CONTENTS:
1.       A Word from the Chairman
2.       EDRC News
2.1.    Civil Society Project
2.2.    New MESA Project 
2.3.    Jean Monnet Research Project on Intercultural Dialogue
2.4.    Europe Close to You Fair
3.       News and Events
3.1.    Malta
3.2.    Europe
4.       Call for Papers
5.       Grants and Courses
 

1. A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Dear Readers,

I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I thank all those, too many to name, who have contributed to our activities in 2006. It has been full of successes and memorable events. The number of our graduates continues to grow, with many of them finding their niche in the world of work very quickly and carrying on with their careers in European Affairs. To them I say Good Luck! And Keep in Touch with the EDRC. All new Masters graduates automatically become members of the Malta European Studies Association, and we hope to see many of you at MESA events.

The first three months of the academic year have been extremely busy on the Project front. I am happy to report that the Civil Society Project for this year is going well. Work is progressing on this year’s theme of Business and Ethics. However, I am sad to report that our appeal for financial support from potential donors from the public and private sectors has not yet yielded the wished for results.  It is not fully realized, it seems, that an entity such as the EDRC is NOT funded in any major way by the University and DOES NOT receive any funds from the European Union other than PART-funding for particular projects, and that this funding has to be supplemented. If we do not succeed in convincing some of you to sponsor us, then we will in the near future be reporting on “work that might have been”, rather than on work in progress or work done. There is only one University, and only one EDRC, so if a certain type of work is not done here it will not be done at all. I appeal once again for your assistance to keep our projects going and to enable us to embark on other projects in the national interest.

Our Project with the University of Padova, on Intercultural Dialogue and Citizenship is almost completed. I attended the final editors’ meeting in Padova on the 15th December, and we are finalizing the book on this theme in preparation for a Conference and launch in Padova in March, to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the European Project.

Meanwhile, we have been successful in getting some support from the Commission for a series of Public Lectures on the Constitutional treaty, which the German Presidency plans to revive. We welcome Professor Jo Shaw of Edinburgh University, who gives the first lecture at the Radisson on the 21st December. She will be followed over the course of 2007 by other distinguished experts. Some eighty participants will be attending the first lecture, so we are in for a healthy debate that will I hope raise awareness and a clear understanding of why the German Presidency feels the need to save the substance of the new Treaty, now ratified by a significant majority of eighteen Member States.

Of course, other research and lots of teaching goes on, and I wish our students well in the coming year.

Therefore, I thank you all for your ongoing support. I look forward to further collaboration over the coming year, while wishing you, once again, all the very best for 2007

PETER G. XUEREB
CHAIRMAN
20th DECEMBER 2006
 

2. EDRC NEWS

2.1. CIVIL SOCIETY PROJECT 

The first and second Civil Society Reports and the papers of the two Conferences which have been widely circulated in CD format are now available on our website.
These are also available here:
Anti-Discrimination, Inclusion and Equality in Malta

The Family, Law, Religion and Society in the European Union and Malta

This year's Project participants who as usual come from an academic or NGO background are studying Ethics in Business in Europe and the Mediterranean.
The focus is mainly on the following four themes:
(1) Corporate Social Responsability (CSR) and Values;
(2) Corporate Governance (CG) and Values;
(3) Business and Society, with special regard (but not only) to Vulnerable Groups; and
(4) Civil Society and CSR and CG
 

2.2. NEW JEAN MONNET MESA PROJECT

"The Citizen Asks: Do We Need a Constitution for Europe?"
"Ic-Cittadini Jistaqsu: Hemm Bzonn Kostituzzjoni Ghall-Ewropa?"
Thursday 21st December 2006
N.B.: There will be interpretation English/Maltese and tea/coffee/biscuits from 5.45p.m.
The Seminar starts at 6.15p.m. and it is followed by a discussion.
Venue: Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort, St Julians, Malta
Entrance: Free

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Jo Shaw, Salvesen Chair of European Institutions, University of Edinburgh Senior Research Fellow at the Federal Trust for Education and Research, London will present the first MESA seminar in this series, with the support of the European Commission.

