The British European – page 1
BRITISH
EUROPEAN
Bulletin
Campaigning for the Rights of Britons in Europe
ISSN 1604-5025
Issue No. 75 – June 2012
“BE together” – Forthcoming events:
Our annual summer picnic will take place on Sunday, July 15th.
Some of us will meet at Skodsborg Station (Kystbanen) on the land
side at 11 a.m. If you come by Kystbanen be sure to take the Nivå
train as the Helsingør train does not stop at Skodsborg. We will walk
through the woods to Rådvad. It will take about 45 minutes.
Those preferring not to walk and coming by car or bicycle will meet
us in Rådvad at 12 noon. We take our own picnic lunches and drinks
with us. We meet at the red gates near Rådvad Kro. The picnic tables
are behind the buildings on the 'main' street.
If the weather is terrible you are welcome at Rundforbivej 48 A with
your sandwiches and drinks at 12 noon.
St. Alban’s Church
The summer fete takes place on Saturday 18th August from about 10
a.m. till 5 p.m.
From the President:
A lot has happened in connection with voting rights or lack of them since our last
Bulletin. Some British pensioners in Southern France have been working very
intensely to get the 15 year time limit for British overseas voters removed so that all
ex-pats Brits will be able to in British General Elections. They also want the current
system to be less complicated. Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The
Cotswolds) is responsible for this debate. However our main aim is still dual
citizenship here, and hopefully this will be debated in Folketinget in the Autumn.
Down to earth again; we had our annual dinner in February in the Chinese restaurant
Hong Fu. It was a great success with many members attending. Libby Norton very
kindly hosted a book, video swap evening in May with refreshments. Our thanks to
Libby.
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In April a few of us took part in the European’s Throughout the World meeting in
Copenhagen. It was good to talk with ex-pats from many countries, and we were very
impressed by the speakers, especially the Estonian input on how their relatively new
voting system has been digitalized so voters can vote via the internet. Mr. Hartvig’s
interesting report on dual citizenship has been e-mailed to all members. Details of the
meeting are in the ‘Copenhagen Recommendations’ which is in the Bulletin.
In May I was invited by KUKS to attend their AGM in the Danske Bank
Headquarters. We were also shown round the building where they have a magnificent
art collection, and heard the interesting story of the Bank.
We will have our annual picnic in Rådvad in July. Some of us will walk from
Skodsborg. Hopefully the weather will be better than last year.
Val Kristiansen
From Brian Cave
On the debate on abolishing the 15 year time limit for ex-pats to vote in British
General elections:
TERGIVERSATION*** ( please see note at the end)
COMMONS
in the HOUSE of
th
Wednesday 27 June 2012,
British Democracy has again been sold down the river, carried away with the flotsam of party politics
scattered by the Liberal Democrats.
During this afternoon the almost empty chamber of the Commons listened to passionate exhortations from
the MPs - Geoffrey Clifton Brown, Gary Streeter, Nick de Bois and Heather Wheeler, explaining why the
expatriate citizen should have the right to vote for Life. Mr Clifton Brown had tabled a clause last week which
would give all Britons Abroad a vote (representation) for LIFE.
An extract from a letter by a campaign supporter (Margaret Hales) was read by Nick de Bois.
Yet David Heath, Deputy Leader and Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome persuaded Mr
Clifton Brown to withdraw his clause. This was his reasoning:What are registration officers to do to identify all those abroad who might be qualified to vote? Putting an
onus on them similar to the responsibility we are placing on them in this Bill to seek out everyone who could
possibly be qualified to vote would provide an insuperable problem for them if applied to overseas electors. I
think that the hon. Member for The Cotswolds would probably acknowledge that that is the case. Then very
shortly after he said….
I ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw his new clause. He has made some very important points and I
undertake that the Government will give them serious consideration. We will see whether there are
proposals that we might wish to bring forward in due course to address some of his points.
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So many ifs and buts… So for the foreseeable future, the British Citizen Abroad will still not be represented
after 15 years. I myself will never again have a representative MP, for next year I am disenfranchised.
Was it the Liberal Democrats who not openly, but surreptitiously in the tearooms of Westminster, pulled the
rug from under the foundation for this campaign that we and so many other expatriates have tried so hard to
build. The Citizens abroad have been thrown aside like some unwanted rubbish to float away.
Here are the views of Nick Clegg – as expressed by his assistant Rory Belcher.
“Nick appreciates that there are some British expatriates who have lived abroad for over 15 years and who
want to vote in British elections. However, as you may know, Nick supports the existing legislation on this
issue, including the removal of the right to vote after 15 years of living abroad. If a Briton has settled in
another country, it is intuitive that they would know about and be directly affected by the issues of that
country. If they want to become politically active, then they should register to vote in the country they have
settled in.”
Did Mr. Clegg put pressure on Mr Heath? It is a mystery why Mr. Clifton-Brown changed his mind. Internal
politics? “We mustn’t expose cracks in the coalition must we?”
Is Nick Clegg a Leader? Is Nick Clegg a Statesman? I do not think so.
Was there not here a glorious opportunity to stand up for British Citizens – The Citizens who are at the
cutting edge of British Influence in the World. – The Citizens who spread the spirit of Britain. An opportunity
for Britain to stand tall amongst the Nations.
Is any Britain Abroad proud of this performance in Parliament? I do not think so.
Hope always remains. This Bill has to go before the Lords – once again we must express our concerns and
get the peers on our side.
There is no good reason for the Clause to have been withdrawn. There is absolutely no reason why the
current process of registration which I have performed every year should not in some form continue. There
are no increased administrative difficulties. At the next election in 2015 let us all remember the role of the
Liberal Democrats in this matter. Tell your children, your parents, your aunts and cousins. Tell your friends.
