Preliminary Programme

On the eve of the new millennium the concept of parliamentary diplomacy gained recognition as scholars noticed the increasing influence of parliaments in world affairs. The European Parliament’s delegations are one of its most important diplomatic tools. These delegations have a dual-responsibility: on the one hand they maintain contacts with the European Union’s perceived allies and on the other hand they promote the EU’s values in the world. Today, there are more than 40 delegations, some to other states, and some to other regional organizations. This set-up is the outcome of a long process of institutionalizing relations with third countries which reflects the global geographies of the European Parliament. This paper offers a historical analysis of the reasons for the creation of the different delegations, which will provide valuable insight into the European Parliament’s view of the global structure. It discerns between three different phases in the creation of these delegations: a first phase after the first direct election of the European Parliament in 1979, a second phase at the end of the Cold War, and a third phase starting in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century. While the two first waves of delegations were strictly delegations to other nation-states, the third wave is characterized by the increased presence of regional institutions which can be an indicator of a changing world view. It seems that as the EP was gaining a stronger role within the Union, it also discovered a more complex ‘outside world’. (Show less)

Piran Bay, a tiny bay in the Northern Adriatic, figures as one of the most prominent border disputes in the area of former Yugoslavia. It is renowned for its small-scale size as far as the surface is concerned. On the other hand, it is the area which defines the Slovenian access to the High seas. Its geographical position and physical-geographical features, along with its surroundings, plays a decisive role in solving the dispute already ceded to arbitration. Apart of its geostrategic importance, the Piran bay is scenery of another battleground. An everyday life experience, here at and around the border, found itself rather troublesome. In a disputed area some five dozen people remained caught in an unusual setting of duality presumably not really knowing to which of the bordering entity to belong. Consequently, they developed peculiar strategies of being in and out at the same time.
Paralleled to these, issues of truly symbolic nature emerged over the last two decades. Both neighbouring countries laid claims to the bay solidly as a rock. Grabbing as much land and sea as possible, both pertinent foreign policies disregarded a common sense and blindly followed a rigid regulation at the expense of the locals. What’s more, both parties were and are willing to trade off people on liquid land for solid sea in order to achieve as much of the geopolitical control over the northern gate to the Adriatic ports.
The paper deconstructs a plethora of factors building up the dispute in order to show the illegitimacy hidden under the roof of legality.
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With the data set by Serge Klarsfeld, we had mapped the addresses where the Jewish children were arrested in Paris between 1942 and 1944. This website is visible with the following link: http://sig.tge-adonis.fr/Paris1942/.
There were more than 11000 children deported from France and more than 6000 were arrested in Paris. What is really clear in Paris is that the Jewish children were principally arrested in districts were the slums were very numerous. Another important point is the ratio between foreign Jews and French Jews as the police had defined them.
Now we are finishing the map of the Parisian suburbs and normally, before fall, we will have the maps for all the villages and towns of France. Then Serge Klarsfeld would like that we make the maps for all the 78000 people deported from France
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