The European market for online gambling has increased enormously over the past decade and today 10 % of all gambling takes place over the internet, via mobile phones or interactive platforms. There are almost 15.000 gambling websites in Europe and the annual market volume is in excess of 10 billion euro.

I have never tried online gambling myself, but I play real "physical poker" with four friends once a month. We only play for symbolic amounts and I have never lost more than 15 euro in an evening – but the thing with poker is, that you simply have to play for something, otherwise it's boring and the bluffing part doesn't give you the adrenalin kick that you need. 

The internet makes it possible for people to gamble wherever and whenever they want: in their homes or offices or via their smart phones. For me gambling is first and foremost an excuse to have an entertaining evening with friends, and I think the whole social aspect gets lost with online gambling.

Studies show that the growth of internet gambling sites has increased the number of "gambling consumers" considerably. Expert's fear that an increasing number of people risk ending up as so called "problem gamblers". Problem gambling or compulsive gambling characterises gamblers who can't stop gambling, even when it affects their personal lives and economy negatively.

The increasing opportunities for online gambling do not necessarily result in more "problem gamblers"

However, the increasing opportunities for online gambling do not necessarily result in more "problem gamblers", if we are to believe a recent report by the European Commission. It concludes that online gambling "do not appear to have given rise to problem development or addiction at a higher rate than in the offline environment" and that online gambling even provides "good opportunities for close monitoring of individual gambling behaviour and early detection of problem development".

So maybe we basically just need to convince the traditional gamblers at casinos to make their bets online instead, since this way the gaming authorities in the member states will have an easier job identifying "problem gamblers". But how exactly will gaming authorities be able to spot "problem gamblers" and vulnerable consumers in such a huge and diverse market with thousands of gambling websites?

What the MEPs propose…

The members of the European Parliament adopted earlier this month a resolution, which recommends legalizing online gambling throughout the EU, while avoiding state monopolies.

Why? Do we need more gamblers than we already have? Well, at least not more "problem gamblers" or "illegal gambling operators" if you ask the members of the European Parliament's Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

According to the MEPs, the main problem is not the gambling itself, but the consequences associated with an unregulated market for online gambling.  Today EU Member States are free to choose their own rules for online gambling, which has created a very fragmented market. While some countries have restricted online access to various games, others have legalised nearly any kind of bookmaking activity.

The rising illegal market for online gambling has been fuelled by the legal uncertainty surrounding the market. MEPs want to create a common European approach to online gambling in order to create a more stable market, fight illegal gambling and protect vulnerable consumers. 

The idea is to encourage member states to introduce licensing models which makes it possible for gambling providers meeting the conditions imposed by the host member state to apply for a licence. This way the market will become more transparent and it will be easier for consumers to distinguish between licensed and black listed operators.    

In order to protect vulnerable consumers The European Commission should develop "common standards" and take "joint action" against online gambling operators which operate without the required national licence. The MEPs also want to make it possible to block transactions between credit card issuers and blacklisted gambling providers. What the MEPs basically hope for is common European standards and a more integrated market.

Resistance to a common framework has mainly come from countries with the most liberal gambling laws, such as the UK and Malta. Other countries with stricter rules have in general argued for greater control across the EU.

It remains to be seen whether legalizing online gambling throughout the EU and creating a more integrated – and regulated – market will result in "less problem gamblers", "fewer illegal gambling operators" and "better protection of vulnerable consumers".

Last weekend NATO heads of State and Government met in Lisbon to one of the most important summits in NATO’s history. The political leaders adopted a new strategic concept which will guide the Alliance for the next decade.

While the old strategic concept from 1999 was based on the experiences in Bosnia and Kosovo in Europe’s own “back yard”, the new concept has a more global outlook, drawing on the experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan.

EU-NATO relations: “The Lisbon Treaty can become a hollow shell”

Last year Rasmussen told us that he had “a very positive attitude to the development of a stronger defence and security policy pillar within the EU” and that he did not consider the development of the ESDP (the European Security and Defence Policy) as competition to NATO. A view he has repeated on several occasions since then.  When he visited the Parliament last September he confirmed that NATO “would respect the EU’s autonomy” when it comes to the decision making structure within the ESDP.