Tell all in Britain what the Liberal Democrats have done this day.
‘The Liberal Democrats are opposed to Life-time Democracy for British Citizens.’
********************************
Withdrawal statement by Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
May I suggest to the Deputy Leader of the House and to the Committee a practical way of dealing with the
issue? The hon. Gentleman should table an amendment on Report or an amendment should be tabled in
another place to take powers to extend but not reduce the 15-year period at a time when the Government
are satisfied that the registration process is robust and maintains the integrity of the electoral register. He
would be able to do that in tandem with the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, his hon. Friend the
Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), who told the House last week that he would look at the measures
for the registration process that I suggested to him—namely, using the passport as an identity document,
abolishing the annual requirement to register, perhaps introducing a permanent opt-in for people who had
registered validly once, and the possibility of using British embassies so that people could register and, even
better, vote there. The Cabinet Office Minister undertook to look carefully at those measures, which could be
introduced under the Bill and under the existing legislation and secondary legislation. I suggest that the
Deputy Leader of the House table an amendment to take a power to extend the 15 years when the
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Government are satisfied that those measures are in place. On that basis, I beg to ask leave to withdraw my
new clause.
Note – There is no mention of Life-time Democratic Representation here!
Removal of the `15 year limit’ is not mentioned. Only extension!
Mr.Clifton Brown is intelligent and passionate. Why did he change his mind?
What conspiracies are constructed over the coffee cups in Westminster?
************
*** ‘tergiversation!’*** = turning one’s back on a previously held conviction!!
We must fight again in the House of Lords.
Author Brian Cave
Brian Cave
[email protected]
00 33 (0) 565 414269
www.lefourquet.net
www.votes-for-expat-brits.com
KOMITEEN FOR UDLANDSFORENINGERS KULTURELLE SAMVIRKE
Confédération Culturelle des sociétés Étrangères – Cultural Confederation of Foreign Societies
Protektor Hans Kongelige Højhed PRINSGEMALEN
K. U. K. S.
Præsident: Eleanor J. Bomholt
Præsidium: Direktør Ulrik Greve af Rosenborg Vicepræsident, Cand. mag. & art. Carl-Thomas von Christierson, Consultant Ole Christoffersen
MBA,
Group Manager Kaj Larssen MEM, Keramiker Susanne Prip Madsen, fhv. Ministerråd, Cand.jur. John Pontoppidan, Cand.mag Lisa Thorslunde
Sonne
Referat fra KUKS 42. Årsmøde 30. maj 2012
Årsmødet blev afholdt i Danske Banks kantine, Laksegade 10, lidt forsinket kl.18.40.
Dagsordenen for Årets komitémøde:
A. Formands beretning
Valg af dirigent. Valg af referent
B. Regnskab. Regnskabsaflæggelse ved Carl-Thomas von Christierson
C. Kommende aktiviteter.
I anledning af FN Dagen, KUKS International Exhibition of Modern Trends in
National Architecture, med åbningsceremoni, onsdag d. 24. oktober, kl.13.00.
D. Optagelse af nye medlemmer
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E. Eventuelt
-0-
Ad. A - Formandberetning
Formanden – Præsident Eleanor J. Bomholt (EJB) påtog sig dirigentrollen og Ole
Christoffersen påtog sig selvvalgt referentrollen.
EJB begyndte med at gøre opmærksom på at der var en fejl i det trykte program, idet
der står at åbningsceremonien for KUKS Udstilling på Københavns Rådhus foregår
fredag den 24. oktober, men det korrekte er ONDSDAG D. 24. OKTOBER 2012.
EJB orienterede om KUKS endagsseminar på Oslobåden, den 9. marts, hvor 30
formænd og bestyrelsesmedlemmer deltog.
Der blev berettet om et godt og konstruktivt indlæg ved Karsten Fledelius, om
medievalg og brugen af hjemmesider i foreninger – hvilke faldgrube der er og hvad
der fremover er anvendeligt som kommunikationsform med medlemmer.
Det var efterfulgt af et interessant og inspirerende indlæg med Craig Till om at være
expat i Danmark.
Dagen afsluttede med en meget fin frokost.
EJB konkluderede, at der er ønske om flere af den slags møder, hvor der er oplæg til
drøftelse medlemmerne imellem. Der var ikke flere der havde kommentarer til mødet
på Oslobåden.
-2–
Ad. B - Regnskabet
CTC gennemgik regnskabet. Der var spørgsmål om hvor legaterne der gives til
KUKS kommer fra. Hertil svarede CTC, at Danske Bank, Tuborg Fonden og Folmer
Visti Fonden var bidragsydere, og nævnte at der ikke er kommet så mange legater in i
år. EJB nævnte, i den forbindelse at Vistifonden i år har givet afslag
Regnskabet blev vedtaget
Ad. C – Kommende aktiviteter
EJB omtalte KUKS International Exhibition of Modern Trends in National
Architecture, d. 24. oktober på Københavns Rådhus og åbent til publikum med gratis
adgang indtil den 3. november. Ikke så mange lande har tilmeldt sig endnu. Flere
ambassader ville undersøge muligheden for at deltage og flere har lovet men ikke
tilmeldt sig endnu.
Der bliver sendt et nyt brev til ambassadørene. Det Danske indslag vil forhåbentlig
handler om Bjarke Ingels. Lisa Sonne vil kontakte Dansk Design Center for at høre
om deres mulighed for at deltage.
