European Quarter in Strasbourg

18 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  5 minutes

European Parliament © Jose Huwaidi/cc-by-sa-4.0

European Parliament © Jose Huwaidi/cc-by-sa-4.0

The European Quarter is spread over an area covering the districts of Wacken, Orangerie and Robertsau in the north-west of Strasbourg, France, and comprising the intersection of the River Ill and the Marne-Rhine Canal and has held the European Heritage Label since 2015. The first specific European building in the area was the Council of Europe‘s Palace of Europe in 1949, with the Rhine Commission being located towards the centre of the city. The European Audiovisual Observatory and the Institute for Human Rights are the only institutions in the quarter to have moved into pre-existing premises: a 1900 villa and an 18th-century former postal relay station and inn turned conventual building, respectively. The Arte headquarters, previously disseminated on several buildings across the town, were united in a single spacious building close to the Louise Weiss building in 2003.   read more…

The European Union: 2019 European Parliament election

27 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  47 minutes

(Latest update: 9 March 2020) From May 23 to 26, 2019, the European elections took place. By far the biggest surprise is that, despite Brexit, the United Kingdom took part in the elections because the country voted to leave the EU by a very small majority, but ultimately was not able to find the exit in time. The motto “Brexit means Brexit” is obviously not as easy to implement as the Brexiteers falsely propagated before the referendum, because the political camps define the exit very differently, making the inner-British process of exit preparations look grotesque, comedic, outrageous, outlandish to ludicrous and leaves the country deeply divided. Although it has been reported more frequently that participation in the United Kingdom’s European elections could be seen as a second Brexit referendum, it is more likely that the British outside Greater London used the election as a “rage vote” to slap the Tories and Labour for various reasons, while the biggest liar on the part of Brexiteers, Nigel Farage (besides Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and others), emerged as the winner of the election. A result that is just as unbelievable as the entire Brexit preparations on the part of the British.   read more…

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture

3 August 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Design & Products, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

© europa.eu

© europa.eu

The European Union Prize for Contemporary ArchitectureMies van der Rohe Award is a Prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, “to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe”.   read more…

The European Union: Institutions

8 July 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  30 minutes

The Politics of the European Union are different from other organisations and states due to the unique nature of the European Union (EU). The EU is similar to a confederation, where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable of making law; however the EU does not, unlike most states, control foreign policy, defence policy or the majority of direct taxation policies (the EU does limit the level of variation allowed for VAT). These areas are primarily under the control of the EU’s member states although a certain amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take substantial actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. EU laws that override national laws are more numerous than in historical confederations; however the EU is legally restricted from making law outside its remit or where it is no more appropriate to do so at a national or local level (subsidiarity) when acting outside its exclusive competencies. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence.   read more…

Europe’s capital Strasbourg

22 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  12 minutes

Palais Universitaire © Jonathan M

Palais Universitaire © Jonathan M

As a European capital at the crossroads of Latin and Germanic world and seventh largest city in France, Strasbourg has a unique architectural heritage. Located on the banks of the Rhine, the city, whose center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, look back on 2000 years of history. Strasbourg combine tradition and modernity, and can be explored by foot, by one of the many excursion boats, by tram or by bike. The food, wines and beers are also among the highlights of the Alsatian capital. Strasbourg is an art metropolis, whose past, carved in stone, is still present for the most parts. Every quarter, every building has made a harmonious witness to a remarkable city history, which celebrated its 2000 year anniversary in 1988.   read more…

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