Italy

All over Italy, women have demonstrated against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi but the demonstration was not intended to bring political changes. They were about the frustrations that the Italian have concerning the role that women have in Mr. Berlusconi’s Italy. They also have a deep pessimism about the future of the country because there will be a growing divide between the needs of the country and the concerns of the government. The demonstrators want a country where women can live in dignity and not a country where there’s no capacity of growth because that is a country that goes backward.

It’s a great initiative that several women organize a demonstration for more respect towards women. There are a lot of women all over the world who don’t get the respect that they deserve just because of their gender. The sex scandal of Mr. Berlusconi and the way he treats women were the reasons for this demonstration. I think it is ‘not done’ for a Prime Minister to have sex parties with escort girls. Berlusconi is also accused for having paid sex with Ruby, an underaged illegal fugitive from Morocco. After these incidents, Mr. Berlusconi also used his power as the Prime Minister of Italy, to get Ruby out of jail after she was arrested for theft. As the Prime Minister of a country, you have to stay neutral and you can’t use your powers for personal profit. That’s what Berlusconi has done and I think it’s only fair that he has to come to court for his actions. I hope this sends a signal to all the people in the world that they have to show some more respect towards women and not to see them only as a toy. So, Hooray to the demonstrations for more respect towards women!

Source: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/world/europe/14italy.html?ref=italy

08-05-2011 om 18:00 geschreven door LKEJ  

Italy

It seems that Berlusconi doesn’t take count of the other, negative side of those rumors because for the first time in his long and successful career, some people doesn’t agree with him anymore. A part of the people is turning their backs against him and that group contains mostly women. People don’t tolerate the behavior of the prime minister anymore and there is a petition started on the internet against him.
Berlusconi tries to prove his innocence by saying he never paid for sex in his whole life. I personally think that this is a poor argument to prove you’re innocent.
I also think that people should go against the behavior of Silvio Berlusconi. With people I mean not only women but also men.
What the rumors tell, doesn’t testify a lot of respect towards women. A minister should give the right example and should have a good behavior but Berlusconi doesn’t seem to care about that.
Besides, Berlusconi is an 74-old men, I don’t think that a behavior like that is suitable.
 I think that Berlusconi will lose a lot of votes at the next elections, and I personally think that’s fair.
Berlusconi does his job right and he is a great minister and a great leader but his behavior outside politics is not acceptable. There are plenty of other good candidates who want to be prime minister and who have a good attitude, inside and outside politics.
I would like to come back to the latest sex scandal. It’s forbidden to do sexual  actions with a minor. Berlusconi just laughs that rumor away in staid of proving that he didn’t do that. For me it’s clear that Berlusconi had paid the girl for sex in that way. When you are really innocent, you try to prove that the rumour is fault but you just don’t laugh about it. I think that Berlusconi should get a punishment and that the rumors about his life should definitely be investigated to see if he also did other thinks that are forbidden.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/europe/03italy.html

Lisa (2MA2)

08-05-2011 om 17:00 geschreven door LKEJ  

Greece

Greece’s economy is in desperate trouble. This situation began several years ago and is caused because Greece couldn’t pay its debts anymore. They thought that, when they joined the euro, all their problems would end, but however, they expanded. The first time Greece applied to enter the European Union, it was refused because it’s debts and inflation were to high. Greece lied about its figures to get in the European Union. The fault that Greece made, was that it borrowed money and used it to raise salaries instead of paying its enormous debts. Now, Greece is in a vicious circle.

It’s a stupid thing that the Greek government did, borrowing money from the banks and other countries. I think that the money should have been used to pay its debts and not to raise the salaries or fund their pension system. This system is the most generous one in the world. That conflicts with their debts. Any intelligent person would first pay his debts and after that, spend his money on other things. It is also because Greece can’ pay its debts that several other countries in the European Union had financial problems. These countries lent money to Greece and because of that, they came into trouble themselves. I personally think that the E.U. didn’t make its ‘homework’ before they let Greece enter the Union. Otherwise, they would have discovered that Greece had financial problems and that they lied about their figures. In the future, there has to be an more profound research on the countries who want to enter the European Union so that problems like these won’t take place anymore in the future. My conclusion for this is that I think it’s both the fault of Greece and the European Union that the financial problems of Greece aren’t solved yet.

