Month: December 2010

In Europe today, most eurozone countries are affected by the Euro. Even though only 16 countries use the Euro directly, numerous other European countries are affected by the price of the Euro by pegging their currency. For instance, Denmark and the Baltic countries are part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, meaning they must follow the price of the Euro to a certain extent for their own currency.

In the aftermath of the Icelandic, Greek and Irish financial crisis, people are beginning to lose confidence in the Euro. Most investors were certain that euro-using countries in Eastern Europe, such as Cyprus, Slovakia, Malt and Montenegro, would be a larger threat to the Euro than its users in Western Europe – which are generally perceived as having stronger economies. The fact that Western European economies are failing is creating even more uncertainty and distrust for the Euro.

Moreover, the IMF has advised the European Union to increase its rescue fund (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/imf-to-tell-euro-zone-to-boost-rescue-fund/article1825700/), indicating that the Eurozone countries are predicted to encounter more financial struggles in the near future. Rumours suggesting that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, wishes to opt out of the Euro certainly does not help the Euro’s credibility (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11836514). The Euro is regarded as an important feature of the European Union and cooperation among its members. Therefore, the Eurozone countries will certainly not abandon the Euro without putting up a fight.

Over the last decade people have become convinced that global warming is a serious threat. The Kyoto Protocol is a good initiative towards reducing global emissions. The protocol was originally presented in 1997, and today 191 nations have signed the protocol.

Countries are currently trying to negotiate an extension of the Kyoto agreement, however, this is proving to be difficult. With so many countries with different economies, cultures and ways of life, it is difficult to reach a solution that is accepted by everyone. Even Canada, who has committed itself to the protocol, is now questioning whether or not they are willing to accept an extension with today’s terms. As written in The Globe and Mail, the Harper government is on the fence not only due to the US’s unwillingness to commit itself to the protocol, but also due to the “differing nature of the commitments between rich and emerging economies.” (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/rejecting-kyoto-extension-threatens-climate-talks-developing-nations/article1825499/)

Though countries disagree on many terms of the protocol, the underlying issue appears to be the lack of commitment shown by the USA, India and China, who are responsible for most of the emissions today. This problem is also reflected in the Copenhagen talks of 2009, which ended up failing due to this very reason. If there is to be any hope of reaching a global emissions reduction agreement, countries much put pressure on USA, India and China – who export products to countries all over the world. If not, the current reduction talks going on in Cancun will surely not lead to any substantial agreement.

The arrival of the winter is causing a lot of problems in England. As a result of the unexpected snow, roads, airports, train tracks and schools, and this has a large negative impact on the entire country.

First and foremost, this is a safety problem. The massive amounts of snow and ice are making the roads extremely dangerous. This creates a problem for everyone, but in particular for ambulances. “North West Ambulance Service said it could only respond to life-threatening cases due to the poor weather condition.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8440643.stm). And as airports close down, organs cannot  be transferred as quickly as they could before, which has life-threatening consequences.

As schools are forced to close down, children have no place to go. This means that many parents must take days off from work, which in turn has large negative effects on the economy. As the mass transit system shuts down, people cannot get to and from work – or anywhere for that matter. England’s failure to deal with the snow is a large problem, which negatively affects the economy, safety and lives of its inhabitants.

In 2018, the FIFA World Cup will again return to Europe. ‘Belgium and the Netherlands’, ‘Portugal and Spain’, England and Russia all submitted bids to FIFA to host the Championship. Europe is home to some of the best national teams in the world, featuring the current World Cup and European Championship holder, Spain, and the self-proclaimed founders of soccer – England, who have not hosted the World Cup since 1966. Moreover, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands and England are all ranked among the 8 top teams in the world, whereas first place holder Spain (As of Dec. 2nd, (http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html). These teams are home to the worlds best soccer leagues, with long soccer traditions and state of the art venues.

Despite of this, Russia won the bid to host the World Cup in 2018. When analyzing why, one must think of FIFA’s intentions when awarding a country the privilege of hosting the world cup. Clearly, they have not chosen Russia due to their superior venues and their soccer traditions. FIFA’s goal is to make soccer the most popular sport in the world. They do this by giving the championship to countries in regions were soccer is not popular. This thesis is supported by the 2010 World Cup, which was given to South Africa. This was the first time an African nation was permitted to host the championship.