Turkish immigrants in Germany

August 20, 2012 by

Osmi Anannya

Image © Zanthia

It’s been 51 years since the once booming West Germany signed a recruitment agreement with Turkey to provide guest workers for the nation’s workforce. Usually unskilled labourers, armed with a minimum wage payroll and accommodation for the duration of their temporary contractual stay, came to the Western side of the country. This practice continued up until the 1973 global oil crisis and by that time somewhere around 710,000 Turks had benefited from the programme, living amongst German people and other ethnic minorities in Germany. Although many chose to return to their homeland soon afterwards, several thousand instead chose to bring their families to Germany, triggering an increase in the Turkish immigrant population numbers. Today these numbers constitute about 5% of the country’s population.

Studies by the Berlin Institute for Population has revealed that, of all immigrant groups in Germany, the Turkish population are least likely to integrate and most likely to be poorly educated, underpaid, and unemployed. With time, schools have started to introduce additional lessons in Turkish to aid immigrant workers’ children to further integrate into German society and increase their employment prospects. When rapid modernisation of industry in Germany began, companies demanded better qualified workers and Turkish guest workers found themselves ill equipped to compete in this new labour market.

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Top Ten Reasons Why America Needs to Care About Greece’s Crisis

July 8, 2012 by

Marcela De Vivo 

Image © robertgourley-photo

It has become well-known that Greece is in a state of economic difficulty. In fact, it is estimated that the government debt is at 125% and steadily rising. However, since Greece is thousands of miles away, why should Americans worry about the complications that Greece is facing regarding their budget? There is no simple answer, as there are numerous reasons that should alarm us about the predicament in Greece. Let’s deliberate the top ten reasons why Americans should not disregard that fact that we may be facing a very serious crisis.

Wall Street

Everything tends to revolve around Wall Street. In fact, since many Americans are becoming worried about the Greek crisis, stocks have started to slip. As time goes on and Greece continues to face hardship, the stock market continues to fall at an alarming rate. Simply put, a large majority of investors are worried about the huge debt that Greece has accumulated and are not investing in stocks.

Contagion

What if this problem spreads to other countries? For example, Spain could be the next likely culprit to be faced with a large budget problem. Americans could be faced with disaster. Europe happens to be one of America’s largest trading partners; therefore, numerous areas of American economics are affected.

Resolution

One of the biggest uncertainties is what will happen if there is not a clear resolution in Greece. Big investors tend to be comforted by the fact that a solution is at hand or that there is an easy fix.  With the Euro Zone lacking a unified political system for the sixteen countries that share common currency, this could become a large and never ending dispute. Read more of this post

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Moving to the Right?: Cameron to Consider Vote on EU

July 2, 2012 by

Francis Pitt 

Image © Nick Atkins Photography

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron has stated that he is prepared to consider a vote on Britain’s relationship with the European Union, adding that an in/out referendum is not what the majority of the British public “most wanted”. Britain’s relationship with its partners across the channel has always been complex and Cameron now wants to add yet another chapter to this book.

Before I carry on, I must clarify my own position on the European Union. I am a passionate supporter of Britain in Europe and studied the European Union for my undergraduate degree. I have also enjoyed studying in Europe as part of the European Union’s Erasmus Exchange Programme. For me, Britain should be integrating further into the union, and not turning its back on our European partners.

Britain’s history with Europe has been on a bumpy road, with Britain acting as the stroppy child sitting in the back seat of the car, constantly asking the drivers (France and Germany) “are we there yet?” When the forerunner of the European Union, the European Coal and Steel Community, was founded, Europe was still recovering from the aftermath of World War Two and Britain refused to join the club.  It was not until 1973 when Britain was finally admitted to the community in its first expansion, along with Denmark and Ireland. But almost from the start, the question of whether the UK should remain in Europe came to the fore when the 1975 referendum on continued membership took place. However, back then the British public was far more pro-European than today, as 67% of the voters backed Britain’s continued membership. The following 37 years have seen Britain refuse to give up the rebate, join the single currency (although this might be a blessing in disguise in hindsight), and have recently decided to use their veto.

Britain has managed to get to this position by constantly dragging their feet over practically every EU decision or treaty. In 2011, Cameron vetoed joining a new European treaty on fiscal discipline, in order to protect the City. The move left Britain more isolated in Europe and even drew criticism from the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Read more of this post

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The Strange Death of Liberal Europe

June 21, 2012 by

John Curran

Image © BrotherMagneto

The Greek electorate have spoken and, borrowing a phrase from former US President Clinton, it is not clear what they have said. Although we have a decision, can it be described as a mandate? New Democracy winning by a mere 3% ahead of anti austerity socialist party Syriza, the majority party automatically gaining fifty extra seats thus placing them in the driving seat of a coalition government.

 As in the UK after the 2010 election, conservative politicians in open necked shirts make electoral agreements with minority parties with phoney liberal credentials. The political horse-trading in Athens was conducted in the Greek language but the narrative is one shaped by London, Berlin, and Brussels.

