By Scott Benson On 10th October, a vote of no confidence, which was tied to plans to enhance the European Financial Stability Facility, forced Slovakian Prime Minister Iveta Radičová to step down. Exactly a month later, the Greek and Italian Parliaments have put similar pressure on their respective leaders to resign.
By Emily Clarke Last night thousands of viewers watched as “Spanish Flu” swept through Downton Abbey, taking the life of one of its residents. With no antibiotics, the effects of the 1918-1920 flu epidemic were devastating as approximately 25-30% of the world population was infected and 40 million people, mostly between the ages of 20… [Read More]
If there is one thing we should learn from the Eurozone crisis it is to expect the unexpected and, whatever you do, don’t breathe a sigh of relief too soon. With every hard-negotiated plan to keep the euro area afloat another twist emerges; for who could have predicted that Greece – given a lifeline just… [Read More]
By Emily Clarke The vote that granted Palestine full membership of the UN Cultural and Educational Agency (UNESCO) could potentially have wide-ranging consequences for the role of international organisations within international affairs and their relationship with the United States.
On Thursday some greeted rises in world stock markets as a sign that the EU’s bail-out ‘bazooka’ had worked in scaring away speculators and reassuring the markets. Today’s news that Italy has had to sell 10 year bonds at a record high price indicates that simply inflating the bail-out fund is no panacea.
By Scott Benson Last night’s Eurozone summit may have provided a plan to help solve the immediate sovereign debt crisis but the competitiveness of European industries still remains a cause for concern. This is particularly true in agriculture where EU policy-makers struggle to reconcile the demands of the industry with environmental sustainability.
By Emily Clarke The recent media interest in the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy London Stock Exchange movements has certainly been mixed. From sympathy to contempt to exasperation on the part of St Paul’s cathedral staff at least, the protests and people’s reactions to them are proving difficult to pin down.
While British politicians gear up for a debate on whether or not to hold a referendum on EU membership, and discussion swirls around how the British public feels about Europe, perhaps more important is how the German public feels.
By Lucy Hatton Following Tuesday’s decision by the House of Commons Backbench Business Committee, MPs have finally been given the go-ahead to debate whether or not a referendum should be held on the UK’s membership of the European Union. On 24 October, MPs will debate a motion which calls upon the Government to hold a… [Read More]
By Emily Clarke According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics UK unemployment now stands at 2.57 million or 8.1%. Perhaps even more worrying is the news that the number of 16-24 year olds out of work has crept ever closer to 1 million, currently sitting at a record high of 991 000… [Read More]