Rhein on Energy and Climate

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On October 25, the 27 EU Environment ministers have adopted their “negotiation directives” for the forthcoming Doha Climate Conference. Their seven – page cryptic conclusions, drafted in UN style, constitute a mixture of incantations and empty phraseology that no normal citizen will be prepared to even look at. Ministers felt it necessary to stress their… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

EU political leaders love to create new financial instruments. The latest example of this inclination is the proposal by European Council President Van Rompuy to endow the euro-area with a “fiscal capacity”, meant to help its members soften “asymmetrical shocks” or offer them incentives to tackle painful socio-economic reforms like phasing out wage indexation, making… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

For its energy supply, Humanity depends presently more on the Gulf countries than on any other part of the earth: one third of global oil and one fifth of gas reserves lie there; and production costs are lower than anywhere else. This situation will not be sustainable: The Gulf countries have to envisage a progressive… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The year 2012 is likely to constitute a turn-around for the European automotive market: producers will have to confront a 7 percent fall in sales. This decline is a continuation of the gentle downward trend that has started in 2009. Aggravated by the economic crisis that has gripped Europe, it is likely to become a… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The Lisbon Treaty has introduced a major institutional innovation in the field of external relations by creating a common diplomatic service, the “European External Action Service” (EEAS). During the past 20 months this service has progressively been set up. With some 3000 officials and a budget of around € 500 million per year it is… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

During the most recent conference of the Group of Non-Aligned countries in Tehran the Iranian President Ayatollah Khamenei and the -first freely elected- Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi have called for a radical renovation of the United Nations. This goes in particular for the Security Council which is no longer representative of the global population and… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The French government has decided to lower gasoline prices by six cents, about 4 per cent of present pump prices, to deliver on a campaign pledge by President Hollande to preserve the purchasing power of French households. Oil companies and the French Treasury will share the € 600 million revenue loss of what is meant… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein