By Daniel Spichtinger

Austrians have always had a special relationship with the Danube. Some look nostalgically at it, remembering the time when many of the countries on the Danube were under Austrian rule – providing the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the alias “the Danube Monarchy” and its unofficial anthem, the Blue Danuebe Waltz.

By Thomas Bichler

Babel Wien called, and about 100 people came! - The first event, jointly organized by the Information Office of the European Parliament in Austria, the representation of the European Commission and the local team of Café Babel in Vienna, was a great success. On March 17th the event hall of the "Haus der Europäischen Union" in Vienna's first district was the venue for a panel discussion on the topic "Kein Job, keine Perpektive? - Europäische Jugend in der Krise" (“No Job, No Perspectives? – European Youth in the Crisis”) and it couldn't have been more suitable.

By Alexandra Skwara

The latest instalment in the Debating Europe series presented an array of Atlanticist viewpoints, but not enough real debate.

The EU and food safety

By [Daniel Spichtinger|http://www.cafebabel.de/profile/display/4d7e9a6a-fc10-102c-9b39-e5384fe1717a/]

Nearly every day the media inform us about healthy and not so healthy eating habits (such as the worrying rise of obesity in Europe) and about real or perceived food scares. The EU is now the biggest global importer and exporter of food and the global trade in food has very real implications for all of us. As an example, contaminated milk in China has a potential impact on the safety of cookies sold in the Netherlands. At the same time we are asked to consider the environmental cost of shipping food over large distances and NGOs urge us to grow locally produced food. Many of these issues have led to low “trust” and “confidence” in food in some countries.

By Daniel Spichtinger

What kind of people are courting our votes in the upcoming European parliamentary elections? Are they old or young? Running for the first time or already established? Men and Women? How have they previously voted in the European Parliament? Are they more loyal to their political group or to other MEPs from Austria? These are the questions we are trying to answer in our assessment.

A comprehensive exhibition at the Belvedere reveals the many facets of this Czech artist

By Daniel Spichtinger.

Born in Moravia (today part of the Czech Republic) the Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860-1939) is best known for his posters immortalizing the performances of the famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt, which were created during his Paris period. These works, including the ads for Gismonda and Medea are on prominent display in the exhibition of Mucha’s work in Vienna’s Belvedere. However, the exhibition goes far beyond these iconographic posters and displays exhibits that are less known but equally beautiful. They range from the very small – like jewellery designed according to his specifications – to the monumental, like the pavilion for Bosnia-Herzegovina which he decorated for the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris.