Itaca

Més lluny, heu d'anar més lluny
dels arbres caiguts que ara us empresonen,
i quan els haureu guanyat
tingueu ben present no aturaar-vos.
Més lluny, sempre aneu més lluny,
més lluny de l'avui que ara us emcadena.
I quan sereu deslliurats
torneu a començar els nous passos.
Més lluny, sempre molt més lluny,
més lluny del demà que ara ja s'acosta.
I quan creieu que arribeu, sapigueu trobar noves sendes.

Some things should be taught at school

"Todos los hombres sois considerablemente estúpidos. Hasta los más listos lo sois. Y no soporto eso. Detesto que se acuesten conmigo pensando en quién se acostó antes, o quién se acostará después."

Football, friends and caipirinhas!

Portugal lost against Germany and is out of the UEFA Euro 2008. Croatia, the Netherlands and Italy too. Now, everything will be decided between Germany, Turkey, Russia and Spain. When it all started, two weeks ago, who would have said that these would be the four semi-finalists? I wouldn't. Actually, even just one week ago, my own guess included one out of these four teams only: Spain. Many people, including many of my friends, will say that this is somehow a denial of the beautiful game, as the teams that are generally considered to play better football don't win. This was already the case four years ago when Greece won. I have to say that I disagree. It is of course a pity that the best teams don't win - especially when one of them is the one I support -, but isn't exactly this the beauty of football? The fact that it is not an exact science, possible to predict? I think it is. And there's always something magical about « small » teams winning! Except in the case of Germany, of course...

But football, even when our teams lose, is always a good excuse for gathering friends around a TV set and, preferably, some nice food and many beers. From this point of view; the UEFA Euro 2008 is being a huge success! I've been spending lots of time with many dear friends, and that's really nice. Yesterday, saying farewell to Patricia was the excuse for another nice dinner and yet another excursion to Canoa Quebrada! And, as it happened last week, the party was all night long, and the sun was waiting for us at the exit, after many hours of samba, sweat and great caipirinhas! Today, when I woke-up, the caipirinhas' effects were still there... that, and the fact that I needed to do something that I would have preferred not to, prevented me from enjoying what I am sure was a nice barbecue at Waterloo. And, as if that was not enough, I managed to spoil the evening of someone I care a lot about... and that makes me feel bad... Of course, I didn't do it on purpose and I would give everything to undo it... but, as it is often the case, I only realise this when it is already too late... as another friend taught me once, experience is what allows us to recognise a mistake after making it again... so, no, I guess I will never learn and need to keep apologising instead...

One new week is about to start, and I can only hope it to be a better one. I trust it will.

Make it youthful

I spent the last two days in Strasbourg, trying to convince Members of the European Parliament to sign a written declaration calling on the European Union institutions to listen to young people when developing policies that affect them, underline the cross sectoral nature of youth policy, and ensure genuine dialogue with young people and their organisations. A written declaration is a text on a matter falling within the European Union's sphere of activities, and is used by MEPs to launch or realunch a debate on a subject that comes within the EU's remit. If the declaration is signed by a majority of the MEPs, it is forwarded to the President and included in the minutes. If it is not signed by a majority of MEPs, the declaration lapse after three months. Submitted by five members from five different countries, and four different political groups, on April 21, this declaration needs to be signed by 393 MEPs before July 24, in order to be successful. When the week started and we arrived in Strasbourg, 200 MEPs had signed it; today there were 249 of them. Not bad, but maybe not good enough...

Running after the MEPs and trying to convince them of why they should sign the declaration or simply begging for them to do it, is not pleasant, not very efective and rather tiring. The European Parliament is a huge complex, the almost 800 MEPs sit in different buildings with several floors and many corridors, and the declaration needs to be signed at a certain place within certain periods of time. Some MEPs are nice and understanding, and they listen to you even when they don't support your ideas and therefore don't intend to sign the declaration; others try to be nice (and get rid of you fast) by promising that they will sign it, even though they will never do it; the worse ones, however, are those who deny their own basic status as representatives of the citizens, by refusing to even listen to you and doing it in rude terms. And if you're thinking os someone specific, I am sorry to inform that they can be found in all political groups and come from every country...

