The #EU is slowly turning towards #protectionism against #China and #US.
«Europe should stop being “naive” and step up efforts to support its faltering industrial base to compete with China and the United States, the newly elected chair of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee told Euractiv in an interview».
https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/interview/european-naivety-could-trigger-industrial-collapse-warns-new-economic-committee-chair/
«Europe should stop being “naive” and step up efforts to support its faltering industrial base to compete with China and the United States, the newly elected chair of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee told Euractiv in an interview».
https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/interview/european-naivety-could-trigger-industrial-collapse-warns-new-economic-committee-chair/
EURACTIV
European ‘naivety’ could trigger industrial collapse, warns new Econ Committee Chair
Europe should stop being "naive" and step up efforts to support its faltering industrial base to compete with China and the United States, the newly elected chairman of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee told Euractiv in an…
The #war has accelerated #Precarity generalization in the #EU and across Europe according to a study carried out with a massive sample of 10,000 Europeans by the "Secours Populaire".
In #France, the country with the best results of all the studied countries, 62% of the population is affected or threatened by #poverty. 38% have difficulty paying rent and mortgage. 44% of the rural population has difficulty accessing health services.
https://www.secourspopulaire.fr/18e-barometre-de-la-pauvrete-et-de-la-precarite-ipsos-secours-populaire-francais-edition-2024/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/one-in-three-europeans-unable-to-afford-medical-care-due-to-poverty-new-survey-suggests/
In #France, the country with the best results of all the studied countries, 62% of the population is affected or threatened by #poverty. 38% have difficulty paying rent and mortgage. 44% of the rural population has difficulty accessing health services.
https://www.secourspopulaire.fr/18e-barometre-de-la-pauvrete-et-de-la-precarite-ipsos-secours-populaire-francais-edition-2024/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/one-in-three-europeans-unable-to-afford-medical-care-due-to-poverty-new-survey-suggests/
Association Nationale
18e baromètre de la pauvreté et de la précarité Ipsos / Secours populaire français - édition 2024 - Association Nationale
Le 18e baromètre de la pauvreté et de la précarité réalisé par Ipsos pour le Secours populaire français brosse le tableau d'une précarité qui s'aggrave, s'étend et où l'accès à l'énergie, à la prévention et aux soins est fortement dégradé, en particulier…
It seems that the only thing «Coop Europe» has to say about the Draghi report is "do not leave our industrial cooperatives, what are not workers' cooperatives, out of the new framework for European Start Ups."
Coop Europe is the European branch of the ICA (International Cooperative Alliance), an organization that has the monopoly of representing cooperatives before the #EU but that makes the #WorkerCooperative model invisible even when it guides laws on #cooperativism in countries like #Portugal or before the #EU itself (Law on the European Cooperative Society) and has turned to supporting the #war - perhaps it sees business in #militarism.
https://coopseurope.coop/news_article/eu-at-a-crossroads-draghis-competitiveness-plan-and-its-implications-for-cooperatives/
Coop Europe is the European branch of the ICA (International Cooperative Alliance), an organization that has the monopoly of representing cooperatives before the #EU but that makes the #WorkerCooperative model invisible even when it guides laws on #cooperativism in countries like #Portugal or before the #EU itself (Law on the European Cooperative Society) and has turned to supporting the #war - perhaps it sees business in #militarism.
https://coopseurope.coop/news_article/eu-at-a-crossroads-draghis-competitiveness-plan-and-its-implications-for-cooperatives/
Cooperatives Europe
EU at a Crossroads: Draghi's Competitiveness Plan and Its Implications for Cooperatives - Cooperatives Europe
Mario Draghi, Italian economist and former President of the ECB, presented yesterday his much-anticipated report on the future of Europe’s competitiveness. This report encompasses recommendations for the new Commission on how to tackle the economic and competitiveness…
The #EU accepts projects that will be developed in any of the European minority #languages or #Esperanto in its Creative Europe and Erasmus + Programs. Meaning: you have to present them in English, but the activities financed can take place in , Aranese, Catalan, Esperanto, etc.
https://sezonoj.ru/2024/09/europo-6/
https://sezonoj.ru/2024/09/europo-6/
La Ondo de Esperanto
Konfirmo pri samrajteco de Esperanto ĉe Eŭropa Unio - La Ondo de Esperanto
La departemento “Lernejoj kaj Multlingveco” de EK konfirmis, ke Esperanto estas samrajta kun aliaj lingvoj por la projektoj de Erasmus+ kaj Kreema Eŭropo.
