Economic Ideas Forum. My opinion on what's been discussed!

The general experience of attending such forum with so many high ranked Irish and European officials participating, was certainly positive. I have to admit that it was very well organized and orchestrated, with interesting current topics to discuss and debate on. The venue they chose to host the event could not be better. The Dublin Castle is an amazing building and of a great historic background, beautiful decorated and preserved. It used to be the seat of the British rule in Ireland, until it was handed over to the Irish State in 1922.

The main topic and reason for the forum was of course economic. Ways to deal with the current economic crisis, what reforms are necessary and in what best way to implement them. With a lot of the things I have heard I agree and I have embraced. It is no lie that Europe needs to reform, it needs to sort the mess that it got itself and its citizens into, with decades of going in circles on the name of protectionism, the interests of the markets and the banks and the so called "national interests".

Well how national are some of those interests is another matter; but once you create something like what we have created in Europe, a sort of a political and economic block, you are going to have to continuously reform it and  modernize it, to keep up with the new challenges that the changes in the world are bringing. And in our case, the case of the EU , the more states join, the more ties we develop with each other, the more we harmonize our economies and policies, then the more we are exposed to each other.

And now that a crisis is engulfing all our continent the solution must be found collectively. So I totally agree with Mr Tajani that Europe needs a new industrial revolution. We have outsourced a lot of our industries in China and other countries, so we left Europe exposed in many ways and our citizens with less opportunities. I also agree about the full fiscal union, since we have launched the euro and we have one currency and one market, we only have two choices; either go back or forward. Now we are somewhere in the middle of things and the weaknesses of the eurozone are easy to expose and be exploited by the Markets.

Besides we really need to be prepared for the future; as this forum concluded, the world is changing and in the future Europe will not be one of the two major players on this planet. We are entering a multi-polar world and that is good. But it also comes with many challenges. The best way to deal with it is to keep reforming and modernizing; the problem is how!!

In my opinion austerity and salary reductions are not the way. At some point during the discussion the Baltic states were praised for taking this road during the '90s, in order to reform and join the EU. They brought them as an example for the countries that are forced to go down this road now days, like Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Well I have to strongly disagree. I have visited Estonia recently and while the economic growth and development are obvious, the nation's salaries are very low.

 A reason to invest in the country one would think, but talking with the locals they told me that "every one who can leave Estonia, leaves." Because of such low salaries, the Estonians are preferring to leave the country and go and work to Finland, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Ireland and the UK. So while the ship is plain sailing according to the economists, the sailors are abandoning the ship. Is that what they want to achieve in other countries as well? Mass emigration? There are already talks in Greece that their salaries will be reduced to the level of Bulgaria (of course that is just theories at the moment, but people are afraid indeed).

And how about the idea of of tax and salary harmonization that were also mentioned? How are they going to harmonize the salaries? Will they bring half of Europe's salaries down to the level of Bulgaria while keeping the high salaries of the rich countries, creating an unequal Europe? Or perhaps are they going to bring all countries' salaries down, because I would love to see how are they going to convince a German, Dutch, Luxembourgian or Swedish to accept similar salary cuts that the Greeks had to endure recently. But maybe they mean that eventually the salaries of the rich countries will go down a bit and the ones of the poorer countries up a bit so they can come to the same levels eventually. That would be the fairest option but how will the citizens of the rich countries be prepared for some changes in their pockets?

As for the taxation harmonization, though it maybe the right thing to do to complete the process of the fiscal union, some countries are heavily relying on their lower taxes; like Ireland. In order to persuade it to get rid of its lower taxes and harmonize them with the rest of Europe, then what kind of compensation will the other countries give Ireland for example for doing so? Because once Ireland accept the suggestions by France and Germany, it will willingly lose a lot of revenue and jobs for their people; will the Germans and French then come and create jobs, build factories in Ireland to compensate them for the jobs lost from American multinationals that will definitely move out from Ireland? If yes, then I am all for it.

There were many other good ideas though suggested, notably by Mr. John Bruton; for example the common banking market, more control of the banks, a stronger ECB and EU Commission, pan-European elections for an EU President, more democracy and transparency in EU, the importance of education and its reforms, the reforms on the banking system and investments in new technologies. All these sounded like music to my ears, as long as they are implemented and do not stay on paper only.

Then of course the subject moved to the Social Europe issue and its policies; policies that most of them agreed that need to be reformed or discarded, as Europe will not afford in the future to give generous pensions to its citizens and that Europeans must learn to live with less social welfare benefits. And lose security in their jobs, in order to make Europe more competitive. Here is an issue I totally disagree, or I am sceptical of how it is going to be implemented.

They spoke  about not being able to pay our pensions in the future. But how can we pay our pensions since there is high youth unemployment in our countries; youth unemployment equals in inability of young people to start families and have kids. Which in result means less future workers, less tax payers in the future, thus less people contributing for the pensions of the elderly. What they want to do is either make us all pay for our own pensions, or we get no pensions at all. And of course increase immigration into Europe, to replenish the European population. But wouldn't it be better to give initiatives to young people to find labor stability early enough, start families and have children? They have admitted it themselves that is scandalous the high levels of youth unemployment in some countries, so why don't we create more jobs now, instead of talking about it?

And if we have to pay in the future for our pensions, then why contribute taxes for it out of our salaries all our working lives? Perhaps we should stop paying them, get higher salaries and invest these extra money in private pension schemes. But paying for social security for decades and then not getting any? That's absurd! Mr. Richard Bruton even said that those reforms must happen in a humane way; well I should hope so, because from what we have seen in Greece, the reforms took place in the most inhumane way thanx to the inability of the Greek political elite to reform when they should have.

Then other issues were discussed like Europe's relations with the USA. Here I did not participated much because I did not want to offend some of the speakers with my rhetoric. They did admit that the USA has delegates in Brussels that influence EU's policies by lobbying, but there were no European delegates in Washington to do the same. Well if we are talking about closer ties then this is essential for sure. Otherwise we will have an unequal partnership, or rather a "master and servant" situation. I am all for free trade between USA and EU, but only if it equal and it flows both ways. Will the Americans be happy to have goods from Eastern Europe flowing into their markets? Because I should hope that they did not mean that only American goods will enter European markets, or only Western European goods will be promoted in USA.

And how about movies, music and other cultural "goods?" Why do we have thousands of American artists, songs, movies, celebrities and actors dominating our cinemas, charts, and social life while we see hardly any European movies entering America? Why must American actors, directors and movie producers find always a job, have more success and earn more money than their European counterparts? And why must only American culture dominate the West?

Or how about the issue of free travel, with no hassle. Recently the European Parliament approved to hand out EU citizen's data that are visiting the USA, over to the US authorities. If I am being treated like a potential threat before I even set foot on their land, then why bother? Why not visit Budapest, Paris, Prague, London or Madrid instead of New York and Washington and spend my hard earned euros over this side of the Atlantic. And do it without the hassle, with the same currency in most cases and without the need to pass any personal information to anyone. If we are talking about free trade and strengthening European and American relations, then they better have a look at those issues too. 

Otherwise I am all for more European integration, if it is done for the benefit of the people and with their best interests in mind; and of course their support, opinion and permission. When I questioned the panel how are they going to win back European support and trust in the EU and the eurozone that have been shaken with the recent crisis, I received the usual waffle from the panelists. They either did not understand my question or they avoided to answer directly. Or perhaps they have nothing included in the upcoming policies to show to the people why they must keep supporting the European project and what do they gain out of it. I think it would be crucial to do so, don't you think? It was even discussed why what is being discussed in the Council of the European Union meetings, is not being announced to the citizens so they know what is happening and why it must happen! But why aren't they?

