J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1 7

Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence - FIU Newsletter

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E

● Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Head of the EU Delegation to the US:

Transatlantic Relations in Turbulent Times.……...1-2

• UM SYMPOSIUM: State of the Union’s .…...3

Dr. Kerstin Hamann: Cooperation and Confron-tation: Unions and the Government in Spain during the Economic

Crises………….………....4

● The UK, the Eurozone, and the World Crises …..5

● MEUCE Conference: Nationalism in a Globalize Europe….…..6-7

● Immigrant Religion in the EU .………….…...………8

● The Changing Geopolitics of Energy in Russia and the Former Soviet Union ………………….……..….9

Euro Challenge First Round…….…...10-12

● MEUCE’s Dr. Roy in Argentina and Uruguay ………………….………. 13

● Book Announcement..14 ● Announcements Contact Info……….…..15

miamieuc.fiu.edu

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Head of the EU Delegation to the United States:

Transatlantic Relations in Turbulent Times One cannot turn on the television or open up a newspaper without coming across a bombard-ment of opinions on the current global eco-nomic crises. Last month, the FIU and Miami community had the privilege and the honor to hear about this issue and other international affairs from an experienced source; the highest ranking dip-lomatic offi-cer repre-senting the E u r o p e a n Union in the U n i t e d States, Am-b a s s a d o r João Vale de Almeida (Head of the E u r o p e a n Union Dele-gation to the U n i t e d States). The M i a m i -F l o r i d a E u r o p e a n Union Cen-ter of Excel-l e n c e (MEUCE) invited Vale de Almeida to present the lecture, “Transatlantic Relations in Turbu-lent Times” as part of the Ruth K. and Shepard Broad Distinguished Lecture Series. The eminent ambassador began his lecture by discussing characteristics and factors which aid in conceptualizing today’s world as “turbulent”. According to Vale de Almeida, in comparison to the past, “this is a relatively calm period in the history of mankind…yet still these are still turbulent times.” Vale de Almeida attributes shifts and changes in power, the rise of China, free trade, and technological ad-vancements factors that altered the dynamics

that shape today’s world. With these changes, Vale de Almeida believes, have come “new security threats” which have been heightened by the financial crises of 2008, inadequacies of global governance in-struments, a divorce between public opinion and the political elite, and other factors.

The ambas-s a d o r stressed the impor tance of an U.S./E.U. collabo-ration. It is e s p e c i a l l y c r u c i a l , thinks Vale de Almeida, in facing c o m m o n “turbulences” t o g e t h e r which he stated in-cludes, risk of nuclear proliferation, terrorist at-tacks and decline.

“We do indeed live in a turbulent time” con-cluded Vale de Almeida, “they are different than earlier times, but still a turbulent time. These times require even more than ever, co-operation among best friends and we [Europeans] are America’s best friends.” After the lecture, Vale de Almeida and other important figures in the European and FIU community had a chance to discuss these ideas further at the VIP reception hosted by the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Ex-cellence and the School of International and Public Affairs at FIU. To view video, click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZH8Y_Y2eXk

By Michelle Perez

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United States

J A N U A R Y - M A R C H P A G E 2

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Head of the EU Delegation to the United States, at FIU

Ambassador João Vale De Almeida being interviewed by Euro Channel Inc. (right)

Amb. João Vale de Almeida and Hon. Countess Eva Kendeffy Ambassador João Vale de Almeida and Rui Forcada, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Miami Honorary Consul of Portugal in Florida

From left to right: Martin Palous, Christine I. Caly-Sanchez, Dr. Volker Anding, Dr. Rebecca Friedman, Dr. Nicol Rae, Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Hon. Countess Eva Alexandra Kendeffy, Metchild Ewert,

Martha Pecina, Rui Forcada, Dr. Joaquin Roy

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The Miami-Florida European Union Cen-ter of Excellence in collaboration with the Miller Center for Con-temporary Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), The Ameri-can Jewish Commit-tee (AJC) and the International Busi-ness and Education a n d R e s e a r c h (CIBER), hosted a scholarly seminar at the University of Mi-ami campus. The “State of the Union (s): The Eurozone crisis, compara-tive regional integration and the EU model” provided an opportunity to share knowledge and intellectually ex-plore the Eurozone Crisis, comparative regional inte-gration, and the EU model. The seminar featured presentations and remarks from prominent members of the EU, such as the Head of the European Union Delegation to the United States, Am-bassador João Vale de Almeida; as well as distin-guished academics and eight Jean Monnet Chairs in-cluding MEUCE’s own Joaquín Roy. Following the opening remarks given by the Ambassa-dor, the first session analyzed concepts of European identity and solidarity. In the following three sessions,

experts probed ques t i ons l i ke whether the Euro-zone proved to be a problem or a solu-tion, is the EU a role model of regional integration and de-mocracy, analyzed EU sovereignty, debt, and also re-flected on how the EU has influenced Latin America. Im-portant participants included: Markus Thiel, FIU; John McCormick, Jean