The exercise can be very frustrating, for these and many other reasons related to the EP and its procedures; but what is more frustrating for me is to see that this would be much easier if everyone would take their responsibilities seriously and put the necessary personal and organisational efforts needed to perform the tasks they took and, in some cases, even asked for. Soon we will know if this declaration will be signed by the majority of the MEPs or not. The aim is, of course, to achieve this majority and, therefore, it is obvious that the outcome will influence greatly the evaluation that will be done afterwards. But, regardless of the final result, I hope that the YFJ will be able to learn lessons from the process. Because, as it happens very often in people's and organisations' lives, the way can be more important than the final destination...

Europe à la carte

Friday wasn't a very good day for the European Union. The results of the referendum in Ireland were announced and, together with them, a new institutional crisis... the only member state organising a referendum to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon said NO and we're once again back to where we were three years ago, after the referenda in France and the Netherlands... I hope that this time leaders understand that what the EU needs is clear, strong and trustworthy leadership, instead of plans B, C or D! What citizens want is delivery, instead of debate; and motivating projects of change, instead of business as usual. The problem is that people like Mr Barroso or Mr Pöttering will never understand that... and will always prefer the status quo that allowed them to obtain their positions, to a serious project of reform and progress.

On the other hand, the UEFA Euro 2008 keeps producing good news. Germany lost against Croatia, Italy wasn't able to beat Romania, and France was smashed by the Netherlands. I guess you can call it Robin Hood's complex, but I always enjoy seeing these big countries losing against smaller teams! And, anyway, looking at the quality of the footbal played, I think that it would be totally fair to see Portugal, Croatia, the Netherlands and Spain playing the semi-finals. Let's hope for justice to prevail, at least in the Europe of football!

I was supposed to travel to Brazzaville tomorrow. As the PYU Congress was postponed, I won't go to Congo after all... which makes me a bit sad, because I was really looking forward to it... anyway, I can use some rest and some time in Brussels, and plan to use it the best that I can. Last night I went for a very nice evening out with the gang, which started with a lot of spare ribs and continued with even more caipirinhas and samba! We had a lot of fun, and it reminded me of the fact that being in Brussels can also be nice. Therefore, I will stay without regrets and will start planning for the next weekend and, even more important, for summer holidays! First in Portugal and with Francisco and, then, in the first days of August, with whomever comes up with the best suggestions!

Friday 13th

The day off in Oslo was very nice, and on Tuesday I even went for a run, which I hadn't done for almost one month and made me very happy. Yesterday was even better, as Portugal won its second match in the UEFA Euro 2008 and is therefore through the quarter finals. But today Brussels woke-up as if it was mid-December, really grey and wet, and it remained like that for most of the day... I know that this is a rainy place and that we need to accept it and get used to it... but the calendar says that summertime starts next week, and it is really frustrating to see that Brussels seems not to give a shit about it! As if the bad weather was not enough to put me in a bad mood, I spent the entire day running from one meeting to another... and, as if the cake still needed a cherry on its top, I found out, when leaving the office, that all my contacts had vanished from my cell phone... Someone will have to explain me what happened, and should be glad not to be anywhere close when I found out about this annoying fact... So, while my friends in Lisbon were partying and celebrating St Anthony's, I spent the entire evening copying all my contacts to my cell phone, once again... and now I will go to sleep, hoping that tomorrow will be a better day... although the calendar says that tomorrow will be the real Friday 13th...

Norwegian Summer

Attending a Bureau Meeting isn't always easy... Remaining focused for so many hours in a row, discussing things when most of the times we already know the outcomes, based on papers that we already read, and taking decisions that will be implemented by others, isn't always funny... if on the top of all this, the meeting is taking place in a city where we are for the first time ever, the sun is shining over a deep blue sky, the temperature is more appropriate for spending the day by the seaside, and internet connection is not working, the motivation drops down to dangerously low levels... No further comments.

