EU Anti-Corruption Report shows corruption in the EU amounts to more than 120 billion euros a year:

Corruption is widespread in the EU even in the Netherlands

Corruption continues to be a challenge for Europe. Affecting all EU Member States, corruption costs the European economy around 120 billion euros per year. Member States have taken many initiatives in recent years, but the results are uneven and more should be done to prevent and punish corruption. These are some of the conclusions from the first ever EU Anti-Corruption Report published recently by the European Commission.

The EU Anti-Corruption Report explains the situation in each Member State: what anti-corruption measures are in place, which ones are working well, what could be improved and how. National chapters in English and in national languages are available here: http://ec.europa.eu/anti-corruption-report

The report shows that both the nature and level of corruption, and the effectiveness of measures taken to fight it, vary from one Member State to another. It also shows that corruption deserves greater attention in all Member States.

Corruption is taking place in every EU member state from North to South . Even in unsuspected countries like the Netherlands.  In the report the Commission suggests that the Netherlands should focus some of their efforts also on prosecuting cases of corruption in international business transactions, by increasing the capacity to proactively investigate foreign bribery.

More than three quarters of European citizens, and 61 percent of the Dutch, agree that corruption is widespread in their home country. Four percent of Europeans, and two percent of the Dutch, say that they have been asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past year.

This trend is also illustrated by the results of a Eurobarometer survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards corruption published today. The survey shows that three quarters (76%) of Europeans think that corruption is now  widespread and more than half (56%) think that the level of corruption in their country has increased over the past three years. One out of twelve Europeans (8%) say they have experienced or witnessed a case of corruption in the past year. Eurobarometer results are available here.

"Corruption undermines citizens' confidence in democratic institutions and the rule of law, it hurts the European economy and deprives States from much-needed tax revenue. Member States have done a lot in recent years to fight corruption, but today’s Report shows that it is far from enough. The Report suggests what can be done, and I look forward to working with Member States to follow it up", said Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

"Being a politician has unfortunately also become a profitable business opportunity for many of our European political elite, including some of our very own here in Holland. Instead of serving their constituents they are in politics to enrich themselves", said a housewife in the town of Almere in the Netherlands 

Read more: EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Commission unveils first EU Anti-Corruption report 

EU-Digest

European Space Agency: Galileo Leaders, Vision Coalesce at EU Space Policy Conference - by Peter Gutierrez

Europe's powerful Ariane heavy lifter rocket

Last week’s Conference on EU Space Policy in Brussels — under the theme, “What direction for Europe in space between now and 2020?” — featured spirited calls for closer cooperation and the formation of a united front as Europe moves towards early Galileo services at the end of this year.

Falling somewhere between a team-building exercise and a love-fest, the amiable and optimistic sentiments expressed by European space leaders reflected a marked change of tone from those in recent months.

All of Europe’s strengths — and unresolved challenges — were on the table, making for a refreshingly healthy airing of views. As for Galileo specifically, all parties seem to be on the same page for an end-of-year rollout of early services, based on a 10-satellite constellation (including the 4 in-orbit validation or IOV spacecraft already launched) to be in place by December.

The program was opened by no less a figure than European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who said (in a recorded message), “Our European space programs are fully on track.”

Good news for those who have been watching from the sidelines as the various Galileo leaders, as recently as last fall, seemed on the verge of pointing fingers. And especially good news for those (i.e., businesspeople) whose confidence is supposed to be driving the economic payback that is Galileo’s very raison d’etre.

In his opening presentation in Brussels, European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani headed off at the pass any notion of an ESA-GSA gap, saying, deliberately, “The GSA and ESA will work together for early services.”

Speaking in French, Tajani was convincing in his demonstration of brotherly feeling towards the man on whom all depends — at least on the technical level. He thanked Dordain for the new launch schedule that will underpin the on-schedule delivery of early Galileo services.

“Galileo will move forward this year,” Tajani said. “There will be six new satellites, bringing the total to 10 in orbit. Mr. Dordain has told me, and he confirmed to me again today, there will be three launches in 2014. The first will come in June. Two satellites have passed the necessary tests. We need to keep this up, we must continue to raise our game.”

