NIAS Area Studies
PAKISTAN READER
Photo : Marton Monus/REUTERS
By Abhiruchi Chowdhury and Padmashree Anandhan
REGIONAL
EU summit in Budapest focuses on future of the US-EU and Ukraine war
On 08 November, an informal European Council Summit was held by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest. At the summit, the European leaders agreed to boost the EU’s competitiveness. In the press briefing, they set: “to make Europe great again," as a common aim. The leaders discussed on EU’s future economy and competition with the US and how the EU can manage its equation with Donald Trump. Orban announced the Budapest Declaration stated that the war in Ukraine to change after the reelection of Trump to more towards “peace.” He added: “The situation at the front is obvious, there is a military defeat” for Ukraine. On the same day, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk issued a statement assuring “unwavering support for Ukraine and Ukrainians.” Whereas Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz said: “…continue to work well with the future American president,” expressing willingness to work with the US. EU’s Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen called on the implementation of “economic reforms” and also proposed a “clean industrial deal” to back up decarbonization of the Europe’s economy. (“EU vows stronger economy, defense at Hungary summit,” Deutsche Welle, 09 November 2024)
FINLAND
WMO reports witnesses a warm October
On 05 November, the World Meteorological Organization stated that the countries in the month of October unexpectedly experienced soaring temperatures. Reportedly, the temperatures were 1 to 2.5 degrees higher than the mean temperatures in 1991 to 2020. In areas of “Gulf of Finland” mean “temperatures” were recorded at all time high which was because of the increasing temperatures of the “seawater.” On 11 October, the country experienced its maximum temperature of “15.9 degrees and” on 31 October the lowest temperature of “-15.1 degrees” was noted for the month. In terms of rain in the country, the Gulf of Bothnia topped the list with the maximum amount of rain. In terms of sunshine, the majority of the country experienced a marginal bit of more sunshine than normal. (“October was unusually warm throughout Finland,” World Meteorological Organization, 05 November 2024)
GERMANY
“Uncomfortable three-way coalition was pulled apart by two different visions of how to stimulate German economy” points out an editorial in BBC
On 09 November, an editorial in BBC discussed the breakaway of the three-party coalition that led the government and what could be the possible implications. The editorial points out that the three coalition parties had divergent views regarding how the shrinking German economy must be fixed. Christian Lindner who is from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) had insisted upon reducing the taxes, postponing the “environmental targets” and reducing government expenditure on social welfare. However, this was not acceptable to Chancellor Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) for which he fired the FDP leader from the government. Chancellor Scholz now would have to garner backing from the opposition parties to pass the budget for 2025. The Chancellor plans to go through a “vote of confidence” on 15 January, thus the new elections will take place somewhere in March. However, the opposition party Christian Democratic Union’s Friedrich Merz insists on announcing elections in January for which the vote of confidence must take place immediately. The editorial mentions fears of people who see the instability caused by coalition collapse could lead to the rise of fight parties such as Alternative for Germany (AfD) and far-left parties such as Shara Wagenknecht Alliance(BSW). Further, the editorial highlights how a change in the US presidency might lead to an increase in import duties in the US, thus creating another hurdle for the German economy. (Damien McGuinness, “Germany engulfed by political crisis as Scholz coalition falls apart,” BBC, 09 November 2024)
MOLDOVA
“Continuing efforts to attract overseas firms” says an editorial in BBC
On 07 November, an editorial in the BBC titled “Moldova cleans up its act to attract foreign businesses” discussed the Moldovan government’s efforts in the IT sector to improve the economy and lure foreign businesses to come to the country. The editorial mentions “Moldova IT Park”(MITP) started by the Government in 2018 to give a boost to its IT sector which also welcomed IT companies around the world to join virtually. Companies operating in the park had to pay a mere 7 per cent “corporate tax rate.” In addition to that, firms operating in MITP do not have to worry about “employer social security contributions” and the people working in those companies are not liable to pay “income tax.” MITP forms a significant component of the Government’s plan to further advance the economy to be eligible to join the EU in 2030. The “standard corporate tax” in Moldova is a mere 12 per cent is less than half of what it is in the UK (25 per cent) and the Netherlands (25.8 per cent). The editorial points out that despite the incentives, many issues are inhibiting the growth in the country such as the rate of people leaving the country is considerably at a “high” level. The editorial highlights another factor for the reluctance of Western IT companies to operate in Moldova is the ‘Russia-Ukraine war’ that sparks concern for the safety of their invested money. (MaryLou Costa, “Moldova cleans up its act to attract foreign businesses,” BBC, 07 November 2024)
PORTUGAL
Petition filed to prohibit “tourist lets” in “residential” areas of Lisbon
On 08 November, The Guardian reported that housing campaigners in the capital city would be submitting a petition that has the consent of around 6600 inhabitants which demanded to conduct a referendum on prohibiting “tourist lets” in “residential” areas. This was a result of the local incomes not being able to afford the spike in the price of “housing.” “Housing” costs are almost twice what it was in 2015. The petition would be reviewed and debated by Municipal assembly members. If the proposal of conducting a referendum gets the green light from the municipal assembly, the questions in the referendum would need to have approval from the courts. (Ashifa Kassam, “Lisbon residents call for vote on banning tourist lets in residential blocks,” The Guardian, 08 November 2024)
SWITZERLAND
Carbon budget for 2020-2050 to exhaust earlier
On 11 October, Swiss info reported that the Government of Switzerland plans to emit “660 million tonnes of Co2 equivalents” which is 0.13 per cent of the world’s “carbon budget” for 30 years from 2020. Switzerland has pledged to cut emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and be completely free of “C02 emissions” by 2050. However, experts have pointed out that Switzerland 2024 is left with just 50 per cent of the total budget that was decided in 2020 for 10 years. Another unpublished study by ETH Zurich reports that the country would be left with a mere “280 million tonnes of Co2 equivalents” for the coming 30 years. (“Government estimates for the first time Swtizerland’s carbon budget up to 2050,” Swissinfo, 11 October 2024)