Barroso said once that "Europe is a success of globalization". I agree with him that Europe is doing better now although 27 countries are working a little bit slow, but together. And he said he doesn't think that it looks like the people are tired of the European Union. I don't think it, either. You see day by day that many people are trying to support the EU institutions in the daily routine, f. e. in such projects. I see the globalization here, at work. We have many various workers here, from Poland, Germany, Slovak Republic and of course from here, Czech Republic, and we deal day by day with some cultural misunderstandings.

DE:
#31 | Jenny am 04-05-2009 18:58
The balance of the work of the EU-commission turned out to be mixed. Nevertheless the president plans to continue his mandate. He was accused of trying to bypass conflicts with member states, but I think it is just diplomacy. At the same time it seems that he has too less dynamic for integration. In comparison to the commission of Prodi is the European Union under his leadership stronger and more present. In his place I would work a lot more at the integration aspect. It is missing clearly and is neglecting.

I agree, EU needs uniform immigration and integration policy.

Yes, integration and immigration are now an EU responsibility. The Barroso Commission should adopt a long-term strategy on these problems and stimulate research and efficiency of integration's and immigration's projects. Urgent is the fight against climate change, too. And Economic, financial and monetary policies are very important. But European integration is more important, because without it we won't change anything! Share challenges, share futures, Europe!

PL:
#38 | Marysia dnia 09.05.2009 12:20
EU is a great rose, but she has thorns, too. I prefer the Rose of Winds.

The question of the day for me was: which kind of person is Mr. Barroso?

And I think: your team can say as much about you as your friends, because working for a while with someone shows how similar you are and what kind of person you are.

And I was a little bit shocked. Positively.

Everyone already heard the name „Barroso“, but not everyone associates it with a position. I have sometimes heard questions such as: he's from the EU, but what does he do? Who is he really? I answer it this way: Mr. Barroso is the President of European Commission. I don't know what he particularly does, but on Friday he will be honoured with an academic title of dr. h. c. And I think, it's good thing.

After the EU- enlargement, Chemnitz became a central European location (if you look geographically) and here you can study Europe, because of the historical and political developments in the past, Chemnitz seems to be this European place, which could show the connections between East and West like between the Old Europe and the New World. It was the idea of rector of the TU Chemnitz to underline this statement.

So, there were many important guest there, from the European Commission (f. e. Mr. Matthias Petschke), from the University of Lisbon (Mr. Prof. Viriato Soromenho-Marques), members of the Saxon Landtag, members of Ministry of Education and Art of Saxony, ambassadors, President of the City of Chemnitz – Mrs. Barabara Ludwig, and many other important guests from the business and political side, as well as students, professors and friends of Europe.

Of course there was Mr. Barroso’s team and those people are really nice and helpful. I have to use this opportunity to thank them one more time for their support and for their nice and open-minded attitude. They were all tired because of travel and taking part in the Prague summit, but there were still in a good mood and open for dialoge. And after the great ceremony I can admit that Mr. Barroso is just like his team (or his team is just like he is): open-minded and discussion-friendly.

The speeches of the day were all good; there was much about Europe and communication. There were many important things (like “go voting!” or “cooperation with new EU-members”), but I missed the daily routine aspect of these speeches (I don't mind here “go voting!” expression) until Mr. Barroso started to talk. He didn't just read everything of a piece of paper, I had a real impression that he is just explaining what he's thinking about and what he really believes. It was partially about the identity of a person and shared values, about openness to a world and openness to diversity. It was about European identity which is understood differently in the EU and abroad (like in Asia). And I thought then about our project and the main subject “I am a European and I am proud of it”. There were already many statements from average people about it which expressed the same thoughts I found in the speech of Mr. Barroso. That was great. Big policy isn't always as far away from our average life as you might think. It was about taking responsibility for populism and taking responsibility for our acts, about communication and about continuing on a path to a better, common world, by knowing each other better.

Mr. Barroso mentioned many politicians from different countries, he told some anecdotes which made everyone laugh, but it was the kind of laughing which you miss mostly in the policy. He showed, policy isn't just being important and serious, it is a smile which spreads over the room and makes the atmosphere better. In such an upbeat atmosphere you can talk easier about any topic. This was great.

I had the honour and pleasure to speak shortly with Mr. Barroso and I asked him what his expectations were as he became the President of the European Commission. He said, he wanted to make the economic situation better and decrease unemployment. Of course nobody at that time thought about the possibility of the current world economic crisis, but we have to remember: The European Union is the number one trade power on Earth. When we unite our potential we can handle and manage many things. He is optimistic about the future and he spread this optimism around the room. Just like his team. They were all very nice and open-minded, as I already mentioned earlier.

An d then, on the way home, I got into a conversation with the Maestro and with the pianist from the Collegium musicum and Motet Choir from the Chemnitz University of Technology and they said to me, Mr. Barroso came to them and thanked them for the music. (I also thanked them for the music they played.), but such gestures are always a part of who you are. It wasn’t necessary, it wasn’t mandatory, but it was just a normal human gesture.

At the end of the day I think about the same question: which kind of person is Mr. Barroso?
I think he and his team are people who we need to build a better European Union.

Communication is a basic thing. And as Mr. Barroso and my Dad said once: we have never had such possibilities like today to use, we are free, we can go wherever we want and do what we want to do. It's up to us what we will do with our lives.

To summarize: These thoughts and ideas have already been expressed in our forum in different discussions and the views found in our forum have been similar to the ideas and thoughts of Mr. Barroso. This is important. If average people and politicians are open-minded, democratic and interested in learning more about each other, it is a good direction. It is a very good direction. And every nation should work on inside and outside communication. Then we will have small countries as strong and self-confident partners and big countries as responsible and out going partners. And then we will cooperate within EU better, because there will be a greater understanding of each other, not only on the political level, but on the daily personal level.

So, please, let us get to know each other and go voting!


PS: Thank you very much to Mr. Mario Steinebach, spokesman of the Chemnitz University of Technology

DE:
#37 | Agatha am 11-05-2009 14:21
The award of the TU Chemnitz (Technical University Chemnitz) is his first honorary doctorate of a German university. That surprised me. I am glad about José Manuel Barroso´s honorary doctorate because he is an important person for Europe and his humane character becomes evident also in this feature.

DE:
#38 | Pierre am 11-05-2009 14:25
In my opinion the honorary doctorate for José Manuel Barroso supports the emphasis on Europe at the Technical University of Chemnitz. As Prof. Dr. Bernhard Nauck said: “It can be a starting point for a better communication with the European Commission, in the form of mutual guest lectures, excursions and even research cooperation. I, as a graduate of European Studies, am happy that it is my university that gave this award first.

DE:
#39 | Mirko am 11-05-2009 14:31
It was Tillich who titled Barroso as Mr. Europe. Rightly. I am proud of the city of Chemnitz and my university to have given the honorary doctorate to the President of the EU Commission Barroso. Finally a good initiative! Considering his success in the EU Eastern expansion, he should have been awarded by German universities before. Well done and keep going, Mr Barroso!

DE:
#40 | Sandra am 11-05-2009 19:42
Actual it is “honoris causa” or in German “der Ehre wegen” [for the sake of the honour] – honorary doctor. The honorary doctorate is normally awarded to personalities for general or direct merits concerning the university or faculty, sometimes this happens due to political, financial or other reasons where a reference to the concerning university is not always visible. (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrendoktor)
All right, isn't it? It seems one knows a lot and the simplest questions are sometimes the worst!
I am glad that Mr. Barroso was awarded by my university.