Under ESA’s current plan, the other two-satellite launches would occur in October and December on Russian Soyuz rockets, barring any last-minute technical problems. But ESA launch manifest is crowded this year, and a four-satellite.

Note EU-Digest: Last year Europe (ESA) launched the world's most accurate billion dollar state of the art space telescope, that should bring back home the most detailed 3D map of our galaxy.

The unprecedented scope of the stars to be surveyed is accompanied by the unprecedented precision with which it’s achieved. The detail will be a thousand times higher than can be done from the ground. The scientific community is holding its breath for a breakthrough. 

Read more: Galileo Leaders, Vision Coalesce at EU Space Policy Conference | Inside GNSS

Economics: How Mainstream Economics Failed To Grasp The Importance Of Inequality - by Jon Wisman

The magnitude of exploding inequality since the mid-1970s is captured by the following: Between 1979 and 2007, inflation-adjusted income, including capital gains, increased $4.8 trillion — about $16,000 per person.

\Of this, 36 percent was captured by the richest 1 percent of income earners, representing a 232 percent increase in their per capita income. The richest 10 percent captured 64 percent, almost twice the amount collected by the 90 percent below. Between 1983 and 2007, total inflation-adjusted wealth in the U.S. increased by $27 trillion. 

 If divided equally, every man woman and child would be almost $90,000 richer. But of course it wasn’t divided equally. Almost half of the $27 trillion (49 percent) was claimed by the richest one percent — $11.7 million more for each of their households. The top 10 percent grabbed almost $29 trillion, or 106 percent, more than the total because the bottom 90 percent suffered an average decline of just over $16,000 per household as their indebtedness increased.

This soaring inequality generated three dynamics that set the conditions for a financial crisis. The first resulted from limited investment potential in the real economy due to weak consumer demand as those who consume most or all their incomes received proportionately much less. Not being capable of spending all their increased income and wealth, the elite sought profitable investments increasingly in financial markets, fueling first a stock market boom, and then after the high tech bubble burst in 2001, a real estate boom.

As financial markets were flooded with credit, the profits and size of the financial sector exploded, helping keep interest rates low and encouraging the creation of new high-risk credit instruments. This enabled more of the elite’s increased income and wealth to be recycled as loans to workers. Financial institutions were so flush with funds that they undertook ever more risky loans, the most infamous being the predatory subprime mortgages that often were racially targeted. As the elite became ever richer, those below became ever more indebted to them. When this debt burden became unsustainable, the financial system collapsed and was bailed out by taxpayers.

Economists might have stood a better chance of foreseeing the developing financial crisis had they thrown their nets far wider to catch the insights that have been harvested by a wide range of so-called heterodox economists. From the underconsumptionist tradition of Keynes, Kalecki, and Minsky they could have developed an understanding of how inequality affects aggregate demand, investment, and financial stability.

From the institutionalist tradition of Thorstein Veblen they could have learned how consumption preferences are socially formed by humans who are as concerned with social status and respectability as with material well-being. And from the Marxist tradition they could have seen how economic power translates into political power. 

Economists have failed to grasp the wisdom of one of the foremost students of crises: “the economist who resorts to only one model is stunted. Economics is a toolbox from which the economist should select the appropriate tool or model for a particular problem.”

Read more: How Mainstream Economics Failed To Grasp The Importance Of Inequality

Denmark - Viking Mentality - Cruelty in Danish Zoo with the killing of baby Giraffe unacceptable

A healthy young giraffe has been put down at Copenhagen zoo, despite a campaign to save it.

Protesters carrying banners gathered outside the zoo this morning and thousands of people signed a petition to rescue the giraffe, called Marius, after the Danish zoo announced it was planning to kill the animal because of European laws on inbreeding.

Other zoos, including the Yorkshire wildlife park in Britain, had offered to take it in.

But according to the Danish newspaper BT, Marius was fed some rye bread at 9.15am and was killed shortly after by a shot in the head with a bolt gun.