Source: 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/7646320/Greece-why-did-its-economy-fall-so-hard.html  

Kelly (2MA2)

07-05-2011 om 13:22 geschreven door LKEJ  

Greece

Summary

Almost a year after it adopted sweeping austerity measures as a condition of an international rescue package, Greece has failed to get a grip on its public finances. This increases the fears that the country may have restructure its mountain of debt.

In 2010 the deficit of Greece was 10,65 per cent of gross domestic product. This deficit exceeds the 9,6 per cent target that was set last fall by the government and the European Commission. European finance ministers have sought to ease Greece’s plight by extending the maturity period of its loans and agreeing to reduce the interest rate it has to pay. Portugal and Irelands deficits also exceeded  the percentages set last fall. Spain was a good student, it’s deficit was slightly lower than forecasted.

My opinion

I believe that it’s a good thing, the support given to the countries in need by the European Commission and International Monetary Fund. The outer world sees Europe as one ‘country’, the good and the bad things. So it is positive to show that the other member states are very capable to help a brother in need. This fact also shows that only a few countries experience trouble and not the entire Union. This is particularly important to keep on attracting foreign investors to invest in our enterprises and economy.

Although I believe it was a good decision to help the member states in need, I believe that some rules should be attached to the given loan. For the repayments, duration of the loan and other conditions. This clearly was the case with Greece. However, now Greece could not live up to the agreement, there should be consequences, along with the measures to ease, proposed by the European finance ministers. Nevertheless these consequences should not get them into more debt. Perhaps they can draw up some agreement to pay a ‘fine’ when the country has restored its economy. Al these ‘fines’ will at last make a fund for economical emergencies.  In the future this fund could serve to advance member states in financial or economic trouble. But in general it is my opinion that Europe has handled the economic crisis well. All of the countries survived, didn’t they!?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/business/global/27euro.html?scp=4&sq=greece&st=cse

Evelyne (2MA2)

05-05-2011 om 19:43 geschreven door LKEJ  

Greece

The country Greece has plans to build a gigantic wall along the border with Turkey to keep immigrants out. The wall will measure about 128 miles.

A Greek minister says that the wall is necessary because last year Brussels had to send border guards to keep illegal immigrants out and that this is the only solution to prevent such an immigrant crisis. There’s also mentioned that the people who live in Greece don’t want any more immigrants than presently. There are some people who are partisans but there are also critics. They say that the wall will be a symbol of division on several levels.
I personally think that there are already a lot of immigrants in Greece, but this is not always a bad thing. There is however a certain limit, where it has to stop. I understand that the people don’t want any more immigrants because that would take away the real culture and atmosphere of Greece. The amount of immigrants should be limited because it’s not the intention to have more immigrants than real Greece people.
However, I think that the idea of building a wall is a little bit exaggerated. The critics are right, it will lead to division on several levels and I think a lot of people won’t be happy with that.
For example on the level of belief, some people will think that this is an anti-Muslim-matter or a anti-Turkish-matter.
The number of illegal immigrants entering Greece from Turkey increased five-fold so it’s clear that there have to come some measures and solutions in Greece.
I think that a wall could lead to a Third World War, so building a wall is definitely out of the question. I think the government of Greece has the responsibility to take some good decisions. The government can for example take more measures to prevent that illegal immigrants can enter Greece such as more border controls.  

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/8237331/Greece-to-build-128-mile-anti-migrant-wall.html

Lisa Maes, 2MA2

03-05-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door LKEJ  

Greek Tourism Anticipates Double-Digit Increase in Foreign Visitors

February 13, 2011 by Greek News   
Filed under Greece

The Greek tourism industry is anticipating a double-digit increase in foreign visitor arrivals this year, but the big wager remains whether this will translate into a corresponding rise in revenues capable of boosting the country’s GDP. Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP) chairman Prof. Dionyssis Hionis told ANA-MPA that a 4.5 percent increase in tourism revenue is forecast for 2011, representing a 1pct increase in GDP, with all that entails for a rise in employment, although it is still early to make specific predictions.

