Here are the key points made in the article: - Turkey's attempt to join the EU has been ongoing but unsuccessful so far. The recent EU-Turkey deal on hosting Syrian refugees in Turkey in exchange for €6 billion in funding has sparked new discussions and negotiations on Turkey's accession. - Some political commentators argue this deal has sped up Turkey's accession process more than anything else before, which the author views as worrying. - Concerns have been expressed about Turkey joining the EU, including that Turkey currently occupies part of EU member Cyprus and does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus. This dispute must be resolved for Turkey to join. - Another major concern is Turkey's treatment of Kurds, its largest

1. Strasbourg Daily
Yesterday’s press conference was
held in the minister’s council for
the first time since the start of the
MEUS simulation, which provided
Strasbourg Daily with inside infor-
mation about ministerial positions
on Biofuels.
The ministers on the panel were
representatives of the following
countries: Austria, Belgium, Po-
land, and the United Kingdom.
The importance and necessity of
investment for advanced biofuels
proved to be incredibly controver-
sial amongst the panel, due to the
diversity in solutions.
The Polish minister was the first rep-
resentative to be under the spot-
light as we scrutinized his resistance
to investing in second and third
generation biofuels for sustainable
development. Mr. Alexandru, the
minister of Poland expressed dis-
appointment towards debates so
far as he felt that discussions were
moving in the wrong direction.
Claims were made towards the EU’s
perceived dictatorship leadership,
as Poland seemed to have com-
pletely opposed limiting caps for
climate change targets.
The Polish minister justified his op-
position towards investing in ad-
vanced biofuels on the basis that
there was a lack of research proving
them to be effective. Other sources
of renewable energy were suggest-
ed by the minister as alternatives to
advanced biofuels, for example nu-
clear, wind and solar power were all
mentioned. Similarly, it was stated
that other Eastern European coun-
tries were reluctant to invest in ad-
vanced biofuels.
It has been twenty-five years since
the cold war conflict ended in a
stalemate, and there still seems
to be Eastern- Western conflict
amongst countries in Europe. Po-
land has been accused of having a
deconstructive approach to nego-
tiations. However, it has been pre-
viously mentioned to us by other
Eastern European ministers, such as
Hungary, that there is distinct dis-
crimination within the Council from
western European countries, spe-
cifically ones in the Schengen area.
When asked, the minister of the UK
believed that Poland’s lack of fund-
ing for biofuels was the main fac-
tor affecting their opposing stance
towards this renewable source of
Energy. There was a significant rec-
ognition by the UK, Austria, and Bel-
gium that advanced biofuels were
accompanied with high cost impli-
cations. However, the UK proposed
that they were willing to provide
financial support for other coun-
tries within the EU who were will-
ing to invest in biofuels if they were
equipped with enough money.
Poland’s stern opposition towards
biofuels seems to be rooted in their
lack of funding, as opposed to the
constant rhetoric that is repeated
about research mechanisms. In
combination with the UK’s funding
proposals during the press confer-
ence, Mr. Mathias, the minister of
the UK mentioned Finland’s previ-
ous proposals regarding their joint
agreement to contribute towards
funding.
Nevertheless, this surprising spirit
of cooperation that dominated the
council was soon whipped away
when suspicions towards Poland’s
intentions with the potential funds
were mentioned. The UK’s propos-
als for Polish funds were proposed
with certain restrictions, which
therefore reflects upon a certain
preconceived prejudice towards
Thursday 7th April, 2016
MINISTERS DIVIDED OVER ADVANCED
BIOFUEL INVESTMENTS
Daily News of Model European Union Strasbourg 2016 Issue No 05
Natasa Christofidou
TAG WITH #MEUS2016
the so-called‘eastern bloc.’
The minister of Belgium was just as
keen to give an opinion on the mat-
ter, also disagreeing with Poland’s
stance. Minister Maximillian point-
ed out the irony behind Poland’s re-
search claims as it was clarified that
research within the EU does not
happened in an isolated vacuum.
Hence, if Poland was willing to com-
promise with the Western European
states, they would look into shared
information under‘horizon 20-20.’
