SGA votes to change Greek Life funding

In its last meeting of the semester, the Student Government Association passed a resolution on Tuesday that allows Greek Life to apply for unlimited funding. Previously, the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association, National Panhellenic Council and ...

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Review: Neraki Greek Mediterranean Grill is a gem in Huntington, New York ...

DigitalJournal.comReview: Neraki Greek Mediterranean Grill is a gem in Huntington, New York ...DigitalJournal.comAll one needs to do is to take a drive towards Huntington's 273 Main Street, where they will find Neraki Greek Mediterranean Grill. On April 26, I had the privilege to dine at Neraki in the heart of Huntington, New York. It is a family-owned restaurant ...

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An Eptanesian citizen

Alekos Dessyllas studied Civil Engineering at the University of Padova, Italy and holds a Doctorate in Hydraulic Engineering.  He served for many years as an engineering projects supervisor at the prefecture of Corfu. He has been elected in the constituency of Corfu for 2 terms as a member of the Greek Parliament, has participated in the Local Government (Prefecture of Corfu) and held the position of the managing director of the Corfu Port Authority, SA. Now he is participating in the May 2014 elections for the Council of the Ionian Islands Region, heading the ‘Movement of Eptanesian Citizens’.

What prompted you to pursue the position of Head of Ionian Islands Region?

The outgoing Regional Authority, which was headed by Spyros Spyrou, a medical doctor, lacked the specialized knowledge and relevant experience in planning, financing and implementation of major development projects. This resulted in the Region of Ionian Islands taking the last position among the 13 Regions of the country in terms of utilising EU funds under the NSRF, Community Initiatives and other programs .

In these difficult economic and political times for our country we need rapid development of our region and the creation of new jobs. I could not remain indifferent and inactive to the lack of initiatives for these requirements. No effective use was made of the available funds for basic infrastructure, and the opportunities offered by the global market for financing through the internationally accepted concession contracts known as  “Build Operate & Transfer” (BOT) were not taken.

Do you think the Eptanesian People will trust you and will vote for you?

Yes. I absolutely believe this. My past contribution to the administration and management of public affairs gives the electorate the chance for a positive assessment. I think that my experience as a technocrat and politician and my European culture guarantee for me.

I was appointed manager of the Corfu Port Authority company and in my five years service I took it out of the red transforming it into a profitable business with an average annual growth rate of 18.46% and doubling of its turnover. The shipping Minister Manolis Kefalogiannis stated at the Greek Parliament that “the Corfu Port development plant should be a model for the development of all the ports in our country”.

Two safety tests by Inspectors of the European Commission were carried out with absolutely positive outcome. In 2009 EU Commissioner Danuta Hubner publicly stated her pleasant surprise about the progress of utilisation of EU funds for the deliverance of basic infrastructure projects.

The successful implementation of security measures, operational and administrative interventions resulted in the huge growth of cruise ships visiting Corfu and gave a significant boost to the local economy.

I believe that my role in upgrading the international port of Corfu into a safe, modern and profitable facility will be seen positively by Eptanesian People. Finally I would like to mention that, during my tenure as a parliamentary representative of Corfu, I tried to strengthen the unity of the Ionian Islands and the development of our region. I compiled and submitted a special development program for all the islands in the region, aiming at alignment of the tax regime in our region to that applicable to the Aegean Islands. It was received favourably, but there has been no progress on this since. I intend to pursue this again as a regional demand due to its very significant implications on the competitiveness of our tourism industry and the growth potential for our islands.

 

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Portuguese elections for the EP: wind of change or the eternal club med?

by  António Buscardini

Every five years, the same concern: will European citizens punish national governments instead of voting for the European Parliament? From the Brussels officials the speech is more than the same: we have to reduce the gap between European Union institutions and its citizens; we have to find a way to communicate the benefits of this Union; we have to intensify initiatives such as citizens forums, citizens weeks etc. In fact, Mr. Schulz tackle the question two and half years ago by replying to Nigel Farage, UKIP’s leader: we need to communicate about and for Europe, we need to fight the creeping growing of the Eurosceptic movement. 

Opinion polls show that a vast majority of European citizens don’t understand how Europe’s structure works, neither the work done by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Aren’t they right somehow? Let’s try to answer the Kissinger question: “Who do I call if I want to call Europe?” Today, more than ever, it seems to be impossible to answer this question. We have the President of the European Commission, the permanent President of the European Council, the President of the European Council for 6 months (today we have the ironic Greek presidency), the President of the European Parliament (EP) and in the end a bunch of Vice-Presidents of the EP according to the political groups represented in the house! 

Citizens don’t and can’t understand this complex structure. 

Although, something has changed in the last three years. The countries that are under the supervision of the famous troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fond) are daily swamped by direct information from Brussels that truly affects their daily lives. In Portugal, for instance, the national policy is today totally mixed with the European policy. Portuguese citizens got to know, for the worst reasons, politicians such as Herman Van Rompuy, Martin Schulz, Guy Verhofstadt, Nigel Farage, and so on. More and more, the decisions taken by the major EU countries are taken into account in the Portuguese media. Ms. Merkel seems to be Portugal’s prime minister supervisor. Moreover, for the first time we know in advance the name of each candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission. Mr. Schulz for the PSE, Mr. Juncker for the EPP and Mr. Verhofstadt for the ALDE. They will appear in each “national” campaign for the EP.

