LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT - Março 2016

 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT          

Gozo, 24th  March 2016.

Dear Colleague, Friends,

I want to begin this issue of the President’s Newsletter to wish you a nice Easter season and vacations as well to congratulate you all for our outstanding Paris meetings.
As a new president of this association, the first thing I’ve to do is to thank my predecessor for his excellent job over the last two years and to mention that the title of “Honorary President” is well merited.  I’m happy to continue of what was his first realisation, to know this “Letter from the President”.



The Restricted Bureau is completed with Ilona Graenitz (Austria), Rune Rydén (Sweden) and Jerzy Jaskiernia (Poland).
In fact, we communicate not only with our delegates of different associations but this “tool” enable us to keep in touch with our former members or colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic.

         
French Senate, setting for the dinner. Visiting Canal St-Martin under restauration.
         

As can be seen from my submission for my candidacy I noted down that during my two years term as President, I will endower to:
a) Seek from National Parliaments the financing required for any association to be able to function properly and should be.
b) Seek as well from the Council of Europe and the European Union financial funding to facilitate our work and programmes.
c) Peruse aims with the Council of Europe and OSCE for our Members participation in monitoring and field missions.
d) Revamp communications between our members and promote our activities with the respective National Governments by means of our website.
This is an ambitious agenda. Hard and persistent efforts have to be made. Till the present time we have already received information about the respective associations financial positions and this will be followed up.
As for the status of the former parliamentarian and particularly his pension, we are working on the different pension schemes that exist for us throughout Europe.  The questionnaire was spread by the ECPRD and it takes our secretariat a lot of time to distillate the big amount of information into a report.
Moreover Mr Fourré, together with our secretariat, is working out a website accessible to everyone. May I also gently remind our actual delegates to post their C.V. to the secretariat as soon as possible so they can create your members profile.  The website is there not only for you, but is also made by you.
Well, the next “hot item” is to talk about the Arctic.  Coming from the extreme south of Europe, one would only think of freezing temperatures.  But the climate is changing.  And what about the geopolitical issues ?  Indigenous people ? Fishing ?  I really look forward learning and discussing about this in Stockholm mid-June.
One final word. Thanks to all the participants of the second VEDOVATO PHOTO CONTEST, and of course to the jury and the winner.
Yours sincerely,
Lino DeBono.



VEDEVATO PHOTO CONTEST

1. WINNER (draw) « Portuguese Sirtaki »
autor : Maria La Salete Arcas da Silva (partner of our president) – Zarco monument Madeira








1. WINNER (DRAW) : “LuISS University”
autor : FMA (European Parliament)

LUISS offers an innovative educational approach for graduate and professional studies: the LUISS Business School, the School of Government, the School of Law, and the School of European Political Economy.  Here you see President Barón Crespo as a lectorar.

3.WINNER : “Silence of the Weapons”
autor : Jose Jodar-Martinez (partner of Krist Decanniere) – VIC Vienna