Ad. D – Optagelse af nye medlemmer
Siden sidste møde er Esperantoforeningen for Danmark blevet optaget i KUKS.
Formand, fru Ileana Schrøder.
I KUKS Præsidium har Professor Dr. Arne Zettersten trukket sig tilbage efter 13 år .
Han bor i Sverige og er ofte ude at rejse. EJB præsenterede seneste medlem af
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Præsidiet – John Pontoppidan, der tidligere har arbejdet i Protokollen i
Udenrigsministeriet. Herefter blev de tilstedeværende medlemmer af Præsidiet
præsenteret for forsamlingen
Ad.E – Eventuelt
Navneskilte. Spørgsmålet blev rejst af Elif Hestbæk fra Dank-Tyrkisk
venskabsforening, der foreslog at der blev udsendt et design, som hver
foreningsformand selv kunne udprinte.
Hanne Bruun fra Dansk-Østrigsk Selskab mente, at man ikke skulle belaste Præsidiet
med sådan en opgave og foreslog at man bruger sit visitkort som navneskilt.
Kaj Larssen fra St Andrew Society nævnte, at det godt kan lade sig gøre at udskrive
navne på labels, der kan påklistres som navneskilt.
Otto Ruhl, Dansk-Israelsk Selskab foreslog at man brugte knaphulsmærker-landflag
som kendetegn. Lizzie Schreiber fra Dansk-Indisk Forening foreslog, at KUKS
sender KUKS logoet til alle formænd, der så selv kan udskrive navneskilte.
EJB nævnte at Præsidiet har mange arbejdsopgaver, og at det er frivilligt arbejde der
udføres af medlemmerne af Præsidiet. Hun foreslog at hvis man har et navneskilt, så
kunne man tage det på til møder i KUKS.
-3–
Erik Nørgaard, fra Dansk-Afrika Selskab & American Club foreslog, at man fik et
bureau til at udfærdige navneskilte. Så kunne navneskilte afleveres i en kasse efter
møderne så de var klar til næste møde – sådan gør man i American Club - skiltene er
sat op i en kasse, så man samtidigt har et hurtigt overblik over hvem der er til stede.
Konklusion var at sagen vil blive taget op til drøftelser i et Præsidiemøde, hvor man
vil tage en beslutning.
Fællesaktiviteter. Ana Marie Vega, fra Den Spanske Musik- og Kultur Forening
forespurgte, om der kunne arrangeres nogle aktiviteter i fællesskab - evt. kunne flere
foreninger gå sammen om en aktivitet. Det kunne f.eks. være alle spansktalende
foreninger der havde en fælles aktivitet. Det kunne også være spændende at holde en
fest sammen. Og måske kunne nogle foreninger stille faciliteter til rådighed for andre
foreninger –for eks. lokaler.
EJB svarede, at man kan bruge den udleverede deltagerliste fra mødet idag, til at
kontakte hinanden. KUKS hjemmeside giver også god muligheder for at kontakte
hinanden for samarbejde.
Elif Hestbæk mente, at formændene kunne sende mails til de øvrige formænd om
forskellige engagementer. Disse mails kunne efterfølgende sendes ud til de respektive
medlemmer.
Arben Hoxhøj, fra Alba Dansk (Albania) understregede, at det var godt, at der blev
sendt sådanne mails ud – det giver bedre deltagelse til de enkelte arrangementer. Især
udstillinger i Dansk-Albansk Forening har nydt godt af sådanne mails, idet der kom
mange flere besøgende end foreningens egne medlemmer.
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KUKS formål. KUKS Præsident, EJB, gjorde opmærksom på, at KUKS hoved
formål er at promovere Venskab, Respekt og Forståelse. KUKS blander sig ikke i de
enkelte forenings anliggende. Det siger sig selv, at det er upassende for en formand
for én forening at blande sig i en anden forenings anliggende.
Der var ikke flere der ønskede ordet og årsmødet blev hævet.
Referent
Ole Christoffersen
15.6.2012
Kaleidoscop, Sam Lomberg’s radio programme on Helsingør Kanalen.
On Saturday afternoons Sam Lomberg has a radio programme on Helsingør Kanalen
called Kaleidoscop. In his programme he interviews people in English and in Danish
and plays music. For further information on Helsingør Kanalen visit their website
www.klsradio.mono.net . If you have anything you feel could be of interest to Sam’s
listeners please send an e-mail to [email protected] .
