Iva Mihailova (from Sofia)

Political integration

“The European Union owes a debt to Western Balkan countries. In fact in the past five years European Countries have had different opinions on adhesion; as a result the Balkans were not only marginalized, it also appeared that in Western Europe nobody was interested in this region’s developments”, declared Dusan Janijic, political analyst of the Inter-Ethnic […]

The progression of the european Union

The main achievement of the European project was to wipe out division lines and unite a fractured continent around the centennial dreams of its people: to live in peace, freedom, democracy, prosperity and justice. I remember the words of Pope Francis to the participants of the Dialogue-meeting on the theme (Re)Thinking Europe – a Christian […]

Research

Carlos, Guatemalan, father of 5, at 6.30 a.m. was loading the tools on his truck when immigration officers stopped him asking information on his neighbours linked to the ongoing round-up operations. The man was unable to answer all their questions as he was unaware of illegal activities in that neighbourhood. He was asked to produce […]

Paris

The Council of Europe Development Bank is situated at a short distance from the Arch of Triumph, along the sober and elegant Avenue Kléber, in Paris. The institution was created in 1956 to bring solutions to the problem of World War II refugees with eight Member States of the Council of Europe on the basis […]

Balkans

They received the Pope’s visit in 2014, now at the beginning of 2018, they were awarded the title of “Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy” by Italian President Matterella”. Casa Betania in Bubq, Albania, is an oasis of peace that gives affection and material support to the many orphaned, abandoned or poor […]

Sport

“Hello, this is Korea’s Olympic Committee speaking.” I immediately thought: “They learned about my cycling talents and I’m being summoned as member of the national team.” It rapidly crossed my mind, then I realised: “But cycling is not one of the sports of the Winter Olympic Games!” What then? “I tried to concentrate and carefully […]

To reflect

Nowadays we are used to reading the term ‘provoke’ as one verb. This term encompasses a set of negative meanings linked to causing aggressive or unwelcome actions and reactions. It’s the typical verb expressing arrogant protest, whether or not intellectual. When we think of provocation we immediately picture one of the many TV-shows where someone […]

Political analysis

After the Second World War, Europe’s democratic, open, societies, did not surrender to threats nor to the temptation of the Social revolution characterizing its historical developments. In fact, they managed to preserve and develop their personal “appeal.” They overcame various social, economic and cultural crises and re-emerged stronger that before. Finally, they created a model […]

Reflection

In his recent Apostolic journey to Chile and Peru Pope Francis visited the Female Penitentiary of Santiago, demonstrating once again that the last and the excluded are always at the centre of his attention. In fact they encompass the style of the Gospel, the Good News proclaimed in a privileged manner to the socially-excluded at […]

Mission impossible on the Himalaya?

  Nobody has ever reached the peak of the K2 mountain (8611 meters), in the Karakorum Range of the Himalaya, in winter. The second-highest mountain in the world after the Everest was climbed for the first time in July 1954 by Italian mountaineers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, members of the expedition led by Ardito […]