We, a group of PhD researchers and members of the EUI Researchers' Union, hereby protest against the State of the Union conference and the repressive security measures that were implemented on this occasion at the European University Institute. We strongly condemn the racial profiling and the unprovoked, as well as repeated, harassment endured by our colleagues on campus today.
The European University Institute (EUI) and the State of the Union (SOU) claim to be spaces for the free and frank exchange of ideas. What happened today, however, clearly demonstrates that this space is limited to pre-sanctioned and pre-approved forms of expression only. The EUI, an institution that publicly emphasizes its commitment to diversity and representation, gives a platform to guests who represent ideas and narratives that are reprehensible and have unapologetically colonial roots. Furthermore, the EUI invites an overwhelming police presence onto the campus without being able to guarantee the safety of its own researchers. Researchers have raised the issue of safety on campus several times and this event is another example of how researchers have every right to claim that they do not feel safe or welcome at the EUI.
Some days ago, Spanish grant recipients were informed that the Deputy Prime Minister of Spain was going to speak at one of the SOU sessions (“Responsible Artificial Intelligence: Can Europe be a Global Leader?”). With this information, they thought that they could organize a small welcoming committee to hand her a report that a dedicated committee of researchers had prepared about their precarious conditions (low salary, difficulties accessing healthcare, etc.). The situation regarding recipients of the Spanish grant had also been previously discussed with the President of the EUI. When they heard that she was not coming in person, the action was called off. Since some Spanish researchers were already on campus, and had already printed some A3 handheld posters (with the words ‘We demand a living wage and fair access to healthcare’), a small group of five Spanish grant recipients stood in a corner of the cloister. They did not shout or talk to the press. They were just standing quietly to the side.
Suddenly, a uniformed officer approached two of them, while another person in civilian clothes came and flashed his badge, asking them to identify themselves. Only one of the researchers identified themselves, the others did not want to. A non-EU researcher present asked to take a photograph of the plainclothes officer’s badge to record the encounter, as it was increasingly uncomfortable. Following this, he grew hostile towards her and demanded to see her ID. She showed him her EUI ID, which he said was not enough. She offered to show him another scanned ID on her phone, but he said that was also not enough. She then asked to see the badge of his female colleague. The female colleague covered her badge with her arm when presenting it, obscuring the researcher's view of it and rendering it illegible.
The researcher told the plainclothes officer, “Okay, then I need to get my ID because I only have my phone and the EUI card with me,” and he told her “I will go with you,” to which she responded: “Okay, just wait; I need to find out what is happening with the rest of my colleagues.” He told her they could not wait, and grew ever more hostile as they walked up to her workspace in the library. While walking to her desk, he kept asking why she was being so reluctant and why she wanted to know who he was. According to him, this was regular procedure in the Italian Codice Penale, and he expressed his surprise that - if she had been in other EU countries - such procedure was new to her.
Upon arriving at her workspace, she showed him her MAE card (a type of ID provided by the Italian Foreign Ministry to members of international organizations such as the EUI). He took photographs of it, saying to his police partner on the phone “Yes, she works here,” which affirmed that they did not believe her when she had said so earlier and presented her EUI card (which includes photo identification).
He then asked her about this “protest,” to which she replied that there had been no protest, in any strict sense of the word. He insisted that she answer further, saying that he needed to know because he was from the DIGOS (Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni Speciali), and asking her if she knew what DIGOS meant. She replied she did not. The officer explained to her that it is the branch of the Italian State Police that monitors “protests”. She then explained why we researchers were fighting for grant equality, especially researchers receiving the Spanish grant and she even offered to provide him with a copy of the Spanish Grant Report compiled earlier this year, submitted to and read by the President of the EUI.
The officer told her he understood and empathized with the demands but this (the SOU at Badia Fiesolana) was certainly not the place to discuss them, to which she responded “I believe it is when we have politicians that might care.” The officer repeated 5 times in a timespan of 3 minutes that it was not the place; she responded that “we have freedom of expression” and asked why he was insisting that this was not the place. His language and demeanor clearly communicated an aggressive and intimidatory attitude, and he kept dodging the question. When she rejoined the rest of the researchers who had been stopped by at least ten police officers in the cloister, there was a distinct sense of tension and fear in the group. Some researchers tried to defuse the situation saying “they're just doing their job.” She then took the initiative and shook hands with said officer who identified himself by name and as belonging to the Questura di Firenze.
After the incident, which is when we would expect the EUI to do something about the safety and well-being of their researchers, the same DIGOS officer continued to engage in the surveillance of the Badia Library Garden. At one point later in the day, he again started staring at the colleague he had previously intimidated while she was having a work break from the library — this was incredibly uncomfortable after the intimidation she had suffered earlier.
Also today, a group of four Italian State Police officers removed a poster from the communal noticeboard in the EUI canteen, with intent to confiscate it, but then quickly reattached it. They were filmed and photographed in this process by an EUI researcher and it was witnessed by others. This poster featured a large “Refugees Welcome” graphic, and called EU and Italian refugee and migration law and policy into question. This comes after several other posters in the run up to the SOU, as well as other posters and leaflets critical of events or problems at the EUI, such as those advertising the Alternative State of the Union, had been removed.
All this speaks to the problematic nature of an event like the State of the Union being organized and hosted by the EUI. Not only does it disrupt researchers’ work, it also creates a hostile environment and unsafe working conditions. Our campus should be a safe space for all researchers, no matter their citizenship or the colour of their skin. It should not be a place where expressing oneself - or even simply existing - can lead to discrimination, racial profiling, and police harassment and intimidation.
We stand in solidarity with the impact this has had on the wellbeing of one of our colleagues, and demand an explanation from the EUI executive and administration, as well as reparation for the impact on our colleague’s mental health and her sense of wellbeing, belonging, and safety on campus. We demand an explanation for the excessive and aggressive police presence on our campus. Additionally, we expect this to be an incentive for the EUI to engage in dialogue with the researchers about their thoughts on events such as the SOU.
Please consider adding your signature to this Open Letter
Signed,
The EUI Researchers’ Union Board