This Seminar will address the likely fate of the Constitutional Treaty in the short and medium term. The short term will see the German Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2007, which has been given the task of reviving debate on the EU’s constitutional question, seeking to lead the debate as an honest broker. As the Germans themselves already admit, it is very unlikely that any concrete results will be seen from this endeavour, within the six month timescale which they are afforded by the rotating EU Presidency. Thereafter, in the medium term, the task of chairing negotiations and discussions will devolve successively upon Portugal, Slovenia and France, with the notably euro-sceptic Czech Republic and Sweden taking the helm during 2009. This is the year of the next European Parliament elections, by which date prominent figures such as European Commission President Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have expressed the wish to see a European Constitution in place. This suggests that some political figures see a positive trajectory for the constitutional evolution of the European Union. Prof. Shaw will consider whether this is conceivable, likely and even desirable, bearing in mind both the political limitations of the Constitutional Treaty on which agreement was reached in 2004, the events of 2005 which led to the abandonment of the ratification process, and the current state of the European Union.
 

2.3. JEAN MONNET RESEARCH PROJECT ON 
       INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE

Prof. Xuereb met the co-ordinators of the other teams earlier this month for a final discussion of the papers and the publication before going to the printers.  It is planned that the University of Padova will publish the book in time for the Conference which will conclude the Project at the beginning of March 2007.

2.4. EUROPE CLOSE TO YOU FAIR

The European Documentation Centre participated in the Europe Close to You Fair which was organised by the European Commission Representation in Malta from the 9th to the 11th November 2006 at the City Gate, Valletta, Malta.
Other participants in the event included: Culture & Media, EUPU,
EURES, Euro Info Centre, Euro-Mediterranean Youth Platform
Europe Direct, European Consumer Centre, European Parliament,
Forum Malta Fl-Ewropa, FTZ, MCST, Ministry of Education,
NARIC, NECC, and SOLVIT.  Activities during the event included visits by school children, Q & A Sessions, and debates.

3.NEWS AND EVENTS

3.1. MALTA

"Corporate Social Responsibility:It's not what you think it is"
Annual Public Policy Lecture and Get-together 
Date: 18th December 06 at 1830hrs
Venue: Erin Serracino Inglott Hall, University of Malta
The Department of Public Policy is organsing its Annual Public Policy lecture and get-together for staff, students, former graduates and friends of the Department of Public Policy. The highlight of the event will be a talk by Mr Gene Gretchen Vice-President and Managing Director Malta of ST Microelectronics who will speak on "Corporate Social Responsibility: It's not what you think it is ". 
 

"International Taxation Conference"
Malta Institute of Management
Date: 19th January 2007
Venue: Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort, St Julians
The aim of this Conference is to provide participants with the most recent developments on the interpretation of Double Taxation Conventions.  The Conference is of particular interest to all those working in the field particularly government officials, academics, consultants and users such as SMEs.
Early booking recommended
E-mail: mim@maltamanagement.com
 

"International Conference on Small States and Economic Resilience"
Date: 23rd to 25th April 2007
Venue: The Foundation for International Studies, Valletta
This Conference is orgarnised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Islands and Small States Institute of the University of Malta. The programme of the conference has been drawn up so as to cover the various aspects of resilience building, including its measurement. The aim of this conference is to identify and propose suitable policies for economic resilience building in small states and to explore ways in which the Resilience Index could be operationalised.
Read more
E-mail: resilience2007@um.edu.mt

Links to Newsletters of other EU-Info Centres in Malta:
Culture 2000 - Cultural Contact Point Malta
Euro-Info Centre
Europe Direct 
EUPU
 