I would love to see a lot of what they talked about implemented, others definitely not and some I am waiting to see the manner of their implementation. What I really want the result of all this to be, is to see Europe more united and wealthy in all corners again. But if that means a Europe of unequal salaries and prosperity, a Europe of the few and safeguarding the monopolies of the elites, then I won't go into the trouble to write pages of protest speeches; because they need to be careful of the rise of the far right that happens all over Europe. They are going to be their nemesis, the citizens are watching and punishing with their votes. I wish them the best of luck with their work.

I would like to thank CES (Center for European Studies) for their invitation and the opportunity to be part of that great event. The information, ideas and brain power was flowing and the privilege to be able to listen to those important men and women discussing the future of Europe was certainly my honor and in some cases inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am looking forward to the next similar event.

Economic Ideas Forum, Dublin Castle 2012. Day 2.

The second day of the Economic Ideas Forum started in a more laid back atmosphere and lunch at 13.00 pm. After that, the fourth panel of talks was introduced with an opening speech by Mr. Elmar Brok MEP (Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament).

Mr. Brok in his speech made references in the EU-USA relations of the past few years and said that their relations are of utmost importance during those historic changes in our world. He also noted the similar values, culture and historic links of the two regions while reminding us that the USA is still by far the most important partner that Europe has.

"Yet" he continued, "the EU and the USA have not a free trade agreement!" He said that he hoped in the EU-US Summit in June, in Chicago USA, those two regions to establish one between them; because "we must exploit the full economic potential of our relationship with America."

Mr. Brok continued his speech by comparing the economic situation that engulfs both Europe and America recently and mentioning the importance of setting up rules to avoid similar situation of happening again.  He concluded his speech by stating that Europe's cooperation with USA is more important now than ever since WW2!

Mr. Brok's speech opened the fourth panel that took place right after and focused on the shared economic challenges that the EU and USA are facing together. Part of this panel were Mr. Brok himself,  Mr. Sean Kay (Professor of International Relations at Ohio Wesleyan University), Mr. James Elles MEP (Member of the Delegation for the relations with the US of the E.P.), Mr. Fredrik Erixon (Director and Co-Founder of the European Center for International Political Economy, Brussels), Mr Thomas Spiller (Vice President, Global Public Policy Europe, Middle East and Africa, The Walt Disney Company) and of course Mr John Bruton, former Taoiseach of Ireland and former Ambassador of the EU to the USA. The panel was moderated by Mr. Tomi Huhtanen, CES Director.

The conversation was initiated by Mr Elles that made a short account on the European-American relationship over the past few decades; from the '90s that was dominated by the economic and political agenda due to the changes in Europe (fall of the Berlin wall), the '00s that was dominated by security after the 09/11 attacks and now, that our common focus must be on growth, jobs and trade.

Mr Erixon answering a question by Mr. Huhtanen about the Doha round of negotiations, he admitted that it is "dead;" but not the WTO (World Trade Organization). He suggested that we got to recover various negotiations taking place there and through bilateral, multilateral and unilateral relations, "use the trans-Atlantic Axis to lead the world, with capacity to create growth both in USA and the EU."

Mr. Kay reminded us that there is no real change in the EU-USA relationship, apart from small "structural" ones, like the US Presidential election and the inauguration of President Obama. He also mentioned the inability of Europe to take action in incidents like the one in Libya; "so the USA feels overstretched." He suggested that Europe should be able to "operate" without the military help from the USA.

Mr. Kay noted that there is no advocate in Washington for the EU, for trade or other issues; while of course there are US advocates in Brussels, giving EU's policy officials their opinion on  future EU policies. He also admitted that there is a negative opinion in America about the euro-zone and its crisis, the recent President Obama social policies (that many have accused him that was inspired by Europe) and a lot that happen in the EU in general. "Europe is being used as a political punching bag in the USA," admitted Mr Kay.

Mr Spiller agreed with the idea that the EU-US relations stand in a historic moment right now and that their cooperation "is crucial for  companies and growth." So he encouraged for more EU-US cooperation, with focus on transparency, stability and the rule of law, for both these two blocks and the rest of the world.

The conversation moved into the US-EU competition with China and the new challenges they both face from the rise of the BRICS, they called for more European presence and a stronger voice in Washington and they mentioned Ireland's economic success and failure; Mr. Kay blamed Ireland's recent economic woes to two factors that do not get on well together: US taxation system, with European social state laws!

They debated and concluded in many things like: Europe and the USA must remove the remaining trade barriers, a move that China and other competitors fear. That if Europe proceeds with the structural changes, it will be strong again within two or three years and the need to sharpen many strategic relationships between the EU and the US, that will include agriculture. Here there was a mention of the CAP and how it was changed recently and the fear of Europeans of GMO crops.

The panel then praised Ireland for its diversity, its success in multiculturalism its education system and many more, with others agreeing that the creativity that exists in Ireland attracts a lot of American companies. They also concluded that Europe has done more than the US to reform and deal with the current crisis. The only way to deal with China according to this panel was to establish free trade between USA and the EU. Otherwise China, that has so many European and American customers and companies investing there, is not afraid any threats coming from the EU-US.

The panel concluded its discussions agreeing that if all the above are not implemented during the next 2-3 years, our economies will collapse. Then Mrs Creighton, Ireland's Minister of European affairs took to the stage and announced Ireland's Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny TD joining the forum, right after she told us that the Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) has passed the ratification of the EU Fiscal Treaty.

Mr Kenny started his speech in reaffirming his belief and support for Ireland, the euro and the Fiscal Treaty. He called the Treaty as "important for the future of Ireland and the eurozone." He said that the current crisis shed a light on how we've been progressing all those years and it gives us an opportunity to find out what we did wrong and gain a better understanding of the crisis.

He stated that the eurozone is in the epicenter of the crisis, simply because there are more concerns about European integration and solidarity, that exposed its weaknesses. Therefore we need new economic tools of substance and credibility to deal with the crisis. He also noted that there is no support for the creation of USE (United States of Europe) just yet.

Mr. Kenny blamed also previous "incompetent" Governments and their mistakes for the current situation in Ireland and express his hopes that this will never happen again. "The eurozone is a key element for Ireland attractiveness for investment," he added and he urged for a "yes" vote on the referendum on the approaching EU Fiscal Treaty.

Mr. Kenny mentioned the damaging role of the banking sector on the Irish economy but he expressed his confidence that the country will "bring its public finances on a sustainable path."  He also added that the crisis "is not a problem of the peripheral EU economies only" and that 23 of the EU's states have been borrowing excessively; "Europe must face up to what it's really meant to be."

Mr Kenny concluded his speech by saying the Ireland and Europe must focus on the digital and Single Market development, but also continue our drive for research and innovation. In that way, "by 2016 we are going to demonstrate that Ireland is the best small country to invest in! We should give a message to Europe and the world with a yes vote, that Ireland is showing that Europe is the way."

With the conclusion of Mr Kenny's speech, the fifth and final panel of guest speakers took stage. It was moderated by Mrs Creighton herself and its speakers included Mr Kenny, Mr. Inigo Mendez De Vigo (State Secretary for the EU in Spain), Miguel Morais Leitao (State Secretary for Europe, Portugal) and Mr David Lidington (Minister for Europe, United Kingdom).

The panel's discussion was focusing on the question of a political union and if it is needed in Europe right now. Mr Lidington started the debate by stating that Europe has got to become more competitive by focusing on the Single Market; but we should not discuss about structures, rather about outcomes. We should focus on institutional reforms for prosperity rather pushing forward for institutional changes. "We must ensure that politics remain democratic in Europe," he said.