#EU. Serious criticism of the Draghi report is beginning to emerge.
«But is it inefficient EU capital markets that is the cause of lower productive investment in Europe? The report hints at the real cause when it says private financing costs are too high compared to the returns that the EU’s capitalist sector require to increase productive investment, as opposed to investing in real estate or financial assets. The real cause lies in the lower rate of profitability for European capital compared to the US. This is particularly the case since 2017 (in this example below of US and German profitability).
Not in the report, but perhaps relevant, is that in the EU there are many more smaller companies where profitability is low, while in the US a higher concentration of capital has boosted profits for the few mega techs at the top. Since 2000, gross profit rates in the United States have risen and industry concentration has soared, but these trends are not found in the European Union.
Draghi concludes that “the resulting cycle of low industrial dynamism, low innovation, low investment and low productivity growth in Europe could be characterised as “the middle technology trap”. But, in my view, this is a product of the ‘profitability gap’.
The only way that the required humungous upswing in productive investment could happen is if the profitability of European capital leaps forward. But that won’t be achieved by making credit costs cheaper, but only by a sharp rise in the exploitation of labour in Europe and by the ‘creative destruction’ of ‘middle technology’ to reduce costs. If that does not happen, then the EU’s relative decline globally will continue and even accelerate».
https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2024/09/12/saving-european-capital-its-an-existential-challenge/
«But is it inefficient EU capital markets that is the cause of lower productive investment in Europe? The report hints at the real cause when it says private financing costs are too high compared to the returns that the EU’s capitalist sector require to increase productive investment, as opposed to investing in real estate or financial assets. The real cause lies in the lower rate of profitability for European capital compared to the US. This is particularly the case since 2017 (in this example below of US and German profitability).
Not in the report, but perhaps relevant, is that in the EU there are many more smaller companies where profitability is low, while in the US a higher concentration of capital has boosted profits for the few mega techs at the top. Since 2000, gross profit rates in the United States have risen and industry concentration has soared, but these trends are not found in the European Union.
Draghi concludes that “the resulting cycle of low industrial dynamism, low innovation, low investment and low productivity growth in Europe could be characterised as “the middle technology trap”. But, in my view, this is a product of the ‘profitability gap’.
The only way that the required humungous upswing in productive investment could happen is if the profitability of European capital leaps forward. But that won’t be achieved by making credit costs cheaper, but only by a sharp rise in the exploitation of labour in Europe and by the ‘creative destruction’ of ‘middle technology’ to reduce costs. If that does not happen, then the EU’s relative decline globally will continue and even accelerate».
https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2024/09/12/saving-european-capital-its-an-existential-challenge/
Michael Roberts Blog
Saving European capital: it’s an existential challenge
About a year ago, the European Union’s Commission asked Mario Draghi to write a landmark report on the future of Europe’s economy. Draghi is a former Goldman Sachs banker, former head of the…
#Denmark, #Netherlands and #Hungary inform the #EU that they do not want to be subject to European #refugee and #migration regulations from now on.
https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/migration-rechte-regierung-in-den-niederlanden-will-eu-asylgesetze-brechen-a-3f5c6f81-415f-4247-9535-0aba28a32621
https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/migration-rechte-regierung-in-den-niederlanden-will-eu-asylgesetze-brechen-a-3f5c6f81-415f-4247-9535-0aba28a32621
Spiegel
Niederländische Regierung will EU-Asylgesetze brechen
Die rechte Regierung in den Niederlanden will in Einwanderungsfragen nicht länger durch die EU-Regelungen gebunden sein. Eine ähnliche Ankündigung kommt aus Ungarn. Juristen halten das Vorhaben für zweifelhaft.
#EU. Between Meloni and Ribera, the new #GreenDeal will lose much of its ambition but will not touch anything that underpins the profitability of the #electricity #monopoly.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/italys-meloni-vows-to-revise-disastrous-eu-green-deal/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/podcast/the-climate-ambitions-of-the-next-eu-commission/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/italys-meloni-vows-to-revise-disastrous-eu-green-deal/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/podcast/the-climate-ambitions-of-the-next-eu-commission/
EURACTIV
Italy’s Meloni vows to revise ‘disastrous’ EU Green Deal
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to push for the review of the European Green Deal, criticising its "ideological approach" and warning that it risks leading to deindustrialisation.