However, one of the main concerns for Mr. Rasmussen in 2010 has been the many “defence budget cuts” in several European member countries. In a speech last month at the Institute Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI) he said: “Country after country are announcing cuts in defence spending… the cumulative impact of this will be substantial. If European countries cut their defences too deeply, and if they cut in an uncoordinated way, the Lisbon Treaty can become a hollow shell. Europe would get weaker, rather than stronger”.

He added: “The more imbalances grow, the harder it will be to explain to the United States why it should invest in NATO. A few years ago the US used to worry about Europe getting too strong. Now they worry about the risk of a too weak Europe”.

One of the new economical challenges will be the financing of the new European based missile defence system which is expected to cost around 200 million euros.

NATO-Russia: A new vision for European security

The relationship with Russia has for years been an issue which separates the European members of NATO. While some of the newer member states have been reluctant to engage in too close cooperation with Russia, others have stressed the importance of including Russia in the transatlantic security architecture.

Only 2 and a half years ago the old US administration was negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic on  what many saw as a missile defence system directed against Russia. Last year Mr. Rasmussen told us that he wanted to intensify the cooperation with Russia in a number of areas, including missile defence.

In March the Secretary General introduced the idea of a shared NATO-Russia missile defence shield aimed at protecting Europe and Russia against missile threats coming from the Middle East.

“I am suggesting nothing less than a radical change in the way we think about European security, about missile defence, and about Russia”.

“I am suggesting nothing less than a radical change in the way we think about European security, about missile defence, and about Russia”. So I am asking for a lot. But the result will be worth the effort”, Rasmussen predicted.

In Lisbon he said: “Starting today, we will begin working to see how we pursue NATO-Russia missile defence cooperation. There are many issues still to address, but the most important point is this: for the first time, NATO nations and Russia will discuss cooperating to protect, together, European territory and populations”.

Exit strategy for Afghanistan

The Taliban-war in Afghanistan has been the biggest practical challenge for NATO in its 61-year history and the Afghan mission is becoming increasingly unpopular with voters in many NATO countries.

Already last year there was an intense debate about how long European and American NATO forces should stay in Afghanistan. Mr. Rasmussen told us that he supported the idea that the Afghan authorities slowly and gradually should start to take over the responsibility for their own security, but he was not able to present any specific time plan or date.

In Lisbon NATO nations formally agreed to start turning over Afghanistan’s security to its military next year and give local forces “full control” by 2014. “We will launch the process by which the Afghan government will take leadership for security throughout the country, district by district, province by province. The direction, starting today, is clear: towards Afghan leadership and Afghan ownership”, Rasmussen said in his concluding remarks.

It’s the 19th edition of the World Cup and the first ever to be held on the African continent. The tournament is the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 FIFA member countries.

I remember the atmosphere when I first came to Brussels in 2006. When the World Cup started the whole city went completely mad. There were huge flat screens with football everywhere and outside the bars people would be hanging on each others shoulders praying for a successful outcome for their team. As the tournament approached the final stages the town started to be decorated in the colours of the teams who had made it to the finals.

The great thing about watching these big sport events here in Brussels is that it doesn’t really matter who plays – There will always be a happy, loud and intensive atmosphere due to the multicultural character of the city. I’m looking very much forward to take part in all this, and I wish all the teams good luck :o)

Source: RMIT University

The economic crisis has hit European youngsters disproportionately hard. Today, more than 5.5 million young Europeans under 25 are unemployed (21.4 %), which is twice as high as the overall unemployment rate.

Earlier this month the Commission launched its new economic “10 year plan”: the so called Europe 2020 strategy, which is based on three interconnected principles: smart growth (knowledge and innovation), sustainable growth (green and energy efficient) and inclusive growth (high employment).

A youth strategy for Europe

One of the strategy’s seven flagship initiatives is related to youth policy and education. In our topic group we are covering culture and education policies, so of course we follow closely what’s going on in this field. Youth policy falls under the subsidiary principle and member states cooperate only on a “voluntary basis”. Therefore it could seem a bit strange that youth policy is included as one of the corner stones in the strategy. But the thing is that young Europeans play an increasingly important role for European economy, as the population ages. The average age is increasing, which means more pensioners and fewer people of working age.

The challenges for the Youth on the Move initiative are as follows:

• A quarter of European pupils have poor reading skills
• One in seven students leave school too early
• Fewer than one person in three aged 24 – 35 has a university degree (compared to 40 % in the US and 50 % in Japan)
• Only two European Universities are in the World top 20

According to the strategy, by 2020:

• 75 % of Europe’s population aged 20-64 should be employed (the employment rate for this age group is today 69 %)
• 40% of young Europeans should have a university degree

The goal is to improve the global performance of European educations, strengthen cross national cooperation and student mobility, modernize universities and enhance employment prospects for young people.