Live footage of his body being dissected was streamed by Ekstra Bladet, showing zoo workers wearing green rubber gloves carrying out the dissection while an announcer guided the crowd through the process and fielded questions. Some of the meat was later fed to lions at the zoo.

The zoo defended the decision to slaughter Marius, saying that to send the giraffe to another zoo would also risk problems of inbreeding. It said Marius's genes were already well represented among giraffes at the zoo.

Strange is that if the Danish Zoo knew about the EU inbreeding law they stll went ahead and bred this Graffe anyway. 

Unfortunately the Viking mentality is still alive and well in Denmark. Shame on the Government of Denmark for also not stopping this killing.

EU-Digest

Economy: Poll shows 57.14 % of people polled don't feel better off today than a year ago

EU-Digest latest poll shows 57.14% who participated in poll feel worse off than they did a year ago while 42.86 say they are better off.

This month poll which runs from February 10 through March 10 focuses on the upcoming European Union parliamentary elections. The poll will also be featured in Almere-Digest.

Which political parties do you believe would be best qualified to lead Europe into the future?

A: Right-Wing Nationalistic Eurosceptic Parties
B: Traditional Middle Of The Road Conservative Parties
C: Traditional Left Wing Parties
E: Coalition of Conservative and Left Wing Parties

EU-Digest

Switzerland votes a narrow 'yes' to cap EU immigration - and shoot themselves in the foot

Switzerland has voted 50.3 percent in favor of limiting annual migration from the EU, thus ending the policy of free movement within the bloc that was established in 2002.

Swiss voters narrowly decided that immigration quotas would be reintroduced, thereby overturning the free movement policy introduced in the European Union 12 years ago. Early results showed the country to be very divided in opinion over the 'Stop mass immigration’ initiative.

‘Stop mass immigration’ was introduced by the nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP). Its goal is to introduce annual quotas on the number of foreign workers entering the country. The SVP currently has 54 seats in the Federal Assembly, and its vote share of 29% in the 2007 Federal Council election was the highest vote ever recorded for a single party in Switzerland. The SVP opposes governmental measures for environmental protection.. The Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher. 

The SVP adheres to national conservatism, aiming at the preservation of Switzerland's political sovereignty and a conservative society. Furthermore, the party promotes the principle of individual responsibility and is skeptical toward any expansion of governmental services. This stance is most evident in the rejection of an accession of Switzerland to the European Union, the rejection of military involvement abroad, and the rejection of increases in government spending on social welfare and education.

The emphasis of the party's policies lie in foreign policy, immigration and homeland security policy as well as tax and social welfare policy. Among political opponents, the SVP has gained a reputation as a party that maintains a hard-line stance. Most memorable negative of the party is that it denied to condemn Fascism.

Final count: Yes 50.3%(1,463,954 votes) No 49.7%(1,444,438) Turnout: 56.5% 

The result will likely vex multinational companies based there; Roche, Novartis, UBS, and other industry giants frequently utilize foreign labor.

According to the latest data, 23 percent of the country’s eight million inhabitants are foreigners – the second largest proportion in Europe after Luxembourg.

Many fear the initiative would have a negative impact on the economy, which relies on foreign workers for progress and a competitive edge.

Italians and Germans reportedly comprise the largest contingent of immigrants to Switzerland, most of whom seek work in IT, healthcare, and financial sectors.

Severin Schwan, Austrian CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, said about half of the employees at the research and development site in Basel, Switzerland are foreigners.

EU-Digest

Sochi Olympics: Dominance begins: Netherlands sweeps men's 5,000 - by Paul Myerberg

Gold - Silver and Bronze for the Netherlands

In the world of men's speed skating — and in the long-distance races in particular — the rest of the world is chasing the Netherlands, a country that views Olympic dominance as a quadrennial birthright.

Theirs is a skating powerhouse that stems in large part from the Netherlands' devotion to the sport. While soccer rules on sunny days, speed skating occupies the country's undivided attention throughout the winter, and during Olympic years in particular.

But perhaps never in its skating history have the Dutch experienced a day quite like Saturday, when a trio of skaters completed a clean sweep of the medal podium in the 5,000 meters

Read more: Dominance begins: Netherlands sweeps men's 5,000