Ο Βρώμικος Ρόλος Δύσης και Τουρκίας στην Συρία

Τα τελευταία γεγονότα στη Μεσόγειο θύμισαν με τον πιο δραματικό τρόπο στους ηγέτες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, και όχι μόνο, μια πραγματικότητα που επιμένουν να αγνοούν: η κρίση της Συρίας φτάνει πλέον στο ευρωπαϊκό έδαφος. Τα τελευταία γεγονότα στη Μεσόγειο θύμισαν με τον πιο δραματικό τρόπο στους ηγέτες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, και όχι μόνο, μια πραγματικότητα που επιμένουν να αγνοούν: η κρίση της Συρίας φτάνει πλέον στο ευρωπαϊκό έδαφος.

Αν και έχει γίνει μεγάλη συζήτηση για ποσοστά και αριθμούς προσφύγων που κάθε χώρα δέχεται ή προτίθεται να δεχτεί, πιστεύουμε ότι πίσω από τους αριθμούς αυτούς και την όψιμη ευαισθησία των πολιτικών ηγετών, κρύβεται το πραγματικό πρόσωπο της δυτικής πολιτικής. Την εικόνα του αποφασίσαμε σήμερα να ανασυνθέσουμε μέσα από  απόρρητα έγγραφα και τις πολύ σοβαρές αποκαλύψεις που έχουν γίνει τα τελευταία χρόνια, αλλά που για κάποιον λόγο ξεχάστηκαν γρήγορα.

Isis profits from destruction of antiquities by selling relics to dealers – and then blowing up the buildings they come from to conceal the evidence of looting

So why is Isis blowing to pieces the greatest artefacts of ancient history in Syria and Iraq? The archeologist Joanne Farchakh has a unique answer to a unique crime. First, Isis sells the statues, stone faces and frescoes that international dealers demand. It takes the money, hands over the relics – and blows up the temples and buildings they come from to conceal the evidence of what has been looted.

Ξεπερνώντας το αδιέξοδο του ελληνικού χρέους

Η Ελλάδα χρειάζεται αναδιάρθρωση χρέους. Σχετικά με αυτό, συμφωνούν όλο και περισσότερες φωνές. Ακόμη και το ΔΝΤ, αναγνωρίζει τώρα ότι το χρέος της Ελλάδας είναι μη βιώσιμο. Απαιτείται αναδιάρθρωση, επιμένει τώρα, για την λειτουργικότητα του τρίτου προγράμματος μεταξύ της χώρας και των θεσμών, που αυτή τη στιγμή τελειοποιείται.

Ωστόσο, η γερμανική κυβέρνηση αρνείται να συμφωνήσει στη μείωση χρέους, εάν απουσιάζουν προηγούμενες διαρθρωτικές μεταρρυθμίσεις. Η μείωση χρέους θα πρέπει να έρθει ως ανταμοιβή, επιμένει, για τις προηγούμενες ενέργειες στο διαρθρωτικό μέτωπο. Εάν παρασχεθεί τώρα, οι Έλληνες θα τα παρατήσουν, και το κίνητρο να προχωρήσουν στα σκληρά μεταρρυθμιστικά μέτρα, θα μειωθεί.

Low oil prices fuel political and economic instability

A year after the beginning of the biggest oil price slump in a decade, it is worthwhile to assess the current state of affairs and estimate the costs both for the global economy and the political stability of oil exporting countries.

The oil industry was caught unprepared by the sudden slump in oil prices in July 2014, which was subsequently accentuated by the OPEC’s decision to maintain its 30 million barrels per day quota in order to retain market share and damage the booming US shale oil industry.

How China's Currency Policies Will Change the World

The recent fluctuations in China's currency typify the best and worst of a globalized world, where developments in one place can instantly change the political and financial calculations of governments in others. For most of human history, the communities, cultures and economies of the world existed independently of one another, separated as they were by vast distances and difficult terrain. It would, for instance, take months or even years for news of China to reach Europe across the great Silk Road trading route during the height of its use some 1,000 years ago. Even then, the communities along that route could hardly be considered entirely coherent.

But that is clearly no longer the case. And now, as China continues to adjust the yuan, markets throughout the world will react accordingly, even as they react differently. 

What Kind of State Will Israel Be?

If you’re at all interested in the future of the State of Israel, you need to read the speech that Israeli President Reuven Rivlin delivered to the 15th Annual Herziliya Conference in early June on what he termed the “real Israel” — a country he argues is now divided into four tribes growing increasingly apart.

As far as I can tell, the speech received almost no attention in the U.S. media. I follow Israel closely, but I missed it, too. Why? Most likely because when it comes to Israel, the Iranian nuclear issue has sucked up all the available oxygen and maybe because everyone and his brother has been crying wolf on the demographic challenges Israel faces for a very long time.

The Undiplomats: Right-wing populists and their foreign policies

• As right-wing populist parties have shifted from being marginal players to important political actors in Europe, they have also turned their attention from domestic to foreign and security policy, in ways that sometimes threaten European interests. Mainstream parties need to find effective ways to counter them.

• Right-wing populist parties disagree on many foreign policy issues. They range from anti-American to pro-American, from Russophile to Russosceptic and from isolationist to internationalist. But they are united on some points, notably euroscepticism. They oppose further EU enlargement and, especially, Turkish membership of the EU.
  

Lighten the load

Greece’s debt burden needs to be reduced, but maturity extensions on existing loans are not enough for Greece to return to the markets.

The IMF says that Greece’s debt burden is unsustainable. That is why the IMF will not contribute to the third assistance package (recently agreed by Europe and Greece) unless Greek debt is reduced. The problem is that an outright cut in the value of the debt – a haircut – is politically unacceptable, especially to Germany. The other option – extending the maturity of existing official loans further and lowering interest payments – is not enough for Greece to return to the markets. In order for this to be possible, the eurozone needs to refrain from threats of Grexit in case of a renewed crisis; to commit to making Greek debt sustainable even if economic growth comes in below expectations; and to make new government bonds issued to the market senior to existing official loans, such that new government bonds are serviced before official debt. These measures would also be in the interest of the creditors themselves: only if investors, businesses and consumers feel confident about Greece’s euro membership, can Greece grow and repay its debt.

Europe Rethinks the Schengen Agreement

Forecast

• Rising immigration and fragile economic recovery in Europe will reduce political support for the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates border controls among member states.
• The Schengen Agreement will likely be reformed to make room for countries to tighten their border controls more frequently.
• Friction between Schengen members and other countries will remain, as will tension within the bloc itself.

The UK response to the plight of Syrian refugees is a national embarrassment

Europe once stood for human rights, collective action and the reconstruction of lives shattered by war. Not anymore. Faced with a refugee crisis that leaves the lifeless body of a three year old Syrian toddler washed up on a beach, 70 dead in the back of a van on an Austrian lay-by, and thousands drowned in the Mediterranean, Europe’s leaders are behaving like rabbits caught in the headlights.

The time has come for the EU’s citizens to draw a line in the sand. We need a plan of action commensurate with the scale of the displacement. And we need a public mobilisation in defence of our shared values. This crisis is also about us.