Mr. Leitao gave us an insight on how the Portuguese citizens feel about Europe and their country's EU membership. He explained that they have a great interest on how Europe will evolve, but "the lack of knowledge and transparency is worrying for the Portuguese." So Mr Leitao reminded us about the importance of EU becoming more transparent and democratic. Mr. De Vigo also added that when Europe started with the creation of the Maastricht Treaty, it focused mainly on the monetary side not the financial one. We need structural reforms, first back home in our own countries and then in a pan-European level.

"We need economic and political integration, to think, act and reflect together," concluded Mr De Vigo. Taoiseach Mr Kenny agreed with Mr De Vigo and added that we need adjustment of our public services, education and public spending. He said that "we got to pass to the people that we are all a member of a club of countries and we need to compromise and abide to certain decisions, but we must also continue to draft our own budgets."

Then Mr Lidington re-entered the discussion and focused a bit on why the UK failed to be part of the Fiscal Treaty and that a British referendum on EU membership that so many in his country desire, "will depend on the outcome of future referendums in other European states that will require further handing over of power to the EU." He reminded though the audience about his country's committed involvement in major events that transformed Europe, from WW2 right until the fall of the Berlin wall. He described China's rise as a huge opportunity, as 10% of its population for the first time are getting European spending power, resulting in a huge market. Mr Leitao focused of European affairs and described the Fiscal Treaty as a step forward for Europe, as it will boost the Market's trust in EU.

The panel continued their discussion and concluded that being European is an added value, complimentary to your nationality and that there is no EU without the eurozone; their fate is entwined. They reminded the audience about the importance and relevance of EU in our everyday lives; either we realize it or not it affects us daily, but sometimes we take for granted the benefits it offers us.

Then the debate turned its focus on how can we make a more democratic Europe and the integration process continue. The panelists brought the example of the falling percentage of the global GDP that will be attributed to Europe in the future, just 7% down from 28% that it is now! "Will Europe become a museum for the rest of the world to come and visit," the panel questioned, if the current changes and shift of the balance of power continues in the world. 

The conclusion of the panel was that we need a greater transparency in Europe, while the EU should focus on things that matter for its citizens: increasing prosperity and enhancing security. "A Europe of results," as Mr Lidington put it!

Well I hope they stick to this. The forum offered a lot of food for thought, with some negative and some positive signs of what is about to come. My personal overview of this forum will be a blog-post on its own, which I will publish later this week.

Economic Ideas Forum, Dublin Castle 2012. Day 1.

The Third Annual Economic Ideas Forum was organized by CES (Center for European Studies) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung; it is hosted by Irish Taoiseach Mr Enda Kenny and Irish Minister for European Affairs Mrs Lucinda Creighton TD. The forum is taking place in the Irish Government buildings in the Dublin Castle between Thursday, April the 19th and Friday the 20th of April.

It has various high ranked Irish and European officials and politicians from many European countries participating in its panels, notably from Ireland, Spain, Holland, Finland, Germany, Italy and Britain. Its main focus is to discuss, debate and analyze the issues that created the current eurozone crisis, reach to conclusions and offer solutions for the future. Also, to address the challenges that Europe is facing now and during the next few decades, and the best potential ways to deal with them.

The Forum begun with the welcome speech by Mrs Creighton, during which she pointed out that Europe has many times dealt with other financial crisis in the past, but always emerged stronger. She mentioned that Europe is like a family and like every family it has its problems and disputes, but "we must work together, collectively, putting our best forward."

Then the President of EPP (European People's Party) and CES, Mr. Wilfried Martens  addressed the audience and he encouraged the European leaders to take stock of the impact of their decisions and think of ways to deal with them. Mr. Martens also stressed that the European Community must show its solidarity, that is time to take responsibility and focus in fiscal discipline, job creation and that the origins of the crisis are the high levels of debt. He also mentioned that Europe's monetary union needs to be implemented with economic union and that the completion of the single market is essential to promote recovery. Mr Martens closed his speech by quoting Germany's Chancellor Mrs Angela Merkel's statement that "my vision is a European political union," and that he hoped that the Irish citizens will make a European choice in the up-coming EU Fiscal Treaty Referendum.

Mr Martens was followed by Mr Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission. He stressed that Europe must put real economy in the center of its agenda and that "we need to be strong on political choices, we need a new industrial revolution." He added that Europe must invest in research, innovation and education and with a pan-European infrastructure we should be able to deal with similar crisis in the future. He compared Europe with China and America and how it lacks in investment when compared with its competitors, but also noted that those investments must be focused in enhancing technological leadership and devote more resources in research; a research that must be industry oriented. Mr Tajani also said that "trade should be free but also fair," and he closed his address by noting that Europe must have an economic governance with a stronger E.C.B. (European Central Bank).

Followed Mr Tajani's speech we had the first panel of discussion which was moderated by Mr Roland Freudenstein, (CES Deputy Director) and comprised by Mr Brian Hayes (Ireland's Minister of State in the Department of Finance), Mr Joachim Pfeiffer (CDU/CSU Speaker on Economic Policy of Germany), Mr Peter Nyberg (Commission of Investigation into the banking system of Ireland), Mr Colm McCarthy from the School of Economics in UCD (University College Dublin) and Mr Dan O'Brien economics editor in The Irish Times.

This panel focused in discussing the position of Europe in the world economy and how to win opportunities through stronger economic governance. Mr Pfeiffer addressed the issue from a German perspective and he added that consumption in his country was one of the pillars of growth. Mr Nyberg said that European authorities were not powerless in dealing with certain problems but some supervisors in the ECB did not see that anything bad was going to happen. Only a handful of people had an idea of what was coming "but they could do nothing about it."

Mr Nyberg suggested that to avoid future crisis, we need to educate a new generation of bankers, that will allow and prepare the banks in similar situations in the future to take the losses. Mr McCarthy agreed with the fact that Europe has just a currency but not a monetary union and that the eurozone design is "flawed." He suggested that the Maastricht Treaty must be revisited, that we need market discipline and better supervision as complimentary measures to a currency union.

Mr O'Brien stressed that "we do not know the magic formula for growth and what mix of policies with generate growth," bringing examples from the north and south Italy, as well the east and west Germany regions and the economic differences between them. The panel concluded that the Fiscal Treaty is not enough to deal with the crisis, that we need to revisit the ECB and its roles, we need a stronger EU Commission and above all that European politicians should not dismiss people and ignore them. The issue of a European Finance Minister was also discussed and if such move is a threat to European economic diversity.

A lunch break followed, before entering the room for the second panel of discussions that was opened by a key note speech by John Bruton, former Taoiseach of Ireland and Ambassador of the EU to the USA. Mr Bruton started his speech by reminding the audience about "the many discouraging moments" that Europe faced in the beginning of the Single Market. But as it took a period of time to create a relative functioning Single Market, "we should look back at our experiences from that and apply them in our problems with the single currency." He suggested that Europe needs also a single market for Banking and that we rely too much on the banks for credit, while there is no European bond market; the banks are far too big. "We need a Europe wide investor protection, but be careful not to drive business out of our continent," he said.

Mr Bruton also mentioned the case of certain groups of people that will lose out from the development of the Single Market and they know who they are, that is why they are quick to take action and stop any development; on the contrary people who will benefit from the Market, do not know or realize it until it is too late.

Then he joined the rest of the panel, the moderator Mr Peter Ehrlich (Financial Times Germany), Mr Raymond Gradus (Director of CDA Research Institute, the Netherlands), Mr Eric Loeb (Vice President, International External Affairs at AT&T), Mr Maurice Thompson (Vice Chairman CITI Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Anthony Foley (Senior Lecturer, Dublin City University Business School). This panel debated on the options of Europe to bounce back from the crisis and the role of the Single Market as a key to growth.