3.2. EUROPE 

European Information Networks and Outlets for Citizens overseen by the European Commission
The Commission finalised the latest update of the "ECN Working Group IV" paper listing all the Commission networks and outlets for the citizens in the EU25.  The list provides information about each of the twenty three members of the network established in every member state, and a link to their website.  This initiative is one of the measures the EU is taking in its aim in communicating Europe.  The services are there and citizens are making use of them as shown in the latest Europe Direct Report, in which a remarkable increase in the use of the service was noted. 
Commission Networks and Outlets for Citizens

The European Commission launched an online questionnaire on modernizing Labour Law 
Statistics have shown that the number of part-timers in the EU is increasing, compared to a slight drop in full-timers.  This is complemented by an increase in definite contracts and a decrease in permanent, more stable jobs.  Therefore the Commission is concerned about job security and is involving the citizens of Europe in an online public consultation process, open until 31st March 2007.
Online Public Consultation
After the public consultation, the Commission plans to issue a follow-up Communication in 2007 taking into consideration the main policy issues and options identified in the responses.
The questionnaire is also available in print:
E-mail: empl-labour-law-green-paper@ec.europa.eu

Training Seminar: Dealing with Diversity
Venue and Date: Netherlands 16th-21st February 2007
Deadline for submission of applications: 15th January 2007
The aims of this course are:
- to develop the ability of youth workers to use the Youth in 
  Action Programme as a tool for influencing groups of young 
  people in dealing with diversity in society in a positive way
- to develop the ability of youth workers to postively influence 
  intolerant groups or groups that have difficulty in dealing with 
  diversity
- to stimulate participants in developing new Projects within the
  framework of the Youth in Action Programme in all the actions
- to present the Youth in Action Programme as a tool for raising
  personal and international competences
Read more
E-Mail: youth.eupu@gov.mt
 

Training Seminar: BiTriMulti
Venue and Date: Turkey 21st - 25th February 2007
Deadline for submission of applications: 29th December 2006
The aims of this training course are:
- to provide a first international experience
- to train in Youth in Action Project Management
- to provide information about Youth in Action Programme and 
   especially about Youth Exchanges
- to develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitude to 
  organise a Youth Exchange
- to give the opportunity to meet possible partner groups and to 
  make contacts with different countries 
Read more
E-mail: youth.eupu@gov.mt

Training Seminar: "Appetiser"
Venue and Date: United Kingdom 27th April - 1st May 2007
Deadline for submission of applications: 9th February 2007
The aim of this seminar is to give a strong positive first experience of international youth work and motivate participants to use the "YOUTH" Programme.
The seminar is designed according to the following objectives:
- to taste non-formal and intercultural learning;
- to enjoy the first intercultural youth project experience;
- to exchange local youth activities in the international context
- to explore possibilities of support available for international 
  youth activities offered by the Youth Programme; and
- to analyse examples of qualitative youth projects supported by
  the Youth Programme
E-mail: youth.eupu@gov.mt
Application Form
 

Conference: "Mesentente Cordiale? Franco-British views on Europe’s global role"
Oxford University, United Kingdom
12-13 May 2007
The aim of this symposium is to discuss the EU's role in the world seen from the prism of Franco-British relations. 
Panel subjects include:

• France and Britain: sSurs jumelles, frères ennemis ?
• The crisis over Iraq: what went wrong? And what lessons?
• China and East Asia: temporary or structural divergence?
• Framing a common narrative: the EU as a post-colonial power
• Defining external relations: Superpower Europe? Britain, France and the future of the West

4. CALL FOR PAPERS

"Fiscal Policy Challenges in Europe"
Berlin, 22-23rd March 2007
Deadline: 20th December 2006
This is a Conference organised by The Federal Ministry of Finance and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).  The Conference will feature a number of keynote speakers from academia, international financial institutions and policy authorities.  The two main topics of the Coneference are:
(1) Quality of Public Finances, Fiscal Reform and the Lisbon Objectives; and
(2) Public Sector Efficiency and Performance
E-mail: hauptmeier@zew.de
Read More
 

"Exchanging Ideas on Europe: Common Values - External Policies"
UACES
Portsmouth, UK
Conference: 3rd to 5th September 2007
Deadline: 15th January 2007
UACES particularly encourages the submission of panel proposals for the research sessions. 
There will also be plenary panels at the event looking at:
1)  EU / Africa (including speaker Gorm Rye Olsen, Roskilde University)
2)  Human Rights and Religious Values in Contemporary Europe (chaired by Prof Andreas Follesdal, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights)
3)  JCMS Annual Review Lecture. 
Read more
E-Mail: sedavis@uaces.org

"European Values: Visions of Union and Competing Voices"
A Themed section of PORTAL, Journal of Multidisplinary International Studies (July 2007)
Edited by Dimitris Eleftheriotis, Murray Pratt and Ilaria Vanni
Deadline: 31st January 2007
This special themed section of PORTAL reflects on the EU's move toward (re-) discovering, establishing, and promoting shared cultural values.  The issue seeks to unveil the historcal contexts and traditions in which current inventions of cultural identity occur.  The issue also aims to discover and listen to competing voices and visions - be they cultural, social, political, textual, collective or other that give different shape to Europe and its models of union, commonality, belonging and value.

Contributions may come from practitioners in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Cultural Studies, and International Studies.
Contact: Dr Murray Pratt
E-mail: Murray.Pratt@uts.edu.au
 

"States, Non-States, and Supra-States: Who's Sovereign Now?"
SAIS Bologna Center Journal for International Affairs
Deadline:16th February 2007
The 2007 Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs welcomes all innovative arguments for how sovereignty is defined in the twenty-first century, as well as forecasts for sovereignty's role in such global governance issues as the environment, civic participation, public health, and poverty alleviation. In an era of challenges to nation-state primacy, who is sovereign now?

Territorial sovereignty emerged from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and the new international system's doctrine of non-interference in the governance of other nations offered a framework for improved cooperation toward peace. Over time, evolving domestic priorities and relations among states redefined political sovereignty: absolute monarchic rule gave way to autocratic sovereignty in some countries and to popular sovereignty in others.

Today, corporations span the globe, international organizations enjoy substantial visibility, and most armed conflicts begin within sovereign nations. Who dominates in the new international system? Is it the nation, the international community, or other non-state actors? What are the terms of dominance?  Does legitimate sovereignty require complete exercise of control, or the maintenance of certain values? How do global financial institutions, humanitarian aid organizations, and terrorist groups challenge sovereignty and shape the parameters of international order today?
Read more
E-Mail: bcj07@jhubc.it
 

"Image and Identity in Contemporary Europe"
University of Wales
Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom
7-9 September 2007
Deadline: 31 March 2007
The beginning of a new century, and even more so, that of a new millennium, inevitably promotes the reassessment of certain values and beliefs, as well as a revisiting of the past. This is particularly the case when this pivotal point coincides with political and economic changes, such as the establishment of new governing structures and parties. The expansion of the EU and the re-emergence of regionalisms have stimulated reflections on issues of identity, citizenship, nationality and globalization. This interdisciplinary conference will focus on how individual states (or national groups within states) perceive themselves and/or are perceived by others since the Second World War. 