Overall, the Minister of the UK pre-
sented a particularly positive case
regarding their willingness to share
both research information and eco-
nomic support with member states,
which were willing to invest in ad-
vanced biofuels. Despite Austria’s
and Belgium’s reserved position
on sharing funds with Poland, they
nonetheless show support towards
the exchange of information that
reflects upon a compromising fu-
ture for negotiations. Western di-
plomacy was therefore powerful
at the press conference, as Eastern
European countries seemed to have
been slightly more bitter and reluc-
tant.
Photo credit: Penelope Bielckus

2. Issue No. 05 Thursday, 7th April | 2— Strasbourg Daily —
Founded in 2008 with just
nine members, the Bringing
Europeans Together Association
has grown into one of the largest
associations for European youth.
With over 400 members, the
“politically independent, non-profit
association” aims to “articulate
and promote international
understanding”. One of their most
important projects is the annual
MEUS conference.
Max Frey is the current President
of BETA, and was also President of
the European Parliament at MEUS
2015. We were lucky enough to
catch him during a quiet moment
in his packed schedule to ask a
few questions about what BETA
does and his personal role in the
organisation.
cultural differences as well as
political structure.”
Max went on to explain the multi-
layered organisation of BETA, and
what his personal role entails.
“Probably about half of what we do
is MEUS – half of our time, funds,
mental energy… And the other half
idea of “ownership”. He defined his
role as one of support, not conflict,
with similar simulations.
“As the MEU family grows, the
brand just expands. We’re not in
competition with each other like a
lot of MUN conferences, because
our priority is about learning and
sharing rather than competing.
Some of our partners now have
even bigger conferences than us,
like the one in Belgrade, which
is fantastic! We only have limited
capacity here at MEUS, but these
other conferences mean even
more people can have the MEU
experience.”
“Although I’m the president, this
isn’t a top down organisation. The
whole point of BETA is to make sure
that all participants and organisers
have the same opportunities, so
our internal team is made of people
with a lot of experience who are in a
good position to help others.”
The organising team here at MEUS
are made up of representatives from
BETA, and the organisation was
represented at yesterday’s Partner
Fair. For participants who might be
interested in joining the team for
future conferences, membership
of BETA offers the opportunity to
continue their involvement with
the project.
Photo credit: Raquel Fernandez
Laura Whetherly
A word from the Editor…
Good evening everyone! MEUS is
soon coming to an end and sleep
deprivation amongst candida-
tes is causing an unbelievable
amount of drama in parliament.
The incredible levels of passion
amongst MEPs shows how well
everyone has adapted to their as-
signed roles.
Last night was our only unsche-
duled evening on the timetable so
we hope everyone used it wisely.
Of course, the sensible thing to
do would have been something
along the lines of resting and cat-
ching up on sleep. However, we
hope that you all took the oppor-
tunity to explore the amazingly
picturesque streets of Strasbourg
that are situated alongside the
smoothly flowing river, in the Peti-
te France quarter. We hope you’re
all excited for tonight’s masquera-
de party!
The night should hopefully be ac-
companied by a copious amount
of socializing, dancing, and drin-
king (we’ll be keeping an eye out
for your extravagant dance moves
Jo). Enjoy the simulation whilst it
lasts,
Natasa.
is about supporting our partners
and the MEUS’ they’re involved
with. A lot of my role is about
sending emails – you’d be surprised
how many – and coordinating other
MEUs. MEUS was the first Model
EU simulation when it began ten
years ago, but as the programme
has expanded, it’s spread across
Europe.”
In particular, Max was eager to
stress that the role of BETA was to
assist organisers of MEUs, and to
work alongside them without any
“We don’t have
a political
cause – we’re
political
enthusiasts
and actors of
civil society”
“We don’t have a political cause
– we’re political enthusiasts
and actors of civil society. By
giving young people to come to
simulations like this, and live the
experience for a week, they learn
so much about what goes on with
real time political decision making a
democracy.”
In particular, he pointed out the
importance of simulations like
this in the context of increasing
populism and the threat of British
exit from the EU.
