euro|topics - Paul de Hen

09/01/2009

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de Hen, Paul

3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Elsevier - Netherlands | 21/07/2008

No universal remedy for the economic crisis

Europe is facing an economic crisis. The economy is slowing and inflation is rising. Yet there is no universal remedy for this, the political weekly Elsevier writes: "Each problem requires a different solution. The economic downturn [can be countered] by slightly increasing the national debt, inflation by raising the key interest rate at the European Central Bank. But when you have a declining economy and inflation at the same time, these two remedies stand in each other's way. ... The response to the gradual decline in prosperity is simply to put up with it and accept that there is currently little or no growth. So, for example, there should be no compensation for higher oil prices, not even via tax breaks. Unless of course the state is prepared to cut back on expenditure in order to reduce the burden. That way some of the pressure on wages and profits can be relieved."

Elsevier - Netherlands | 08/02/2008

Can France do a better job during its presidency of the EU?

Paul de Hen, the Brussels correspondent for the Dutch weekly, ponders what the French EU presidency, which begins July 1st, will look like. "The governments of the EU members are judged by their collegues on the quality of their presidency: can they succeed in making a mark all while avoiding defending only their national interests? Do they give the smallest and newest EU members as much value as everyone else during meetings? ... European wisdom dictates that these small countries will often do a better job than the bigger ones. They generally have fewer interests to defend, and they know from experience how important it is to allow everyone a chance to speak. The last time that France took its turn at the presidency of the EU, it was during the second half of 2000. And in collective memory, that presidence left a particulary disastrous image."

Elsevier - Netherlands | 12/04/2007

The EU wants to get closer to the Black Sea

Paul de Hen, the weekly's Brussels correspondent, explains that, on April 11th, the EU launched a new initiative of cooperation with the countries of the Black Sea, a territory that brushes up against the EU since the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. "The region is crawling with suspended conflicts. ... In Moldova, there is the separatist region of Transnistria. In Georgia, two regions want to be separated. Armenian is s keeping its border with Turkey closed and has territorial disagreement with Azerbaijan. In Ukraine, the pro-western party, which wishes to join the EU, has been stuck for years in a struggle for permanent power with the pro-Russian party. ... The EU cannot turn its back on problems that are so close. Black Sea territory is also of economic interest, because they have raw materials and are transit zones for petrol and natural gas."

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