Monnet Chair, Indiana University, Purdue; Alfred Tovias, Jean Monnet Chair, University of Jerusalem; Ambler H. Moss Jr., UM; Manuel Porto, Jean Monnet Chair, University of Coimbra; George Zestos Jean Monnet Chair, Christopher Newport University; María Lorca, UM; Vivien Schmidt, Jean Monnet Chair; BU; Haim Shaked, UM; Joachim Koops, Free University of Brussels; Astrid Boening, UM; Jolyon Howorth, Jean Monnet Chair, Yale University; Ariel Armony, UM; Finn Laursen, Jean Monnet Chair, Dalhousie University; and Andrés Malamud, University of Lisbon. Rebecca Fried-man, FIU; and Joaquín Roy Jean Monnet Chair, UM. For more information and for the seminar program please visit: http://casgroup.fiu.edu/miamieuc/events.php?id=2179

By Michelle Perez

State of the Union (s): The Eurozone crisis, comparative regional

integration and the EU model

Alfred Tovias, Markus Thiel, and Rebecca Friedman

George Zestos, Vivien Schmidt, Ambler H. Moss, Manuel Porto, and María Lorca.

From left to right: Dr. Manuel Santos, Chair, Department of Economics, UM; Dr. Leonidas Bachas, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, UM; Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, Head of the EU Delegation to the U.S.;

Dr. Joaquin Roy, Jean Monnet Professor and Director of UM European Union Center of Excellence

MEUCE Lecture: Cooperation and Confrontation: Unions and the Government in Spain

during the Economic Crises

Reaching the highest unemployment rate in the Euro-pean Union in 2008, there is no question that Spain forms an integral part of the discussion on the contem-porary European economic crisis. For this reason, The Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excel-lence invited an expert to lecture on an important topic concerning the crises in a lecture entitled, “Cooperation and Confrontation: Unions and the Gov-ernment in Spain during the Economic Crisis.”

Dr. Kerstin Hamann Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida, is the current Vice President of the American Political Science Associa-tion. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Hamann has been awarded UCF's University Excellence in Undergradu-ate Teaching Award as well as numerous other college-wide teaching and research awards. Hamann began the lecture by discussing the changing role of labor unions in Europe over the past couple of decades. According to Hamann, “union density has been declining steadily in European countries since the 80s.” This decline has left unions in a “much weaker position which has led them to assume new roles.” These new roles have resulted in collective bargaining over issues of wages, welfare, and the labor market. “Governments prefer to negotiate pacts rather than to legislate,” stated Hamann. In these roles, Unions’ in-volvement in the policy-making process is not institu-tionalized but instead tied inextricably to political and economic factors. According to Hamann, the Spanish case has shown that “in some cases the success of these new roles remains contingent upon governmental preferences” and it is important to look at national variation and fac-tors that condition how unions are affected and operate during the financial crisis. It is specifically crucial, em-phasized Hamann, “to look at institutional, economic, and political factors.” When MEUCE asked Dr. Hamann what she thought was the main factor that contributed to the Spanish Prime Minister of seven yeas, Jose Luis Zaptero, to being driven out of the government in 2011, Hamann answered that it was ultimately the result of his “lack of change” in reforming economic policies rather than his implementation of radical social reforms.

