Julia Tappeiner grew up in a German speaking minority in Italy and thus, carries the European spirit within her. This brought her to study first European Studies in Germany, and later International Relations with focus on Russia and Eurasia in Estonia. As a freelance journalist she works for the Italian regional outlets Salto.bz and Barfuss.it, as well as for the German news perspective daily. Her topics are varied – European minority issues, Russia or local climate developments – but always constructive.