bLOGBOOK - Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

English translation from my article written in 2008

«If you don't see Santiago under the rain, you can't say to have really visited it». Sergio and Paola explain me what maybe is the true characteristic of the city, while it shines in the sunlight with all its magnificence. «In the morning there is usually a thin layer of mist that envelopes the city together with a very fine drizzle falling silently, that kind of rain which makes you totally wet without you even realise». The extraordinary splendid day deprives me of this peculiar feature of the city, known for being one of the most important pilgrimage site for Christendom. Santiago de Compostela is a meeting point: history, culture, traditions, people and peoples have been converging here since centuries and centuries ago. For everybody Santiago is a Christianity sight-symbol, whose roots sink strong and vigorous. However Santiago de Compostela, commonly known as Santiago, is also one of the main places where it is possible discover the many faces of Spain and those of Santiago region, the region of Galicia. «Galicia is primarily a land of Celtic origins», says proudly Sergio in a very brief historical summary where is possible to search out part of the independentist spirit of this region. Of course, behind this Galician push for independence lie economic reasons. «Here we produce electricity through wind turbines, and the central government of Madrid has the right to decide how to use our electricity», complains Sergio. «Madrid forces us to pay taxes for our domestic use of the electricity produced by us». In short, here people feel different and robbed, too. «Anyway, we are not for violence, we are not like ETA», is keen to stress Sergio. «We are for dialogue and peaceful resolution of issues».

Single mums at stake in the best EU economies

Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are considered powerful States, but their societies are at stake, according to a report from the EU Parliament. The situation is not so different in Luxembourg and in Baltic Republics

"Mother and son" by Gustav Klimt

by Emanuele Bonini

Austerity-friendly countries of the European Union are in danger. Since crisis made life conditions more difficult, «single mothers are at high risk of being poor», according to a report drafted for the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality of the European Parliament. According to the document, in particular the employment arrangements of women is «cause for worry, as they are overrepresented in non-standard work arrangements», and working part-time «does not suffice to stay out of poverty for single mothers». Across the EU, 38% of working women with dependent children are in part-time arrangements versus only 5% of men. In some countries, more than half of working women are being part-time employed. This is the case in the Netherlands (84%), Germany (74%), Austria (61%), Luxembourg (50%) and Belgium (50%). So here is where single mothers and their children are more at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Single mothers run a particularly high poverty risk in Greece (57%), Luxembourg (51%), Malta (47%), Lithuania (46%), Germany (43%), Latvia (42%), Italy (41%), and Bulgaria (40%). Right now countries with large rural areas such as Finland, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania also display high shares of women having difficult access to transportation. Lack of adequate access to public transportation is also a problem in Ireland, Italy, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Germany, and Estonia.

EFSI and youth initiative can fail, warned the ECA

It is not clear whether and how the investment plan and the special instrument for employment can work. The European Court of Auditors issued critic opinions on what are supposed to be the two main pillars of the EU recovery

The ECA headquarters in Luxembourg

by Emanuele Bonini

The future of the European Union is at stake, and the EU itself risks to miss the last call for a new social consensus for the idea of Europe. The investment plan and the Youth Guarantees are the last chance for European leaders in order to boost economy and, above all, confidence in the single market. The problem is both pillars are strongly criticised by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), whose role is to check that EU funds are correctly accounted for, are raised and spent in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations and have achieved value for money. Wasting resources and time could be more than a scenario, accordgin to the ECA. The 16th of March the Luxembourg-based institution warned the European Commission against the insufficient clarity of the proposal for a Regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is supposed to be the financial instrument of the 315 billion euro investment plan. Today the ECA made clear the EU Youth Guarantee could be a failure.
   The EU auditors concluded that the European Commission provided timely and appropriate support to the Member States in setting up their Youth Guarantee schemes. At the same time the European Commission was found responsible of «not carrying out an impact assessment specifying expected costs and benefits, despite this being a standard procedure for all major Commission initiatives». As a result, actually «there is no information on the potential global cost of implementing the scheme across the EU and, consequently, a risk that total funding may not be adequate». Together with the lack of a clear definition of a «good quality» job offer, this represents a major risk that the scheme «might be implemented ineffectively and inconsistently across the EU». According to Iliana Ivanova, the ECA Member responsible, the Youth Guarantee's future success «cannot be taken for granted while serious questions remain unanswered». Since Europe has to deal with a sensitive issue, «addressing these risks early is key for the effectiveness of the Youth Guarantee».