Val, Bent and Bill
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THE EUROPEANS THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD
LES EUROPEENS DANS LE MONDE
DE EUROPEANEN IN DE WERELD
aisbl
The President
The Secretary General
Copenhagen, 13th of April 2012
ETTW CONFERENCE ON EUROPEAN CITIZENS’
RIGHTS
Agenda for seminar on Citizens´ Rights, 20 April 2012,
Europe House, Copenhagen
Europa-Huset
Gothersgade 115
DK- 1123 København K
11.30: Welcome (Mr. Jan Høst Schmidt, Europe House)
11.35: Opening of Seminar – overview of the situation in the EU (Acting President of the ETTW,
Mr. Paschalis Papachristopoulos)
11.45: Dual citizenship – brief overview of status in the EU (Mr. Hans Peter Hartvig, Legal expert,
ETTW)
12.00: Three countries – three cases on dual citizenship
• Germany: Dr. Johannes Trommer, Gesandt of the German embassy in Denmark
• Norway: Mr. Jørg Willy Bronebakk, Norwegian ambassador to Denmark and
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•
The Czech Republic: Mr. Stanislav Kazecky, Special Envoy for Czechs Abroad, Czech
Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
13.00: Quick lunch
13.45: Voting Rights – introduction (Mr. Nicholas Newman, Secretary General, ETTW)
14.00: Three countries – three cases on voting rights
• Poland: Ms. Dobrosława Siemianowska, Consul of the Polish embassy in Denmark
• Estonia: Ms. Maiga Võsu, Consul of the Estonian embassy in Denmark and
• Greece: Mr. Alexandros Couyou, Greek ambassador to Denmark)
15.00: Coffee
15.20: Example of parliamentary representation for citizens abroad (Ms. Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam,
member of the French senate)
15.45: Experiences from Malta (Ms. Deborah Attard Montalto, Chargé d´Affaires of the Maltese
embassy in Denmark)
16.00: Discussion, recommendations and press release
17.30: Closing remarks
19.30: Dinner in the Tivoli Gardens at Restaurant Madklubben
Saturday 21st of April
9.30 – 11.30: Breakfast and General Assembly in restaurant Maven – Sankt Nicolai Church
12.00: Organized sight-seeing in Copenhagen
List of participants
Ambassador Jørg Willy Bronebakk*
Ambassador Alexandros Couyou*
Ms. Anne Marie Dalgaard
Ms. Karin Ehnbom-Palmqvist
Mr. Lasse Espelid
Ms. Karine Henrotte Forsberg
Mr. Hans Peter Hartvig*
Ms. Marie-Claude Hayoit de Termicourt
Ms. Teodora Hrib
Ms. Dorit Hørlyck
Ms. Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam*
Ambassador Gints Jegermanis
(The Norwegian Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The Greek Embassy in Copenhagen)
(Danes Worldwide)
(Swedes Abroad/Svenskar i Världen)
(Norwegians Worldwide/Nordmanns-Forbundet)
(Swedes Abroad/Svenskar i Världen)
(ETTW)
(ETTW)
(The Romanian Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The Danish Ministry of Justice)
(The French Senate)
(The Latvian Embassy in Copenhagen
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Mr. Stanislav Kázecký*
Mr. Bent Kristiansen
Ms. Valerie Kristiansen
Ms. Banu Malaman
Mr. Franklin Mamo
Ms. Deborah Attard Montalto*
Mr. Nicholas Newman*
Mr. Rasmus Kjærgaard Nielsen
Ms. Tina Nordqvist
Mr. Paschalis Papachristopoulos*
Ms. Lilit Sargsyan
Ms. Zhulide Shefket
Ms. Dobroslawa Siemianowska*
Ms. Kinga Simon
Ms. Charlotte Sylvestersen
Ms. Marie-Jeanne Thiebaut
Mr. Walter Thiebaut
Ms. Tina Thuesen
Dr. Johannes Trommer*
Mr. Gregory Howard Unsworth-Mitchell
Mr. Koen van der Schaeghe
Ms. Ria van Elslande
Mr. William Patrick Vase
Ms. Maiga Võsu*
(The Czech Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The British European Association, Denmark)
(The British European Association, Denmark)
(The Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen)
(Maltin fil-Belġju)
(The Maltese Embassy in Copenhagen)
(ETTW)
(Danes Worldwide)
(Finland Society/Finland-Samfundet/Suomi-Seura)
(The World Council of Hellenes Abroad)
(The Armenian Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The Bulgarian Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The Polish Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The Hungarian Embassy in Copenhagen)
(statsborger.dk)
(Vlamingen in de Wereld)
(Vlamingen in de Wereld)
(statsborger.dk)
(The German Embassy in Copenhagen)
(The British and European Association)
(Vlamingen in de Wereld)
(Vlamingen in de Wereld)
(The British European Association, Denmark)
(The Estonian Embassy in Copenhagen)
(* will also be speaking at the seminar)
Copenhagen, 20 April 2012
The COPENHAGEN RECOMMENDATIONS
Voting rights and multiple citizenship, issues of major concern to expatriate European
citizens, were discussed during the Conference on European Citizens' Rights hosted by
the Europeans throughout the World (ETTW) and Danes Worldwide, the association of
Danes abroad, during the Danish Presidency of the European Union, at the Europa House
in Copenhagen on the 20th April 2012. It was recalled that there are estimated to be 13
million EU citizens living abroad within the EU and a further 50 to 60 million living outside
the EU, the equivalent of a large member state.
There are considerable differences between the voting rights of expatriate European
citizens from different countries. Many EU member states do not extend the right to vote in
EU parliamentary elections to those living outside the EU, thus discriminating between
European citizens. Further, many European states do not allow their citizens living abroad
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to vote in their national elections, or remove voting rights after a certain time abroad, thus
depriving them of representation in their national Parliament.
The Conference also discussed the situations of citizens possessing or acquiring multiple
nationalities by birth, descent, marriage or naturalisation and the implications of allowing or
prohibiting such multiple nationalities.
The Conference recalls that 2013 is European Year of Citizenship, regrets the lack of
action and progress on these issues and calls upon all authorities at both EU and national
levels to
end discrimination between EU citizens based on their nationality and place of residence,
in particular concerning the vote and the right to representation in both national and
European Parliament elections, and make practical arrangements to facilitate the
convenience of the citizen, wherever he or she resides in the world, for example through
proxy, postal or electronic voting mechanisms;
• explore the possibilities for EU member states to reserve seats for MEPs representing
their expatriate citizens outside the EU;
• end restrictions on multiple nationalities, resulting from birth, descent, marriage or
naturalisation; and renews the call for a Member of the European Commission to be given
specific responsibility for expatriate EU citizens and for an agency to be created to take up
their concerns on a permanent basis.
