#EUFridays by JEF Hungary #33
Hanna Velner
Nov-04-2022
JEF inaugurated a European bench in Brussels
On October 28-29 three members of our organization participated in the LevelUp event organized by Youth Forum.The event was organised in Burssels at the European Parliament. The occurrence gathered young people from all around Europe, with diverse skill and backgrounds. It was a pleasure to sit in the chairs of the citizen representatives of the European Union, to be part of such a valuable seminars and met young people with similar interests. During the program, we gained insight into the three worlds of advocacy, communication and organization. On Friday, 28 October we had the opportunity to participate in the inauguration of the European bench organized by JEF-Europe too. The Brussels bench is dedicated to the late president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, who was himself a symbol of active European citizenship. The initiative started in Italy and this aims to create a European meeting place with a European brench in every city. So far, more than 60 European benches have been built across Europe and hopefully soon there will be a European bench in Hungary as well. I dare say that this can strengthen people's sense of European citizenship.
During the holidays, a new country joined the EU
Who does not know Listenbourg? Listenbourg was born on October 30, when a Twitter user posted an edited map on the platform showing a red arrow on a non-existent piece of land attached to the Iberian Peninsula. Some people decided to take the trolling to another level, claiming the location is actually real. Later, the national anthem of Listenbourg and the national flag of the country appeared on social media. Which is a red and white flag depicting a golden eagle. Also, someone created an "official" government account for Listenbourg on Twitter, where they presented the country's passport, introduced major cities, and announced that they would join the UN, NATO, and the European Union. A channel quickly emerged on Reddit claiming that Listenbourg had its own Formula 1 Grand Prix and that its astronauts were involved in a lunar mission. Another Twitter post claimed that the King of Listenbourg, Listen XV was actually the first Sun King to go to war in XIV. against Louis for this prestigious title in 1661. This fake new, which seems far from finished, delights the community, which is increasingly amused by the imagination drawn from reality.
Russia continues to participate in the Black Sea Grain Export Agreement
Moscow announced at the end of last week that it was suspending the implementation of an international agreement on grain exports to the Black Sea. The main reason for this is that one of the drones attacking the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet could have been launched from the area of the grain transport corridor, from a civilian ship in Ukrainian or Western use. this is a very unpleasant situation for Europe because More than 9 million tons of grain left the Black Sea ports of Ukraine safely in the framework of the grain transport agreement concluded this year by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility and denies using the grain programme’s security corridor for military purposes. But thanks to Turkey mediation, Ukraine has pledged not to use the sea corridor for hostilities against Russia too. Morover the Turkish government had previously confirmed Russia's re-entry into the grain agreement: "Following my conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, grain deliveries will continue from noon today," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.So the loaded ships successfully set off on Thursday.