Day after day, senior economists continue inveighing against austerity strategies. But none of these people seem capable of explaining in plain, simple language why imposing austerity is utterly foolhardy and in fact just plain stupid.

According to the data compiled by the National Statistics Institute, the last quarter of 2012 closed with 5,965,400 unemployed, representing 26.02% of the labour force. 1 out of every four Spaniards of working age is now unemployed.

According to the latest data from the Labour Force Survey, the number of households in Spain with all its members unemployed reached 1,833,700 in 2012

Unemployment rate under the age of 25 now stands at a staggering 60%

Spain’s overall unemployment rate is more than double the EU average

The President of the Front National (FN) Marine Le Pen has made a formal request to French President François Hollande to organize a referendum in January 2014 for the exit of France from the European Union.

The four reforms wanted by the FN are the following :

1 –an organised return to the national currencies;

2 –the dissolution of the Schengen space allowing free circulation within 22 of the 27 member states;

As expressed by Ms. Vivian Reding, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, the proposal would be as follows:

1. Prior to the European elections in 2014, European leaders would agree that the next Commission President, once elected by the European Parliament would also become the President of the European Council, to ensure a stronger European political leadership.

2. The new President would convene a convention to elaborate a Treaty on European Political Union (EPU).

Many governments have placed a high priority on reforming the business environment because of its significant influence on levels of private sector development and therefore on long-term economic growth and poverty reduction.

The U.S. is $ 16.4 trillion economy. The broad US $ 85 billion spending cuts, known as sequestration that take effect today would be phased in over seven months. According to the IMF the U.S. growth forecast for 2013 is 2.0 percent and economists expect that full implementation of the sequestration will substract at least 0.5 percentage points from that growth but growth in the economy would still be around  1.5%. and it will not hit the global economy as predicted. The sequester is not big enough to cause a recession.

With 20,000 foreign companies already doing business in France, and 700 new foreign investment decisions are made annually. France  is a leading destination for foreign direct investment. Foreign direct investments are critical for France as the economy is barely growing and jobless claims are at a 14 year high. France has set the ambitious objective of attracting 1,000 foreign investment decisions and 300 new companies to France per year by 2017. 

The practice of public advocacy requires a strong training in the methods of political analysis, the structure of political institutions, the process of political change , and the most efficient ways of effecting such change. An essential aspect in understanding applied politics is knowledge of political power and public policy.

As a potential path back to growth for the ailing economies on both sides of the Atlantic, the proposal to create a Transatlantic Free Trade Area has resurfaced. It would be a very good idea, but achieving it is easier said than done.

L'Italie est dans une impasse avec une Chambre des députés à gauche et un Sénat sans majorité à l'issue des élections.  La coalition de gauche de Pier Luigi Bersani a remporté 29,5% des voix et s'adjudge ainsi la majorité des sièges à la Chambre (340 des 630 sièges), grâce à un système qui accorde 54% des fauteuils à la formation arrivant en tête. Mais au Sénat, où la prime de majorité est accordée par région, les résultats donnent le centre gauche très loin de la majorité absolue des 158 sièges. En termes de voix, la gauche en remporte 31,63 % et la droite 30,71%.