Additional information and studies on voting rights and multiple nationalities as well as previous
recommendations on EU expatriate issues can be found on the website of the European
throughout the World (www.euromonde.eu)
ETTW - The Europeans throughout the World is an international non-governmental federation of national
associations for residents abroad, founded in 1984 under Belgian private law. THE EUROPEANS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD serve the more than thirteen million European nationals living in Europe in
another country than their own and more than fifty million Europeans living elsewhere in the world.
ETTW - Fondation Universitaire 11, rue d’Egmont B – 1000 Bruxelles Tel. / Fax : +32 2 512.00.59
www.euromonde.eu [email protected] www.facebook.com/pages/Europeans-Throughout-the-World/186668841355237
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Copenhagen, 23 April 2012
PRESS RELEASE
Copenhagen Conference on European Citizens’ Rights, 20
April 2012 Millions of European citizens are deprived of their
right to vote
Millions of EU citizens reside in a country other than that of their origin. There are
estimated to be 13 million in another EU country and between 50 and 60 million or even
more in non-EU countries. The majority of these expatriate EU citizens are prevented from
voting in national elections, as they can neither vote in their country of origin nor in their
country of residence. Further, most of those living outside the EU cannot even vote in EU
parliamentary elections, despite being European Citizens, whose right to vote in European
Parliament elections is only guaranteed if they live in an EU country.
At the same time millions of EU citizens are prevented from full integration in their EU
country of residence due to inflexible legislation on citizenship. There are wide variations in
the treatment and the rights of expatriate EU citizens within the EU. As examples of the
discrepancies that exist in their voting and representation rights, some countries like
France, Italy and Portugal allow their expatriate citizens to vote and be represented in their
national parliament, while most other European countries leave their expatriates in a legal
limbo concerning their national voting rights. For the majority of EU citizens living in a nonEU country, it is impossible to participate in the European Parliamentary elections.
These topics were discussed during the Conference on European Citizens' Rights hosted
by the Europeans throughout the World (ETTW) and Danes Worldwide, the
association of Danes abroad, during the Danish Presidency of the European Union, at the
Europa House in Copenhagen on the 20 April 2012. The Conference issued the attached
th
Copenhagen Recommendations to all authorities at both EU and national levels.
The ETTW calls for harmonisation of the rules regarding voting rights and multiple
citizenship within the EU. European citizens must be able to keep their voting rights as well
as being able to keep or gain dual (in some cases more) citizenship, which must be
regarded as basic rights in order to ensure the free movement of EU citizens throughout
the EU without losing their rights, and remove unfair discrimination.
For further information, please contact Secretary General of the ETTW, Nicholas Newman
([email protected]), or Secretary General of Danes Worldwide, Anne Marie Dalgaard
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The British European – page 13
([email protected]) Tel.: +45 23 69 00 42
ETTW - The Europeans Throughout The World is an international non-governmental
federation of national associations for residents abroad, founded in 1984 under Belgian
private law. THE EUROPEANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD serve the more than
thirteen million European nationals living in Europe in another country than their own and
more than fifty million Europeans living elsewhere in the world.
Bruxelles, le 6 avril 2012
CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION
SAMEDI 21 AVRIL 2012 à 9:30
RESTAURANT MAVEN, NICOLAJ PLADS 10, DK-1067 COPENHAGUE K,
DANEMARK
PROJET D'ORDRE DU JOUR
1. INTRODUCTION ET APPROBATION DE L'ORDRE DU JOUR
2. APPROBATION DU COMPTE-RENDU DE LA REUNION DU 3 FEVRIER 2012
3. ELECTION D'UN NOUVEAU PRESIDENT
4. ELECTION D’UN OU DEUX NOUVEAUX MEMBRES DU BUREAU
5. POINTS ADMINISTRATIFS
5.1. Situation financière, entrée des cotisations 2011 et 2012
5.2. Bureau à la Fondation Universitaire
5.3. Proposition d’attributions spécifiques des Vice-Présidents
6. CONFERENCE EDLM SUR LA CITOYENNETE, COPENHAGUE, 20 AVRIL 2012
6.1. Premières impressions
6.2. Actions requises
7. ACTIVITES
7.1. Diversité culturelle européenne
7.2. 2013 Année européenne des citoyens
7.3. Contacts avec le Parlement européen et la Commission européenne
7.4. Nouveaux membres potentiels - Autriche, Suisse, Union des Français de
l’Etranger
(UFE), Islande, Portugal, Allemagne
7.5. Site web Euromonde
8. CALENDRIER DES REUNIONS 2012 (NB Les dates préférées sont en gras)
11 mai Bureau Bruxelles
8 ou 15 juin CA ou autre réunion ? Bruxelles
14 septembre Bureau Bruxelles
19 octobre Conseil d'Administration Bruxelles
30 novembre ou 7 décembre Bureau Bruxelles
9. DIVERS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Members and Friends,
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Following our meetings on Saturday, congratulations to Paschalis Papachristopoulos as President, to Karine HenrotteForsberg and Mario Greco as Vice-Presidents, and to Walter Thiebaut as Special Delegate.
On behalf of all of us our greatest thanks to Anne Marie Dalgaard and all her team for having organized the Conference
so well and so successfully. It was a memorable occasion. And all our thanks also to the Europa House for housing us.
Yours,
Nicholas Newman
********************************************************************
Chers Membres et Amis,
Faisant suite à nos réunions samedi, toutes nos félicitations à Paschalis Papachristopoulos, Président, à Karine HenrotteForsberg et Mario Greco, Vice-Présidents, et à Walter Thiebaut, Délégué Spécial.
