured. SOLIDAR Italian members Arci and Auser local branches, « circoli », are organising several fundraising events all over Italy to support the victims of the earthquake that rocked central Italy in August and again, last Sunday. Among the activities are: Solidarity dinner on 3 november organised by ARCI Savona and Solidarity event on 20 november organised by AUSER in cooperation with the municipality of Magenta. Auser at the moment collected 105.000 euros in donations, would you like to contribute? More information can be found here.

Youth Guarantee – turning political priority into reality
In 2013 the EU Member States committed themselves to provide youth with a Youth Guarantee scheme. This “forward-looking and fundamental structural reform” aimed to provide a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months after becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. For implementation of this scheme 6.4 billion euros were set aside for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) for the 2014-2015 period.
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Open letter: The European Parliament must address the Joint Way Forward Agreement between the EU and Afghanistan
Last week more than 26 civil society organisations including SOLIDAR have address the European Parliament to express concerns about the EU plan to return, on the basis of a back door agreement, thousands of women, men and children to Afghanistan.
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Morocco: Social unrest and call for social justice
Last week, the fish vendor Mouhcine Fikri, was crushed to death in the Moroccan’s city of Al-Hoceima as he reportedly tried to protest against authorities seizing and destroying his fish. The death of Fikri sparked a heavy wave of protests in al Hoceima, as well as in smaller Rif towns, but also in Casablanca, Marrakesh and Rabat.
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UPCOMING EVENTS

Lunch time discussion on the ‘Impact of the economic crisis on youth – the Youth Guarantee a new approach to tackling youth unemployment’
Organised by SOLIDAR Foundation and NOVA-Norwegian Social Research in the framework of the NEGOTIATE research project
16 November 2016 | Brussels, Belgium
Registration

European pillar of social rights – Achieving upward social convergence with a rights-based approach?
Organised by SOLIDAR
06 December 2016 | Brussels, Belgium
Registration

Perspectives for decent future of today’s youth – Final conference of world of work for youth project
Organised by SOLIDAR and FIC
07 December 2016 | Brussels, Belgium
Registration