EXCHANGE OF VEWS WITH MY POLICE TRADE UNION ORGANIZATION
Dear Colleagues recently i have been talking on the phone with my police trade union colleauges before the Barcellona EuroCOP Commitee meeting 15-16 november 2004 where i solicited them about the importance to mantain a link with the police trdae union of the European Union where there is a need of a reciprocal leanguage undestanding with colleaugues of the other member countries of UE and so to allowe me to work at least one day a week in theyr office as i have been appointed responsable of international affairs for exchanging informations with the European Confederation of Police EuroCOP a very simple thing that all other police trade unions do to allow theyr responsable of international affairs to work in theyr office. But the story is another because now that they have reached theyr goal to be represented on the webpage of the European Confederation of Police all my contribuition has been ignored they have succeeded in theyr political goal but abandoned completely all my effort.
But unfortunately in the last 8 months i never had the choice to work directly in my police trade union headquarter the official version from the spokesman of this police trade union was reasoned that they could not allow permission to all delegates because theese permission where limited , surprisingly i missed the Barcellona Conference of EWuroCOP on 15-16 november 2004. I do not want to be the alternative of the police trade unions where i am affiliated and where i have a charge as responsable of international affairs but i also do not want that this charge becomes "pseudo" but it is important that european police trade unions need to have at least one delegate that talks fluently english otherwise it is a big problem to understand eachether in Conferences that discuss European Security Issues also for direct informal convesation. The point is that in Europe are facing new organizations which deal important security matters for all the EUROPEAN UNION member countries and becomes problematic for the old mentality to accept the new and this has not been yet clearly understoud otherwise this most representative police union of Italy would have allowed me to work in theyr office but theyr approach toward the european matters has been superficial, one of the reason is the lack of knowledge in a foreign leanguage in a predominant culture where most of the people talk the same national leanguage but not prepared for extranational comunications and some polititician get advantage of this lack of knowledge in a foreign leanguage, institutions, organizations need to support better the people which have leanguage skills because the security affairs have become european; still happens the contrary because in that way in the name of defending the national value of the leanguage they mantein theyr position confortable while in a european affair they have to start again from zero practically to study a common foreign leanguage and that's hard and they fear the new because has better comunication skill, so it is very important and i underline that european conferences need to have at least one delegate for each union that talks english and i propose informally that european police trade unions organbization change the internal rules in a way that a police union of one country of the European Union tasks the right person, not as it is condiderated here alternative a person with right linguistic skill, i say the right with the technical skill not political while in Italy they consider more concerning police trade unions the political power that is needed but accompanied with professionality. Yes the beginning is always painful and hard to digest but problems need to be faced and as police officer i jus report the problems.
The new must not be seen as an alternative of the police trade union organization as it is considerated but it must be seen as support for the european welfare, some police trade union organizations have not understoud this yet, i hope they will understand it in the next future that comunication is the most important factor and that a police trade union organization of succes; and that they need to allowe to work properly all police officers that have linguistic comunication skills and this must not be seen with fear but as good support for the success of the organization the new always brings fear and suspect among the old mentality fear of being replaced by the new and that's why theyr approach toward the new is slow pushing in the corner the people with the right skills but the big european organization need to approach the organizations with the old mentality and explain them the importance of linguistic skill in one organization and that the success of one police trade union organization is not only the political numbers of affiliates and the financial budget they can bring or political number of people affiliated to a bigger organization but also the image that the organization gives to the public sector and among police officers and comunication with the european institutions. If we want that the European Affairs get better understoud it is needed to support the people that can be construct a bridge between the old system and the new. The good european welfare depends also on how european citidens relate with eachether and the leanguage skill cannot be ignored. Naturally theese unions look more like closed sysetms where it is difficult to melt into them the european affairs are still seen too faraway sad to say because much of theyr power risks to be substituted by higher organizations and theyr limited only to theyr burocratic power and clearly the fear of the unions of my country for example is rooted in theyr human nature let's say is part of the human nature to protect themself from the new wind. From my point of vew theese european affairs are still too farway yoo do not construct europe only for the euro or some burocrat organization you construct europe involving the people of the member countries concerning my work police officers to share theyr experieces while as in my case i was kept in the corner by my police trade union and my colleaugues abroad working for the superior trade union organization too occupied dealing with political issues propably have forgiven the effort done from one of they supporter that convinced the police trade union where he is affiliated of Italy to join EuroCOP (European Confederation of Police), the political effort toward europe comes from the citidens till now i have seen just a burocratic goal and the euro as soon you try to analize the european affairs more deeply you find many problems socio political cultural and theese higher burocrats do not want to get to deep into it.
comment from Nicola Zichella 23/11/04