Rich and poor in Europe

Brusssels is number three in the EU in terms of income per capita. The data show that its residents’ income is twice the European average. Inner London and the Luxembourg Duchy are number one and two. The former –Inner London – is a pretty rich corner of Europe. The average Londoner has an income that is more than three times the European average. In Luxembourg, the equivalent figure is about 2.5 times.

Bulgaria and Romania, on the other hand, remain at the bottom of the list. They are indeed very poor countries by European standards. The gap between them and the top three is abysmal. And it keeps growing for now.

Criminal banking

Six major international banks have been fined by the US authorities over huge criminal manipulations of the foreign exchange markets. The banks caught in this huge fraud and well thought-out conspiracy to steal from the clients are: Barclays, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Royal Bank of Scotland, Union des Banques Suisses (UBS), and Bank of America. The overall fines amount to USD $5.6 billion.

Since 2008 a number of very serious malpractices and criminal actions have been uncovered in some international banks. The crisis and a closer scrutiny of the banking system have shown that many of these institutions have been unethical and unlawful. Violations of the law and the interests of the customers have been common practice. The Financial Times reports that in the last seven years banks have been fine over USD $160 billion because of their illegal activities.

It is a matter of huge concern. It is also a major worry that no top banking executive has yet faced a court of justice and be personally sanctioned with a prison term for his or her actions. The system fines the banks and lets the bankers enjoy their bonus. And by the way, the bonus paid during the last seven years or so by the banks the US has just punished come to a total very similar to the combined amount of today´s fines.

Europe in the Far East: a weekly review

My weekly commentary on Radio Macau, aired every Tuesday under the title of Magazine Europa, focused today on three topics: Greece and its immediate, and most pressing financial challenges; mass illegal immigration into the EU across the Mediterranean Sea routes; and educational success in East Asian countries and the lessons Europe´s education systems could draw from that part of the world. 

The topics show the image – and concerns – Europe projected during the last week in Macau and vicinity.

Greece is now against a tough rock

Greece´s financial situation is now reaching a breaking point. We might have a surprise in the coming week or so as it is abundantly clear that the public coffers are more or less dry. The State´s engine is now running on fumes, no longer on real fuel. The chances of agreement with its European creditors have become pretty remote. They still exist, it is true. But they seem very unlikely. 

If there is an agreement it will be in response to the surprise I anticipate, to a major default crisis, a precipitated reaction to tears and shouts. Drama first, spur-of-the-moment repairs afterwards.

The Pope´s decision on Palestine is very important

Pope Francis ‘gesture towards the Palestinian people and its President Mahmoud Abbas should be deeply appreciated. The Palestinian crisis is one of the most enduring and I see no solution in the horizon. But the duty of international leaders is to keep it front page. And contribute, by any peaceful way, to move the two-State agenda forward. No gesture is too small, all positive moves are important. 

The leadership of the "Islamic State" should be destroyed as quickly as possible

The operation that killed a key leader of the terrorist organization called “Islamic State” (IS) should be underlined as a major development. It shows in many ways that there is a new game in town, if we can say it with these words. It takes the fight against these terrorists to a new level: the direct involvement of US Special Forces. We know almost nothing about these extremely specialised branch of the American military. But the fact that they are on the ground against IS, operating from Iraq but ready to go across the border into Syria, can make us believe that the leadership of that brutal organisation will be sooner or later seriously weakened. The targets of the Special Forces are the very important people on the other side of the fence. We can only hope they will be able to do the job fast and cut the head of the monster soon enough.  

The Rohingya refugees need our support

The EU has no clear approach towards the “boat people”, the illegal immigrants that come across the Mediterranean Sea. The same should not be said about Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, when it comes to their “boat people”. These migrants are displaced populations coming from Myanmar. Many of them are from the Rohingya ethnic group, a marginalised Muslim population that lives in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, a coastal area near Bangladesh. In Southeast Asia the policy is clear: repair their boat, give them some food and water and push them to the sea. The results are shocking, of course. The images show the extreme misery of men, women and children, they capture distressing faces of punishing suffering.

We might criticise the European confused policy. But we should be loud and clear in our condemnation of the cruelty the Southeast nations are showing towards the Rohingya. And we should also add that the Rohingya meet all the criteria that define a refugee population. They should therefore be treated as such.

I don´t get it but I admire your ideas

Noam Chomsky, the old contrarian linguist and philosopher whose main ideas are about attacking every dimension of the US foreign policy – Chomsky is a US citizen, by the way -, is an idol of every self-respecting leftist intellectual in some parts of Europe. A few days ago he came to Lisbon to deliver a conference about the role of social sciences in today´s world. The auditorium was packed and some people had to follow the talk from an adjacent amphitheatre. The applause at the end of Chomsky´s long presentation was intense. Then, media people talked to the attendees, to get their impressions about the ideas they just heard. Many just confessed they had not understood Chomsky´s arguments. But they were amazed by the philosopher´s depth, knowledge and courage.

And I thought of that movie where the comedian Roberto Benigni said they were famous just because they were famous. No other reason was needed, no other explanation could be found. In this case, Chomsky for the Portuguese leftists is just great because they don´t understand what he is saying but he is against the establishment. That´s a reason good enough.

The interest for EU matters is growing in China

I just started my weekly commentary on Radio Macao. This is a new page, to be broadcast every Tuesday, on European affairs. Rui Flores, who has worked for the UN as a Political Officer and is a professional journalist, besides being an academic at the University of Macao, is the anchor – a very creative one for that matter – and I am the programme´s resident commentator. My role is to share my views on the week´s key European events.

The programme responds to a growing interest on the EU in China, Macao and Hong Kong.

China is about to celebrate 40 years of cooperation with the EU. Its leaders want it to expand and are ready to negotiate new political and trade agreements with the EU. They are giving a special attention to the new Silk Road project that should better link their country with Central Asia and Europe. Their ambition is as vast as their country and the needs of their very large population: 1,355 billion people. There is still a long way to go before the two parties sign a Free Trade Agreement. But, in the meantime, trade and investment are moving ahead, mainly for the benefit of the Chinese.

The fact of the matter is there are many common interests. Distance is big enough to keep rivalries at bay, but not too far for the ships and trains that bring goods in both directions. Actually, the train link is the future. And, as a future, it is already around the corner, as the first trains have started to move since the end of last year.

Political campaigning calls for simplicity and clarity

In politics it pays to have a clear message and to keep repeating it. It pays further if the message clearly underlines the difference between you and your opponents and makes the point about how important it is to vote for you. David Cameron got it and won. He also understood that the electorate wants it simple and focussed. No need for too many agendas, tonnes of ideas. It confuses the voter and pushes them away.