Mr Ehrlich started the discussion by stating that recovery can happen only if the Single Market is used in every EU state, but the problem is that member states do not really abide into what they agree. Mr Foley agreed but he added that this is a problem not only in Europe but international, bringing as example the Doha round negotiations. He also mentioned that another problem is protectionism, meaning that EU member states keep certain sectors out of the Market on purpose. Mr Gradus added to the debate the issue of taxation rules on European level, while Mr Bruton noted that if we create a single bond market, we will need a single deposit scheme across Europe.

Later Mr Foley argued that in 2012 we have yet a Europe wide solution and Mr Bruton noted that certain conflicts of interests are presented as conflicts between countries. Mr Ehrlich following that statement, questioned why things that are discussed during the EU Council meetings are not explained to the people. Mr Loeb said that Europe does not need any more policy statements by its leaders, "we have already so many on the self!" But Mr Bruton appeared more harsh with the ECB officials than Mr Nyberg earlier and suggested that people in the central bank did not read certain protocols,"they were given a task by EU policy officials, but they did not do their job!"

The panel also addressed issues like the inability of Governments to borrow in the current climate contrary to the multinational corporations. They discussed the taxation harmonization across Europe issue that is sensitive to Ireland; Mr Bruton and Foley stated that this will be bad for Ireland and that competition among states is good, while Mr Gradus that supported this suggestion clarified that he supports the harmonization of the basis of the taxes, not the tax rates. Other conclusions by the panel were that we need an integrated Europe to deal with the multinationals, European citizens must start voting as Europeans and make EU more democratic and that because of this crisis there has been far more European integration in the last two years than in the past fifteen!

After a short coffee break we returned to the debate and the third panel of discussions, moderated by Mr Christophe Leclercq (EurActiv founder and publisher) and its members; Mr Richard Bruton TD (Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation of Ireland), Mr Danny McCoy (Irish Business and Employers Confederation) Mr Ciaran O'Hagan ( Bond Strategist at Societe Generale) and Mr Kimmo Sasi ( Chairman of the Finance Committee in the Eduskunta, Finland).

The panel's discussion focus was on the dilemma of boosting competitiveness while enhancing social Europe. Mr McCoy noted the importance of the native multinational companies, but also the issue of Europe blocking accession to any potential; a situation that is visible by the scandal of high youth unemployment! Then Mr O'Hagan stressed the issue of rating agencies and how they rate countries; he suggested that new criteria for ratings must be introduced like social cohesion and demographics. Mr Sasi commented on the Finnish system of income and high value tax and how it resulted in good social services.

Then the debate moved into the labor flexibility issue and the permanence that leads to security of jobs and social security in general. Mr Bruton stressed that the diversity of the European economic models is actually Europe's strength. "With a few more billions of people entering the capitalist system from China, India and eastern Europe," he continued "innovation and labor flexibility is essential." He also pointed the need to encourage people in funding their own pensions, due to Europe's decreasing demographics. Mr McCoy supported that Europe's social model is unsustainable and "the younger generation will realize that we have to deal with it; labor flexibility is going to arrive!"

The panel also questioned the age of retirement limit while all speakers agreed that there can be no more luxurious social security, with only "effective but not excessive benefits" as Mr Sasi said. They discussed about the need to be daring in reforming social policies, as they holding back growth. The role of the unions was also taken into consideration while Mr Bruton stated that "European welfare state is doomed," but the reforms must be done gradually and in a humane way. The panel concluded that we need different types of social contract, we need to develop new models and to promote creativity and entrepreneurship within the education system.

The third panel closed the first day of the Economic Ideas Forum, with the much anticipated second day that includes a speech by the Taoiseach of Ireland Mr Enda Kenny, already being in the participants' minds.

What will China's rise mean for Europe?

For the past few decades we are witnessing a transformation on the global politics and a slow shift of power towards the East. With western economies declining and being in recession, opportunities arose for new economic powerhouses on the planet, one of them being China; the most populous country of the world, a land with an ancient history and culture and of course with a lot of potential.

One would think why so far China was not already a global superpower; well there are many reasons for that, mainly internal. But now the Chinese are embracing capitalism, they are playing the westerners' game, and they are good at that. So inevitably America and Europe are afraid of China challenging their hegemony.

China has larger population than Europe and America combined and a massive landmass with lots of resources. It is a serious contestant in foreign policy in Asia, but they also infiltrating Africa, a region that was traditionally under European control. Is this going to bring Europe and China in a headlock? Well potentially yes, but it does not have to be as dramatic as the media appear it to be. We are supposed to be allies with America but we are also their competitors. Does that stop us from closely cooperate with them?

Europeans have invested heavily in China all those years, and recently the Chinese are doing the same in Europe. They bought the Piraeus port in Greece, they are building car factories in Bulgaria and they are investing in Ireland too, as well as in many other EU countries.

I support foreign investments, but I am also wary of them. Our leaders tend to rely solely on them and they are becoming lazy. Yes it is great to attract foreign investments from other countries and multinational companies, but you must use the income of funds to invest and create a sustainable growth and economy; for when the time comes for those companies to relocate elsewhere, somewhere more profitable. Because that is what those companies do; they are searching for the best and most profitable destination and as competition out there is fierce, investments can flow for some years and then relocate in another country with cheaper workforce.

So what do you do? Once you better the living conditions of your population and their salaries go higher, those investors will possibly leave your country. But if you have used their money wisely all those years that they have been investing in your state, then you can establish home grown industries and technologies. And in some cases you maybe become investor in other poorer countries; the trouble is that some leader's are so corrupt that instead of doing this, they are absorbing those funds for personal use, or to perpetuate their rule in their countries.

The other side-effect I fear, is that once you allow others to invest in your country then inevitably you are allowing them to influence your internal and external affairs and policies. In order for someone to invest huge amount of money in you, you got in return to play by their rules in some key areas that interests them. So if the Chinese are investing in many EU countries, and with no real unity in most policy areas among them (as we have seen many times) can the Chinese "play one against each other" later on? In other words, can China, as America was doing all those years, influence European politics indirectly?

Of course they can, and they will. We have been doing it in Europe and other regions of the world for our benefit. The key issue though here is, that if Europe is truly united, there is little we have to fear from this development and we can use it for our benefit. Besides, China has a great interest in Europe, and we have asked their assistance to deal with the eurozone crisis recently: so we are already close partners in a way. We need them as much as they need us and they know it.

I personally welcome China’s rise, but of course we in Europe need to stand united when dealing with them. They are after all (still) the most populous country in the world, and individual European countries of around 10 or 20 million each-never mind the smaller ones, have a clear disadvantage. With a Europe of half a billion though, things are different. Besides, isn't that the main reason of European integration; to counterpart the rising challenges from the continuous changes that are taking place, with the emergence of new markets and economic powerhouses on the planet.

We are seeing countries like China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, the so called BRICS entering the economic landscape of our world. I welcome the rise of these new economies, to break the monopoly of the West notably America. Europe has been their lap dog since WW2, and we barely have foreign policies of our own, if America says otherwise. Their influence over Europe is economic, cultural, political and social. They have influenced our lives and public opinion through their movies, products, press, TV channels and programs, but also dragged us in many wars for their benefit only. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are mainly based on America's foreign policy and interests with almost all of Europe involved, with exchange of money, investments from America and other "favors" which I dread to imagine what they are!