“When people from countries like
Britain come here, they can see
that we’re in a multi-layered system,
and it just raises awareness of how
politics work. In doing this, we make
them engage with decision making,
and then they can go back to their
home countries with a far better
understanding of what the reality
is. Learning about how others
negotiate is a really important
skill, and it teaches students about
“Probably about
half of what we
do is MEUS –
half of our time,
funds, mental
energy… “
BRINGING EUROPEANS TOGETHER
AN INTERVIEW WITH MAX FREY, PRESIDENT OF BETA

3. Issue No. 05 Thursday, 7th April | 3— Strasbourg Daily —
RESOURCE-TAILORED APPROACH TO BIOFUELS
According to their resources and
geographical positions, different
countries have more scope of pro-
ducing different types of biofu-
els. I have had the great pleasure
to discuss the issue of land usage
change for producing biofuels with
Mr Maximilian Veiler, the Minister of
Belgium, and the idea of producing
biofuels from waste with Mr Trayan
Dimitrov, the Minister of Finland.
Land usage change: Food vs Fuel -
Not mutually exclusive
Part of the debate on biofuels and
ILUC is that the land previously
harvested for food will be used for
the production of biofuels and this
might create more hunger around
the world, especially in the develop-
ing countries from tropical regions
where such land usage changes will
take place. We discussed this topic
with the Minister of Belgium who
has a broad knowledge of biotech-
nology having studied the topic as
Bachelors and Masters level.
Regarding land usage change, Mr
Veiler explained: “I don’t think it
will be against food because we
are already so efficient in food. We
produce so much in Europe that we
actually are too efficient. We flood
Africa with milk.They ship milk from
Germany to Ethiopia because it’s
cheaper to produce it in Germany,
ship it, and sell it.”
The over-production of food and
its export to developing countries
can actually hinder the economy of
A short, but heated incident oc-
curred this Thursday afternoon.
During the debates on the amend-
ments to the asylum directive, MEPs
Stevens and Garcia Silva from the
French ENF had to be removed
forcibly from the plenary assembly
room.
A discussion between
Commissioner Franc-
esca Risso and the
two MEPs flared up.
The two parliamentarians sought to
continue the situation by intoning
“la Marseillaise“, the French national
anthem.
President of the European Parlia-
ment Ms Colot was not able to re-
solve the situation verbally, trying
to call the MEPs to order. The two
security officers of the Parliament
had to intervene the situation. Mr
Stevens and Mr Garcia Silva did
not fully cooperate, resulting in the
slight use of force by the security
guards to rebuild order in the ple-
nary assembly room.
BREAKING NEWS
While being guarded outside, MEPs
Stevens and Garcia Silva repeatedly
shouted out “Vive la France”. Com-
missioner Risso had to be reminded
after the incident again, that during
those debates it is not time for her
to speak as she pleases to.
It was the second major national-
ist outburst of the right wing par-
liamentarians, trying to disturb the
policy making process. Shortly af-
ter, MEP Philip Frey from the British
conservatives left the session vol-
untarily, since he felt he was treated
unfairly by chair Ms Colot and the
legal service.
Cristina Chiran
the country where it is received be-
cause it is not allowing it to develop
its own industries and thus create
labour for its citizens, Mr Vieler ex-
plained.
Over-production also contributes
negatively to the environment, be-
cause it leads to food waste - a huge
problem of developed countries.
In these nations food tends to be
wasted when retailers provide too
much food, and consumers ignore
food that is not “good-looking”.
Producing food that no one eats
squanders the land needed to grow
it. This is a massive blow to the envi-
ronment as quantities are not trivial.
According to the Food and Agricul-
ture Organization of the United
Nations we squander 2.9 trillion
pounds of food a year. That would
be enough to feed more than twice
a day every one of the 800 million
people worldwide suffering from
hunger.
In this regard, the Directive can be
seen as pushing nations to be more
wary of wasting resources for grow-
ing food that remains uneaten. In-
stead nations are urged to produce
as much food as needed, and direct
the remaining resources to produc-
ing biofuels.
“In Germany there used to be
much more agricultural land but
they stopped using it because the
country was over-productive. Now
we have the technology to make
biofuels with that, so why not use
it? For me that is a good land us-
age change. That’s why the Direc-
tive is good because it’s giving us
the incentive of using space that we
haven’t used before,” explains Mr
Vieler.
Finland’s circular economy: Biofuels
from waste
In comparison with Belgium, Fin-
land, as a Northern country does
not have the weather resources to
produce land-intensive biofuels. For
this reason, Mr Dimitrov explained
that “Finland is producing 70% of
its biofuels from a substance called
black liquor which is a waste prod-
uct of the forest industry which is
very big in Finland. We would also
like to encourage other Members of
the Council and Parliament Mem-
bers to focus on research and devel-
opment of new generation biofuels
that are not land intensive.”
