May 9th event on commemorating the European charter of Fundamental Rights-A summary by DRPDNM10/21/2021 "We came to a conclusion that the best way to fight would be to inform citizens..." On May 9h - Europe day, the partners of the project TELL prepared an online event on the topic of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. All partners were invited to contribute and prepare a topic that was to be discussed on the round table during the event, as well as a case study - an example related to the topic, that is specific to the country we’re from.
My name is Franja and I am a coordinator for this project for the Slovenian partner DRPDNM. Now, I try to follow the news and current (political) events as much and I can, especially when it comes to topics that I’m interested in. And human rights and fundamental freedoms fall under those topics. So when our Romanian partners, who were the hosts of the event on the 9th of May, asked us to prepare a round table contribution, the first thing that came into my mind was media freedom. In the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 11 defines the freedom of expression and information as a fundamental freedom. Here is what it says:
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"During the XX. century, three totalitarian regimes happened in Greece, 4th of August Regime, the German Occupation and the Military Junta." Introduction
The rich history of Greece in the past century, spans many historical events and covers a lot of changes in politics. The early 20th century finds Greece weak after many bankruptcies and the lost Greco-Turkish war of 1897. During the XX century 3 totalitarian regimes happened in Greece, 4th of August Regime, the German Occupation and the Military Junta. 4th of August Regime The 4th of August Regime, commonly also known as the Metaxas regime, was a totalitarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled the Kingdom of Greece from 1936 to 1941. On 4 August 1936, Metaxas, with the support of King George II, suspended the Greek parliament and went on to preside over a conservative, staunchly anti-communist government. The regime took inspiration in its symbolism and rhetoric from Fascist Italy, but retained close links to Britain and the French Third Republic, rather than the Axis powers. Lacking a popular base, after Metaxas' death in January 1941 the regime hinged entirely on the King. Although Greece was occupied following the German invasion of Greece in April 1941 and the Greek government was forced into exile in the British-controlled Kingdom of Egypt, several prominent figures of the regime, notably the notorious security chief Konstantinos Maniadakis, survived for several months in cabinet until the King was forced to dismiss them in a compromise with the representatives of the old democratic political establishment. "They believed that they could defend their freedom and honor in the mountains. The enthusiasm characteristic of their age made them believe that it was their duty to resist the Communists and that it would have been shameful for the Romanians not to take a stand and say 'No'" Some historical landmarks In 1946 Romania organized elections. With the support of the Russian troops stationed in the country the Communists won the elections by fraud (Cioroianu 2005; Voicu-Arnăuțoiu 2009; Petrescu 2012; Miroiu 2014). The Romanians were surprised by the results because there were few Communist supporters among the people. Then, they believed that Western democratic powers would not tolerate the breach of democracy and would interfere to re-establish the natural order. Communism did not seem to have real chances to be established, let alone be in power in the long term. Some of the military officers of the Romanian army viewed it as their duty to lay the ground for Western (especially US) intervention (Coman, 2004). They began to gather weapons, store them in safe places, organize support networks with trustworthy locals and even train these. That is how the anti-communist resistance movement emerged in the middle of the ‘40s. It was first organized in Bucovina, in the north-east of Romania, but there were resistance groups all throughout the main mountain ranges in the country. There was no central coordination of these groups at national level. The National Resistance Movement established in 1945 could have assumed such a role but it failed because of bureaucracy and financing difficulties and it was de-structured shortly afterwards (Coman, 2004). With a view to the prospective intervention of Western powers to free Romanians from Communism, straightforward armed opposition was considered the natural attitude. Guerilla war also seemed an appropriate way, along with civil disobedience manifested by people when confronted with the abuses of the new regime. However, Western military support did not materialize. Meanwhile, the newly sworn Communist regime consolidated its power. On 30 December 1947, King Michael was forced to abdicate. The former royal army went through a process of political purge. Many officers were forced to retire, then they were accused of anti-Soviet attitude for having participated in the military campaign conducted in the East during WWII. Liberal professions became expensive and professional autonomy began to dwindle in many fields. Previous political affiliation or the “unhealthy” social origin became reasons for firing people and, sometimes, for threatening their lives. In the spring of 1948 the leaders of the opposition parties were imprisoned (Ionițoiu, 1993). The Legionnaire movement (the Archangel Michael Legion), a far-right political group active during the interwar period, in power between 1940 and 1941 and then declared illegal, was initially courted by the new regime. The Communists were willing to forget about the movement’s anti-communist agenda for the sake of better covering the territory with the Legion’s local organizations and paramilitary forces. Thus, they hoped to use these resources for their own gain. That only happened occasionally and hence the movement’s members became a potential threat for the new regime. They were accused of Nazism and a search for their arrest was started. The leaders of local groups were mostly targeted. Introduction
K.A.NE.’s contribution in the Commemoration of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on the 9th of May, was through our participation and presentation at thesections “Roundtable - Why we need the EU Charter?” and the “Online partner's activity – Presentation of case studies in the world or in partners countries followed by debates on fundamental rights”. Roundtable - Why we need the EU Charter? Filaretos Vourkos, the Founder and Director of K.A.NE. participate in the roundtable and present the “EUCharterof Fundamental Rights in Greece”. During his presentation he supported the need of EU Charter by giving examples of the Charter’s use and highlighting how it adds value.The Charteris a legally binding document. It includes civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. Moreover, it benefits from the strength of EU law, which often has direct effect and, in principle and unlike international law, must be granted supremacy over national law. However, in many contexts it may not be possible to directly invoke the Charter – for instance, because the respective Charter provision is a principle and not a right and was not implemented by a legislative or executive act; or is otherwise not directly applicable; or does not apply at all because the case at hand falls outside the scope of EU law. In any case, the Charter increases the visibility of rights. It explicitly spells out rights and principles that are often not expressly laid out in other international human rights documents, such as the ECHR. Unlike the Council of Europe’s European Social Charter, the EU Charter does not offer the possibility to be bound only by selected provisions; Member States are bound by all of its provisions. Given the breadth of rights explicitly covered by the Charter, it can help to increase the visibility of rights at national level. Moreover, national courts do sometimes use the Charter to interpret or further develop national law, even outside the scope of EU law. Online partner's activity – Presentation of case studies in the world or in partners countries followed by debates on fundamental rights For this section FilaretosVourkos, the Founder and Director of K.A.NE. present the “Manolada Case. The Story Behind the 2 euros/kg Strawberries”.The case concerns 42 workers coming from Bangladesh, who were exploited in the strawberry fields in Manolada, in the Peloponnese. The case was brought in front of the Greek Court after an extreme episode that happened in 2013, which was well covered by the media: irregular migrant workers were shot and several got injured because they protested for not having received their wages for many months. The conditions of the irregular migrant workers in Manolada were really tough, since the workers were not paid and they were often beaten. Moreover, the field owners continuously threatened to call the police and have them arrested, because they were undocumented. Last but not least, the workers had to buy basic goods from the “owner” and many times did not even have running water and electricity. Despite the situation, the Greek Court stated this could not be considered as a case of labour trafficking, since the workers could stop working at any time; moreover, only a fine was given to the field owners that opened fire. After the Greek Court’s judgement, the case was brought in front of the European Court of Strasbourg, where the victims can appeal when a State violates or does not prevent the violation of a fundamental human right. The Court’s sentence is a very important one, because, for the first time, the European Court treats a case concerning forced labour of irregular migrant workers (there had been cases of children forced to work and people tricked to work in prostitution but there were no cases of forced migrant workers). For this reason, it represents an important step forward for the rights of the irregular migrant workers, which have been subject of labour exploitation. The Greek State has been accused of failing to prevent human trafficking of irregular migrant workers, constraint to continue threats, exploitation, violence and lack of decent conditions of life. For this reason, the Greek State will have to pay between 12 and 16 thousand euros for each of the 42 workers involved, the highest fine the Court of Strasbourg had never asked. This sentence could represent a first important step towards a deeper protection of the irregular migrants workers not only in Greece, but in the whole Europe as well. The Greek government could bring the sentence in front of the Great Chamber in the next three months: if it does not do it, it is because the Manolada episode happened under the previous Conservative Party. Chowdury and the other guys are smiling. He has 28 gunshots in his body, others have a little less, but none of them is a victim, at least not any more: In front of me I can only see men aware of their own rights, which have finally been recognised. By Adam Katai
For decades now, the 9th of May marks Victory Day as on this date in 1945, the second World War has ended in Europe. By 2021, this day has earned itself another mentionable meaning. We greet Europe Day on the 9th, to remember and strengthen the values, the connections, and the very idea of a united Europe. Since I am in my mid-20s, such a commemoration is welcomed, as I tend to remain spoiled by the unrealised opportunities and aids of the Union and of being a European citizen. To mention one of these opportunities, though one that is very much realised, I am lucky to execute my ESC project in Bologna. Included in this position, I was asked to participate and to hold a presentation during a conference with fellow organisations from other European countries on the history and principles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It was more than reassuring to deal with such an important topic since this conference was the perfect way to deepen and expand my knowledge on the meaning and relevancy of the EU. As a volunteer from another country, I thought of choosing the topic of work and labour in the EU |
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