Rhein on Energy and Climate

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The re-elected Polish government is determined to tackle far-reaching economic and fiscal reforms in order to prepare the country for future uncertainties and challenges. It wants to put its public finances in order in view of joining the Euro-zone when the present crisis will have been resolved.. To that end, it aims at reducing its… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

After having given a serious warning in mid-October to the Syrian regime and insisted on stopping violence against peaceful demonstrators the Arab League foreign ministers meeting in distant Morocco have decided to suspend Syrian membership as of November 16. On November 16, they gave Syria another three days respite in return for allowing an Arab… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The euro-zone is undergoing an existential crisis, which can be attributed to three fundamental causes: a mismatch of economic governance among euro-zone member countries; an insufficient oversight of national economic and fiscal policies; the absence of effective sanctions against non-compliance with joint policy rules. The present crisis is the result of more than 10 years… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Oil reserves from tar sands in Canada and Venezuela are equal to the world`s total known conventional fossil oil reserves. But the production process is extremely damaging to the environment; and it causes at least 20 percent higher C02 emissions than conventional oil. That is why oil production from tar sands has always been highly… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The condemnation of former Ukrainian prime minister Julia Timoschenko for having negotiated unfavourable terms in the 2008 gas agreement with Russia has raised a storm of outrage in EU quarters. However justified, passion should never be a guide to external relations which need to be rationally defined on the basis of long-term political and economic… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

In the framework of Belgian`s most recent constitutional reform it has also been that as of 2014 elections for the European, national and regional parliaments should be held simultaneously. This constitutes a landmark decision for European democracy. All EU member states should follow the Belgian example. The electoral period should be extended to five years.… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

For the last two decades the international community has unsuccessfully attempted to control climate change. The next Climate Conference due to start November 29th in Durban, South Africa, does not augur any better! The failure stems from: the impossibility of reaching a consensus among 200-odd countries with widely divergent interests; the absence of tangible targets… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The 1964 Association Agreement between the “European Economic Community” (EEC) and Turkey provided for the establishment of far-reaching economic cooperation, from a customs union to free movement of labour; in the preamble it also contained a reference to possible membership of what was at that time a union of modest ambitions and achievements. The almost… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein