EU cu cine votez? European elections 22-25 May 2014 (for dummies)

This time is different? Your vote counts!!! How come?

because based on our votes it will be decided the president of the European Commission!

Under the slogan "Act. React.Impact" you can find all the details on the official website: http://www.elections2014.eu

If you are in doubt (eg. eu cu cine votez?) there is an online tool that will help you to decide: MyVote2014. It's an ingeniuos calculator that will help you to find the party that best represent you by proposing 15 questions (that were already debated in the European Parliament in the last 4 years) and by matching your answers to the political positions of the MEPs and of the european political parties. 

Try this tool, it's great!

This is what you need to know:

• 32 Romanian MEPs need to be elected in 2014
• we need to vote on Sunday 25 May 2014, anywhere in Europe! 
• we vote the national party of our choice
• the national distribution of votes per party will determine the number of parliamentary from each Romanian party to become european MEP
• at european level, the votes of each party are aggregated based on the political family the parties belong and the party or the alliance that has majority proposes the new President of the European Commission!!!
• Principalii candidati la sefia Comisiei Europene: Jean-Claude Juncker (gruparea de centru-dreapta), Martin Schulz (socialistii), Guy Verhofstadt (liberalii) si Jose Bove (verzii)
• who are the Romanian candidates and the parties
• Who are the most active MEP (see the activity report)
• Where you can vote in Bruxelles
• the Romanian electoral law

deci, hai la vot, neamule'

OPEN access for internet service suppliers and BAN roaming fees

Two major legislative acts were approved by the European Parliament.

MEPs want clear rules to prevent internet access providers from promoting some services at the expense of others. EU telecoms regulator BEREC reported that several internet access providers were blocking or slowing down services like “Skype”, which is used to make phone calls over the internet.

Internet access providers would still be able to offer specialized services of higher quality, such as video on demand and business-critical data-intensive “cloud” (data storage) applications, so long as these services are not supplied to "the detriment of the availability or quality of internet access services" offered to other companies or service suppliers.

MEPs underline that internet access should be provided in accordance with the principle of "net neutrality", which means that all internet traffic is treated equally, without discrimination, restriction or interference, independently of its sender, recipient, type, content, device, service or application.

MEPs also amended the text to ban “roaming” charges (extra fees for using a mobile

phone to call, send text messages or access the internet in another EU country) anywhere in the EU as of 15 December 2015.

Join the STARTUP manifesto movement

Vice-President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes has created The Startup Europe Leaders Club — an independent group of founders in the field of tech entrepreneurship who provide guidance on strengthening the business environment for web entrepreneurs in Europe.

Drawn from the combined experience of dozens of Europeans who were lucky enough to imagine, build and grow successful businesses — businesses that created thousands of jobs — they have distilled 22 actions which, taken together, can give European businesses the best chance of future success.

The members of the Leaders Club, an independent group of founders in the field of tech entrepreneurship, have launched the Startup Manifesto campaign for entrepreneurial excellence (pdf). You can sign the Manifesto.

Do we want to improve Europe, or give it up?

This week EC president Barroso delivered the 4th State of the Union Address in the European Parliament, and what is being called the Case for Europe.

"My answer is clear', he continued: 'Engage! If you don't like Europe as it is: improve it!

As any human endeavor the EU is not perfect. Controversies about the division of labour between the national and European levels will never be conclusively ended. 

Not everything needs a solution at European level. Europe must focus on where it can add most value. It does not have to meddle where this is not the case. 

The EU needs to be big on big things and smaller on smaller things."

The key messages are ready for your dissemination and/or debate!