At this time, early bookings in hotels have posted a 3 percent increase over last year, although, he added, in the ‘good years’ for Greek tourism early bookings approached 25 percent

Hionis also anticipated that the unrest in Egypt will also give a boost to the tourist wave to Greece, with tour operators already preparing for that.

Hellenic Hotels Federation president Andreas Andreadis also anticipated a substantial increase in tourist arrivals of “a high single-digit or low double-digit” percentage. He added that early bookings from Britain have marked a 7-9 percent increase over last year, while interest was also high from such countries as Russia, France and Italy.

Tourism bookings rise

Expedia on Monday sent optimistic messages over this year’s tourism trends in Greece, saying figures available, so far, for April, May and June are very encouraging, with significant reservations recorded for April and November. Speaking to reporters during a news conference, the international travel agency’s officials in Athens said a government decision to lower Vat rates for hotels — resulting in slightly reduced room prices — has positively contributed to the attractiveness of Greek tourism.

Expedia said it would continue promoting Greece through news letters, its website and through online and offline marketing policies.

The travel agency said room reservations for Greek hotels, through special promotional offers, accounted for 43 percent of total reservations.

Specifically, package reservations for Greek islands were up by 50 percent in 2010, compared with last year, with visitors mainly coming from the US (36 percent), Italy, the UK, France and Germany.

Greek hotel room prices, booked through Expedia in 2010, were unchanged compared with 2009, although they fell slightly in the last quarter of the year, with this decline expected to be continued in 2011.

IN ISRAEL

Greek tourist destinations were promoted at the 17th International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tourism trade fair took place between Feb. 8-9, offering fertile ground for the promotion of Greece’s tourism market for Israeli tourists.

Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA) officials have also hinted at the possibility of greater tourism arrivals in the country due to the current turmoil in North Africa. Tourist arrivals from Israel posted an impressive 200-pct increase in 2010, corresponding to 250,000 tourism arrivals in Greece.

Summary:

This year Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP) anticipates that the tourism in Greece will increase because of a double-digit of foreign visitors. They estimate a 4,5 % increase of tourism revenues this year. This would be great for the Greek economy because the rising of  4,5 % tourism income conforms to an expansion of 1 % in GDP and this lead to more occupation in this sector. Nowadays early booking hotels notice that there are 3 % more booking compared  to last year. But we may not be positive, because when the tourism was on their best in Greece, they obtained 25 % early bookings. Hionis also thinks that through the problems in Egypt the tourism in Greece will rise.
Hellenic Hotels Federation president Andreas Andreadis says there’s  especially interest from countries like Britain, Russia, France and Italy for the early bookings.
If we look to the sales figures there are good expectations for the months April, May and June. This might be a consequence of the lower VAT rates on hotels and this had a positive influence to the appeal of the Greek tourism sector, because the price of the rooms declined and this trend will continue in 2011.
At a trade fair in Israel, Greece promoted his country to the Israelites. In 2010 they’ve noticed a dazzling growth of 200 % tourists from Israel who visited Greece.

My opinion:

I’m glad that Greece will do better in 2011, because 2010 was a dramatic year for them due to the economical crisis, negative reports about the country’s debts  and the effects of the Icelandic volcanic ash which affected flights in and out of the country.. Tourism has been one of the most important pillars of development for Greece, I’ve heard that one in five persons living in Greece is directly or indirectly employed in the tourist sector. The improvement of visitors from foreign countries will give a major boost to the economy and to the people who have suffered under the consequences of an almost bankrupt Greece.
For us, in Belgium it’s tempting to go on holiday to Greece because of  the cheaper hotels, good weather and nice Mediterranean food. Certainly now the taxes on hotels are declined, I think this is a very good step of the government, it helps to attract people to visit the country and certainly those people who’re sensitive to price changes.
I find it good that they don’t only aim their target on the European market but also on countries in Asia like Israel. If you see by doing some trade fairs in Israel leads to an increase of 200 % in one year! And this is corresponding to 250,000 tourism arrivals in Greece, if I would be the Greek government I would do more trade fairs in Israel and in the adjacent States. So they can exploit the tourism sector as much as possible.
I do hope that in the interests of the Greek population and the European level of prosperity the tourism will do better in 2011 and gives us hope towards the future.

Jasmien Vuye
2MA2

02-05-2011 om 14:17 geschreven door LKEJ