Our group covered recently a hearing about cooperation between European businesses and universities. Rappoteur Pal Schmitt said that in many member states more than 50 % of university graduates stay unemployed for years before they find a job. He called for more mobility between businesses and universities and proposed that businesses should get more involved in the practical training of university lecturers.

Last week the Committee on Culture and Education adopted a resolution, which comes with a range of proposals on how to strengthen European Youth policy. The members want to “promote mobility of young people” by extending the special student visa regime for youth workers, and member states are urged to guarantee “total transferability” of acquired social benefits for youngsters who have opted for working in another European country. There should also be taken “special measures” targeting young people as part of all future economic recovery plans.

Even though youth and education policies remain within the competence of the member states there seems to be an increasing willingness to develop a shared European approach. The final proposal for the Youth on the Move initiative will be presented in June this year.

Seychelles Island (c) EOS1DsIII (away) on Flickr

I normally share office with my nice Bulgarian colleague Svetla, who used to work as a correspondent in Vienna before joining our unit. But since December she has been on maternity leave, and the last couple of weeks I have had the pleasure to share my office with Shelda, who comes from the Seychelles Islands (located in the Indian Ocean). She is currently enrolled in the so called ´Democracy Fellowship Programme´.

As a Northern European, I normally consider Southern Europe as an exotic place: the hot weather, the beaches, the food, the languages and the relaxed way of life in general. But when it comes to exotic places, nothing can really compare to the Seychelles Islands. Shelda showed us last Friday a slideshow from the Islands and it was absolutely amazing: Rain forests, waterfalls, white beaches, huge turtles, palm tress… more or less all the photos she showed looked like they had been picked directly out of a bounty commercial.

I have never felt so cold in my life, even to the point that I could not feel my fingers, nose and ears…

A couple of days ago, I asked her how she could leave this beautiful place for a cold and snowy Brussels.

What was your first impression of Brussels?

Being my second visit to Brussels and to the European Parliament I thought I kind of knew what to expect. I was indeed mistaken. I have never felt so cold in my life, even to the point that I could not feel my fingers, nose and ears…I thought I would not make it to the end of the programme. There was this Saturday morning I was so happy to open the window curtain of my room to see a beautiful weather, perfect for a stroll in the neighbourhood. But it was to my dismay to realize that I still have to wear the heavy coat, the gloves, the hood and the boots. It was no longer a beautiful idea…

How do you view us “eurocrats” working in the Webcomm Unit? In which ways are we different from the colleagues that you normally work with on the Seychelles Islands?

Brussels' rain

Well, the cold weather has not stopped me from enjoying and making great use of my time here in DG-COMM. I should commend on the good team work that exist among the colleagues and the freedom to share ideas between the heads and the subordinates. I admire the warmth and closeness in your Unit. From day one I had the feeling that I belonged. This is something that needs to be improved on in my parliament.

What will you bring back home to the Seychelles Islands?

I will go back home with lots of good memories and experiences as well as a wider network of friends. I will also carry with me an enhanced and broader understanding of how the EP functions in relation to the other EU-Institutions, in addition with new ideas and practices that could be implemented in the National Assembly of Seychelles.

Shelda will during her programme work for DG COMM, DG EXPO and the Protocol Service. The duration of the programme is 6 weeks.

China and the US stand for no less than 41, 7 % of all world emissions. (c) Photo: Ruy Vasco on Flickr

But why is it so important when Obama will attend the conference? What difference does it make whether he comes this week and meet with negotiators or he comes next week and meets with all the heads of states? Well first all, the US is the second largest CO2 emitter in the world, and the Americans emit more CO2 per head than any other country in the world. Secondly, the last climate deal, the Kyoto protocol, did not lead to satisfactory results from the US (When Kyoto was agreed, the US committed to reducing its emissions by 6%, but instead its carbon dioxide emissions have increased to more than 15% above 1990 levels). So this time it’s absolutely crucial that the US President takes a personal responsibility for whatever is decided in Copenhagen.

Finally, if the Americans decide to commit themselves to ambitious CO2- targets, there’s a good chance that China, the world’s biggest emitter, will be forced to do the same.

