Tag: culture

The separatist flag of Catalonia – with its yellow and red stripes, blue triangle and white star – was a rare sight on the streets of Barcelona a decade ago. Now, it is almost ubiquitous.

An employee who was asked by British Airways to remove a Christian cross from around her neck has won a religious discrimination case at Europe's human rights court but three other claimants lost similar cases on Tuesday (15 January).

The European Central Bank unveiled yesterday (10 January) a new 5-euro note, with warmed colours and better protection against counterfeiting. For the first time, it also carries the name ‘Euro’ written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and displays a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology.

A deal on the 2013 budget, voted by the European Parliament yesterday (12 December), plugs a hole in the EU's finances for 2012 and removes uncertainty about funding for the Erasmus student exchange programme next year, the European Commission said.

Dutch writer Luuk van Middelaar and Germany’s Rolf Bauerdick are the winners of this year’s European Book Prize.

The results of the Catalan elections of November 25 show that a majority of Catalans are likely to vote in favour of independence in case a referendum is organised. However, this majority is not very ample and suggests that the high expectations that were put on these elections by national and international media were exaggerated, writes Joan Marc Simon.

The European Parliament has agreed to cut part of its translation service, in a bid to shave its budget by some €8.6 million per year.

Although the English language plays a central role in today's international business environment, workers in many countries are still struggling with basic communication skills, according to a new report.

The Motion Picture Association, representing the largest US film producers, has told EurActiv it is joining with the European film industry to pressure Google on piracy.

Closing the loopholes in tax laws that unfairly benefit Google must be clearly distinguished from the discussion of possible support to the ailing press, writes Jan Malinowski.

Qatar's recent admission to the club of French-speaking nations, the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), was met with scepticism in some quarters. But OIF administrator Clément Duhaime says the Gulf state has demonstrated its commitment to the French language.

The EU and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization have signed an agreement unprecedented in terms of its commitment to cooperation not only in education, science and culture, but also in press freedom and human rights.

Speaking in tribute to the European day of languages on Wednesday (26 September), Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said it was a time to “celebrate” multilingualism in all its forms, but that immigrants must learn the language of their “host” country.

Plans for an EU-wide legal approach to match-fixing and money laundering in sport are under way, with the European Parliament committee on mafia and organised crime holding a debate on the issue yesterday (17 September).

More and more Spaniards are enrolling in German language courses, seen as a way for them – and their money – to get out of their country's failing economy. 

British employers trample on religious freedoms by barring staff from wearing crosses at work, requiring them to provide sex advice to gays, or to preside at same-sex civil partnership ceremonies, four Christians told Europe's top rights court yesterday (4 August).

Hungary’s tough political control of the media and cultural life has been strongly criticised across the European Union. However, a member of the Swedish nationalist political party Sverigedemokraterna (SD) says Hungary is a good example when it comes to how to politically shape culture.

Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse hundreds of protestors in Kyiv yesterday (4 July) and Ukraine's parliament speaker offered to quit after the passing of a law to boost the status of the Russian language in the former Soviet republic.

As the European Union embarks on a major revamp of its aid policies to the developing world, the Francophonie organisation believes its close ties with French-speaking African nations can help the Union with "political mobilisation" on development issues.

As the European Union considers imposing binding quotas for women on companies' boards, similar instruments should also be envisaged for media boards, argues Klaus Heeger.

The European Commission, which drafts legislation which governs the lives of European citizens, works overwhelmingly in English. However a language is not simply a neutral conduit for information and there are ways of making the EU’s administration more multilingual and representative of its citizens, argues Michel Soubies.

Thirty years on, Margaret Thatcher's' education policies have had unexpected consequences on the European Parliament's translation and interpretation services. Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez, the Spanish MEP in charge of the Assembly's multilingualism policy, explains why in an interview with EurActiv.

In a sign of growing tensions over the frozen conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia announced it would pull out of the 2012 Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan. The show, seen by some as a triumph of musical kitsch, was popular in Western Europe in the 1970s and '80s, and is now a big hype in Eastern Europe.

Despite the current gloom and doom, Europe has many reason for optimism and the cultural sector is a reservoir of hope, ideas and new economic growth, write Uffe Elbæk, Danish Minister for Culture, and Androulla Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.