#EU. #Spain. What produces votes for the #far-right is not so much a cultural conflict with #migrants but the #ArtificialScarcity of public services and #employment that makes all demographic growth translate into worse #working and #living conditions for #labour.
«Immigration may be defined as the biggest problem Spain suffers, but when respondents are asked about the problems that most directly affect them, the ones they suffer most in their own flesh, the first three that appear are the economic crisis, health and the quality of employment».
«Both when identifying the main Spanish problems and when pointing out those that most concern them directly, issues linked to the economy are overwhelmingly dominant in the responses. In recent years, the decline in living standards is evident, especially due to the price of essential goods for subsistence (from housing to food or energy), the deterioration of public (and private) health services is clear for the middle and working classes, and the number of insecure jobs, where one does not earn enough or where wage earners are stuck, is multiplying, as is the number of small businesses trapped. The declining regions still do not find a way back to prosperity. As long as these issues are pending resolution, the feeling that ordinary people are not in the politicians' photo will increase, and therefore immigration will continue to be present in the debate.
«JD Vance seems to realize this when he moves the problem of Springfield, Ohio, away from roasted cats and relocates it to the increase in housing prices that has generated high immigration in a small town, in the saturation of medical services and in educational services. The final addition, dedicated to progressives, is the decisive one: “I don’t know why you automatically assume that the only reason people complain about this is that they have ulterior motives. And I can’t stand the condescension directed at all these people who are offering very specific testimonies about how their lives have worsened.”
https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2024-09-19/foto-utilizacion-inmigracion_3965892/
«Immigration may be defined as the biggest problem Spain suffers, but when respondents are asked about the problems that most directly affect them, the ones they suffer most in their own flesh, the first three that appear are the economic crisis, health and the quality of employment».
«Both when identifying the main Spanish problems and when pointing out those that most concern them directly, issues linked to the economy are overwhelmingly dominant in the responses. In recent years, the decline in living standards is evident, especially due to the price of essential goods for subsistence (from housing to food or energy), the deterioration of public (and private) health services is clear for the middle and working classes, and the number of insecure jobs, where one does not earn enough or where wage earners are stuck, is multiplying, as is the number of small businesses trapped. The declining regions still do not find a way back to prosperity. As long as these issues are pending resolution, the feeling that ordinary people are not in the politicians' photo will increase, and therefore immigration will continue to be present in the debate.
«JD Vance seems to realize this when he moves the problem of Springfield, Ohio, away from roasted cats and relocates it to the increase in housing prices that has generated high immigration in a small town, in the saturation of medical services and in educational services. The final addition, dedicated to progressives, is the decisive one: “I don’t know why you automatically assume that the only reason people complain about this is that they have ulterior motives. And I can’t stand the condescension directed at all these people who are offering very specific testimonies about how their lives have worsened.”
https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2024-09-19/foto-utilizacion-inmigracion_3965892/
elconfidencial.com
Los que no salen en la foto: cómo se está utilizando a la inmigración
Los inmigrantes están más presentes que nunca en el discurso político, pero inciden poco en el voto en España. Sin embargo, un estudio desvela aspectos muy relevantes sobre cuándo funcionan las alertas
#EU. The European drama is reflected in the responses to the Draghi report more than in the report itself.
«Under the leadership of the European Central Bank (ECB) and German business circles, the contraction of domestic demand, consumption and investment remains the guiding thread of European economic policies. Improving the trade balance comes before maintaining the productive system.»
«With this philosophy, the continent is unlikely to free up the resources needed to develop cutting-edge sectors or simply strengthen its productive apparatus. We prefer to penalize private demand to keep our large exporting companies afloat. This is the “Emily in Paris” Europe, a Potemkin brand village accessible to American tourists and the wealthy classes of emerging countries.
This supposed choice of stagnation does not exclude a greater feeling of moral superiority, but quite the opposite. Thus, economic decline is accompanied by a form of regulatory intoxication with the multiplication of “soft law” texts intended to show an ideological position or to frame the smallest practices of companies within a meticulous logic of external conformity to the norm. Likewise, the Byzantine Empire sincerely thought that it was defining orthodoxy for the entire known world while the Turks were at its gates».
https://www.marianne.net/agora/tribunes-libres/leurope-village-de-marques-potemkine-pour-touristes-americains-et-classes-aisees-des-pays-emergents
«Under the leadership of the European Central Bank (ECB) and German business circles, the contraction of domestic demand, consumption and investment remains the guiding thread of European economic policies. Improving the trade balance comes before maintaining the productive system.»