There has always been a liberal dilemma at the core of the European project. This is evident in the decision making process which is undemocratic and dominated by the Council of Ministers and the Commission. However, since 1979 the Parliament has grown in authority via the ballot box and the Single European Act. Despite this there is a problem in the governance of the EU, a quandary now thought key to understanding the crisis.  A predictable debate has begun with calls to abandon the EU project or establish a Federalist system.

The unprecedented interference from external influences in the Greek election is a worrying intrusion into the democratic workings of a sovereign state, justified by the ‘memorandum of understanding’ made on the cusp of the first Greek election this year. A document that binds future administrations to adhere to cuts of billions of Euros.

The interference in the Greek election are numerous, springing from comments made by European leaders such as Angela Merkel in Germany and George Osborne in the UK. Larry Elliott in the Guardian on 16 of June reported on comments made by Jean-Claude Juncker:

If the radical left wins [in Greece] – which cannot be ruled out – the consequences for the currency union are unforeseeable.

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Ireland’s Referendum: Aye’s have it, but apathy wins the day

June 2, 2012 by

Daniel Crump 

Image © Foreign and Commonwealth Office

We now know that Ireland have officially endorsed the European Fiscal Pact. It was a hard fought campaign with both the ‘YES’ and ‘NO’ camp sketching out the worst case scenario if voters did not listen to them. It will be to the benefit of Ireland in the long term that the ‘YES’ camp have won the day. Ireland is still in an incredibly fragile position economically, and the last thing they needed to do was spook the markets even further by rejecting tighter fiscal discipline.

The saddest part of the whole affair is not that it was such a close run contest, but that it almost seems fitting to commend those who actually formed an opinion at all. Figures suggest that fewer than half of the 3.1m registered voters turned out to make their decision. This makes turn out, at best, 50% in some regions and, at worst, below 30% in others.

In the end, the right camp won out. This is Europe’s second chance at imposing coordinated oversight of fiscal policy and setting workable and imposable limits on structural deficits. Even Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe and the champion of efficiency, broke the original rules set out in the 1992 Maastricht treaty on state borrowing. Whilst this has been a popular argument against the fiscal pact, not least in the southern economies, this is not the time to look back in anger, but to acknowledge that something must now be done to shore up the single currency for the future.

For Ireland, a No vote would have effectively denied them all future bailouts from the troika of the EU, ECB and IMF. If Ireland is serious about returning to the bond markets in 2014, as is their stated aim, they may well need to continue on life support for the time being. Turning off the supply would leave this already ambitious target in serious jeopardy.

Having said that, one can certainly see why the ‘NO’ camp was tempting some voters to their way of thinking. Out of the so called ‘PIIGS’ economies of Southern Europe, Ireland have been courting the approval of the financial markets and their European neighbours. They have won praise by implementing deep austerity measures, cutting into their enormous budget deficit and recapitalising a near collapsed banking system. When they look across to their fellow strugglers and the possibility of Eurobonds writing off yet more Greek debt, it is not unreasonable to ask what all the hard work was for. Read more of this post

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Prosperity or Criminality? The Curse of the Coffeeshop

June 1, 2012 by

Francis Broderick

Image © Pathien

I was really fortunate to spend one year in the beautiful city of Maastricht, located in the southern Dutch province of Limburg. Elegant, miniature houses straddle both sides of the river Maas, separated by the 13th Century St. Servatius Bridge. Imposing cathedrals dominate the skyline, rising from majestic medieval squares, interconnected by narrow cobble-stone streets. Boasting Roman, French and German influence, this melting pot of culture feels really special, almost like a mature wine. It’s easy to get lost in thought while you stroll through those narrow winding streets or as you sip a cappuccino in the Market Square. Just then, the peace is shattered by a group of young tourists: ‘Hey man, where can we get some weed?’

Maastricht feels different to the rest of the Netherlands because of its location – a small, round piece of land jutting into Belgium and Germany. The borders of France and Luxembourg are nearby, giving Maastricht its unique international feeling. This also makes the city a prime centre for drug tourism, with up to 2.2 million people travelling there every year in order to buy cannabis.

Things have changed much since my time in the city, being pestered by young tourists, desperate to sample the Netherland’s most famous example of tolerance. The first signs of discontent were coming from city officials back in 2008, when I lived there, who were trying to implement a policy of decentralisation, moving the drug selling coffeeshops into the suburbs. At the time, this didn’t seem to be working. However, today, the liberal agenda is changing and the coffeeshops are coming under severe pressure from the Dutch government.

With an estimated 6,000 drug tourists visiting Maastricht everyday, those narrow cobble-stone streets were constantly choked with traffic. Of course, in an old city like Maastricht, the smell of exhaust fumes mixed with cannabis smoke doesn’t really bind with the visual surroundings. I had the same feeling in Amsterdam, strolling by the canals, dodging bicycles and taking in the atmosphere. Everywhere I went, the smell was the same. Cannabis. Everywhere I went, the people were the same. Stoned American tourists. At least the traffic situation was better than Maastricht – most traffic problems exist along the border. Nevertheless, I wondered what both Maastricht and Amsterdam would feel like if one day, the situation changed.