By Michelle Perez

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Dr. Kerstin Hamann, Professor & Chair; Vice President, American Political Science Association, Dept. of Political Science,

University of Central Florida

Students pack GL220 to attend Dr. Hamann’s Lecture on Unions in Spain

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This last month, The Hon. Kevin McGurgan, British Her Majesty’s Consul General, was invited to FIU by the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excel-lence along with the European Studies Program to discuss, “The UK, the Eurozone, and the World crisis.” At the outset of the lecture, McGurgan gave a brief ex-planation of the challenges that face Europe today, which he said included stunted growth, increasing defi-cits, and rising unemployment. European banks hold four times more debt than the entire value of the US banking system McGurgan told the audience. “This is not the moment to try and pretend there isn't a prob-lem,” he asserted, “nor is it a time for the fear of failure to hold us back. This is a time to show the leadership that Europeans demand.” McGurgan believes that Europeans are moving in the right direction and con-tends that it is “absolutely necessary to insist that Euro-zone countries must do everything possible to get to grips with their own debt.” Throughout the lecture, McGurgan emphasized the need for the fiscal conser-vatism of Europeans. “We are pursuing an unasham-edly pro–business agenda”, he said. “When political will is there”, emphasized McGurgan at the conclusion of his lecture, “can we make a decisive difference. So we believe that Europe can recover it’s dynamism: but only if we are bold; only if we fight for

our prosperity; only if we get to grips with the debt. We must take a bold decision on deregulation, an opening of the single market, on innovation and trade and ad-dress the fundamental issues at the heart of Eurozone crises. These are the tests of Europe’s leaders in the months ahead.”

MEUCE Lecture: The UK, the Eurozone, and the World Crises

MEUCE: What is the best part of working in Miami and what post has left the most lasting impression?

McGurgan: All my postings have left some sort of impres-sion on me. I’ve lived in Miami for the last two and half years. I really love the diversity and the range of activity I get involved in; from talking at the Univer-sity this morning to promoting British trade and in-vestment, to meeting political and civic leaders and working with them on common challenges. I some-times call myself the luckiest British diplomat in the world because I live and work in Florida. My chil-dren love it here. If they are happy then I am ecstatic. They are seven and ten. They go to school here and they are learn-ing Spanish. They particular like it here because it isn't cold and it doesn't rain as often…Coming here to university this morning is great because I get to talk about things that mat-ter to me and I hope it will be interesting to the students as they are learning about the European Union, international affairs, or International commerce.

MEUCE: You mentioned that the Eurozone would require a “shock therapy” in order to recover, what do you think that would entail?

McGurgan: That all the countries of the Eurozone would need to have incredible plans for reducing their debt because it will help give confidence to the market that this may be the beginning of a global shift in economic power. is political and technical commitment It also means each country to rank competitive global shift in economic power. Coun-tries need to ask themselves very hard questions in

that they may have to put up with a decline with living standards in the EU. The price that resulting being able to sustain more jobs that might have migrated to Brazil or India, or somewhere else. That might be a price worth pay-ing rather than the alternative which is increased unem-ployment and ongoing recession with no end in sight.

By Michelle Perez

Hon. Kevin McGurgan, HM Consul General British Consulate Miami

P A G E 6 J A N U A R Y - M A R C H 2 0 1 2

Once again, The Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excel-lence (MEUCE) provided students, researchers, and members of the wider European and scholarly com-munity a rich public space for knowl-edge and the exchange of ideas on issues facing the European Union. This year’s topic, “Nationalism in a Globalized Europe”, focused on the theme of national identities and how they are conceptualized in contem-porary Europe; specifically in the face of economic, social, and cultural transformations and how this im-pacts the political landscape across the European Union. The conference was held in the Florida International University MARC International Pavil-ion on March 8-9, and was spon-sored by the Ruth K. Shepard Broad Distinguished Lecture Series. The two-day conference began on Thursday evening with the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Alberto Martinelli, Pro-fessor Emeritus of Political Sciences and Sociology at the University of Milan. Martinelli explored the chang-ing meanings of Nationalism in his lecture entitled, “Nationalism in the 21st Century: A European and United States Comparison.” After discussing the nebulous nature of

nationalism and evaluating major interpretations of nationalism in so-cial theory, Martinelli argued that contemporary nationalism in Europe is a “threat to further political integra-tion.” The economic crisis has re-sulted in a “crises of governance,” says Martinelli and this has made it “difficult to meet the serious chal-lenges facing the Western world to-day”. Martinelli went on to insist that presently, “on the one hand, eco-nomic and cultural globalization has been eroding national sovereignty, while, on the other, with the end of bipolarism in world politics, old na-tional and ethnic conflicts have re-emerged and new ones have ap-peared. Nationalism has become a key controversial research topic in social sciences.” Today, affirmed the political scientist, “there is a new awareness that na-tions and nationalism still matter [and] for this reason, it is necessary that a European wide identity does not substitute the various national identities, but grows alongside them through institutional mechanisms.” Martinelli concluded that “further po-litical integration requires effective

