In the run-up to the European Parliament elections, courses on migration issues are being held

Inese Steinert – Vatican

“We hoped that Europe, which was founded on promises of peace, would no longer have to experience wars. However, at the borders of Europe, it must be said – inside its living space, terrible wars cause bloodshed and destroy everything that could ensure the protection of human dignity,” said Italian President Sergio Mattarella, marking 80 years since the destruction of the city of Cassino. The Italian head of state emphasized that the dramatic cycle of terrorism, violence, enslavement of the other must be broken.

The organizers of the courses remind that the European Parliament elections will be held for the tenth time in June this year. The war in Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the crisis in the Red Sea, the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, financial market fluctuations, the environmental crisis and the difficulties of the energy transition, territorial disputes between North and South, East and West, the lack of balance in the world, as well as populist and neo-nationalist movements growth is increasingly complicating relations between countries, including the relations of countries with the European Union, exposing its institutional structure, principles and common values ​​to discussions.

Where is the Europe that the founders of this community wanted? The community that was founded on the principles of freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law, on the pillars of promoting peace and stability – ask the representatives of the “Astalli” center and Gregoriana. The presentation note of the course points out that the European Union cannot find a balance between the values ​​on which it is based when it comes to asylum issues. The note says: “Between the lack of reforms and practical action needed to solve the problem of drowning at sea, between attempts at aid and control, the externalization of borders, the gray area left by an ineffective system, individual European Union Member States are adopting individual policies to deal with migration flows, putting national interests against the demands of solidarity, the only result of which is to complicate and make the entry of migrants more painful.”

What will Europe be like? More guns, less migrants and less “green” politics? This is what the representatives of the Jesuit-run institutions – the Astalli Center and the Pontifical Gregorian University – ask, while waiting for the European Parliament elections scheduled for June. The courses they offer will be free of charge and will take place on the premises of the Pontifical Gregorian University. The first course will be led by the president emeritus of the Constitutional Court, Giovanni Maria Flick. The theme of the course will be “The Evolution of the European Dream: Looking to the Past to Assess Europe”. The second course will be called “Europe facing electoral tests: challenges of the international scenario”. It will be led by Angela Mauro, a journalist and Brussels correspondent of the Huffington Post. The third course will be dedicated to “Transforming Europe between migrations and climate change”. Its management has been entrusted to Luca Chinciripini, a researcher in the “European Union, Politics and Institutions” program of the Institute of International Affairs. A certificate of participation will be issued at the end of the course.