Belgium and Finland have already
found solutions to produce sustain-
able biofuels without hindering the
environment. We look forward to
seeing the ideas of the other mem-
ber states and the outcome of ne-
gotiations.
Lisa Urlbauer
Food vs Fuel - Not
mutually exclusive
“Vive
La
France!”

4. Issue No. 05 Thursday, 7th April | 4— Strasbourg Daily —
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Isabel Niesmann
Iro Katsantoni
Disclaimer: This is
an opinion piece
Turkey’s attempt to enter the EU
has been going on for quite some
time now, and, has so far been un-
successful. However, the recent
EU-Turkey deal, granting hosting
of Syrian refugees within Turkey
as well as the provision of 6 billion
Euros funding from the EU for their
support has sparked up a new se-
ries of discussions and negotiations
for Turkey’s case for entering. Politi-
cal commentators have no doubts:
this deal, has managed to speed up
the process of Turkey’s accession
like nothing else. And for me, this is
quite worrying.
A lot of concerns that have been ex-
pressed by the International com-
munity pertaining to Turkey’s po-
tential accession in the EU and also
confirmed by Turkish participants.
First of all, it is the fact that Turkey
is a direct threat to an EU Member
State, the Republic of Cyprus. As a
Cypriot, I do understand that my
position can be characterized as
biased, however, Turkey’s occupa-
tion of the Northern part of Cyprus
has been heavily condemned and
the pseudo-republic established by
Turkey within Cypriot sovereign ter-
ritory has not been recognized by
any United Nations Member State.
It is simply not possible for Turkey
to enter the EU whilst the Cypriot
dispute remains unsolved. Another
concerning human rights violation
preventing Turkey from EU acces-
sion is the treatment of its main mi-
nority: the Kurds. The conflict with
TURKEY: THE 29TH MEMBER STATE?
the Kurds has been long-standing
and many mass Kurds’ killings have
been reported within the country,
especially in the city of Cizre.
Those problems seemingly have
exacerbated with the re-election
of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who has
been often described as a dicta-
tor or even a sultan. The President,
who has shamelessly cited Nazi
Germany as an example of‘effective
leadership’ considers Turkey to be a
country sharing the same European
spirit as Belgium or France. But it
is not just the President’s position
that is problematic. Even his wife,
Mrs. Emine Erdoğan has had her
fair share of controversial moments.
She, has stated that harems were
‘educational centers that prepared
women for life’ and seems to share
her husband’s view that their main
role in life is to be mothers. For a
modern European women, that is
incredibly offensive.
ButdonotdaretocriticizeErdoğan’s
oppressive regime. Because in Tur-
key, asking for tolerance of different
views; is not tolerated. Journalists
that have had the nerve to criticize
Mr. Erdoğan are prosecuted and
even put to jail. Because freedom
of speech[article 10 in the European
Convention of Human Rights] is not
very valued in Erdoğan’s‘liberal’and
‘European’country.
The truth is, Turkey is a very large
country, and an EU expansion on
that direction is a milestone. With
a population of 80 million people,
a potential entrance in the EU will
secureTurkey equal seats in the Par-
liament with Germany. A loud voice
and little tolerance are hardly ever
a good combination. The European
Union is indeed facing a storm of
problems right now and the EU-
Turkey deal will perhaps manage
to alleviate the burden. However,
an enlargement of the Union to
include are southern neighbor(and
effectively share borders with the
so-called Islamic State that Turkey
has been accused to be cosy with)
should not be a‘thank-you gift’.
There are some aspects of the
refugee rights that are especially
controversial; one of them is the
labour market integration. While
employers claim that refugees
could help address skill shortages,
unions are concerned about the
consequences for the working con-
ditions of both the refugees and
lower-paid segments of the exis-
ting workforce. Bearing in mind the
labour shortage in some countries,
the high rates of unemployment in
others and the importance of work
for human dignity: Mariia Pavlova,
Greens/ EFA Sweden:
Refugees definitely need to have
access to the labour market, and
not only them but also asylum see-
kers and people who are applying
for international protection. Since
there are different regulations in
different countries, we think that
first of all it should be harmonized
and secondly all asylum seekers
should have access to the labour
market as soon as possible. We
proposed such an amendment be-
cause it can be very difficult if they
spend months without having any
opportunity to earn money. When
there is a country in which they
have better possibilities to access
the labour market, most asylum
seekers want to go there. But if
those conditions are harmonized,
all countries will be in the same
position and the same stance.