US and China: The biggest polluters on earth

According to the United Nations (2006 figures) China and the US stand for no less than 41, 7 % of all world emissions (China 21, 5 % & the US 20, 2%) -  China produced 6,200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2006, compared with 5,800 million tons for the U.S. The 2 countries are by far the biggest carbon dioxide emitters in the Wold.

A couple of weeks ago Head of the EP-delegation to Copenhagen Mr. Jo Leinen said that it would be a severe setback for world climate protection efforts if the US and China do not commit themselves to specific greenhouse gas reduction goals. “The biggest polluters can turn out to become the biggest failures for climate protection”, he said.

A month ago when two colleagues from our unit interviewed Mr. Leinen, he defined binding CO2-targets for industrialized countries and the financing of climate aid to the developing countries as the two main obstacles to success in Copenhagen.

Will Obama’s participation change anything?

Obama’s decision to attend the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in the last crucial days means that the US President will stand face to face with more than 100 world leaders, who have already confirmed that they will attend the final stage of the conference.  ”Based on his conversations with other leaders and the progress that has already been made… the president believes that continued U.S. leadership can be most productive through his participation at the end of the Copenhagen conference” the White House said in a statement.

But was does it mean in practice? Will there really be a legally binding agreement in Copenhagen? Probably not.  Obama knows that such objectives must be approved by the US Congress, where negotiations on a new American climate law have been postponed until spring 2010.

But what it probably does mean is that Obama doesn’t expect a huge failure in Copenhagen when the world leaders meet to sign some sort of “political agreement”. The prospect that there may actually be concluded a reasonable agreement in Copenhagen is improved! The dynamics surrounding the summit seems to work. With the most important players present in Copenhagen – The United States and China – it would be associated with an enormous loss of prestige for all, if the negotiations end in failure. As the Chair of the UN panel on climate change Dr. Rajendra Pachauri said: “Obama’s revised travel plans represent a very significant development, both in substance and in symbolism, and vastly increases the prospect of a satisfactory agreement in Copenhagen.”

Majority of MEP´s unfamiliar with social media

According to a survey (carried for euobserver.com), the European elections have not resulted in a boost in the MEP´s use of social media tools. Only 33 % of all MEP´s use social media networks extensively, while 29 % do not use them at all. Furthermore 62 % have never heard of Twitter and have no plans to use it, and only 25 % are blogging extensively.

These numbers are quite surprising, since average Europeans spend more than 9 hours a week on the internet and 66, 8 % are connected to social networks.  The survey concludes that the large majority of MEP´s “do not take full advantage” of social media tools as a mean to engage with voters and “drive them to their websites”.

From “digital immigrants” to “digital natives”

In our unit we have worked intensively with social media up to the European elections. We have tried to engage and inform voters and “drive them to our website”. Our social media campaign has been centred around a total of 8 online platforms: The European Parliament website, the special election website, EuroparlTV, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

Like my Bulgarian colleague, I’ve never been an IT-nerd (!), at best a “digital asylum-seeker”. Ok, I have a Facebook profile, but before the election campaign started I mainly used it to check my emails. It has therefore been an educational experience to participate in the online election campaign, where we have tried to act like “digital natives” – meaning twitting, uploading videos on YouTube, moderating comments on the election website, post election updates on Facebook…

And the best thing about it all is that our campaign seems to have been very successful! In less than seven weeks we have gotten more than 50.000 friends on our Facebook page, over 105.000 visits on our MySpace page, 283.000 views on our most popular election video on our YouTube channel and hundreds of comments on our interactive election website.

All in all a very exciting experience. We are in contact with “real people” who can comment and react directly on what’s going on in the Parliament. We’re trying to make the Parliament more visible, especially for younger people. Looking forward to become a “digital native”.

 Climate efforts

 Climate change and energy security have been extremely hot topics on the European agenda for the last several months. Through 2008 members of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change has been very active traveling around the World raising awareness about the dangers of climate change and CO2-emissions. They have held talks with various parliamentarians, government officials and NGO´s from central polluting countries such as China, Russia and the US in order to explore attitudes towards a post-Kyoto deal.

The heat is on.

 On 17 December 2008 the Parliament gave its backing to the EU’s Climate Package after nearly one year of legislative work. The aim of the package is to ensure that the EU will achieve its ambitious objectives of slashing greenhouse-gas emissions and boosting renewables. Our unit has intensively covered the package, and you can read the articles in the climate package feature.