Speakers should address one of the following areas:

• Identity and Nation-building; or
• History and Memory; or
• Symbol, Image and Translation

“Theory of “the International” today”
London School of Economics and Political Science
London, United Kingdom
October 2007
Deadline: 15 April 2007
Some questions relevant to the topic include:
• Is there a need to re-conceptualise ‘the international’ in the first decade of the 21st century, or will the old concepts such as “international society” and international system” do?
• If de-facto hierarchical structures of authority exist among juridically-equal states, what is their impact on international relations?
• Are comparative methods to theorise ‘the international’ to be preferred over systemic ones?
• What triggers reconceptualisation of ‘the international’ in the 21st century?
A selection of the conference papers will be published in Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol. 35, No. 3.
E-mail: millennium@lse.ac.uk 
Read more
 

"Space and Time in World Politics and International Relations"
Russian International Studies Association (RISA) 4th Convention
MGIMO University
Moscow, Russian Federation
23rd-24th September 2007
Deadline: 15 April 2007
The following are some of the research questions:

• What is the meaning of “Modernity” in world politics and international relations and how “modern” are they?
• What makes contemporary politics global? How is its unity in space and time achieved?
• Is the dynamics of spatial and temporal changes in the contemporary world subject to influence?
• What is the significance of geopolitical factors in contemporary world politics?
• What new fields of world politics are being born as a result of globalization? (Transnational, supranational, geo-economic, cross-cultural, etc.?)
• When and how do the “windows of opportunity” for radical changes in world politics appear?
• What are the possible scenarios of global political dynamics?
• Do cycles exist in world politics?
• What are the spatiotemporal parameters of contemporary international crises?
• Is there a common vector of global political development?
• What role does simultaneity of political processes play in the development of today’s world?
• What is the place of Russia and other countries (regions) in contemporary spatial and temporal system of political coordinates?
• How can countries that are on different stages of development interact and understand each other?
• How does the temporal factor affect the processes of foreign policy planning and taking decision-making in the context of the acceleration of changes?
• What are the spatial and temporal configurations of modern international organizations, alliances, coalitions?

“European Unity and Division: Regions, Religions, Civilisations”
Monash University Prato Centre, Prato, Italy in collaboration with the European University Institute
25th-27th September 2007
Deadline: 30 April 2007
The aim of the conference is to explore the complex and changing relationships between the sources of Europe’s diversity, with particular emphasis on long-term historical dynamics, but with some reference to present constellations. Recent events have highlighted the ambitions and difficulties of an integrative project that aspires to transcend long-standing cultural or geopolitical boundaries. The debate on divisions has moved beyond an initial focus on states and nations. It is now widely recognized that the making of Europe can only be understood as an intercivilisational process. 
Read more
 

5. GRANTS AND COURSES

Masters in European Business and Transport Law
Consortio E.T.L. European Transport Law
The following are members of the Consortio:
- Alitalia;
- Autorita' Portuale di Trieste;
- Ferrovie dello Stato;
- Sea Aeroporti di Milano;
- Gruppo Coeclerici;
- Grimaldi Compagnia di Navigazione Aeroporti di Roma; and
- Alenia Aeronautica.
The Masters degree is organised by the E.T.L. Consortium and the Faculty of Law of the University of Udine.  The aim of the course is to train students to a new awareness of community regulations regarding business and transport law, and to train experts capable of communicating with the European Commission.  The course instructs thirty graduates, preferably in law and related subjects slected on the basis of their qualifications and an entrance exam, in the use of the regulatory instruments of Community law with regard to transport, free competition and market access. 
This year the Consortium reserves three free places for students coming from new EU member states and being able to comprehend Italian and English languages.
E-mail:consortio.etl@alitalia.it
Read more
 

International Trade Law Course
University Institute of European Studies, Torino, Italy
29th March - 22nd June 2007 
This is conducted in conjunction with ILO's International Training Centre in Turin for a limited number of law, economics and business administration graduates. It examines the economic, legal, financial, monetary, fiscal and technological aspects of international trade. Particular emphasis is placed on trade with Eastern Europe, the developing countries and the Far East, as well as trade within the European Union. The course lasts three months and is held in English. Some grants are provided for partial coverage of the living expenses of students. 
E-mail: tradelaw@iuse.it
Read more
 

N.B. If you want to include an activity in the next newsletter kindly send an e-mail to doris.mangion@um.edu.mt

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