Konstantina Iliana Gialouri, ALDE
Belgien:
We support S&D, it is an issue
that should and actually will be
Should refugees
be allowed to
enter the labour
market?
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
who has been often de-
scribed as a dictator or
even a sultan.

5. Issue No. 05 Thursday, 7th April | 5— Strasbourg Daily —
PATRIOTISM. NATIONALISM. UNITY.
Lisa Urlbauer
Three vertical bands coloured blue,
white and red: the national flag of
France. In yesterday afternoon‘s
session the Tricolore was causing
a clash between MEPs of the Front
National and the European left – re-
sulting in an intervention by the se-
curity of the Parliament and a delay
in the debating process.
Members of Parliament Stevens
and Garcia Silva were showing re-
peatedly the colours of the French
flag, interrupting the policy making
process in the European Parliament.
Reactions followed promptly by the
left wing of the assembly room, as
the word “shame” was written in
capital letters across several note-
books.
MEP Stefan Hardt of GUE/NGL told
the Strasbourg Daily that it was not
the French flag itself, but the inten-
tions behind it, that had been the
problem. “It‘s always a question of
how symbols like flags are used. Of
course we can relate ourselves to
the values of the French Revoluti-
on, but this was purely provocative.
Here it meant that there is no soli-
darity amongst us and that national
insularity is ruling.”
Mr Garcia Silva confirmed the claims
of an intentional interruption: “We
are representatives of the French
people. The Front National was the
most voted party in two consecuti-
ve elections. It was our intention to
disturb the policy making process.
We don‘t believe that the European
Union should claim more power
than the states and we believe that
France should take back all of its so-
vereignty.”
Flags are important as symbols of
patriotism and nationalism. Patrio-
tism refers to the love for the home
country, an appreciation for tradi-
tions, cultural and historic values
and achievements. It can be seen as
a confession to democracy and hu-
man rights, but on the other hand it
can also develop into the extremist
nationalism. Nationalism is defined
as elevating the characteristics of
their own people to absoluteness.
It‘s a fine line from one to another,
from patriotism to nationalism.
Both patriotism and nationalism are
forms to communicate about peo-
ple and societies, but they have an
inside and an outside. To the inside
they can integrate, generate solida-
rity and symbolise closeness. To the
outside it isolates and define the
“others”- those who do not belong.
The European Union is also well
aware of the potential power of
symbolism. Since 1955 the Euro-
pean flag with the twelve stars on
blue ground is in existence and
“Ode to Joy”- we heard it during the
opening ceremony on Monday - is
considered the European Anthem.
Remains of the failed Treaty estab-
lishing a Constitution for Europe in
2004. Solidarity, freedom and com-
pleteness are expressed by those
symbols. And there is even an Eu-
rope Day on 9th May, celebrating
peace and unity in Europe.
However, yesterday‘s flag incident
backs again a feeling, that is con-
stantly present and seems to be
getting stronger day after day: Pa-
triotism and even nationalism of
the Member States seem to be out-
ranking the integrative powers of
the EU – the Union has never been
further apart than right now.
Photo credits: Penelope Bielckus
proposed. They proposed it and we
support that refugees should be
able to enter the market in more
recent terms than they are now.
In some countries, for example
in Greece, refugees can enter the
labour market from the very first
day. In other countries it may take
three or even nine months which
is a really long time. So we want to
make it possible for every refugee
to enter the labour market to integ-
rate. S&D and we think that during
the interviews for the asylum
seekers qualification professional
skills should be added. In this way
people could easily integrate in the
labour market afterwards.
Betul Eryilmaz, ECR Belgium
We want to have control over the
refugees and the asylum applica-
tion process. Asylum seekers have
to apply for the refugee status.
Our amendment proposes to add
the names of the refugees to the
system automatically. They will be
encouraged to be on the system
because if a refugee is found to be
an illegal migrant in the EU, he will
not have the right to seek asylum
for two years. But we are going
to automatically add their names
to the system and they are going
to have the application and then
the refugee status. If they receive
that, they will absolutely have the
right to work. The illegal migrants,
however, do not have the right to
work neither the protection. It’s for
the sake of the refugees rights, and
absolutely it’s the sake for the EU
and the security.