 In March 2009 the Parliament set out wide-ranging recommendations for the EU’s future energy policy, including ambitious long term climate targets and emergency action plans in case of gas supply shortages.

 A crisis that exposed the need for a common energy policy

Russia said it had been subsidising Ukrainian gas imports for years and wanted it to pay 450 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas instead of the 179,5 dollars, which Kiev used to pay. 

The importance of the Parliament’s efforts to tackle climate change and to create a common energy policy became clear only a few weeks after the MEPs had adopted the Climate Package. The first week of January Russia cut the gas supply to Ukraine because of an energy price dispute. Russia said it had been subsidising Ukrainian gas imports for years and wanted it to pay 450 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas instead of the 179,5 dollars, which Kiev used to pay.

 Europe receives more than 80 % of its gas (and 25 % of its total needs) from pipelines that run through Ukraine.  The gas dispute exposed the EU´s dependence on Russian energy. 17 EU-countries were directly affected by the crisis, leaving homes and hospitals without heating and leading to the closure of schools and factories. I had the chance to interview 3 MEPs about how the gas dispute affected their home countries (Slovakian Zita Pleštinská (EPP-ED), Hungarian András Gyürk (EPP-ED) and Bulgarian Atanas Paparizov (PSE)).

 They told about how the abrupt disruption of supplies had “affected the heating of hospitals, nurseries and schools”. Pleštinská said that thousands of Slovakian companies had to suspend the production paying employees only 60% of their salaries. They all agreed that the gas crisis exposed the EU´s dependence on energy and showed the need for a common European energy policy.

 “We need to link the Members States’ electricity and gas grids and agree on storage capacities to further improve energy solidarity”, said András Gyürk. Paparizov saw “a common European Gas market based on adequate infrastructure and obligatory strategic reserves” as “the only” possible basis for secured energy supplies in the future.

 The gas crisis showed how a dispute between two external actors can have a very direct effect on the everyday lives of millions of ordinary European citizens. Job losses, salary reductions and closed elementary schools are all things which affect people’s lives. It also showed why closer energy cooperation is so important for the EU.

 A crisis that changed Iceland’s European perspective

 Another crisis which has affected many Europeans is the global financial crisis. The Commission estimate that up to 3.5 million EU citizens face losing their jobs in 2009 as a direct result of the crisis.

Gas is the new oil.

One of the coutries hardest hit is Iceland. Just 7 months ago it was the fifth richest nation in the World. One month later the country went bankrupt!  Iceland couldn’t pay back its external debts, and the Icelandic currency, the krona, became essentially valueless in the rest of the world. It was a dramatic event, which reversed Iceland’s long standing opposition to EU membership.

On 25 of February, around 60 MPs from Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway visited the Parliament to discuss the development of the Northern dimension in the context of the financial crisis. I went there withPavel, our  Czech colleague, who by the way speaks thirteen languages and knows a lot about Nordic politics! He insisted that we should do the first part of the interview with the Icelandic MP Karl Matthíasson in Danish. I have never tried to interview a foreign parliamentarian – or for that sake any foreigner at all – in my mother tongue, so that was quite an experience. 

The Commission estimate that up to 3.5 million EU citizens face losing their jobs in 2009 as a direct result of the crisis. 

He told us that Iceland had “very serious” currency problems, and that many people wanted to exchange the króna for the euro: “That is why people are talking more about the EU and I hear that more and more in my constituency.”

 “We became bankrupt as a whole nation“

 Matthíasson explained that the crisis have had a very strong impact on the pride and complacency among Icelanders: “With the financial crisis, people in Europe have lost money, but we became bankrupt as a whole nation! So people are not as proud about their country as they used to be… Our self-image has been smashed and that strengthens the idea to become a member of the EU.”

 The Bulgarian MEP Bilyana Raeva (ALDE), who chaired the EP´s delegation with the West Nordic Council, said that Iceland could become “one of the best members of the European Union”. She told us about her efforts to make the Icelandic MPs see the advantages of EU membership. It was fascinating to observe this young Bulgarian MEP being so interested in helping this small North Atlantic Island.

 Both the gas crisis and the financial crisis have resulted in job losses, lower incomes and uncertainty about the future for thousands of European families. Many MEPs have in both cases showed their solidarity as well as their ability to think “European” when major international challenges needs to be tackled.