policies which can reduce inequali-ties among the various member states and the different social groups of European society.” A reception was held by the MEUCE following the lecture. The conference continued early Fri-day morning beginning with a dis-cussion on the historical background of the radical right and nationalism in Europe. Professor of Comparative and Euro-pean Politics at the Tuffs University, Dr. David Art, gave an historical per-spective on the rise of right-wing political parties in Europe and ar-gued that while the convictions of the radical right have not really changed since the 1930s, a lack of paramilita-rism coupled with longstanding de-mocracy in Europe cripples any power that these groups could obtain today. FIU Historian, Dr. Aurora Mor-cillo, provided historical insight into the radical right in Europe by high-lighting the case of the 20th century Spain. She discussed the civil war that tore the country apart that lasted nearly fifty years and resulted in the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and his “National Catholicism.”

MEUCE Conference: "Nationalism in a Globalized Europe"

Continued on pg 7

From left to right: Dr. David Art, Christine I. Caly-Sanchez, Dr. Douglas Kincaid, Dr. Tatiana Kostadinova, Dr. Anja Hennig, Dr. Aurora Morcillo, Dr. Markus Thiel, Dr. Alberto Martinelli, Dr. Diego Acosta Arcarazo,

Dr. Rebecca Friedman, Dr. James Mitchell, Dr. David Abraham, and Dr. Marco Martiniello

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Alberto Martinelli, Professor Emeritus of Political Sciences and

Sociology at the University of Milan

MEUCE Conference: "Nationalism in a Globalized Europe" (Cont’d)

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The second panel focused on the political realities and implications for Europeans that come with the con-temporary rise of the political right. Dr. Diego Acosta Arcarazo, law lec-turer from the University of Sheffield, gave an overview of immigration law and argued that in the case of Italy, the EU has acted as an anti-populist force in regards to insisting on limita-tion of immigration legislation and politics. Next, FIU political science graduate student, Murat Altuglu, pre-sented a “meta-level analysis” of various conceptions of nationalism; and argued that parties in Europe can be categorized as “populist, hy-brid, rightist, and typical-traditional.” Dr. James Mitchell, Professor and Head of the Government and Public Policies School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde, concluded the third panel by discussing diverging British identities and nationalities in the United Kingdom. In the final panel, scholars focused their discussion on European social and cultural realities in today’s politi-cal environment. Director for the Center for Ethnic and Migration Stud-ies at the University of Liege, Dr. Marco Martiniello, argued that multi-culturalism is rejected in public de-bate as a result of economic and social crisis and the rise of nationalist political movements. According to

Martiniello, “today multiculturalism is increasingly rejected, while at the same time diversity is often cele-brated”. Dr. Anja Henning, Lecturer and Research Associate in the De-partment of Comparative Politics at the Faculty of Cultural Studies at European University Viadrina, Frank-fort/Oder (for the Spring semester: visitor at the Centre for European Studies, University of Texas, Austin), proceeded with a comparison of Ho-mophobia among right wing parties in Poland and the United States. She argued that in both countries, homo-phobic opinions and anti-gay-rights politics are part of mainstream poli-

tics and society and are provoked by religious fundamentalism and right-wing nationalism. The conference ended with University of Miami’s Pro-fessor of Law, Dr. David Abraham’s comparison of legal provisions in Germany and the US. Abraham ar-gued that conditions for immigrants might be better off in the more unjust neo-liberal societies like the US than in advanced welfare states because of increasing austerity measures and lack of solidarity in Europe.

For more information including pro-gram details, abstracts, bios, and more please visit the website: http://casgroup.fiu.edu/miamieuc/events.php?id=2249

Panel I: What’s New about Nationalism in the EU or Here We go Again?