De notre part à tous, j'exprime nos plus grands remerciements à Anne Marie Dalgaard et à toute son équipe d'avoir si
bien organisé la Conférence, et avec tant de succès. C'était une occasion mémorable. Egalement tous nos remerciements
à La Maison de l'Europe de nous avoir hébergés.
Bien à vous,
Nicholas Newman
Nicholas Newman at
[email protected]
BOARD MEETING
SATURDAY 21 APRIL 2012 AT 9:30
HOTEL TIVOLI, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
DRAFT MINUTES
Those present:
President a.i., Meeting Chairman: Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos, World Council of
HellenesAbroad
Secretary General: Mr. Nicholas Newman, Association for the Rights of Britons Abroad
Assistant Secretary General: Mrs. Marie-Claude Hayoit de Termicourt
Treasurer: Mr. Koen van der Schaeghe, Vlamingen in de Wereld
Special Delegate: Mrs. Karine Henrotte Forsberg, Swedes Abroad - SVIV
Other Members:
Mrs. Anne Marie Dalgaard, Danes Worldwide
Mrs Karin Ehnbom-Palmquist, Swedes Abroad - SVIV
Mr Lasse Espelid, Norwegians Worldwide (NO)
Mr Bent Kristiansen, British European Association in Denmark
Mr Franklin Mamo, Maltin fil-Belģju
Mrs Tina Nordqvist, Finland Society Suomi-Seura R.V.
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Mrs Valerie Taylor Kristiansen, British European Association in Denmark
Mr Walter Thiebaut, Vlamingen in de Wereld VIW
Proxies:
Mr Aldis Austers, European Latvian Association
Mr Ivo Dubois (NL)
Mr Didier Heiremans, Union Francophone des Belges à l’Etranger
Invited:
Mrs Ria Heremans - Van Elslande, Vlamingen in de Wereld VIW
Mr William Patrick Vase, British European Association in Denmark
Excused:
Mr Yves Aubin de la Messusière, Mission Laïque Française
Mr Aldis Austers, European Latvian Association
Mrs Francine Bougeon-Maassen, Français du Monde - adfe
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Ms Noreen Bowden, Vice-President, GlobalIrish – Ireland
Mr Ivo Dubois (NL)
Mr Mario Greco, Special Delegate, CIM-Belgio
Mr Didier Heiremans, Union Francophone des Belges à l’Etranger
Mrs Dace Luters-Thümmel, European Latvian Association
Mr Bernard Mis, Mission Laïque Française
Mr Javier Moreno, Instituto Ramón Rubial
Mr Dietrich Pause (DE)
Ms Karin Petrickova, World Association of Slovaks Living Abroad - SZSZ
Mr Jean Raus (LU)
Mr Jean-Claude Séché, Vice-President, Français du Monde – adfe
Mrs Paula Selenius, Finland Society Suomi-Seura R.V.
Mr Vladimír Skalsky, Vice-President, World Association of Slovaks living Abroad
Mr Stefanos Tamvakis, World Council of Hellenes Abroad
1. INTRODUCTION AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos, President ad interim, welcomed the participants. He
recalled the minutes of silence that had been observed the preceding day at the beginning
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of the Conference on Citizenship in memory of our late President, Ambassador
Christopher Bo Bramsen and of our late Vice-President, Baron Simon-Pierre Nothomb.
He particularly thanked Mrs Anne Marie Dalgaard and her colleagues for the excellent
organization of the Conference on Citizenship on the 20 April.
th
The agenda was approved with the addition of a discussion of Mrs Ria Heremans - Van
Elslande’s report ETTW: Where to? Challenges for 2010 & beyond after point 4, proposed
by Mrs Anne Marie Dalgaard, who with Mr Lasse Espelid recalled that it had not been
discussed properly since its presentation in Bratislava on 11 June 2010.
The numbering of the other points has been updated below, compared to the draft agenda
distributed before the meeting.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING OF 3 FEBRUARY 2012
This point was postponed as it had not yet been possible to finalise the minutes. However
Mr Nicholas Newman reminded the meeting of the main points, the nomination of Mr
Paschalis Papachristopoulos as President a.i. following the death of our President
Ambassador Christopher Bo Bramsen, the approval of the annual report, accounts and
balance sheet for 2011 and European cultural diversity, raised by Mr Lasse Espelid.
3. ELECTION OF A NEW PRESIDENT
The only candidate for President, Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos, was duly elected
unanimously for the time remaining until the next renewal of the Bureau in Autumn 2013.
The members present congratulated him on his election. Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos
thanked the participants for their confidence and reminded the members about the critical
situation of ETTW, not only financially but also its lack of visibility. He stressed the
necessity for “re-branding” the image of ETTW or as Mr Nicholas Newman suggested as a
preferable term “re-positioning” the association. Mr Walter Thiebaut mentioned that this repositioning was necessary not only with respect to the EU institutions but also with respect
to our members.
4. ELECTION OF ONE OR TWO NEW MEMBERS OF THE BUREAU
There being now two positions of Vice-President vacant, Mr Mario Greco and Mrs Karine
Henrotte, both already Special Delegates, were elected unanimously for the time
remaining until the next renewal of the Bureau in Autumn 2013.
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On a proposal by Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos, Mr Walter Thiebaut was elected
unanimously Special Delegate.
The members present congratulated them on their election.
N.B. As all new members of the Bureau were already members of the Board, there
was no need to hold the scheduled meeting of the General Assembly.
5. REPORT ETTW: Where to? Challenges for 2010 & beyond
Mrs Ria Heremans - Van Elselande distributed an updated version of her report of June
2010 and outlined its contents. While Mr Lasse Espelid regretted that the report had not
been further discussed in Bratislava through lack of time, Mrs Anne Marie Dalgaard
proposed to decide at this meeting on three to five actions to be taken with the help of the
members.