KsenijaIvanovic, Lobbyist Human
Rights Watch
As the representative of Human
Rights Watch, I firmly believe that
it’s one of the most basic human
rights to work. I don’t think that
refugees should be exempted from
it just because they are refugees
and I think that it’s a right of human
dignity to provide for themselves.

6. Issue No. 05 Thursday, 7th April | 6— Strasbourg Daily —
Amendment debates about the
reception of refugees began today
(7th April) in the hemicycle. How-
ever, rumours have been circulating
that the MEPs debate resulted in the
breaking of key Parliamentary rules.
Debates in the Parliament tended
to be at the beginning very agi-
tated, especially at the extreme
sides of the chamber, and after a re-
minder from the Chair, one MEP was
even asked to leave the hemicycle.
The Commission noted the con-
troversial nature of both debates
and some amendments and the
“big mistake” of the populist risk in
amending this directive.
Discussions in the Council are sup-
posed to be totally secret. However,
it seems that some documents and
information about rejected amend-
ments would have been leaked by
one or several ministers. Indeed,
it seems that some of the amend-
ments are quite close to those re-
jected by the Council.
The MEPs tabled amendments in
the morning after inter-faction ne-
gotiations. Fifty-seven have been
received by the Chair of the Parlia-
ment, and seven have been reject-
ed.
Negotiations and talks between
ministers and Members of the
Parliament are not forbidden but
it seems that a red line has been
crossed. According to our source,
some MEPs would have received
from ministers a draft of some
amendments that have been re-
jected in the Council. If true, some
of the ministers would have broken
the rules. Council’s debates are sup-
posed to be confidential.
These allegations have not been
verified, as the press have no ac-
cess to the content of rejected
Council’s amendments. Yet some of
the amendments defended in the
hemicycle today were very compa-
rable to information some ministers
leaked in the press.
At the time of printing, at least two
amendments proposed by MEPs,
about mandatory medical examina-
tions for asylum seekers, are not so
different from the Slovakian minis-
ter proposition, defended yesterday
in this newspaper.
It seems that Slovakian Minister,
who tried to “push the amend-
ment forward in the EP”, has been
in contact with MEPs from Euro-
pean Conservatives and Reformists
(ECR) faction. Yet discussions about
amendments rejected in the Coun-
cil with deputies are allowed. They
can become problematic when
ministers persuade and use MEPs,
a source close to the legal service
affirms.
Yet whether a discussion is unilater-
al or not is very subjective and com-
plicated to demonstrate. A Socialist
and Democrat (S&D) MEP, Stefan
Stanko, also tabled an amendment
about medical examination. He stat-
ed he has not been in contact with
Slovakian minister. These amend-
ments are not totally supported by
the Commission, which argues this
is contrary to human right.
Similarly, a rejected amendment
proposed in the Council by a coali-
tion of ministers has been tabled
today by some political factions,
including the European People’s
Party (EPP). This amendment in the
Council stated that, in exceptional
CLOSED DOOR COUNCIL’S DEBATES
ARE NOT TOTALLY SECRET
circumstances, states which are
overwhelmed with asylum applica-
tions shall not be subject to sanc-
tions. For the Commission, which
understands the underlying idea,
this amendment undermines the
legal system of the European Union.
This amendment has been rejected
in the Council as exceptional cir-
cumstances are too vague, as in-
formally highlighted by some min-
isters. The hotel is not a big place
and some MEPs have been seen
talking with some of the ministers
who supported this amendment.
Yet negotiations are not forbidden,
and it does not mean that a draft of
the Council’s rejected amendment
has been given to MEPs.
Awenig Marie
BIOFUELS: A SUMMARY OF CURRENT POSITIONS
The directive on advanced biofuels
has been a matter of great debate.
In order to get a better overview of
current events, I gathered informa-
tion on the policy making process
within the E.U from from both MEPs
and council ministers.
Stefan Hardt, secretary of the GUE/
NGL has admitted that„not all MEPs
grasp the full content of the direc-
tive“ and that many rely too much
on information they receive from
lobbyists. He feels that the EP needs
to stop plundering the environment
and should be prioritizing advanced
biofuels. The EPP supported raising
the cap on first generation biofuels
due the fact that many countries
had invested alot of money in it.