Europe is in a way obliged to support America in almost everything and in the case of China, America fears their potential challenge on military supremacy. Their interests in the Pacific that they had monopoly since WW2 are important to them, as well as supporting their vessel states of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Especially over the last one, there is a real concern for a future conflict. So Europe weakens China's military development, or at least is postponing in with its arms embargo. I personally do not see why Europe must get at odds with other countries or regions to safeguard America's favoritism and influence. Why do we have to get in odds with China, in order to favor America? We have been doing the same with Russia and our relations are on a roller-coaster. It could have been different if we had a more independent foreign policy.

Allegedly America is "protecting" us from the threat of Russia, China, Iran and the Islamic one. But if Europe was allowed to develop its own military defense that would not be necessary. Besides there are many in America that do not want to "protect" Europe at "their expense" and as for Russia I do not think they are a real threat anymore, as long as we do not get in their nostrils and side always with America.  Like China they have a great interest in us as we are their primary oil and gas consumer. Why destroy us? We could still be allies with USA but that should not mean being their lap dog.

I wish to see a multi-polar world and break the monopoly of the Americans and the three main European powers (Germany-France-Britain).  Then the world will be more equal and fair in my opinion. But only if Europe unites in some sort. If not, then we are going to be just a play-field and chess-mat for the big players of the future, like China, Russia, America. We are going to be a profitable market for them so they can trade, sell their goods and become richer. But we will have no real influence in the world or towards those superpowers! How can you safeguard your interests like that?

If we have more countries, or block of countries competing with America and Europe, not in an ideological field like we used to have with the USSR and communism, but rather in innovation, development, finances, military and politics, we will have more voices in this world. America and the rich European elite countries won't have the monopoly in this world and its resources, thus we will have more democracy and equality in our planet. If Brazil in South America, China and India in Asia, South Africa in Africa, together with other economic blocks like ASEAN, MERCOSUR, AU and so on get more say, then the established western powers can not behave irresponsibly, arrogantly or like bullies as they have been doing for some time now. They will have strong opposition and this can be for our benefit too. Because small European countries also suffer from the monopolies of America, Britain, France and Germany.

The emergence of China, might be good for the smaller European states; because if the big powers of Europe wish to compete with them, they might be forced to form an ever closer union between us, and speak with one voice to the world. In other words, include all the smaller states in the effort to start being more competitive, taking initiatives and having a voice in the world scene. That could mean that Europe can become like America, a kind of federation that living standards can be of the same level everywhere with the same opportunities for prosperity all over the continent.

Or it could be for the worse, if the European elites wish to replace the cheap production of the Chinese workforce by creating a two tier Europe; the rich north and the poor south, with lower wages and weaker economies. The poorer states will do what the Chinese were doing until now, work to produce cheap goods for the rich states. There are many that fear this, especially in the hardest hit by the current crisis states in EU like Greece and Spain and other southern European countries. Is that what the current economic crisis will lead to? Not necessarily, not if the smaller states start taking a united stand against the three European powers and take initiatives within EU.

There are those who claim that salaries will be cut all over Europe, so that Europe can start producing again and attract investors with lower salaries for its citizens, to compete with China. What started in Greece they say, will spread all over Europe; Greece is just the "guinea pig" and the beginning. All European countries will follow sooner or later. Nevertheless it is obvious that these are certainly indications that life for a worker in Europe will be very different in the future because of the competition rising from China. Perhaps it was about time for us to get a kick up the back-side and stop relying on bubble economies and the markets and re-industrialize our countries.

There is of course the threat and possibility of war between all of the current and emerging powers. But haven't we been in a constant war anyway? Especially America and its European allies. Over a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a brewing conflict with Iran just to safeguard America's interests. Perhaps if there were more military powers to threaten America, they would not go to war as easily in the first place.

To conclude, the rise of China certainly brings many challenges for Europe in the future, but one thing is certain: we can not keep blocking other regions from prospering and developing. We can not afford the effort and we can not keep dragging the development of the human kind all on our own; we need to bring others on board. Besides, it is only ethical to do so. There will be certain challenges that will come with this, but we can definitely  get over them if we accept the fact that we have to face the future in some form of union or federation. Europe must start speaking with one voice in the world. Keep holding on to old imperial and nationalist complexes, is not the way forward; learn to still be a national of an ethnic group while belonging in a international political entity I believe is the way forward. We do not want to lose our identity, nobody wishes so. But democracy can exist in a European or international level if only you allow it, believe it, support it and work for it.

Will the Irish pay the new household charge?

As the deadline for registering and paying the new household charge approaches on the 31^st of March, the majority of the citizens still have yet to pay. There are many scenarios on what the failure to pay will result in. But is the introduction of the charge timed right and why is there so much controversy over it when such charges exist all over Europe?

The “Household Charge” of €100 has been introduced in order to fund local services like emergency services, maintenance and cleaning of streets, public parks, street lighting, libraries, etc. It is an interim measure and will be replaced in future by a valuation-based property tax that already exists in other EU countries.

Ireland is one of the last countries in Europe that does not fund local services through local property-based charges. The EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland commits the Government to the introduction of a property tax for 2012.  

The Household Charge is an annual charge introduced by the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 which is payable by owners of residential property. It is a matter for owners of residential properties to register and pay the Household Charge on or after the 1st of January 2012.

A property tax, requiring a comprehensive property valuation system, would take time to introduce and accordingly, to meet the requirements in the EU/IMF Programme, the Government has decided to introduce a Household Charge in 2012.

The new charge is separate from and in addition to the Non-Principal Private Residence (NPPR) charge. If you own a residential property in Ireland, you are obliged to declare your liability for the Household Charge and pay it by the due date, unless you are not liable.

If your house is rented you are liable for the charge and not your tenant. Virtually all private residential properties, including apartments and bedsits, are liable for the charge. There are a few exemptions that are not though; properties owned by an approved charity, government departments or by local authorities and under their schemes and mobile homes, are some of them.

A late payment fee of 10 per cent will be added if the charge is paid within six months of March 31st. This will increase to 20 per cent after six months and to 30 per cent after a year. Late payment interest of 1 per cent per month from the due date will also apply until the charge has been paid.

Since this new measure has been announced by the government, many political and social groups have been promoting their campaign opposing it, on social media, the internet and public demonstrations.

The Irish government and all of the main political parties support the new charge, apart from Sinn Fein. The party’s leader Gerry Adams TD has called on the Taoiseach to axe the Household Charge following the publication of figures which show that less than 7% of households have paid until the end of February.
The Louth TD also called on the government to put in place a plan B to ensure that local councils are adequately funded.

With only days to go before the March 31st deadline the government’s plan to generate €160 million for local councils appears to be in real danger of collapse, according to the Sinn Fein TD.
He called the government to accept that the Household Charge is an unfair tax which should never have been introduced. It is a flat tax that hits the poorest hardest and people on low and middle incomes are bearing the brunt of austerity.

 Mr Adams believes that, the Household Charge should be axed and the government should introduce a cap on wages in the public sector at €100,000, as proposed by Sinn Féin. This would raise €265 million “more than envisaged by the Household Charge.”

Another Sinn Fein politician, Senator Katherine Reilly, also believes that the government got it wrong. “The tax scheme should be progressive, regulated to the ability to pay” she notes. This charge is in line with the EU/IMF austerity programme, as an interim measure to property tax, she explains.

The charge is completely unjust, according to the Senator. “People have massive mortgages repayments and the charge is not looking to the ability of a house owner to pay; it is completely unfair,” she says. “People are in the breadline, the households are squeezed with high levels of unemployment, while more and more charges are being introduced,” she continues.

But there are speculations that if house holders fail or decline to register and pay for the new charge, the government will eventually collect it directly from the existing utility bills of the household.  At the moment there is an enquiry on the legality of such measure with the Data Protection Commission.

