Italian and Bulgarian perspectives on Turkey. The French view on Kosovo. The Belgian look on Croatia. Dealing with the enlargeÂment topic, many of the winning articles from the European Young Journalist Awards (EYJA) competition disÂcuss the situation of the countries willing to join the European Union in the future. At the same time, there are articles reflecting the effects the most recent EU enlargements had on the older members of the Union.
Two of them approach, from oppoÂsite points of view, the impact the integration of Romania had on two Western European countries, namely Ireland and Germany.
Patricia Mc Donagh, the Irish winner of the EYJA, tells a story many European have heard before about the Romanian people moving to Western countries in the pursuit of a better life. But, as Mc Donagh shows in her artiÂcle, for some Romanians this dream turns into a nightmare. “Romanians say they want to work, but the Irish government makes this really difficult, as people from Romania and Bulgaria are not allowed to work in our counÂtry without a working permission. They are trying to bag on the streets in order to get money. Many also rob people because they are put in the situation where they can’t work legally (NO: Because of this, they start begging or robbing people.) At the moment, the Irish government is looking how they can improve the status of the people coming from new member states, but they probably will not change it, because that would mean many more foreigners would enter the country and the economical recession in Ireland is really bad. Many people already went back where they came from and I think their dream of Europe is going to be dashedâ€, Patricia Mc Donagh believes. She tells that the discussion she had with the Romanian winner, Madalina-Daniela Mocanu, changed her perceptions about the RomaÂnians. As Mc Donagh states, Irish people believe Romania is a really poor country, like Ireland used to be back in the fifties, just before joining the EU. “She is modern, just like me. There is a ridiculous perception about Romanians not having money to buy clothes, and this is reinforced by the image of those people who come to work in my country and finish up beggingâ€, Patricia adds.
The German winning article of the EYJA describes the opposite side of Romania’s EU-story. “Germans always think Romanians move to the richer countries from the European Union to make more money, and I just wanted to show the opposite. There are many opportunities for young Germans in the Eastern countries and mainly in Romania. Opportunities that you could not find in any other Western country, where the economical system is really estaÂblished and there is no more space for new initiativesâ€, Killian Kirchgessner, the German winner of the EYJA, says. He portrays the opportunities Romania offers by giving examples of an artist, a lawyer and two biologists – all German citizens – who found their place and career in the new EU member country. The story comes after the controversy created by the relocation of a Nokia plant from Germany to Romania. Kirchgessner says he actually got new insights to the issue when he talked to the Romanian winner. “I understood the Romanian perÂspective of this relocation, but I hope Romanians can also understand the German perspective of the issue, especially after meeting people from Germany. I got a view from the other side and I enjoyed that very muchâ€, Killian Kirchgessner concluded.
Madalina Daniela Mocanu herself is happy because other European jourÂnalists could have a positive approach on the consequences the Romanian integration had on the continent. At the same time, she is aware the bad aspects described in the Irish article are a reality: “The only thing one can say is that Romanians are not all like what the Irish imagine them to be like.â€
Annelien De Greef, Belgian winner, was wondering in her article “Can we imagine an EU without Spain nowaÂdays, even though opposition was very strong in the eightiesâ€. Maybe in 2028 we will be wondering the same about Romania and Bulgaria.
By: Carmen Claudia Paun
