I have to admit, choosing five topics that interest me and are in someway connected to the EU has proved to be a bigger challenge than I expected. What's more, I tried to choose topics that are not just interesting, but also "easy" to write about. I don't want to end up with a topic that turns out to be too difficult and complicated so that I would regret having chosen it. I had that experience last semester with American religions and to be honest it was very distressing. So I tried to choose more or less wisely this time.
1. EU standards on playgrounds
The standardized EU playgrounds were my very first experience with the EU. I can remember that in my hometown all the playgrounds were demolished and new "EU playgrounds" were built instead. As I was too old to appreciate the newly set up playgrounds I just watched my brothers having a lot of fun using the new equipment. My question now is what are the standards that the playgrounds have to live up to. How is it decided whether an equipment is safe enough or not. What are the requirements of an EU compatible playground. ( one of the more complicated ones due to lack of resource)
2. The Hungarian majority's opinion about the EU.
In Hungary the recent government and partly the opposition are strongly against the European Union and permanently seek the opportunity to criticise the EU. They try to persuade the people that the EU is only holding back Hungary's economy and that the country would be better off without the EU. What are the reasons for reluctance? What kind of picture do the people get about the EU in Hungary?
3. Orbán Viktor (Hungary's Prime Minister) and his relationship with the EU.
This is partly connected to the second topic. This is a very recent issue in Hungary. Mr. Orban's relationship with the EU is very complicated and controversial. It would be great to write about this in order to gain a better view on the happenings. Besides the news and the Internet is full of resources related to this topic.
4. European Week of Sports ( EWoS)
The European Week of Sports is a request that was put forward by the Council in 2012. It is still under discussion, but it would be an event organised annually and would promote participation in Sports and physical activity all around Europe. What will the program look like. What are the ideas? What kind of sports will it promote? Will it be like an Olympia only for Europe? The problem is that it is still under questionnaire so there may not be enough information to write a paper about it.
5. The European Union as pease keeper?
The reason for the establishment of the EU ,as by know you may all know, is to prevent peace within European countries, but is that really what it does? In some aspects it seems to me that the EU is causing more controversies than peaceful stability. For example, the tension between Germany and Greece. Even if it is not causing a war, the dissension between nations seems to increase rather than decrease.
Wow, you really tried hard to choose interesting topics - and successfully. :) To be honest, politics is always a too complicated topic for me, so I won't say that topic 2 and 3 are my favorites, but I know you can research them and write about them very well because you are familiar with the current situation. One of my favorite topic suggestions is the EWoS and I was disappointed to read that the information might not be enough to write about it. If it is the case, my number one remains the one about re-built playgrounds. I'm sure no one has chosen this topic, so you could write something really revolutionary. :)
ReplyDeleteHere is a nice pdf about the playground project (start reading the 5. page, it might be helpful for a nice introduction):
http://www.prosafe.org/read_write/file/Playground_HB_for_Inspectors-21_03_1-%20IoZl.pdf
Personally, I think topic number one – EU standards on playgrounds – would make up very original topic for the paper. I would never have thought about that, but you certainly have a personal reference to it since you noticed the re-building and so on. I hope you'll find enough material on that one, in case you'll write about it. And hey, playgrounds can also be fun at our age. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to learn something about the EWoS. The idea sounds quite interesting. However, I wonder how they will build this up, since there are already many sport competitions taking place. Then there's also the question who is allowed to participate: only EU member states or also other European countries, just like at the European song contest.
Well, I'm sure you'll figure out which one fits you the best – or for which topic you'll find enough material.
Good night!