“If such thing happens, Sinn Fein will organize some sort of protest about it-like marching and campaigning against it outside the government buildings,” Senator Reilly said. “The government must take a serious look to that, it is not going to work; people are financially squeezed.”

Gerry O’Donnell from Virginia Co. Cavan suggested that the public should know how these funds raised by the new charge will be used by the government; “I think that our government should publish a list to out-line exactly what we will get in return for this payment; do we get a service? Will they replace and ensure that the roads to our homes are maintained for example,” he pointed out.

Many groups that are campaigning against the new charge are warning that once this charge is introduced, the amount will keep rising and it will also lead to water charges. In most other European countries, water and household tax is a reality for many decades now.

In France the municipal taxes are on average about € 1,800 per household, while in Norway around € 1,448 per annum. In Germany the average water bill is around € 750 per annum. Of course there are many differences between the Irish public services and those of our European counterparts. In many cases the services in other European countries are of higher level.

But how does the household charge is implemented in other EU countries and how does it affect their people? Thanos Kalamidas, an artist and free lance journalist in Helsinki, explains how the Finnish system works:  “there is property tax in Finland and it is painful,” he says. “In Finland the idea is that the land belongs to the state and you just have the right to use it, however surreal this might sound in a capitalist world.”

Thanos explains that if you buy and sell property in Finland, your capital gains will be taxed at 28%. There is a separate real estate tax, levied by the municipality as well. Non-resident investors are not exempted from paying this. The property tax rate is based on the value of the real estate, but it generally ranges from 0.3% to 1% of this value. The rate is different for permanent residents, who pay only 0.15% to 0.50%.

Marianne Ranke-Cormier, a Parisian and editor of the on-line Newropeans Magazine, explains how the tax works in France; “in France this charge is called ‘Taxe foncière’ (Land value tax) and also ‘Taxe d'habitation’ (local residence tax) existing since the French revolution, which corresponds to the spirit of equality,” she explains. The rich landowners must also pay and it applies to all real property, built or non-built. However, the tax is levied by municipalities, so the richer the city then the tax is lower.

This is the case for Paris where the taxes are lower than in the suburbs, “which is unequal, as properties in Paris are more expensive, so the rich Parisian owners pay less taxes when compared with the owners of the suburbs,” she says. “It is time for owners of property of Greece and Ireland to contribute to the community for the services they exploit. The land belongs to nobody, it is a common good and I find it normal to pay back to the society for the right to ‘own’ a large or small part of it,” Marianne adds.

 Ildiko Gonda, and artist from Budapest explains how this charge affects them, in one of the newest EU states. “In Hungary the tax differs, depending if it is a holiday home, family house or apartment, business premises, building site, etc. It also depends on whether the owner occupies the property, or it is a second real-estate property,” she says.

It varies in the different districts of Budapest and there are wavers, depending on the number of dependants living in the property. There is a penalty tax for sites, because the local government wants to force the owners to fill the gaps and build in the empty site.

In Hungary people live in their majority in their own property like in Ireland. For this reason there are social elements built into the taxation system. “But people are finding tricks to avoid taxation,” Ildiko comments. “From this year, there is such tax everywhere in Budapest, but it works similarly as in France.”

Last year the charge has been also implemented in Greece, as a condition of the EU/IMF bail-out agreement for the debt ridden country. But unlike the Irish, the Greeks were not “asked” to register for it in order to pay; the government there made sure that the charge will be collected as soon as possible.

The house hold tax is being collected through the property’s electricity bill and DEH (Public Corporation of Electricity). DEH is obliged to charge the home owners the new tax in four yearly instalments. The charge is not just € 100, but as in Finland or Hungary it is calculated according the size, value, age, use and location of the property and there are many different levies or wavers for single people, couples with kids, one parent families, etc.

If the home owners fail or decline to pay the tax, then DEH has the right to suspend the electricity provision to the property until the owner settles the bill. The owner has not the right to switch to another electricity provider until he/she has settled the fees. In the case that the owner does not apply for the electricity service reconnection and does not pay the charge, then DEH will inform the relative state authorities to proceed with further persecution of the owner.

Of course the reaction from the Greek public was strong and in many cases violent. According to many, these measures are being implemented the wrong time, when the people are losing their jobs and their salaries are being cut. Others view this as totally unfair, as they feel that they have to pay this tax to save the banks and the mistakes of the corrupt political elite. Water charges already existed in Greece, but the new house hold charge was something that many saw as another way for the government and the EU to rip them off their hard earned money.

Zoe Karasoultani, a journalist from Thessaloniki, Greece commented; “no Greek has agreed to this charge. Nevertheless it has been implemented, but some are still refusing to pay; others like my family have paid it, but with heavy heart. The ones who refused to do so now simply owe the amount to the revenue.” It seems that they will be dealing with them from now on.

If the EU and our governments are trying to harmonize the property taxes in all EU states, or provide the state with more resources to fund public services, it seems that they are doing so during the worse time possible. By using the current crisis in order to push for the desired reforms, they are only turning the public opinion against the new charge.

Introducing this charge maybe a step to the right direction as Marianne has put it, but in a climate of unemployment, austerity and a serious economic crisis, it is a recipe for protests; cutting jobs and salaries while raising taxes and even worse introducing new ones, is never going to go down easily with the public.

Britain to blame again for the new EU fiscal treaty referendum?

British opposition to the EU’s original fiscal treaty proposal is partly responsible for forcing a referendum on the issue in the Republic, former Taoiseach John Bruton argued yesterday.

The Republic has to hold a constitutional referendum to ratify the fiscal treaty, which imposes budgetary rules on EU members limiting the amount of money they can borrow and the deficits they can run.

Addressing the Ireland Canada Business Association yesterday, John Bruton, a former Taoiseach and EU ambassador to the US, said the British government’s refusal to agree to amend existing European treaties to accommodate the new fiscal rules had “forced everybody else” to go outside existing agreements.

“The fact that a member state would do such a thing, to my mind, suggests something not far from malice,” he added.

Mr Bruton argued that if Britain had agreed to amend the existing EU treaties to accommodate the fiscal pact, it is possible the Republic could have avoided the need for a referendum. He suggested it would have been possible for the Government to rely on the fact the electorate have already ratified those existing treaties in previous referendums.

Mr Bruton is president of IFSC Ireland, a private organization that promotes the Republic, and particularly Dublin, as a location for international financial services. His brother, Richard, is Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation in the Coalition.

Mr Bruton was giving the Ireland Canada Business Association’s inaugural lecture, which was hosted by accountancy firm Price-Waterhouse-Coopers at its offices in Dublin. In his speech, he argued the welfare state, designed during a period of sustained growth in the 1950s and 1960s and promising generous pensions to workers, was the root cause of the EU’s sovereign debt crisis.

He said the markets recognized in many EU states the ratio of workers to pensioners was falling, making it harder to sustain retirement benefits. As a result, the markets were targeting the EU.


By: Barry O'Halloran
The Irish Times, 09/03/2012.

The above article just sickens me. We all know what the Brits are doing in the E.U., they want to protect their interests that lie with the Markets and the financial sector. But at least please call a spade a spade and stop the nonsense! They hate the euro and they want it gone. They advocate for the debt ridden nations to leave the euro-zone as soon as possible.

They tried to block the new EU fiscal treaty, because they will lose out in manipulating the European currencies and economy. And now that they managed to force Ireland to have a referendum on it with their objections and withdrawal, they will meddle again in the referendum and try to shoot down the treaty.

If the Irish vote NO they will be doing Britain's job and making them a favor, for the worsening of the crisis for all of the nations that are in dire need for a solution right now, including Ireland! But only Ireland's reputation will be damaged by this, not Britain's.