Mrs Karin Ehnbohm-Palmquist proposed as priorities to:
• modernise the ETTW web site, possibly with the help of a stagiaire expert in information
technology;
• recruit younger board members, as they have done in Sweden;
• raise the visibility of the ETTW by electing an “expatriate of the year”, for which eligibility
criteria and ways and means should be derived.
Action: Danes Worldwide, Finland Society, Swedes Abroad
Each member organisation could propose a candidate each year. Mr Paschalis
Papachristopoulos felt it may be possible to obtain EU funding for this as well as the
backing of Vice-President Mme Viviane Reding.
It was suggested we could earn money through publicity on our web site, as is the case
with Danes Worldwide (car rental companies etc.) and Norwegians Worldwide. Mr Lasse
Espelid also mentioned that use of agencies which organise advertising income for web
sites, taking a substantial percentage for themselves, but far better at harvesting income
than any individual web site managers. He agreed to have a paper written to describe the
mechanism.
Action: Norwegians Worldwide
Mrs Anne Marie Dalgaard suggested we could explore the idea of corporate membership,
particularly for multi-national firms which employ expatriates. Also national corporate
sponsorship should be explored. Mr Lasse Espelid mentioned that we could ask external
bodies and firms what they might expect from us.
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Action: volunteer needed
Also, how do they see European culture as opposed to Asian, American etc cultures? See
the questions raised by the Norwegian Foreign Minister, mentioned at our meeting of 3
February 2012.
The Comité de Patronage was also discussed. Its role should be clarified, and Mr Walter
Thiebaut volunteered to propose a draft description.
Action: Mr Walter Thiebaut
Members would suggest suitable people for such a Committee, and we should see what
the current situation of the original members is.
Action: All Members
Mr Franklin Mamo suggested the Comité de Patronage could, for example, award the
annual “European Expatriate of the Year” prize.
Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos undertook to revise his draft “Mission Statement”.
Action: Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos
Mrs Ria Heremans - Van Elslande suggested an “advisory board” of younger people.
Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos explained the mechanism for recruiting stagiaires with
support fromthe European Commission, and for matching offers from NGOs and other
organisations withpotential stagiaires through national bodies, internationally inter-linked.
Mrs Ria Heremans – Van Elslande’s outline paper would be distributed to all Members.
Action: Secretariat
6. ADMINISTRATIVE POINTS
6.1. Financial situation, entry of membership subscriptions for 2011 and 2012
While several Members had still not paid their subscriptions for 2011 and 2012, enough
had paid to cover all outstanding arrears apart from the 1 900 € private loans from several
members. This still left us with very little to cover the current year, and Mr Nicholas
Newman and Mrs Karine Henrotte-Forsberg suggested that healthy finances implied at
least a year’s finance in advance of expenditure.
6.2. Office at the Fondation Universitaire
Mrs Marie-Claude Hayoit de Termicourt reported that the Fondation Universitaire had let
the office we currently occupy, but which we had rescinded from October 2011, fom 1 July
2012. EUxIN had confirmed their willingness to contribute two thirds of the cost of the
shared office, even in the case of a smaller office which the Fondation Universitaire was
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willing to let to us. Mr Nicholas Newman reported that the reduced cost was equivalent to
the extra cost which we would incur if we did not have an office (storage, letter-box, more
frequent need to rent space for small meetings etc.). It was therefore decided to accept the
offer of the Fondation Universitaire of a smaller office from 1 July 2012.
Action: Secretariat
6.3. Proposal for specific attributions of Vice-Presidents
Not discussed as such, through lack of time.
7. ETTW CONFERENCE ON CITIZENSHIP, COPENHAGEN, 20 APRIL 2012
7.1. First impressions
Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos repeated his deep thanks to Mrs Anne Marie Dalgaard for
the excellent conference on European Citizens’ rights that she organized in the name of
ETTW. To have Ambassadors and officials from various Embassies to report on their
current situations on multiple nationality and voting rights was extremely constructive and
he recalled in particular the intervention from Estonia on voting rights as well as the very
supportive commitment from the French Sénatrice Mme Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam.
All Members present expressed their great interest in the two major issues discussed,
multiple nationalitues and voting rights for expatriate citizens.
7.2. Actions required
As promised, Mr Nicholas Newman distributed the newly drafted Copenhagen
Recommendations following the European Citizenship Conference. Members were asked
to please send their comments by Sunday 22 April 2012 at 18:00.
Action: Members
Once finalized the Recommendations (sent to members on 23 April 2012 with the
press release) should be translated into French and sent to the press as well as to
various EU personalities within the European institutions.
Action: Secretariat
Member Associations were also requested to send the Recommendations to the relevant
press people as well as politicians at their national level.
Action: Members
8. ACTIVITIES
8.1. European Cultural Diversity
This point followed the request and the paper of Mr Lasse Espelid and the Norwegian
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Foreign Ministry. Mr Nicholas Newman indicated that it had not yet been followed up.
Mr Franklin Mamo mentioned EUNIC, the European network of cultural institutions. The
participants shared the view that it could be interesting to organize common cultural
activities and try to find financial support for this.
8.2. 2013 European Year of Citizens
This was not discussed as such through lack of time, but the European Commission’s
press release had been distributed to Members with the draft agenda for this meeting, on 8
April 2012.
8.3. Contacts with European Parliament and European Commission
Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos repeated his report on the meeting he and Mr Nicholas
Newman had had with the European Commission’s Citizenship Unit on 18 Octobeer 2011.
