The Barcelona Process of 1995 was one of the first in extensively detailing democracy as a foreign policy initiative for the European Union with respect to the Middle East. Components of democracy promotion were restricted to a few countries, namely the big three Britain, Germany and France; had an emphasis on soft security issues and socioeconomic development; and adopted a bilateral approach towards each country as opposed to the region as a whole. Over the last sixteen years the process became the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, included more countries and a stronger military component after the US invasion of Afghanistan and faced serious backlash on the home front after the 2008 financial crisis. Yet, the core of Europe's policy has not changed much over the last two decades, and with the ongoing shifts in the MENA region, leaders from the continent are forced to reassess their stance and take a harder look at a decades old approach.

Almost three weeks after UN Resolution 1973 was adopted by the Security Council to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya and take all necessary measures to protect Libyan civilians, the political and military conflict in Libya continues to be in a deadlock. The rebels have failed to make much strategic headway on the ground, with the battle for control of key towns such as Misrata and Brega still raging. At this moment, a rebellion march into Tripoli seems a long way off. The Benghazi based Transitional National Council has offered the Gaddafi government an immediate ceasefire and freezing of present battle lines; a call which has been rejected by the government.

Since the beginning of time, man has looked with longing at birds in the sky. It took about a thousand years to fulfil this dream- from the time of Abbas ibn Firnas in the 9th century - who managed to make short hops into the air - to the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville in 1903, who finally managed to fly -covering a distance of 852 feet in 59 seconds. Just sixty-six years later in July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin flew a distance of 380,000 km in 3 days, 3 hours, 49 minutes and stepped on to the moon.

In a recent interaction with Members of the European Parliament in Mumbai, one of them mentioned that the future President of the European Union must currently be in a school somewhere at this time. I imagined a little girl or boy, sitting in a classroom, daydreaming about the great things that she or he is going to do, just as all little ones dream.

For a long time, nobody uttered a word. Confucius caressed his beard and Einstein his hair. A cockroach moved swiftly from one wall to another. Gandhi broke the silence...

Sundeep Waslekar examines the privileges of the poor in today's changing world.