FACT SHEET / European road fatality rates 2014

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Europe still far from reaching road safety targets

The EU is supposed to halve the number of road deaths by 2020 compared to 2010, but fatalities decreased by 18,2%. Bulc: «It's time to step up our work»

by Emanuele Bonini

Still too many casualties on the road, still a lot do to in order to provide a safer road transport system. In other words Europe is not doing enough to improve security and the EU targets are far from to be reached, according to a study published today. The first report on road safety from the European Commission shows that the number of road fatalities in 2014 has decreased by approximately 1% compared to 2013. This follows on the 8% decrease in 2012 and 2013. The figures reveal a total of 25.700 road deaths in 2014 across all 28 Member States of the EU. Whilst this is 5.700 fewer than in 2010, it falls short of the intended target decrease. The European Commission estimated that in Europe 22% of all the people killed on the roads are pedestrians, 8% of all fatalities hit cyclists, 15% of fatal accidents involves motorcycle riders and 3% of moped riders. Having a look at numbers, in the year 2000 very few member States had a fatality rate lower than 80 deaths per million inhabitants. By 2014 only five EU Member States had a fatality rate above that (Latvia 105, Romania 91, Bulgaria 90, Lithuania 90, Poland 84). The European Union as a whole counts eight-teen Member States with a fatality rate above the average value (51 deaths per million inhabitants). The total number of EU road deaths has decreased by 18.2% since 2010, with the European target set at -50% by 2020.

In Europe education and healthcare are luxuries

From the Parliament of the EU a comparative analysis shows the impact of the crisis on fundamental rights across Member States. Here's how society has been changed by the crisis

by Emanuele Bonini

Precarious work, lower wages and hours of unpaid overtime, no more exemptions at health and reductions for the incentives to education. How does Europe change in time of crisis and austerity measures? The answer is contained in a special report drafted for the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament. The document examines how and how much the fundamental rights have been severely tested by the crisis in seven Member States: Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. These countries are those under assistance program (Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain), plus Italy - because of its high level of public debt - and Belgium - under EU supervision for budget imbalances. Work, healthcare, education, home, property: here's how crisis changed Europe.

Work. Rights at work have been affected in a number of Member States. Hence, the right to collective bargaining was interfered with in Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Portugal – mostly by limiting the bargaining power of workers. In Portugal, the right to holidays has been brought into question. Restrictions on employment in the public sector were introduced in Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Abolition of permanent contracts was recorded mainly in Greece. Greece, Portugal and Spain have made it easier collective redundancies. Italy has reduced the possibility of obligatory return after dispute with the employer. In Cyprus, Greece and Ireland wages were cut across the public sector, while in Italy and Portugal a cut was introduced only for high incomes. In Spain there has been an overall reduction of 5%. In Belgium wages were frozen. Christmas bonus were cut in Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal. Minimum wages were reduced in Greece and frozen in Portugal. Overtime to part-time workers have been established in Greece and Spain.

«The ECB is not blackmailing Greece»

Mario Draghi replied to the Economic Affair committee as it was publicly accused by MEPs. «The are rules, the Hellenic government has to repay loans»

Mario Draghi

by Emanuele Bonini

The ECB is not blackmailing Greece, said Mario Draghi on Monday in his monetary dialogue with the European Parliament. The president of the European Central Bank rejected the Portuguese MEP Marisa Matias' accusations simply recalling what the situation is, and the situation is the Greek exposure has more than doubled since December. «Are we blackmailing Greece? That’s a bit rich to say. The ECB has 104 billion euro exposure to Greece. That’s 65% of Greek GDP and the highest exposure in the eurozone». What the Frankfurt-based bank is doing is securing loans. «We haven’t created any rule for Greece, rules were in place and they’ve been applied». Here we are: Greece received money and the country has to give them back. No way. «The Greek government should commit to fully honour its debt obligations to all its creditors», was pointed out by Mario Draghi, who showed to be ready in supporting the Hellenic republic. MEPs were told the European Central Bank could remove a waiver that allowed Greek banks to use the country’s junk-rated bonds as collateral for loans, but only «when conditions are met». The problem is actually conditions are not in place, and responsibilities lie in Athens. Alexis Tsipras' government hasn't a shared trust within the Eurozone, and in this sense there is a lot to do. «Process needs to be put in place to restore dialogue between Greek authorities and three institutions» (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund). Anyway the emergency liquidity provided by the ECB to Greece «should not be used to fund the government», since these resources are thought «to shore up Greek banks»

FACT SHEET/ Energy in Libya

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bLOGBOOK - My (second) Belgian accommodation

Video available on thepressedworld youtube channel

Quotes

«People who do a good job should be paid fairly and an apprenticeship is a time of education and should not be abused for recruitment of cheap workforce».
Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament (Strasbourg, 12th of March, 2015)

Schulz called Tsipras to stop «provocations»

This is not an interview. Martin Schulz held a public debate with EU citizens in a chat on Facebook. Here I just put all questions and answers together, reorganising the chat for topics. Questions are from people from every part of Europe. Among those people there was me. My question is marked below in the post.