From left to right: Dr. Rebecca Friedman, Dr. David Art, and Dr. Aurora Morcillo

Panel II: Rise of the Right-Wing/ Populist Parties: Political Realities

From left to right: Murat Altuglu, Dr. Tatiana Kostadinova, Dr. James Mitchell , and Dr. Diego Acosta Arcarazo

Panel III: Rise of Right-Wing Nationalism?: Social and Cultural Questions From left to right: Dr. Markus Thiel, Dr. Marco Martiniello, Dr. Anja Hennig, and Dr. David Abraham

By Michelle Perez

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By Michelle Perez

Dr. Martin Baumann: Immigrant Religion in the EU

MEUCE: What inspired you to work in religious studies? Baumann: I think religious studies is a vast field to explore different cultures and how people construct their world view and their meaning sets. This is what interested me. The comparative approach to religious studies is a way of revitalizing one’s own stance and those of other societies, because you see, in other so-cieties it is a very different idea of making up meaning of building groups together like this. It becomes a fasci-nating topic but it is a huge topic with all these different areas and localities so one has to specialize in the end to gain a certain aspect and certain basis in this. MEUCE: How does integration differ within the European Union? Baumann: In the Netherlands we have this idea of po-larization…Muslim communities must build up… they have their own schools. It would not be accepted in the German concept because they believe that we should all be part of the same secular school. In Great Britain you have the idea that religion is very much of the pri-vate person and you do not inflect into this. But it al-lows for religious organizations and communities to organize themselves to a larger extent and they are not as fearful of parallel societies as they are in Switzer-land, Austria, or Germany. So this idea of the mobiliza-tion effect of religious organization is very much differ-ently viewed among the European countries. Not only of the western countries, but now in the newer EU members of the Former eastern Europe there is even more suspicion of non-Christian and non-orthodox Christian religions. They have to learn to accommodate new religious faith and minorities and see that you can

be religiously different and still be a good French per-son or good English person, or Dutch person. This idea of being religiously different but a good national of the state is a way of establishing and there a lot of differ-ences between the states. This makes it very difficult to establish common law of immigration, of recognizing religions, and things like this. There is ongoing discus-sion about this and it will continue especially with the negative discussion about Islam currently.

MEUCE: How are gender relations effected within these immigrant religious communities?

Baumann: I think they are very strongly effected be-cause women have a larger role within the religious communities and within the wider immigrant communi-ties to play. They have more abilities to work for their own. For example, we studied a Vietnamese Pagoda and we saw that this one educated woman who showed us around had a highly respected role that she would not have in the Vietnamese context. This is partly be-cause there is a shortage of religious personnel so the laity have a chance of getting involved. I think this is a way of getting more opportunities for women and some explicitly fight for it. Women also have a more inde-pendent standing in the migration and diaspora country because they often must work so they can get some earnings for the family. This working of women leads to establishing their own income and their own say in the family. This also leads to their own say in religious af-fairs, striking out to get more say in the religious com-munities, and leave their often subordinate way; which to a larger extent is an example of the emancipating and liberating force it can take on.

Early this year, the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence in collaboration with Global and Cul-tural Studies invited Dr. Martin Baumann to present his research on immigrant religious communities in Europe. A German native, Baumann received his Ph.D. from University of Hannover, Germany. He is professor of Religious Studies at the Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences at the

University of Lucerne in Switzerland. His teaching and research interests focus on immigration and religion, diaspora communities and religious pluralism, new relig-ions, and Hindu and Buddhist customs in the West.

Dr. Martin Baumann

By Michelle Perez

P A G E 9 J A N U A R Y – M A R C H 2 0 1 2

MEUCE Lecture: "The Changing Geopolitics of Energy in Russia and the Former Soviet Union"

The Miami-Florida European Union

Center of Excellence in collabora-

tion with the Global Energy

Forum invited Oleksandr Suk-

hodolia, Fulbright Visiting

Scholar at George Washing-

ton University to discuss his

work on Ukraine’s energy

security. In particular, his

work focuses of Ukraine’s

energy sector transformation

and the strengthening of

global competition for energy

resources.

Sukhodolia gave an overview

of the energy policy in the

former USSR and explained

the building if pipelines and the

reshaping of the oil sector in Rus-

sia. Former energy USSR countries

have had to deal with a “post Soviet

legacy,” which he said was “the

need to change behavioral habits in

economy and policy as well as en-

ergy infrastructural problems

through the introduction of the liber-

alized energy market and competi-

tion as a main principle of

governance.”

According to Sukhodolia, Ukraine has been the most negatively affected. “Though non wise behavior of Russia towards Ukraine was abun-dant,” he remarked, “obvious absence of commitment of Ukrainian government and local power elite for changes jeopardize future of Ukrainian energy sector as well as make more complicated European energy policy goals.” “Nevertheless,” he con-cluded, “Ukraine is a key country for securing energy

security of Europe. The future de-velopments of energy policy in Ukraine will determine energy is-sues for all Eurasia”.