On the other hand, Oslo has been a really nice surprise and my stay here a really pleasant one. Oslo isn't a big city, and that's nice. Moreover, its geographical situation, bordering a fjord and built up from the seaside to the mountains, its several and quite big parks, its donwtown area with calm streets and cosy squares, its well-functioning network of public transports, its posh shops and restaurants, its interesting mix of cultures and races, and its attractive and beautiful people, make Oslo an almost perfect place to live in. For someone coming to visit from abroad, the outrageously high cost of life is certainly a downside, but with the sunny and warm weather that it offers these days, Oslo won a well-deserved place in the Top 5 of my favourite cities in Europe.

Yesterday evening, after an almost burned steak eaten at high speed in a nice terrasse, some of us ran to the other side of the city to watch the second half of the inaugural match of Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2008, against Turkey. It wasn't easy to find a place to watch the match, but the place we found was full and, based on the reaction of the crowd to the goals scored by the Portuguese team, it was full of Portugal's supporters. It's kind of flattering to feel this kind of support so far away from home and, of course, it was nice to see Portugal winning! I hope the trend will be kept over the next few weeks!

In a couple of hours the meeting will be finally closed. Then, I will be able to enjoy the nice weather, the sun and, hopefully, the sea. I hope to be able to enjoy the company of my colleagues in a slightly more relaxed environment too. I feel kind of sad when I see that the inter-personal relations are harmed by our work-related discussions. For a group who was offered such a wonderful starting point, it is quite disappointing to see how much we eroded this capital of respect and trust among us. I take my part of the responsibility for this, of course, and I am not proud of it, for sure. On the contrary, I feel very frustrated about it. I have given a lot to the Youth Forum these years, and my conscience is light in this sense; on the other hand, I think that I could still give a lot more over the year to come, but, unfortunately, I have the feeling that the needed motivation is lacking. Motivation is a two-ways-track though: if this lack of motivation can be explained by personal and internal circunstances, some of its sources are obviously external too... and part of the frustration is due to the fact that I feel a bit alone in this reflection. As a good friend would put it, soon will be time for a new challenge for me too... God knows how much I am looking forward for it!

Earth Attacks!

Cities & Eyes 5

When you have forded the river, when you have crossed the mountain pass, you suddenly find before you the city of Moriana, its alabaster gates transparent in the sunlight, its coral columns supporting pediments encrusted with serpentine, its villas all of glass like aquariums where the shadows of dancing girls with silvery scales swim beneath the medusa-shaped chandeliers. If this is not your first journey, you already know that cities like this have an obverse: you have only to walk a semi-circle and you will come into view of Moriana's hidden face, an expanse of rusting sheet metal, sackcloths, planks bristling with spikes, pipes black with soot, piles of tins, behind walls with fading signs, frames of staved-in straw chairs, ropes good only for hanging oneself from a rotten beam. From one part to the other, the city seems to continue, in perspective, multiplying its repertory of images: but instead it has no thickness, it consists only of a face and an obverse, like a sheet of paper, with a figure on either side, which can neither be separated nor look at each other.

Misplaced

Here I am, once again back in Brussels. The weather was nice when I landed, but now it has rained and the streets are all wet. Anyway, not even the nice weather would have been able to change my mood tonight... I wanted to have stayed longer in Lisbon! Everytime I go back, I get reminded of how much I like it and enjoy being in there... The weather was nice and that helps, of course; but spending time with my son, and actually tasting the flavour of being part of his normal daily life, beats everything else! And then, there are also my friends, so many of them; the jacaranda trees blossoming; the narrow cobblestone streets; the views over the river; the Bairro Alto and its restaurants and bars; the nice food and the cheap drinks... and even the Rock in Rio festival! Lisbon is the most beautiful city in the whole world, and the one I will always give priority to when chosing where to live next. But now I am back, and tomorrow will be back in the office and to the hundreds of things on my « to do » list... then, on Friday, I will go to Oslo, for the Bureau meeting. It will be my first time ever in Norway, and I am really looking forward to it. Next month I will be back to Lisbon and Portugal, for real holidays! The countdown starts now!