After 20 years of bureaucratic delays, the EU-Mercosur deal is taking major steps towards finalisation. In the meantime, China has aggressively filled the void left by European countries in the market, replacing Europe as South America's industrial engine. With opposition mounting from European parties and civil society, we have to ask: Is this still just a ‘simple trade deal’? Or is it a strategic necessity to save Europe from global irrelevance? Read the latest Euroculturer analysis to find out why Europe can’t afford to walk away!
Tag: feature
How It All Started We are a team of Euroculture students, Mariami, Mikihiro and Ilya. As part of our Project Management course at the University of Göttingen, our team set out to create something both creative and meaningful: a bilingual (Arabic–German) children’s book. Our idea was to support 5–10-year-old children, especially those with refugee or … Continue reading We Made a Book! Supporting Children Through Stories
What does home taste like? For us Euroculture students, home can shift from one country to another, carried in a suitcase or tucked into memory. Amid all the movement, food remains a steady anchor. It's how we return to where we've been—or how we begin to belong in a new place, even if just for a moment. Culture Bites is a cookbook that brings together recipes that hold meaning across borders. Creators of the cookbook - Elena De Giacomo, Fernanda Balzacchi de Moura Morais, Kasey Gardner, Nouha Khelfa, Teresa Donà - are happily sharing it with the Euroculture community.
In this article, Ibibia Frederick Joseph-George, a second-semester Euroculture student, reflects on coordinating a university project trip to Brussels as part of the Eurocompetence II module. Balancing the roles of organiser and participant, he explores how questions of identity, migration, and belonging shaped the experience. What began as an academic requirement turned into a personal journey through a city that calls itself the heart of Europe.
Since fall 2024, North Korean troops have been reported fighting in Russia and in Ukraine, signifying both a deepening in Moscow-Pyongyang relationships and a further step in the internationalization of the conflict. The implications of North Korea’s direct participation in the war are far greater than a symbol of the two countries’ friendship. The events leading to and stemming from the sending of troops are multiple and interconnected: from the signature of a mutual defense treaty last June, to Ukraine’s offensive in the Russian region of Kursk in August, to the undetermined fate of North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) currently in Ukraine, the voluntary actions of Pyongyang and Moscow bring us back to a pre-World War II international order and disregard the law of armed conflict. Many consequences of the North Korean participation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine are tied to breaches of international law, but the human repercussions are just as alarming. As we discover through the testimonies of the very few survivors of the North Korean troops found thousands of kilometers away from their country, the dignity of these soldiers, their unlawful transport and presence, as well as the fate of those captured should be part of the debate.
Ultranationalist TikTok star Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round in Romania’s presidential election. The Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election, citing declassified Romanian intelligence documents of severe foreign interference. Amid intense internal conflicts, this incident has drawn sharper attention to how external actors and the digital sphere can destabilize a democracy.
There is history known to everyone, history known by some, and then there is history that was almost lost. When your own history has been invisible to most, shedding light on it is the least you can do, hoping people will take interest and listen to you. In a world where some histories remain hidden, Mukhamet Shayakhmetov’s “The Silent Steppe: The Memoir of a Kazakh Nomad Under Stalin” emerges as a beacon of revelation. Shayakhmetov’s memoir offers a touching journey through the author’s life as a Kazakh nomad amidst the sweeping changes of Soviet rule.
The European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, on 2 August, was the occasion to commemorate the suffering of the Roma people in Europe during World War II. A ceremony took place at the Council of Europe, allowing for a short time to reflect on what happened – and what should never happen again. Most importantly, the central question is: “How can we prevent the repetition of atrocities?” In most places in Europe, discrimination, violence and segregation are still well in place and directed at minorities, migrants or “unadaptable” communities, reflecting nativist and nationalist attitudes. Roma people fit the target group of these growing xenophobic trends in Europe, with substantial growth in Central and Eastern Europe. This article tries to connect disinformation, misrepresentation and lack of recognition of the Roma minority’s past suffering with the lack of effective measures against their present persecution all around Europe, accepted by some while ignored by most.
In May 2024, the European Council adopted a directive aiming at fighting gender violence, the first of its kind. This directive is a positive milestone regarding women's rights and show real change. The article will however addresse its shortcomings and discuss the power structures contributing to gender-violence.
The Euroculturer 