«With this philosophy, the continent is unlikely to free up the resources needed to develop cutting-edge sectors or simply strengthen its productive apparatus. We prefer to penalize private demand to keep our large exporting companies afloat. This is the “Emily in Paris” Europe, a Potemkin brand village accessible to American tourists and the wealthy classes of emerging countries.
This supposed choice of stagnation does not exclude a greater feeling of moral superiority, but quite the opposite. Thus, economic decline is accompanied by a form of regulatory intoxication with the multiplication of “soft law” texts intended to show an ideological position or to frame the smallest practices of companies within a meticulous logic of external conformity to the norm. Likewise, the Byzantine Empire sincerely thought that it was defining orthodoxy for the entire known world while the Turks were at its gates».
https://www.marianne.net/agora/tribunes-libres/leurope-village-de-marques-potemkine-pour-touristes-americains-et-classes-aisees-des-pays-emergents
Marianne
"L’Europe, village de marques Potemkine pour touristes américains et classes aisées des pays émergents"
Le rapport de Mario Draghi, ex-président de la Banque centrale européenne (BCE), sur le futur de la compétitivité de l'Union européenne, a mis en évidence tous les maux dont souffre l’Europe. Mais le Vieux Continent préfère pénaliser la consommation sur son…
#Agriculture and #ClimateChange. Is it time to start implementing in the #EU also #cereals and traditional crops in some places in #Africa such as pearl #millet, adapted to suffer regular #drought and high temperatures?
https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Opportunity-Crop-Profiles-for-the-Vision-for-Adapted-Crops-and-Soils-in-Africa-Report-Final.pdf
https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Opportunity-Crop-Profiles-for-the-Vision-for-Adapted-Crops-and-Soils-in-Africa-Report-Final.pdf
#EU. #France. #Deindustrialization. Since 2017, industrial production has fallen by 6.7% and manufacturing by 6%.
From May 2023 to May 2024, a year of #deindustrialisation in the #EU. The three industrial powers (#Germany, #France and #Italy) are falling and the decline is not compensated by the rest of the Union.
#Italy is getting closer to burying the #EU #GreenDeal.
The minister claims to have the support of 9 more countries to change the #emissions target upwards.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/italy-says-enough-eu-countries-ready-to-back-call-for-early-emissions-review/
The minister claims to have the support of 9 more countries to change the #emissions target upwards.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/italy-says-enough-eu-countries-ready-to-back-call-for-early-emissions-review/
Although the public attention is focused on companies in crisis that have been saved by workers, such as Duralex in #France, throughout the #EU the majority of new #WorkersCooperatives are created from scratch, that is, they are not the outcome of a transformation of an existing business.
In #France «61% of existing SCOPs were created ex nihilo by founders who decided to create a cooperative company together. 16% are born from the transformation of associations or other forms of cooperatives into SCOPs. 16% inherited healthy companies, for example companies whose founders retire. Only 8% of SCOPs were born from the acquisition of a company in difficulty». They also have a 67% 5-year durability, which is higher than average for companies.
https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/emploi/ces-dix-chiffres-en-disent-long-sur-le-succes-discret-des-societes-cooperatives_AN-201807020189.html
https://www.carenews.com/carenews-info/news/l-antiseche-au-fait-c-est-quoi-une-scop
In #Spain there are 18,941 worker cooperatives that represent 81% of the total number of existing cooperatives. Worker cooperatives maintain 490,000 jobs for members. More than 1,100 new worker cooperatives are created every year, which means more than 3,200 jobs.
https://www.coceta.coop/noticias-coceta.asp?idnew=772
In #France «61% of existing SCOPs were created ex nihilo by founders who decided to create a cooperative company together. 16% are born from the transformation of associations or other forms of cooperatives into SCOPs. 16% inherited healthy companies, for example companies whose founders retire. Only 8% of SCOPs were born from the acquisition of a company in difficulty». They also have a 67% 5-year durability, which is higher than average for companies.