By Michelle Perez

MEUCE:

Tell us a little about your experience here in the U.S. as Fulbright scholar at George Washington University. Sukhodolia:

In Ukraine, I have worked for a long time as a public servant and also have taught energy policy in a technical school. I came to George Washington

University as a Fulbright scholar on a research project. My topic is the geopolitics of energy and energy security, eco-nomics and governance of Ukraine. My experience has been very positive for me because I can see the way the Universi-ties in the U.S. work and this allows me to make presenta-tions at other universities and learn teaching strategies. The biggest problem I have faced is my difficulty with the Eng-lish language.

I am now working on an article on Ukrainian energy secu-rity and international relations in English and it is a little difficult for me. MEUCE:

How do you think the crises will effect European energy development. Sukhodolia:

Actually, I don't think it won’t influence Russian, Ukrainian, or Kazakhstan’s energy policy because Europe has its prob-lems and it has decided to restrict nuclear development they will need more gas and oil and this is what Kazakhstan and Russia expect. There could be some changes in economic conditions on the ground in different projects. Maybe there will be minor changes in construction or interest on capital and export but no real changes in policy. Actually Russia will proceed to build pipelines. The question is will the EU allow them to build the pipeline in EU territory.

Dr. Oleksandr Sukhodolia

Dr. Edward Glab, Christine I. Caly-Sanchez, Dr. Oleksandr Sukhodolia

Euro Challenge Competition in Florida: First Round

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2012

For the seventh year, the Euro Challenge Competition provided high school students with an op-portunity to learn about the Euro-pean Union, the Euro, and the Euro crisis. A program of the Delegation of the European Un-ion to the United States in Wash-ington, D.C, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Moody’s Foundation, the Euro Challenge consisted of up to 100 competing teams from nine regions in the United States. The program is supported by Credit Suisse, the City University of New York, the University of North Carolina, Flor-ida International University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Uni-versity of Illinois, Rutgers Univer-sity, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (Pittsburgh Branch), the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit Branch), George Washington University, the DC World Affairs Council, the University of Texas at Austin and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership. In the Florida Region, twelve high schools from three

different counties—Miami-Dade, Broward, and St Lucie -who were selected by the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence at FIU competed in the first round of the local Euro Challenge Competition at FIU on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. It has been 5 years that the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excel-lence at FIU is the recruiter and organizer of the com-petition. The competing schools were: Archimedean Upper Conservatory, Coral Gables Senior High School, Coral Reef Senior High School, Felix Varela Senior High School, FPW Marine & Oceanographic Academy, G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School, Gulliver Pre-paratory High School, Hialeah Gardens Senior High School, International School of Broward (ISB), Interna-tional Studies Charter High School, Miami Palmetto Senior High School, and Western High School. Each team, made up of 3-5 students, were asked to make presentations that answered specific questions about the European economy and the single currency, the euro. After having worked diligently for months, each team presented their country (one of the 17 in the euro zone), and their issue to a distinguished panel of judges. These panels were made up of European Un-ion scholars, diplomatic officers, and journalists. Continued on pg 11

“The Euro Challenge project is really one of our major outreach projects to explain to the Americans the importance econ-omy and the Euro as a currency; to make it more understandable, we are targeting high school students because we think that this is the level where they can still learn a lot and it is very helpful after-wards for their university studies. Unfor-

tunately, normally in high schools here, economics is not taught as much. I think this is a very good compliment to what the students are doing under the normal curriculum. We are very happy that there are so many schools here in Florida that are participating this year and that there is this great enthusiasm. Christine I. Caly-Sanchez is really man-aging this program very well here. We are very grateful for the participation from the schools, the teachers, the stu-dents, and from the directors of The Miami-Florida Euro-pean Union Center of Excellence.”

