Slovakia: Anti-Immigration attitude
01 Jul 2015
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Bratislava to express their anger. Police cars were vandalised . People held banners that read, Slovakia is not Africa, and one Arabic family, including a mother and baby in a pushchair, was pelted with stones. These protests come as the discussion on the influx of immigrants to Europe from war or poverty inflicted parts of North Africa is coming to a head. The European Commission proposed a solution which would see at least 40,000 immigrants resettled throughout the EU with certain quotas for each Member State. Slovakia would receive a quota of 700 immigrants. There is tension and disunity in the Member States on this issue. Many countries in the West such as Germany, France and the UK are feeling the impact of immigration. The EU has proposed that all Member States come together to solve this problem and take the weight off the most affected countries, but attitudes are much more defensive among the newer states.
Serbia: Political lessons we learn from Serbia
01 Jul 2015
Serbia - a war-torn country of 7.2 million people racked by broken economy and soaring unemployment and inflation. Just last year, the World Bank ranked the former Yugoslav territory 91st among countries surveyed on its annual report of ‘Doing Business’ assessment. That was the state of affairs inherited by the Generation X politician who became Serbia's newest prime minister. Yet in less than 14 months' he has made tough choices, reversed a record deficit of 7 percent GDP of the economy to near-break-even, and achieved economic growth. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, 45, took office in April 2014. Despite flooding that affected the country after his inauguration, he quickly worked with the parliament to institute economic reforms, including cutting pensions and public-employee wages and raising taxes. He pushed through laws allowing a flexible workplace and focused on attracting foreign investment. His actions quickly paid off and the results have been stellar. The country's GDP is forecast to grow next year. Serbia is currently in negotiations to join the European Union.
San Marino: Big steps for small countries
01 Jul 2015
The fifty-three Member States of the Region have a large and diverse population. This diversity also exists in terms of health inequalities. To achieve health equity, WHO/Europe works with countries in key areas such as the social determinants of health: the conditions in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age. Action across all government sectors is needed to address factors affecting health and well-being on a daily basis. In July 2014 WHO/Europe had the first meeting for smaller countries to help them achieve health equity. Representatives from eight small countries in the Region came to San Marino to discuss implementation of the Health 2020 vision. Representatives from Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino attended. WHO Regional Director for Europe, said that small countries, with populations of less than 1 million, adapt quickly, and implement policies effectively. Choosing the right policies has a great potential to achieve social and political cohesion. See also: www.euro.who.int/en/countries/san-marino/news/news/news?root_node_selection=75602
President Vladimir Putin said, ‘Russia needs a mighty military to fend off threats near its borders’ in a stance that reflects soaring tensions with the West over the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian leader, whose approval ratings reached an all-time high this month despite a bruising recession, said a ‘powerful army equipped with modern weapons is the guarantor of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia.’ Speaking at a Kremlin meeting with graduates of Russian military academies, Putin also vowed to continue a sweeping military modernisation effort that envisions the purchase of large numbers of new weapons. Despite oil-rich Russia now being in a recession Putin plans to spend 22 trillion roubles to give the armed forces dozens of ships, hundreds of new planes and missiles and thousands of tanks and other weapons. Putin added that Russia has no aggressive intentions and aims to ‘settle any disputes exclusively by political means with respect to international law and interests of other nations.’
Romania’s Central Bank experienced 2,631 banknote forgeries in 2014, more than double the previous year. 2,400 were found in circulation while the rest were seized by police during raids. The total value of the forged local currency notes was over the equivalent of EUR 55,000. During the same period the Romanian National Bank recorded a profit of EUR 251 million last year, after a loss of EUR 282 million in 2013. The Central Bank’s net assets totaled EUR 3.4 billion, up 25.8% compared to 2013 See also : www.romania-insider.com/fake-romanian-banknotes-double-one-year/151718/
Portugal: First national Roma survey released
01 Jul 2015
The Portuguese Roma Gypsies have little formal education, marry young, mainly work in fairs, though many are unemployed and get basic social security benefits, a study published this week has revealed. This, is the first national study of the Roma community. They interviewed almost 1,600 Gypsies throughout Portugal last year. The study co-ordinator said there were three large groups. One is composed of youths under 34 years with different levels of schooling, many of them have never worked and many live with their families. A second group is 45 years or older ‘living in very deficient conditions with greater vulnerability’. The last group has people of an active age with families or in a stable situation, with ages of between 24 and 35 years, many have had four years of school. This group has a larger number of workers, mainly people who travel from fair to fair as employees. They are more open and have non-Roma friends and their networks are less closed.
Poland: Gay community - a shift in attitudes
01 Jul 2015
The Polish city of Gdansk, on the country's Pomeranian coast, is famous for several reasons. World War II is widely regarded as having started here in 1939,as did the Solidarity workers' movement of the 1980s. Recently the first ‘gay rights’ march in the region took place there, attracting about 1,000 participants. Even two years ago, such a march in this city would have been unthinkable. At that time, Poland’s most famous native icon, Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity movement, said on TV that ‘gays had no right to impose their will on the Polish majority. ‘Nor should they play a prominent role in Polish politics’, he added. Attitudes are changing, in part because the Catholic Church's influence is shrinking in Poland and more Poles are declaring themselves to be homosexual. With the opening of borders after joining the European Union things have changed, especially for the youth. LGBT characters being featured in popular TV series makes a difference in social acceptance.
A new special unit has been established in the Norwegian Civil Defence that will assist the firefighters and police emergency services when critical situations arise. Forty-eight men and women in South Trøndelag County will be the civil defence’s first support unit. Six months ago it was decided that the civil defence would establish six mobile support units in Trondheim, Tromsø, Bergen, Oppland, Kristiansand and Bodø between 2015-2017 so that Norway will be better prepared for future crisis and events. The units will be organised in two different departments. One will focus on tents, light, heating, communication devices and electricity, the other will specialise in pumping capacity for fire extinguishing, discharge capabilities in the case of flooding and transportation. It will make a difference and be an additional resource for the firefighters, police and others, as a rapid-response facility across the country.