Reflectii

WHEN THE energy ministers of the European Union’s member countries gathered for an emergency meeting on July 26th, the deal came swiftly. They agreed that each country should cut gas consumption by 15%, compared with their average over the past five years, between August 1st and March 31st 2023. It was a typical EU compromise, forged in long negotiations and riddled with exemptions and concessions. It will not really solve the problem at hand: how the EU should respond if Russia halts or radically reduces supplies—something that seems increasingly likely. The day before the meeting Gazprom, Russia’s state energy giant, announced that it would again reduce the volume of gas flowing through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, to 20% of capacity.

While the US provides monthly updates on the development of wages, eurozone wage data is published quarterly, creating delays of up to six months. This negatively affects how inflation is discussed in Europe and could lead to bad economic policy.

History shows that while they score successes in the short-run, in the long- run, they tend to create conditions for dictatorships to emerge

Disruptive and violent populist movements have undoubtedly registered successes, ending oppressive regimes and giving the dumb millions a voice to express dissent forcefully. But in the long run, these movements have delivered only partially and that too, briefly, literature on the subject shows.

Cuando se produjo la crisis financiera internacional de 2008, fueron los superávits presupuestarios de nuestros socios del norte de Europa quienes, principalmente, proporcionaron la financiación que necesitaban otras economías

Οι Βόρειοι θέλουν να επιβάλουν την ενεργειακή φτώχεια και στους Νότιους!

Όπως όλα δείχνουν, δεν θα έχουμε καλά ξεμπερδέματα στον ενεργειακό τομέα με αυτά τα αντικρουόμενα συμφέροντα που υπάρχουν στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ενωση, όπου ο καθένας προσπαθεί το δικό του πρόβλημα να το μοιράσει και στους άλλους εταίρους.

Russia’s intervention in Syria in September 2016 turned out to have much broader objectives. The development of air and naval bases provided Moscow with platforms for operations in the Mediterranean and in Sub-Saharan Africa. The delivery of S-400 missile systems to Turkey added another major strategic gain.

The European Union is faced by broad challenges on its South, with a sharp decline in rule of law, political instability, and a surge in authoritarianism. Wider phenomena such as climate change, demographic trends, and criminal activities of human trafficking networks add to the challenges. ISIL is still a threat too.

Turkey’s choice of disruptive policies has perplexed EU and NATO leaders in the recent past. Tensions with the EU have risen due to challenges to maritime boundaries and sovereignty of Cyprus and Greece.

Although largely a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union’s major foreign policy initiatives in 2022 have marked a watershed moment and constitute a useful precedent for the Union’s policies with third countries.

In the near future, the EU will have to invent a new format, distinct from accession, for its relationship with the countries of ‘Wider Europe’ and to use its now diversified ‘foreign policy toolbox’ in a coherent and effective fashion.

How to Finally Fix the Broken System for Alleviating Hunger

The world’s agricultural and food systems face a perfect storm. Overlapping crises, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, wars in Ukraine and elsewhere, supply chain bottlenecks for both inputs like fertilizer and outputs like wheat, and natural disasters induced by climate change have together caused what the United Nations has called “the greatest cost-of-living crisis in a generation.” World leaders cannot afford to ignore this unfolding catastrophe: rapidly increasing food prices not only cause widespread human suffering but also threaten to destabilize the political and social order. Already, along with skyrocketing energy costs, surging food prices have helped bring about the collapse of the Sri Lankan government.

Survivors of human trafficking lack the necessary assistance from governments, while offenders continue to operate with impunity. Victim identification is down—but bans on the import of goods made by victims of forced labor are on the rise. Survivor leadership matters, and more countries than ever are listening to victims.