The EU is currently battling with the most severe crisis in its recent history. The social consequences for European citizens are dramatic. The European Union has put in place a series of initiatives to try to curb public deficits, commonly referred to as austerity measures. The solutions currently proposed - a policy mix of spending cuts, raising taxes and structural reforms - are exacerbating the crisis. What will the social consequences be if Europe continues down this path?
The European Union is significantly stepping up the surveillance of its external borders. Three policy proposals are currently on the table: the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR), „Smart Borders“ and EU-PNR. They are geared towards curbing irregular migration and terrorist threats by turning the Mediterranean Sea into a zone of heavy surveillance, by establishing one of the biggest fingerprint databases in the world and by increasing the surveillance of all passengers crossing EU external borders.
As Europe continues to experience a serious economic and social crisis, as Euro zone instability continues to increase there is an urgent need to discuss the options available to the EU to exit the crisis while also ensuring sufficient democratic accountability and scrutiny for Europe's citizens.
This symposium will conclude a series of Media pluralism-related events organised in the UK in the aftermath of the Murdoch case. The organisers have decided to give the media pluralism issue a pan-European touch by organising the event in the Brussels hemicycle.