In this framework, this year’s EP elections should be a major concern for the Portuguese political parties. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. António José Seguro, leader of the socialist party - the party that run Portugal from 2005 until 2011 - chose to deport the major opposition voices within the party:  Pedro Silva Pereira (former minister), Francisco Assis (he run the election against Seguro) and the other friends of José Socrates (former prime-minister) are the main candidates. They even dare to use the slogan “Change” for their campaign. Should the Portuguese citizens think that Seguro sent on holydays his annoying comrades? Even with the very unpopular and sometimes brutal measures taken by Mr. Passos Coelho (Portuguese prime-minister and member of the EPP), it seems that the socialists could lose this election! 

With the Lisbon treaty the EP got much more competences. Nevertheless the MEP job is still seen as an award or a political compromise within a political party in order to shut some voices. The political parties have to wake up and understand that the only way to fight the eurosceptic movement is by bringing to the EP meritocracy. We can’t be surprise with the opinion polls. According to The Economist, “anti-populists of the left and right could take between 16% and 25% of the parliament’s seats, up from 12% today”. This time if the pro-Europeans get a bad score we can’t use the usual argument: it’s not our fault if citizens don’t really understand the Brussels bubble.

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This week: Adrian Severin, Romanian (still) MEP

by  Dan Alexe

In the incestuous and byzantine world of Romanian domestic politics, Adrian Severin (60) was until recently a very rare bird: he managed, along the years, to pass through all cut-throat alleys of power without any bruises. Until recently, he wasn’t seen as one of those who bend their spine through the intricate, booby-trapped system of clientelism that forms the very nature of Romanian political life, whatever the protagonists’ party affiliation.

A Social Democrat, and a former foreign minister, he has been an MEP since Romania’s accession in 2007, leaving behind the incessant infightings, and the media-controlled political wars that rage  permanently back home. Adrian Severin managed to float above the political cesspool without as much as glancing down at its murky waves. Instead of being sucked into this, he made his way to Brussels. There, he became afflicted by what the ancient Greeks were calling “hubris”.

“Hubris” is the permanent state of mind of the hero who thinks he is invincible. The man touched by hubris is guilty of arrogant happiness. It is the feeling of impunity that brings arrogance. The sufferer of hubris, of this delusional insanity, believes that he rightly benefits from supernatural luck. He lives in a permanent state of autosuggestion. The Greeks considered this a form of madness. They knew that nothing lasts forever. In the end, the hero is doomed to fail, and he finally falls. The mental state of hubris always ends in comical disaster, usually not only for the hero, but also for those around him, who followed him and believed in him.

These people, who think they are great, fall tragically and unexpectedly, sometimes with a comical effect, so huge is the contrast between their past glory and the swiftness of their fall. 

Before being hit by hubris, Adrian Severin was one of the younger stars of the Romanian social-democratic party. Sure, he had comitet some gaffes. In the 1990s, when he was foreign minister, some funny hacks came to ask him whether he didn’t find revolting that water flowing out of Bucharest taps contained too much hydrogen, in the scandalous proportion of two atoms of hydrogen for each atom of oxygen. Promptly, Severin started a tirade against this unacceptable situation and promised that he would make sure the situation is efficiently solved... showing thus that he ignored what every schoolboy knows: H2O, the chemical formula of water. 

The incident should have made him aware of traps and on the lookout for mischievous hacks… But the person afflicted by hubris can’t believe that disaster might strike, brought twice by the same kind of people.

In Brussels, in 2011, came to him some villains from The Times, thinly disguised as lobbyists, with a ‘cash for amendments’ proposal. Severin, and two other MEPs, swiftly accepted. Grotesquely, carelessly, Severin even sent the journalists an invoice by email.

The trio was exposed, but unlike the two other lawmakers --from Austria and Slovenia-- ready to accept payments for pushing villainous amendments, Severin has not stepped down and still serves an independent MEP, after being expelled from the Social-Democratic group.

Even by Romanian standards, he is outstandingly unrepentant and unashamed. In 2012, he was charged by Romanian prosecutors with defrauding over €400,000, but he still wouldn’t resign. 

He even went on to give a lecture in Bucharest on the “myth of corruption in Romanian politics”. 

His former two colleagues who fell in the same trap have been condemned to jail in their respective countries, but Severin keeps sending to journalists press releases with his thoughts on various topics, like the situation in Ukraine, or the global warming. It could be his way of taking revenge on the press.  

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Of Greek Jews, Passover, and the Greek Media

I note that you have offered no dedication to Greek-Jews for Passover, after all, they are readers, too. Nonetheless, I welcome two articles of yours: commentaries.

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Mezedakia in Athens

Gougou Meze in Athens is a perfect place for visiting with a group of friends. The food here is simply delectable and friendly priced. Mix and match a number of delicious and well-presented traditional plates and appetizers with unique flavors, for a meal with much variety. For starters, warm and crispy handmade pita bread is […]

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