Europe
Europe
Fair Observer provides insightful and informed analysis about important European issues, events and trends.
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By Marc FrankelIn the fall of 2008, the collapse of the Icelandic banking system sent thousands of promising young Icelanders into unemployment. Today, Iceland's Generation Y is turning to entrepreneurship to dig out from under the country's financial crisis. On the morning of October 6, 2008, Georg Ludviksson walked across a parking lot towards a gleaming, modern red office building for his first day of work at Glitnir, one of Iceland’s largest and most prominent banks. Ludviksson had just returned to Iceland from a stint in the United States, where he had earned his Masters degree at Harvard Business School and founded a company called UpDown.com with two of his Harvard colleagues. While...
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Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaFair Observer's five best articles for September. For those of us in the northern hemisphere this is the time of autumn. On the east coast of North America, it is a time of russet, yellow and gold. In Europe, it is a time of “mists and mellow fruitlessness” as described by Keats in Ode to Autumn. In India, it is a time when the monsoons have ended and festivals such as Durga Puja and Dussehra are around the corner. At Fair Observer, we think this is an apt moment for us to introduce to you what we believe to be the five best articles of the month. We chose the articles after much editorial debate. Needless to say, it is an imperfect list and many of you will disagree with...
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By Gunnar BeckThe German Constitutional Court passes a judgment to support Chancellor Merkel’s position on the European Stability Mechanism Treaty but the Bundesbank opposes European Central Bank’s unlimited bond buying programme. As I predicted in the Wall Street Journal in July,the German Constitutional Court last week deferred to the German government and approved the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Treaty subject to minor qualifications. Since the passing of the judgment, markets and politicians throughout the euro zone have been in a jubilant mood. Even the German ambassador in London let down his guard when, in an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he boasted that there...
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United States / Europe / 360° Context / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Global Security / Asia / OceaniaBy Fair ObserverBy Hanna Wolf and Viet-Chi Pham In the global illicit drug trade, governments as well as the police are facing changing smuggling patterns, which include newly developed trafficking routes and ruthless groups of organized crime. Background As the demand for heroin, cocaine and amphetamines becomes increasingly global, so does drug trafficking. Affecting large areas of the world, the drug trade leaves behind high corruption and soaring crime rates, destabilizing entire countries. Cannabis comprises the largest illicit drug market. Since cannabis can be cultivated in almost any part of the world, its production is not as centralized, whereas Colombia and Afghanistan produce a huge portion of...
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By Gunnar BeckGunnar Beck argues that the European Stability Mechanism represents a clear breach of both of the EU Treaties and the German Constitution. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is the permanent rescue fund that may grant loans to struggling euro zone governments by issuing bonds. These bonds are guaranteed collectively by the euro zone members, with Germany assuming the largest potential liability. The ESM is currently subject to legal challenges in the German Constitutional Court and in the European Court of Justice. For political reasons, neither Court is likely to kill the bailout fund. However, a closer look at the small print of the ESM Treaty suggests that in legal terms both...
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Politics / United States / Europe / 360° Context / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaBy Chloe LastAt a time when ‘epidemic’ levels of sexual violence have been reported in some parts of the world, a focus is required on the meaning and impetus for sexual harassment, assault and rape and the patterns that have emerged in its incidence. Background ‘Sexual harassment’ is the term used to denote unwelcome verbal or physical advances of a sexual nature, though it can also signify non-sexual gender-based intimidation (for example women’s harassment in the workplace). Harassment can range from mild verbal bullying to physical sexual assault. ‘Sexual assault’ denotes any sexual act committed without consent, including rape at the extreme end of the...
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The WikiLeaks storm of 2010 seems to be spent. But, as a symptom of what is happening to journalism, the WikiLeaks phenomenon carries profound significance, says Charlie Beckett. Julian Assange isn’t paranoid: they really are out to get him. Or rather - which may amount to the same thing - ignore him. For a glorious few months in 2010, WikiLeaks was one of the world’s best-known media brands, and its founder’s distinctive image had become a globally recognised symbol of radical digital politics. A short two years later, the sands have run through the WikiLeaks timer. An organisation that riled the world's most powerful governments and that was courted by the...
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Politics / United States / Europe / 360° Context / AmericasAs Julian Assange remains a prisoner inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, WikiLeaks continues to divide opinions and raise questions about freedom of speech, journalistic ethics and responsibility. Background WikiLeaks, officially launched in 2007, wasted no time on its way to whistle-blower stardom, prompting internet guru Clay Shirky to tweet in 2010 that it ‘has had more scoops in three years than the Washington Post has had in 30’. By 2008 WikiLeaks had won the Economist’s New Media Award and the Amnesty International UK Media Award the following year for disclosing extrajudicial killings by the Kenyan police. It shot to worldwide prominence...
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By The CornerAs a Morgan Stanley report indicates, investors are more optimistic about Spanish banks but they remain cautious. TheCorner.eu explains why. The draft RDL for bank restructuring and resolution is expected to be passed next Friday in Spain. Aimed at preventing new banking catastrophes, the new legislation gives the Bank of Spain and the state-backed Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) new powers to intervene before crises erupt. Morgan Stanley believes the new decree law will drive further consolidation in the sector, which together with extensive liability management at weaker entities, will continue to improve the competitive position of the large banks, mainly BBVA and...