Silvia Kofler

Head of Press and Public Diplomacy Delegation of the European Union to the US

From left to right: Juan Jose Cogolludo Diaz, Silvia Kofler, Mihaela Pintea, Marycela Diaz-Unzalu, Alexander Behrens, Christine I. Caly-Sanchez, Hon. Simone Filippini, Christophe Arnaud,

Dr. Volker Anding, Dr. Markus Thiel

Euro Challenge Judges for the 2012 Florida Competition

On the significance of the Euro Challenge, Simone FiIip-pini, Consul General of The Kingdom of the Nether-lands in Miami, and Euro Challenge judge, told MEUCE, “I think this is a wonderful Challenge. There is not enough attention for and knowledge of how the Euro-pean Union works here in the U.S. I think that is a pity. Not only are we a very important trade block for the U.S., but we are also an important source for democ-racy and good governance as well as an important area in the world.” Mr. Hunt, teacher from Gulliver Preparatory High School, commented on how beneficial the Euro Chal-lenge has been for his students. “This has been a really exciting experience”, he stated. “The Euro Challenge has given the students an important introduction to eco-nomics, world affairs, current events, and economic his-tory. They are young. They are only ninth graders. So this has been an especially growing experience for them.”

The three winning teams will move forward and com-pete in the Euro Challenge Competition finals in New York City sponsored by the Moody’s Foundation. In ad-dition to providing scholarships, the Moody’s Foundation will also sponsor a one day trip to Washington DC for the two top winning teams to visit the Delegation of the European Union in Washington D.C., the Board of Gov-ernors of the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Interna-tional Monetary Fund.

A recognition ceremony for the all student team mem-bers who participated in the regional divisions of the 2012 Euro Challenge Competition will be held at FIU by the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence on May 9th. Prestigious members of the European Community will present the participants with a certifi-cate. ► For more information on this year’s Euro Challenge Competition in Florida please visit:: http://casgroup.fiu.edu/miamieuc/events.php?id=1705

► For more information on the Euro Challenge Competition, please visit: http://casgroup.fiu.edu/miamieuc/pages.php?id=548

2012

Euro Challenge Competition in Florida: First Round (Cont’d)

“All the learning you do in the Euro Challenge competition opens your eyes to problems in the Eurozone and around the world. It is also important because it allows you to learn about world economics and how to relate Eurozone prob-lems to the problems we are having in the U.S.”

“This is a really awesome experience for me because you learn a lot about economics throughout the whole entire process; from working with your teammates, to being able to actually evaluate all the factors that are affecting the whole Euro area right now. I love public speaking. This has really been a terrific experience, especially as a 9th grader, as someone who is just starting high school.” Ryan Grant, 9th Grade FPW Marine & Oceanographic Academy

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Marie Diaz, 10th Grade Felix Varela Senior High School

P A G E 1 1

2012

FPW Marine & Oceanographic Academy at the competition and one of the three winning teams

First Place Winner: Miami Palmetto Senior High School

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MIAMI PALMETTO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (1st place)

Allen Liu

Zishi Wu

Yujia Zhou

Haojie Zhuang

Sherry Zhang

Erick Cinco (alternate)

(Daniel Corradino, Teacher)

FPW MARINE & OCEANOGRAPHIC ACADEMY (2nd place)

Rhyan Grant

James Rhees Kaufman

Zachary Taylor

Nyah Tennell

Nathan Wyche

(Denny Dawson, Teacher)

1st round: FLORIDA EURO CHALLENGE COMPETITION WINNERS

Florida International University - March 20th, 2012

CORAL GABLES SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (3rd place)

Cristian Alonso

Roy Howie

Tia Plagata

Francesco Sautto

Eduardo Villoch

Monica Moreno (alternate)

Evan Opland (alternate

(Kathryn Landsea, Teacher)

2012

Co-Director of the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excel-lence for the University of Miami, Dr. Joaquín Roy, completed the first lecture and research tour of his recently awarded esteemed Jean Monnet Chair “ad personam,” this past year. Ad personam Jean Mon-net Chairs are teaching and re-search positions with a specializa-tion in European integration stud-ies. The prestigious honor was awarded by the European Union commission to Dr. Roy for his outstanding dedi-cation to teaching and research as professor and scholar of the Euro-pean Union. Dr. Roy conducted interviews and carried out research in Latin Amer-ica including Montevideo (Uruguay) and Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, (Argentina) throughout the month of November 2011. He also lectured on the current economic and finan-

cial crisis of the European Union and the Union’s relations with Latin America, especially the Common Sothern Market or MERCOSUR region. (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) Dr. Roy presented his work and gave lectures at multiple Universi-ties and important centers includ-ing: the Instituto Artigas del Servicio Exterior in Uruguay, ORT Univer-sity, Universidad Católica del Uru-guay, Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Buenos Aires, Uni-versidad Torcuato di Tella, and Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Law School. Dr. Roy’s presentations, interviews, and research in Argentina and Uruguay was made possible in part by the aid of think-tank directors, scholars, and MERCOSUR and EU leaders in the region.

MEUCE’s Dr. Roy in Argentina and Uruguay

By Michelle Perez

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Rut Diamint, Universidad Di Tella, and Joaquin Roy

Felix Pena, UNTREF and Joaquin Roy Embajador José Luis Aldabalde, Uruguay Ministry of Foreign Relations and Dr. Joaquín Roy

José María Lladós, Academic Director of Argentine Council of Foreign Relations (CARI)

and Joaquín Roy

Javier Bonilla, ORT and Joaquin Roy Joaquin Roy and Guillermo Stork, Camara Espanola

Dr. Joaquín Roy, co-director of The Miami-Florida Euro-pean Center of Excellence at the University of Miami, has been awarded Jean Monnet

Chair “ad personam,” this past year.

European Identity and Culture: Narratives of Transnational Belonging, is the latest book edited by Rebecca Friedman and Markus Thiel of Florida International University. The anthology provides an interdisciplinary col-lection of works that explore definitions, im-plications, and the construction of European identity and culture. As the European Union continues to push for integration, this book offers a comprehensive examination of the ever important question of what it means to be European.

Book Announcement

For more information on the book please visit the website : http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409437147

“A valuable addition to the debate about European identity, filling in many of the gaps in the meaning of the term. The con-tributors come from multiple disciplinary perspectives and offer new insights into the formation and manifestation of Euro-pean identity, with a particularly useful emphasis on the too-often overlooked role of political culture.” -John McCormick,

Indiana University

Rebecca Friedman is an Associate Professor of History and Co-Director of the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excel-lence (MEUCE) at Florida Interna-tional University. She has written and co-edited publications such as Masculinity, Autocracy and the Russian University and Russian Masculinities in History and Cul-ture.

Markus Thiel is Assistant Professor in the De-partment of Politics and Interna-tional Relations at Florida Interna-tional University. The Limits of Transnationalism in the EU ; Diversity in the European Union; and Identity Politics in the Age of Globalization, are some of the books that he has authored and co-authored.

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Imprint: Ashgate Published: May 2012

Extent: 204 pages Binding: Hardback

ISBN: 978-1-4094-3714-7

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Florida International University Modesto A. Maidique Campus 11200 SW 8th Street, SIPA 508 Miami, FL 33199

Dr. Rebecca Friedman

Co-Director, MEUCE E-mail: friedmar@fiu.edu

Christine I. Caly-Sanchez

Associate Director, MEUCE Phone: (305) 348-5949 Fax: (305) 348-6562 E-mail: calyc@fiu.edu Web: miamieuc.fiu.edu

University of Miami 101-301 Ferré Building Coral Gables, FL 33146-3010

Dr. Joaquín Roy

Co-Director, MEUCE E-mail: jroy@miami.edu

Astrid Boening Associate Director, MEUCE E-mail: astridboening1@aol.com Phone: (305) 284-3266 Fax: (305) 284-4406 http://www6.miami.edu/eucenter

April 16 Lecture on Partners for Prosperity, Partners for Peace: Britain and Latin Amer-

ica by the Honorable Ian Bond, Politic Councellor for the Foreign Security and Policy Group at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

April 17 Conversation on Europe Series via videoconferencing: Falkland/Malvinas Anni-

versary Panel A Transatlantic Dialogue" by Dr. Mark. D. Szuchman, Professor of History, FIU; Sir Lawrence Freedman, Professor of War Studies, King’s College London; Carolyn Dudek, Associate Professor in Political Science, University of Pitts-burgh; Daniel K. Gibran, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee State University

April 30 EURO CHALLENGE COMPETITION 2012 - Semifinal & Final Rounds at the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

May 7-11 European Short Film Festival

May 9 Celebration of Europe Day

- Recognition Award Ceremony - European Studies Certificates FIU - European Film Series: "Nous nous sommes tant haïs" (The Birth of the EU) - Journalists Breakfast Seminar: "Immigration in the US and Europe"

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Contact the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence

For details please visit: miamieuc.fiu.edu - Events

or contact Christine I. Caly-Sanchez at MEUCE at FIU

U P C O M I N G M E U C E E V E N T S