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The European Project is a Progressive Cause

February 2, 2012 by

Andrew Noakes, Chair of the Young European Movement London

Image © David Kellam

Hostility towards European integration is often associated with conservatism, but a surprising number of progressive voters would also like to see Britain leave the European Union. A Guardian/ICM poll in October of last year revealed that 38 percent of Labour and 44 percent of Liberal Democrat voters support EU withdrawal.

Progressives who, like myself, are enthusiastic about the European project must stop taking support from the left for granted. We must make an active effort to persuade social democrats and liberals to re-invest their faith in European integration as an engine for progress in Europe and beyond.

Of course, there will always be critics on the left who see the European project as a capitalist conspiracy, committed to extinguishing our progressive aspirations. But this is an old-fashioned smear and should be exposed as such. Read more of this post

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Master Storytellers

February 1, 2012 by

Seamus Peter Johnstone Macleod

Image © Saul Gordillo

It is argued that Scottish nationalism under the stewardship of the SNP has come of age. Gone are invocations of the spirit of William Wallace or Robert the Bruce. Less frequent too are references to the barbarity of Margaret Thatcher’s rule without mandate. It is said that romanticism has been replaced with a clear-minded pragmatism. The dominant narrative north of the border is that Scotland’s prosperity would be ensured and increased if it were free to pursue its own economic and political goals, free of control from Westminster.

There is much that supports elements of this account.  The SNP succeeded in presenting a convincing case that a pro-Europe, foreign investment friendly, socially conscious, independent Scotland would constitute a cause for monetary celebration. And it’s not all bluster. Mr Salmond’s high profile publicity trips to the Middle East and China, ostensibly securing bilateral trade and investment ties, are backed up by solid figures that show that foreign money has been flowing into Scotland – at a relatively steady rate – since 2002. The SNP’s dream to follow Ireland’s example of prosperity through low corporation tax, a skilled workforce, and modern infrastructure attractive to multinational companies cannot be discounted merely due to the unfortunate end that met that arc of prosperity. SNP ministers are more likely to be found quoting economic statistics than Rabbie Burns these days.

Scott Hill has rightly pointed out that it is the unionist side that now appear to be the champions of sentimentality and myth. Claims that “we are stronger together” sound hollow and are mostly unsupported by the rationality that appears to colour the rhetoric of the SNP. Melanie Philips does her cause no favours by perpetuating the false notion that Scotland receives a sizeable windfall from taxpayers elsewhere in the UK. Though the truth of this matter depends on which year or years of data are considered and what proportion of North Sea oil is considered to be Scotland’s, it is not the case that Scottish citizens would lose significant funds through independence. Equally, the notion that Scotland would have been bankrupted by having to independently bail out RBS during the credit crunch are grounded more in fiction than in fact. Joint bailouts by groups of states did take place during 2008 and this would likely have happened in the case of RBS given its sizeable presence south of the border. Read more of this post

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London or Brussels? Ça ne fait rien

December 17, 2011 by 5 Comments

Dominic Turner

Image © harry_nl


In the week that David Cameron returned from Brussels, posturing as the protector of Britain, what is most distressing, albeit predictable, is the reaction of the establishment ‘left.’



Make no mistake, the binary calculus in David Cameron’s mind was: who controls Britain’s economic policy? Bankers in Frankfurt or the bankers in London who bankroll his party? He chose the neighbourhood bully.



But there does exist a Pan-European Austerity agenda. An insane, centralising elite in the death throes of Europe’s most right wing regimes, striking whilst the iron is hot, before the voters of their respective countries throw them out of office. The brazen arrogance of the plutocratic elite of Europe is exhibited in countries like Italy and Greece who are no longer just practically run by the banks (like the UK) but literally governed by ex-bankers who are exacting savage cuts on ordinary people, the receipt for their own bail out. 

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Ten international relationships the UK must develop

December 13, 2011 by

Mike Morgan-Giles

Image © Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Following the Prime Minister’s decision to veto the proposed EU Treaty last week, which has put the UK in the slow lane within a two speed Europe, it’s important the Government looks to develop our other international relationships. Here are ten they should move forward:

  1. BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China are vast growing markets that we must look to enhance our ties with. Each can be approached in a different way, with perhaps closer links to Brazil on sustainability, energy cooperation with Russia, major trade links with India and offering cash-rich China unbeatable investment opportunities.
  1. Scandinavia – They share some of the euro-scepticism often cited in the UK; Norway isn’t an EU member, whilst Sweden and Denmark stand outside the eurozone. Ties can be strengthened over issues such as fishing and energy policy – for instance by creating a shared super grid. A more ambitious move would be to create an informal Northern European group, including all of the Nordic countries. Read more of this post

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