Reading Paper 6: “Troubled Waters”

Allison Brown 4215: European Union Dr. Anderson 18 February, 2021 Reading Paper 6: “Troubled Waters” Authors: Cristina Cuadra, Rudi Miel -- The authors worked in collaboration with the European Parliament and specifically the Directorate-General for Information and Public Relations. (Illustrations were created by Dominique David) Published: This graphic novel was published by the Publications Office of the EU. Its format shows that the publications office is attempting to appeal to younger audiences, and educate them about the abilities and the role of the EU in society. Date: “Troubled Waters” was released 2003, in translated in multiple European languages and distributed across Europe. 2003 foreign relations was marred with the US invasion of Iraq, with the UK supporting in some military endeavours. Additionally, NATO would carry out peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and US appeals to the UN were prevalent in regards to Iraq. For the European Union in 2003, The Treaty of Nice came into play, a handful of states joined the union, and an Intergovernmental Conference convened in Rome to finalise the European Constitution. In a year with US unilateral military efforts (rarely bilateral with the UK or multilateral through NATO or the UN) and the finalization of the European Constitution, producing “Troubled Waters” was a way to show European youth that effective change can be made multilaterally with collaboration through the EU. Thesis: By working together with member states and in the European Parliament, effective policies and change can be put into place that safeguard the vested interests of average European citizens. Gist: Told through European Parliamentarian Irina Vega, the graphic novel discusses water pollution in Europe, and the roles that companies, workers, and parliamentarians play in securing the vital resource as a whole and in its collective member states. Near the end of the text, Vega discovers that Fimoul was purposely dumping in another company’s water source (Carimas), the parliament becomes aware of this and collectively comes to the policy that “... will enable European citizens everywhere to enjoy clean water at a fair price.” (33) Additionally, the text shows other elements of the European Parliament, such as a sub-committee meetings, amendments to texts of legislation, and European commissions. Telling Examples: 1) Political Demonstrations/Strikes -- When Vega is leaving the Parliament after a meeting, people from the chemical industry are protesting, “down with the green dictatorship” (26) and at later parts in the text members of different chemical companies threaten to go on strikes or remove jobs. This political activism and labor striking shown in the graphic novel are very much forces that work to help or hinder policy objectives of the EU and European Parliament. 2) Collaboration in Committees and Across Parities -- Throughout the text, productive conversations and debates take place with member states in regard to European commissions and decisions on clean water rights and the companies that are polluting. Showcasing this productivity shows that the EU is able to work together for the benefit of its citizens when pressed. And that beneficial commissions, that don’t value corporations over individuals, should be the norm for policy makers. Allison Brown 4215: European Union Dr. Anderson 18 February, 2021 Criticism: “Troubled Waters” accurately portrays the benefits of European collaboration and the proceedings of the European parliament to its desired demographic, European youth. The authors chose an exciting topic as well, water rights and pollution and included situations like Alex (the photographer) and Vega discovering who was polluting the river to be exciting.