25 January 2003

Reflections on EU Meeting on Employment and Social Policy, Nafplio. The below short paper that I wrote last night is my account of what took place in Nafplio during the EU meeting on Employment and Social Policy. [Words: 1,433] Today, Friday 24th of Janurary, a meeting of 22 European ministers takes place in Nafplio, Argolida, Greece. The Informal Ministerial Council of Labour and Social Affairs of the European Union, chaired by Dimitris Reppas, Greek minister of Employment and Social Policy, is expected to lay the ground for the synthesis and implementation of the European Employment Strategy which will come in effect for the next three-year period in the European Union and which will be agreed during the Greek Presidency, in the Spring Council of the E. U. on the 21st of March this year.   Cynicism and scepticism centred on the actual implications of the meeting abounds. Several distinguished public figures have expressed their concern that street riots will bring the city to a halt, and as a consequence local shop owners and the likes are terrified of observing their individual fortunes vanishing into thin air while being unable to protect their belongings from the collective fury of the campaigners. Not to forget, police forces will be omnipresent too. The police force comprising of more than 2,000 fully armed men will make sure that order prevails and the meeting does not spiral into chaos. But that’s not the real issue. The voice that such demonstrations of detachment will bring a light of shame to the otherwise intact image so well crafted and orchestrated by the Greek government during the last year was also echoed, albeit not in such a great fanfare. The usual suspects are all there: public policy officials, anti-globalisation activists, NGOs, European Social Forum and Greek Social Forum representatives, slackers of all kinds, business punters and political speculators. READ MORE 4:31:57 PMSay it loud  []