politics for the 99%

Published on Russia Today RT, June 19, 2015.

The sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia and Moscow’s retaliation would cost Europeans 100 billion euros in economic development and jeopardize up to 2.5 million jobs, a new study said.  

The EU imposed the sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian political crisis, targeting access to foreign credits and oil and gas industry. Moscow responded with countersanctions that hit European food producers. The toll the conflict takes on the EU economy is higher than Brussels initially anticipated, according to a new study by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO).

“Our hypothesis, from last autumn, of a worsening decline in exports has become a reality,” said Oliver Fritz, one of the authors of the study, the Tribune de Genève reported.

WIFO calculated that if the sanctions are continued for the next few years, Germany would lose 465,000 jobs due to reductions of exports to Russia. Italy would lose 215,000 jobs, Spain 160,000 jobs, France 145,000 jobs and the UK 110,000 jobs.

Switzerland, which is not part of the EU but followed Brussels’ lead on sanctions, would see 45,000 jobs lost, including 5,000 in the tourism sector, the study said … //

… Other European countries like Austria and Hungary previously voiced their displeasure with the sanctions, complaining of their inefficiency and high cost for their national economies.

Earlier EU ambassadors agreed to prolong the sanctions for another six months without additional discussion. The decision is expected to be ratified by foreign ministers of member states Monday.

(full text).

Links:

The Injustice Handed out to Julian Assange Must End, on Dissident Voice, by John Pilger, June 19, 2015: Julian Assange, founder and editor of WikiLeaks, has now been a refugee in the Ecuadoream embassy in London for three years. The key issue in his extraordinary incarceration is justice. He has been charged with no crime. The first Swedish prosecutor dismissed the misconduct allegations regarding two women in Stockholm in 2010. The second Swedish prosecutor’s actions were and are demonstrably political. Until recently, she refused to come to London to interview Assange. Finally, when the British government almost pleaded with her to come, she agreed. She has now cancelled her trip. It is a farce, but one with grim consequences for Assange should he dare step outside the Ecuadorean embassy …;

Delay on TPP prompts warnings to US from Asia, on WSWS, by Nick Beams, June 19, 2015;
Trans-Pacific Partnership TPP on en.wikipedia is a proposed regional regulatory and investment treaty. As of 2014, twelve countries throughout the Asia Pacific region have participated in negotiations on the TPP: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam …;

Greece’s Proposals to End the Crisis, my intervention at today’s Eurogroup, on Yanis Varoufakis.eu, by Yanis, June 18, 2015;

What Greece’s Creditors Should Know, on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1130, by Vassilis K. Fouskas, June 18, 2015;

Banks are not intermediaries of loanable funds – and why this matters, on VOX, CEPR’s Policy Portal, by Zoltan Jakab and Michael Kumhof, 18 June 2015;

Swiss corruption investigators have pronounced their verdict on Ukraine (II), on Strategic Culture Foundation, by Alexander DONETSKY, June 12, 2015;

Forget Sports: Geopolitics is Behind the FIFA Scandal As the War Against Russia Enters a New Front, on Global Research.ca, by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, June 5, 2015;

Non à une zone euro à deux vitesses – Alexis Tsipras, dans Le Monde.fr, par Alexis Tsipras, le 31 mai 2015;

Wie Deutschland von der USA ausbeutet wird – Peter Haisenko, 18.15 min, von Bojan2264 am 24. Mai 2015 hochgeladen;

Das Endes des Geldes – mit Franz Hörmann, von Die Vorarlberger am 17. und 23. Sept 2013 hochgeladen: Teil 1: was kommt danach? 97.21 min, Teil 2: Diskussionsteil dieses Vortrages, 76.37 min;

Querdenken Kongreß 2014: Das Finanzsystem von morgen – Andreas Popp & Prof. Franz Hörmann, 72.23 min, von Quer-Denken.TV am 28. Dez 2014 hochgeladen … Das herrschende Wirtschafts- und Sozialsystem mit seinen massiven Verwerfungen, seiner Umwelt- und Menschenzerstörung, seinem transhumanen Bevölkerungsaustausch, seinem Raubau an Natur und Tieren mit Euro und Dollar als in Wirklichkeit Leidwährung (statt Leitwährung), seinem zerstörerischen Wachstumswahn und der immer schlimmere Ausbeutung produzierenden Zinssystem wird uns von den herrschenden Politikdarstellern immer wieder als „alternativlos“ dargestellt – und führt uns doch nur immer weiter in die spätkapitalistische Sackgasse.