I understand that the British Government has invested a lot over the decades to maintain the financial sector and it is one of Britain's main economic sectors, since they got rid off a lot of their industries. But if Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Italy are called to face tough austerity and make the necessary reforms, with very painful consequences for their people, why Britain isn't?

Perhaps they should go back to what they had before and not rely on easy money from the Markets. It will be for Europe's, the British people's and the World's benefit to control the financial sector. 

The U.K. is acting selfishly again, to protect the very institutions that brought us to this mess: the banks and the markets. Next time please stop lecturing us about how Europe is robbing Britain out of its resources, and consider that you (the ordinary British citizens) might also not escape the will of the Markets, after they have consumed everything in the other European countries.

We need to control the markets and the banks, not support them, side with them and give them more power over our citizens. But the City of London has different views!

Putin is re-elected, Europe debates how to deal with it!

And yes, he did it again; (everlasting) Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin is elected once more to be the country's President for yet another term! And while we in the rest of Europe do not quite understand Russian politics, somehow the Russians (or the majority of them at least) seem quite content with what is going on in their country. And I do mention the majority of them, because lately we have seen strong opposition and many protests in the streets of Moscow and other large Russian cities, calling for Putin to leave the Russian political scene for good.

Europe of course and "the West" in general are trying to figure a way of dealing with the Russians, Putin and their kind of "democracy." No, having the same President re-elected the Putin way is not democratic at all, that is one thing for sure. But why do we have to understand them or even make them change in order to do business with them? Why do we have to make everyone that is trading with us or is near to us behave the way we do, or spread our version of "democracy" to every country in the World?

As if Democracy in Europe and America are perfect! I won't even go to the American version of "democracy", a "gift" from America that is being forced to some unfortunate nations with invasions and bombings! Either you are going to have "democracy"  or else we are going to force it upon you. Excuse me, isn't democracy by its definition deriving straight from the will and actions of the people, the citizens and not by foreign powers? In my opinion "democracy" for the Americans means one thing: Capitalism! Unless you are free to consume and spend money on buying things that you do not need, then you are not democratic enough for their liking! And they are going to convert you to it.

And what about Europe? Recently the German Minister of Finance Mr. Wolfgang Schauble, virtually threatened the Greeks to vote again for either the PASOK or the New Democracy Party in the upcoming election in the country, in order to secure the second bail-out loan. To remind you, those two parties run Greece since the '70s and they are responsible for the current economic mess in Greece but also in the eurozone! The same people that we want to get rid off so badly, our European partners now are threaten us that we have to keep them or else! But then how will Greece change? Why insist on keeping in power those people who are guilty of bringing their country to its knees? Is it because they are the ones who signed the sell out of the country to our "partners" in Europe and America and if we get rid off them, the deals they signed will perhaps be cancelled by any new political establishment?

Of course this makes me wonder how democratic are Greece and Europe itself, when they allow such things to take place! It also makes me wonder if the corrupt political elite who was supported by Europe for decades, was only placed in the lead of the country to do just that; drive the country bankrupt and bringing it to the mercy of the bankers, the marketers and the capitalists. And I won't even go to the democratic deficit within EU, or examine the case of other countries, like Italy for example; they had someone very similar to Putin, he is called Berlusconi and he dominated the country's media, public opinion and politics for years, yet Europe tolerated him until things reached a dead end! No one was asking the question he ask about the Russian case: how to deal with Italy?

Russia is a major trade partner for Europe for its oil and natural gas, among other things. We should not try to change their politics; it could be dangerous! Russia is not Iran. And even with Iran what have we achieved so far? We banned their oil into Europe, it is the weak European economies like Greece that suffer because they can not import oil from there! The Iranians simply sell it on to the Chinese; there are other markets you know apart from Europe. We can not afford to do the same with Russia, can we. Russia had never had the type of democracy we have in the rest of Europe and perhaps they will never do; or even if they will eventually it will take much more time and it must come from within the country, from the Russians themselves.

Why try to force it or why shall we make everybody conform with our way of doing politics in order to do business with them? Besides who tells us that our way is the best? There are a lot of skeletons in Europe's closet and if we get involved in other people's politics, be sure that they will get involved in ours in return; why go back to the Cold War days?

Personally I am more concerned about what is unfair and undemocratic in Europe/EU right now. We can not change or interfere in Russian internal affairs, not without consequences. Putin must go but we can only watch, or perhaps assist the groups that call for our help; but they have to reach out to us first. We should try to sort our problems in Europe before we criticize Russia, because right now we are not in much better place. Democracy in Europe is fading and we have unelected "technocrats" put in our governments, while bankers, the markets and the capitalists rule our countries.  And we dare criticize Russia for its elections? Sort your own back garden Europe, before you dare to criticize others!!

Referendum in Ireland over the new EU fiscal treaty!

Last week Mr Eamon O’ Cuiv quit as a deputy leader for the opposition party in Ireland Fianna Fail, after a disagreement with the party’s leader Mr Martin over the new Treaty.

“To me, this whole issue is about the fundamental future of Ireland and I believe it’s much bigger than any one individual,” said O Cuiv. “Therefore, it would be impossible for me to stay as deputy leader and not have my heart and soul in what I would consider to be an absolutely fundamental decision that we have to make,” he noted

The disagreement came when he opposed the party’s line to support a YES vote on the referendum, as in his opinion it would be bad for Ireland! Others who oppose the treaty are starting their campaign, and they claim that this treaty is going to make small countries to be forced into austerity and recession for the benefit of the richer and bigger states that will have more control over the small ones. They claim that this treaty is unfair to the small countries and benefits again the bigger ones.

The debate is just heating up in Ireland. Again the NO side gets a head start!  They are starting to get organized and raise their voice before any arguments or campaigns begin from the supporters of this treaty!
Are those who oppose the treaty correct, is this treaty something bad for the small states? Or are they playing the populist nationalist card to gain votes, but in fact they want to protect the status quo and the sovereignty of their country because they feel that is the best thing or they want to protect the interests of some people/groups in their country?

Personally I am not 100% certain that this is the ideal solution myself, but I am pleased that at least we have any plans at all. You would think that after years in recession and one of the worst crisis of the past few decades, our leaders could do better than that. But knowing how things work in EU and Europe I am not surprised that we have another mash up again. As I said, it is better than nothing! With 27 national Governments and different interests, it is getting harder to reach a unanimous deal!

As for the referendum, well what can I say; I witnessed the last referendum about the Lisbon treaty in Dublin. Confusion, misinformation from both sides, threats, populist arguments and a very bad run campaign in the first run. Arguments from the YES side were urging people to vote YES "for jobs and stability" when the Treaty was not about jobs itself. On the other hand, the NO side pulled some very ridiculous arguments like the one that claimed that after the Lisbon Treaty the Irish children would be forced to join an EU army, abortion would be legalized and even microchips would implanted in the future generations!! None of those was included in the Treaty itself.

 People were definitely not adequately informed and a lot of them just voted NO because they were not happy with the quality of information, others because they wanted to get back at their Government for all the (then) recent scandals and some did not even bother voting. If it happens again, well we should brace ourselves for more turbulence; especially if external bodies (from the British conservatives but also from USA and other European eurosceptic groups) get involved just to cause problems.

British nationalist party UKIP already vowed to support the NO camp in Ireland during the referendum! Are we going to have another Lisbon Treaty mess?  In a recent poll the Irish voters back the treaty and the majority would vote YES, even though a quarter are still undecided. It will be certainly an interesting debate to watch!