The late Mr Simon-Pierre Nothomb had also twice met President Herman Van Rompuy
and used these opportunities to make him aware of the various issues of European
expatriates that need to be taken into account within the EU institutions.
8.4. Possible new memberships - Austria, Switzerland, Union des Français de
l’Etranger
(UFE), Iceland, Portugal, Germany
Following the Copenhagen Confeerence, Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos had contacted
one of the two organisations representing Czechs abroad. Mr Nicholas Newman was in
touch with Mme Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam, French Sénatrice, about potential membership of
the Union des Français de l’Etranger (UFE), and also had a contact in Lithuania.
8.5. Euromonde web site
Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos reported on the activation of a FaceBook page and asked
all our members to add links from their own web sites to the ETTW web site.
Action: Mr Koen Van der Schaeghe, then all members
He added that Euronews had shown a number of short films on European expatriate
issues, available on the Euronews web site. Links could be added to the Euromonde web
site.
Action: Mr Nicholas Newman
9. MEETINGS IN 2012 (NB Preferred dates are in bold print)
11 May Bureau meeting Brussels
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15 June Board meeting Brussels
14 September Bureau meeting Brussels
19 October Board meeting Brussels
30 November or 7 December Bureau meeting Brussels
10. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
10.1. Inactive Vice-Presidents and Members
It was noted that the statutory provision for five Vice-Presidents allowed for special
circumstances such as sabbatical leave or other temporary circumstances. However it was
felt that officers who were effectively inactive and generally absent from meetings should
be encouraged to either resume their activities or leave their place to somebody more able
to participate in practice. Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos would write to all concerned.
This would be discussed further at a later meeting. The same principle should apply to all
members.
Action: Mr Paschalis Papachristopoulos to write to bureau members
Action: Secretariat - future agenda point
Annexes:
- Copenhagen Recommendations
- Press Release
From Our Members:
Elizabethann Burke Madsen:
Subject: ACTUAL PASSPORT LETTER-----he's got a point
Dear Sirs,
I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this. How is
it that Sky Television has my address and telephone number and knows that I
bought a bleeding satellite dish from them back in 1977, and yet, the
Government is still asking me where I was bloody born and on what date.
For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand? My birth date you have on my
pension book, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30
years. It is on my National Health card, my driving license, my car insurance, on
the last eight damn passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration
forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the plane over the last 30 years,
and all those insufferable census forms.
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Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is
Mary Anne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be abso-f***ing-lutely astounded
if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!!
I apologise, I'm really pissed off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had
enough of this bulls**t! You send the application to my house, then you ask me
for my f***address!!!!
What is going on? Do you have a gang of Neanderthal arseholes workin' there?
Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I don't want to dig up Yasser
Arafat, for shit sakes. I just want to go and park my arse on some sandy beach
somewhere.
Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the poxy city to
get another f***ing copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of £30. Would it be so
complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of
a new passport the same day??
Nooooooooooooo, that'd be too damn easy and maybe make sense. You'd
rather have us running all over the f****n' place like chickens with our heads cut
off, then have to find some arsehole to confirm that it's really me on the damn
picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (bureaucratic
fuckin' morons) Hey, do you know why we couldn't smile if we wanted to?
Because we're totally pissed off!
Signed
An Irate Citizen.
P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to
confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since 1776 .......... I
have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had full
security clearances over 25 of those years enabling me to undertake highly
secretive missions all over the world. .......... However, I have to get someone
'important' to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor - WHO WAS
BORN AND RAISED IN F****NG PAKISTAN !
Sincerely,
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Jokes:
I changed my i Pod name to Titanic. It's syncing now .
When chemists die, they barium.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst .
A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.
How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met
herbivore.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
They told me I had type A blood, but it was a Type- O.
A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations.
Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory. I hope there's no pop quiz.
Energizer bunny arrested. Charged with battery.
I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
How do you make holy water? Boil the hell out of it!
Did you hear about the cross eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't
control her pupils?
When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.
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The British European – page 24
What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back four seconds.
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me!
Broken pencils are pointless.
I tried to catch some fog. I mist.
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.
I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx.
All the toilets in New York's police stations have been stolen. Police have nothing to
go on.
I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough .
Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes .
Velcro - what a rip off!
Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy.
Venison for dinner? Oh deer!
Earthquake in Washington obviously government's fault.
I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.
Be kind to your dentist. He has fillings, too.
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Probably the best poster on the London Underground...!!!
Subscriptions!! Some members have not paid their subscriptions
There are still a few members who have not paid their subscription yet – please
pay ASAP.
Please pay your yearly subscription. The subscriptions should be paid into the giro
account for The British European Association in BG Bank, now Danske Bank. The
type of the account is a 'ForeningsGiro'. Reg.nr. 1551. Account number: 2608596.
Please note the Reg.nr. has been changed (1551 is the correct number). If you have
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and pay at a post office.
The amount to be paid is d.kr. 150-00 for a single member and d.kr. 250-00 for a
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Please send articles and letters intended for the next BE Bulletin to: Valerie
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BE Bulletins can be read on our home page: www.briteuro.dk
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The British European – page 26
oOo
THE BRITISH EUROPEAN (ISSN 1604-5025)
www.briteuro.dk
The BE bulletin is produced by The British European Association. (Assoc. Reg. No. 4479)
President: Valerie Kristiansen, e-mail: [email protected]
Treasurer and editor: Bent Kristiansen
Meetings and socials: to be determined
Co-ordinator: Monty London
Webmaster: Bill Vase
Bulletin Editor: Valerie and Bent Kristiansen [email protected]
Other Core Members: Joe McKernan
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