https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/emploi/ces-dix-chiffres-en-disent-long-sur-le-succes-discret-des-societes-cooperatives_AN-201807020189.html
https://www.carenews.com/carenews-info/news/l-antiseche-au-fait-c-est-quoi-une-scop
In #Spain there are 18,941 worker cooperatives that represent 81% of the total number of existing cooperatives. Worker cooperatives maintain 490,000 jobs for members. More than 1,100 new worker cooperatives are created every year, which means more than 3,200 jobs.
https://www.coceta.coop/noticias-coceta.asp?idnew=772
BFM Immo
Ces dix chiffres en disent long sur le succès discret des sociétés coopératives
Le nombre des sociétés coopératives et participatives, dans lesquelles les salariés ont au moins 51% du capital, progresse de façon continue en France: +5% en un an. Radiographie en 10 chiffres clés des Scop et Scip, qui ont une pérennité à 5 ans de 67%,…
#EU. According to auditors, the national strategic plans for #agriculture and #livestock do not meet the #emissions targets of a #GreenDeal that is being increasingly abandoned.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/national-agricultural-plans-miss-eu-environmental-targets-say-european-auditors/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/national-agricultural-plans-miss-eu-environmental-targets-say-european-auditors/
www.euractiv.com
National agricultural plans miss EU environmental targets, say European auditors
The Common Agricultural Policy national strategic plans (CSPs) do not live up to the EU's environmental ambitions, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors, which recommends that the Commission implements monitoring and evaluation systems for…
Rutte, a politician historically aligned with #Nordism against the southern countries of the #EU, #xenophobia against #refugees and #migrants, #austerity against public services and #militarism against the European status quo, is now the new Secretary General of #NATO.
https://www.france24.com/fr/info-en-continu/20241001-le-nouveau-chef-de-l-otan-mark-rutte-soutiendra-l-ukraine-sans-inqui%C3%A9tude-avant-la-pr%C3%A9sidentielle-am%C3%A9ricaine
https://www.france24.com/fr/info-en-continu/20241001-le-nouveau-chef-de-l-otan-mark-rutte-soutiendra-l-ukraine-sans-inqui%C3%A9tude-avant-la-pr%C3%A9sidentielle-am%C3%A9ricaine
France 24
Le nouveau chef de l'Otan Mark Rutte, pas inquiet avant l'élection américaine, veut rassurer l'Ukraine
Mark Rutte a entamé mardi son premier jour à la tête de l'Otan en réaffirmant avec force le soutien de l'Alliance à l'Ukraine, balayant au passage les craintes qui entourent un possible retour de Donald…
According to the #EU, the best organic gardener in Europe is a #ConsumerCooperative in Munich, #Germany, which maintains a stable workforce and does not hire day laborers.
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/kartoffelkombinat-wie-europas-bester-biogaertner-neue-wege-sucht,UPPaBcV
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/kartoffelkombinat-wie-europas-bester-biogaertner-neue-wege-sucht,UPPaBcV
BR24
Kartoffelkombinat: Wie Europas bester Biogärtner neue Wege sucht
Der beste Biogärtner Europas arbeitet im Münchner "Kartoffelkombinat". Die EU-Kommission hat ihm diesen Preis verliehen. Es ist ein Betrieb der sogenannten "solidarischen Landwirtschaft", die Alternativen zur herkömmlichen Marktwirtschaft sucht.
#NATO. Rutte goes from championing #austerity (and the degradation of public services, especially in the southern countries of the #EU) to championing increased public spending... on #militarism. Although it may seem contradictory, in reality it is is not.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/frugal-no-more-new-nato-chief-mark-rutte-urges-members-increase-defence-spending/
https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/frugal-no-more-new-nato-chief-mark-rutte-urges-members-increase-defence-spending/
www.euractiv.com
Frugal no more: new NATO chief Mark Rutte urges members increase defence spending
"To truly match the capabilities with the needs, we need significantly more defence spending," says Rutte in his inauguration speech to NATO members.
New study shows that total emissions from #gas imported by the #EU from the #USA are greater than those from #coal.
https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ese3.1934
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/exported-liquefied-natural-gas-coal-study
https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ese3.1934
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/exported-liquefied-natural-gas-coal-study
SCI Journals
The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States
Greenhouse gas footprint for liquefied natural gas exported from the United States compared with coal, diesel oil, natural gas, and ground-source heat pump powered by the average European electric gr...