The Treaty has some basic flaws of course, as again it just brushes the surface of the problems and it does not deal with the root of them and the faults that exist within the eurozone and the EU in general! Instead of pushing for real reforms within the eurozone and each state individually, it only puts in place rules about how much each state can borrow or how it will be punished if it breaks the rules. Yes it is a start, but it is not efficient! I am sure there will be a lot of favoritism and loopholes that certain states can find ways to escape punishment or bend the rules as it has been happening all this time. Especially when the Treaty is modeled after the values and economic traditions of the powerful and rich countries of Europe.

We need a real fiscal unity in Europe, we have one currency and one market, we need a single economy. Having laws and penalties for states breaking the rules is not enough; we need to place the foundations for a real and fully functioning European economy! But of course that requires many compromises mainly from the rich and established European powers.

If it was me I would vote yes, but only with the condition that it won’t stop to this treaty only. I would vote yes in trust that this is only the beginning and the first step. I do not like standing in the way of any move forward, even if it is a tiny one or a not so adequate one. It is better than what we got right now, as the times are dire I think that we need to keep moving, keep experimenting, keep trying solutions so that we can get Europe and its economy back on its feet again. But will the rich states accept any further reforms or they will try to preserve their interests, and  punishing the states who do not play by their rules is simply adequate for them?

The "lazy" Greeks myth.

From the start of this crisis, the global media started a smear campaign against Greece, calling the Greeks lazy and corrupt. The saddest thing about it is that even Mr. Papandreou the former elected Prime Minister of the country, was one of the most vocal critics of the people who gave him, his father and his grand-father so much power over this nation!

Talking about ungratefulness! It is up to the leaders that are being voted by the people to lead the country, to change the system and reform, modernize and above all lead by example. If the Greeks are unproductive, then perhaps it is because their leaders are the lazy and corrupt ones! The fish stinks from its head, a Greek saying tells us! Perhaps the Greek elite needs to keep that in mind.

Lets examine a few facts about the working conditions in Greece now, shall we? The Greeks as the following statistics map by EIRO (The European Industrial Relations Observatory) shows, work among the longest hours in the EU! On average 40 hours per week, while on the bottom of the map we see the richest nations of Europe, like Germany, France, Holland, Norway, Belgium and so on.

 Figure 1: Average collectively agreed normal weekly hours, 2009

Source: EIRO.

The Greeks do not get an hour long lunch breaks as they do here in Ireland and the U.K. For lunch you get about 20 minutes break, just enough to eat your meal. Never mind the morning coffee break and the evening tea break, that the Irish and Brits are so used to. And of course nothing like the siesta time of Spain, when banks and public services are closed for an hour for lunch and "siesta!"

There is no life long Social Welfare in Greece as it exists in many richer states. In Belgium they provide social welfare to their youths as soon as they leave college, until they find a job. Then if you become unemployed you are able to be on social welfare for the rest of your life and then receive your pension too! Of course the benefits are being cut the longer you stay on the dole, but that is not the issue.

 In Greece after one or two years maximum you receive nothing from the state. You got to keep working in Greece, even if it is on-off to receive social assistance! What makes Belgium, many Scandinavian and other northern European states so rich to be able to provide social welfare for life to their citizens?

In Ireland they give families social welfare for life too. There are people who have been on social welfare all their lives. There are sections of the Irish society that live off benefits without ever having to contribute. They are being given social welfare to keep the crime down: instead of stealing to get money to buy their drink and drugs, the state provides them with an amount to prevent them from committing crime! According all the above, who are the most lazy in Europe, the Greeks, the Irish, the Belgians or their other fellow Europeans?

My sister's ex-husband lived and worked in Germany for a while. The Germans during the '80s and the early '90s were turning down jobs, that according to my brother-in-law they were required to do "by wearing a suit!" By that he meant that they had so many rights and benefits as workers, everything was so standardized that you needn't sweat too hard in order to do your work.

Yet the Germans were turning down those jobs and wanted better paid ones, leaving those jobs for the immigrants. I am not so sure about the current working conditions in Germany, but I mentioned the above as another example of the working ethos of the Greeks. We are hard working people, and everywhere we set foot we prosper! 

But why can't we achieve this in our own country? Simply because it is the Greek system's fault. "Greece devours its own children" says a Greek saying, and my God this is so true! To begin with, the only blame I will put on the Greek public's shoulders is their tolerance of the current political elites. Since the Greek Civil War they have been divided in two major camps and they vote according to family traditions rather proposed policies!

Instead of going to their MPs, grab them by the neck and demand hospitals, schools, universities, roads and development they go and beg for a position for their sons and daughters in the ever growing Greek public sector!

But what can you expect from them, since there aren't many other industries set in Greece? If you do not work in the tourism industry, farming or construction there aren't many other industries flourishing in the country. All industrial activity in Europe is absorbed by the rich European nations and what was left in Greece, has either left for China, Bulgaria and other countries with cheaper workforce.

Or even worse, they were bought by other European/Western multinational companies and were sold off or broken piece by piece, destroying many jobs in Greece. So the only secure career prospects you have in Greece is to join and work in the (ever growing) public sector. 

And that is a pity. Because Greece has en educated and multilingual youth. Most of my friends speak at least English and many of them more than one foreign languages. Yet after finishing college they have no chance in finding a job in their field of studies, simply because there are no investments, no development and no positions to absorb this vibrant workforce into employment. So they either have to migrate or join the tourism industry, working as waiters.

One of the reforms that Europe demands now in order Greece to secure the next loan, is to catch the tax evaders and make them pay. Yet so far only 1% of the taxes have been collected and these were from the ordinary people. Because the tax evaders are the rich fat cats of Greece, including the political elite and their accolades. How can you tax the ones who support your political campaign and they were providing you with millions in order for you to stay in power?

And how can you convince the Greeks to swallow such measures when they see the rich getting away with it. A popular singer of the 50s and 60s, Mr Voskopoulos has refused to pay up the millions of euros he owes to the Greek state. His wife of course is a former MP and he has good connections withing the Greek political elite. So if he can refuse to pay and get away with it, why should the poorer Greeks bare the heavy weight of this austerity? In any other country he would be jailed and his property confiscated, but not in Greece!

Not everybody tax evades in Greece. There is a popular notion among Europeans, that comes from their experiences as tourists in Greece, that the Greeks leave unfinished their homes to evade taxes. If the state gives you the option in its laws to be able to pay less tax if you do not finish your house properly, that is not tax evading. I am sure the Germans would do the same if this loophole existed in their laws. 

Besides, not all regions of Greece have the same laws. In the region of Northern Greece where I come from, all houses are finished. It seems that this exception exists in the islands, so the rumor was generalized. Perhaps the Greek islands have other tax exemptions than the mainland Greece.

The German company that has built the new Eleftherios Venizelos airport in Athens, has not paid a penny of taxes to the Greek state. They prefer to give money to the corrupt Greek elite to turn the blind eye. That is why the Europeans love to do business with us, because they are able to avoid taxation. Why then we are called "tax-evaders" by them?

This crisis is a huge fiasco! The Greeks are being forced to pay up and save the European banks and the toxic debt they have accumulated over the years due to their exposure on American toxic debt. How Europe decided to deal with this situation? Make the weaker states pay. We are being called to pay and cover this debt out of our taxes for decades to come, while northern Europe will be able to recover and keep developing.

My generation that has studied abroad, traveled and has dreams and a new vision for our country, the generation of mid 30s is the worst hit. The generation that is during its most creative years, that have new ideas and are more actively involved in Greek and European politics are having their wings clipped and are forced into a new financial junta imposed by Europe!

How can you expect Greece ever to recover when generation after generation is being crippled and forced into poverty and deprivation? Before it was the wars, now it is the economic crisis. I wonder, does Europe really want to have a rich and prosperous Greece in its club?