The Greens were very dedicated to
lowering the cap on first generation
biofuels where as ECR wants to raise
it. However, logical errors have been
made by an uncoordinated and un-
productive parliament. This weak
parliament has given the Council
of Ministers more power in decision
making about the biofuel directive.
The Minister of Lithuania advocated
increasing the cap on conventional
biofuels to 7% due the fact that not
all E.U countries have the economic
strength prioritize the environ-
ment. At first this proposal received
little support until this morning
when Finland changed the agen-
da with Spain and Germany. Now
many within the council support
the 7% proposal. Currently there
is an amendment that lowers the
cap for advanced biofuels to 1,5%
or removing the amendment allto-
gether. Both ideas are equally likely
to pass through the council given at
the moment of writing. The minis-
ters of both Finland and Netherland
have criticised the French minister
for shouting and power politics to-
wards the less economically devel-
oped and smaller countries. They
both have their doubts about her
competency as a minister.
The Finnish minister went on to say
that Finland did not support raising
the cap for conventional biofuels
but that they nevertheless would
support it as a measure of good-
will and compromise. The U.K was
orginally advocating to remove the
cap on biofuels. Now they support
the 7% proposal in the name of
compromise. The U.K has advocat-
ed the founding of a structural fund
that would help the less prosperous
member states make the transition
to advanced biofuels.
All in all it will soon be
clear whether the European Union
is going to support vested interest
in the conventional biofuel sector
at the cost of the environment or
whether it will reach a consensus
that will be sustainable in the long
term.
Eirikur Haraldsson
The Minister of Lithuania ad-
vocated increasing the cap on
conventional biofuels to 7%

7. Issue No. 05 Thursday, 7th April | 7— Strasbourg Daily —
SPECIAL FEATURE: INTERPRETERS
Pablo Rodríguez
Today we focus on the work of the
interpreters in the European Par-
liament, which this week with the
celebration of MEUS, enabled the
MEPs who speak 23 different lan-
guages to discuss the most varied
subjects. As direct representatives
of citizens in the EU, it is essential
that MEPs can express themselves
in debates in their language; inter-
preters are a key element in the
operation of the EP.
Interpreters work in
real time, which me-
ans they have to talk
andlistenatthesame
time, then repeat the
message they have
heard in one lan-
guage into another.
In this job you cannot miss a beat,“
explained several of them. For
interpreters „one of the worst
enemies is the speed“ of the spea-
ker, but they say that „at the same
time it’s very exciting, every day
your work can be interesting and
different.“
Interpreters work long hours, how-
ever, they take turns between them
to not lose concentration. They
prepare for discussions by reading
in several languages the most im-
portant working documents, in or-
der to keep abreast of changes and
new terminology. They also read
the press regularly to keep abreast
of the latest developments in the
international political scene, hel-
ping them to manage in the wide
variety of topics that occur daily in
the European Parliament.
During the plenary sessions, in-
terpreters work from 23 cabins
(one per official language) located
around the chamber, so that they
can follow the discussion - in each
sit 2 or 3 interpreters. The cabins
are soundproof, air conditioned,
well lit and feature ergonomic
chairs. They are visible to the au-
dience, but in the background.
„We‘re on the other side of the
glass, when we teach it to someo-
ne else, they are deeply impressed
by the silence,“ they noted.
Taking into account that the spea-
kers discuss in 23 languages, which
are in turn interpreted into another
22, every debate can have up to
506 language combinations
So, the interpreters have selected
their favourite speakers of MEUS
2016. Yes, anonymously, to safe-
guard their integrity and avoid dis-
comfort.
The reasons behind their choices
are fair and unbiased; „These are
speakers with a very good exhibi-
tion capacity.Their arguments are
clear and follow a good order, have
a perfectly marked structure.“they
clarify the importance of speed ba-
lanced discourse. „These deputies
express their ideas in an ideal and
natural time, neither too fast nor
too slow. An inappropriate pace or
slow velocity can greatly complica-
te the work of the interpreters as
our time for the process of inter-
pretation is reduced or increased
by enormouslyy causing unple-
asant silences for the listener.“
Ms Ksenija Ivanovic
Mr Mateo Garcia
Silva
Mr Stevens
Ms Ryon
Mr Rodrigues
Mr Caroli
Ms Granito