Martin Schulz

Mr. Schulz, you have recently expressed your concern over the large number of young unemployed or who are turning to jobs outside EU. Have you thought of some concrete measures to prevent this phenomenon?
«Yes. I think young people must find jobs where they are living. Freedom of movement should be a privilege and not a must. In the investment plan, we should connect investments and the support of enterprises to the employment of young people». 
Youth unemployment is a big problem nowadays and graduates encounter difficulties to shift from academic to working life. Do you see any opportunity to push apprenticeship principles to those programs and allow young people to join the market?

«Youth unemployment is our biggest challenge. The way in which a lot of trainees are treated is shameful. People who do a good job should be paid fairly and an apprenticeship is a time of education and should not be abused for recruitment of cheap workforce».

We see that people from many European countries are turning to extreme left and right because austerity has given way to many problems that captured Europe's future. Are you worried about the rise of the extreme Left in countries such as France and Greece?

«I am worried about those forces which try to destroy the EU. Europe is a rich continent with unfair and unjust distribution of wealth. We have to fight for more justice then we will win the fight for defending Europe's unity».

Lately, people are talking about a "Grexit"...

«I think "Grexit" is not an option. We will do our utmost to keep Greece inside the Euro zone. What we need is to ensure we can get growth an employment going again».

**Apparently Tsipras' government has no confidence by the Euro zone member States as well as the other partners. Did Tsipras and Varoufakis deal with Greek programme in the wrong way?

«What we need is not mutual provocation. We need cooperation. This applies to both sides. There is an enormous will to help Greece and I hope that the Greek government understands this».

FACT SHEET/ USA,education vs defence spending

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FACT SHEET/ Worldwide military expenditure

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The new world arms race just started

Asia, Europe, Africa, America. Everywhere defence expenditure rises up

by Emanuele Bonini 

World is playing a dangerous war game, making 2015 a year of global tension. New confrontations rose all across the globe, with China, Russia, Japan and Europe officially committed in boosting defence and security when in practice they are running an arms race, one of the most powerful since the end of the Cold War. The United States remain the first country in the world for defence expenditure (581 billion dollar spent only in 2014), but this year situation could mark a turning point in the world geopolitics since China announced its military budget will increase by 10.1% in 2015, narrowing the still-significant gap with the United States on defence spending. Nearly 144.2 billion dollar will be spent by Beijing only this year. Traditionally, the People's Liberation Army army has been focused on protecting its own borders, but Japan sees such a decision as a potential threat for the country. Thus the government approved the largest-ever national defence budget for the next fiscal year. For the year to March 2016, Tokyo will spend 41.97 billion dollar in order to strengthen surveillance of territorial waters in the face of a continuing spat with China. The Japanese ministry of defence is ready to buy 20 "P-1" (maritime patrol aircraft), 5 V-22 "Osprey" (crossover aircraft which have the maneuverability of helicopters and the range of aeroplanes) and 6 high-tech F-35A (stealth fighters). Again, the ministry wants a a fleet of "Global Hawk" drones over a five-year period. Furthermore Japan is planning to give the national army 30 units of amphibious vehicles and one E-2D airborne early-warning aircraft. Meanwhile India announced an increase in defence budget allocations of around 40 billion dollar.

NATO to be ready for a new Cold War era

Secretary general Stoltenberg: «the Alliance is doubling the military size»

Jens Stoltenberg

by Emanuele Bonini

Tension rose as the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg stressed «we are now boosting our collective defence more than we have done since the end of the Cold War». This is «the answer both to the challenges to the East and to the South», explained referring to Ukrainian crisis and turmoil in North Africa. «The security environment is now more challenging than it has been for decades», said Stoltenberg at the joint press conference with Supreme allied commander Europe, general Phillip Breedlove. Thus «what you are doing now is actually to adapt NATO to a new security environment». As a result the Alliance is «doubling the size of the NATO Response Force from 13,000 to 30,000 troops». Stoltenberg pointed out that at the same time his organisation is «setting up a new 5,000-strong quick reaction Spearhead Force. With some units ready to move within as little as 48 hours». In the near future one of the biggest military training missions will be held «in the south». There «we are preparing to hold this autumn our biggest exercise for many years, expected to include over 25,000 troops in this exercise». The NATO chief tries to minimise saying «these measures are defensive, proportionate, and in line with our international commitments», but these measures sound as a declaration of war or, in a better scenario, as a preparation of war.