In his State of the Union address to Congress today, President Obama set a national goal to “double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support 2 million jobs in America” through a new National Export Initiative. Details are scarce so far, but the White House blog says “the NEI includes the creation of the President’s Export Promotion Cabinet and an enhancement of funding for key export promotion programs.” The focus on small business is encouraging, and we look forward to learning more about the substance of the initiative.
BluDanuBlog
President announces National Export Initiative
January 27th, 2010CEOs’ club takes a broader view of energy policy
October 29th, 2009The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been getting all the (bad) press, but there’s at least one national business organization that’s taking a broader view of efforts to combat climate change. CEOs’ club The Business Roundtable released a report last week titled Unfinished Business: The Missing Elements of a Sustainable Energy and Climate Policy, urging Congress and the Obama administration to protect energy security and economic growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and modernizing the electric grid.
While the report doesn’t exactly toe the enviro line — it promotes expansion of nuclear power and R&D investments in “clean coal” technology — green-minded readers can only applaud its call for enhanced energy efficiency and modernization of the electric power grid to better accommodate renewable energy. Encouragingly, Roundtable President John Castellani explicitly acknowledged that a sustainable transition to a low-carbon economy must be a national priority.
EU Commission proposes visa-free entry for Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
July 10th, 2009The EU Commission plans to remove visa requirements for citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia pending approval by the EU Ministers of the Interior, says Die Presse. Travel restrictions within Europe, with the cost and time required for business travelers to secure multiple visas, have been a significant drag on these countries’ economies. Bosnia-Hercegovina and Albania have not yet met various security requirements for removal of visa restrictions, according to Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot.
More mixed messages from Czechs on Lisbon Treaty
May 7th, 2009Hardly an hour after the Czech Senate’s approval of the Lisbon Treaty for reform of the European Union institutions Wednesday, President Václav Klaus declared the treaty “dead” and refused to sign it, according to newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes. A group of the treaty’s defeated Senate opponents intend to ask for a review by the Constitutional Court. Klaus has long been known as a fierce critic of the treaty.
Topolánek channels Limbaugh
March 25th, 2009P. O’Neill at the indispensable Fistful of Euros reports on Czech Prime Minister Mírek Topolánek’s speech to the European Parliament today. Topolánek had disturbingly harsh words for the Obama administration’s response to the global economic crisis, saying that Obama’s stimulus package and banking bailout ”will undermine the stability of the global financial market” and calling the administration’s economic policies “the way to hell.”
The Czech Republic currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, but the country’s domestic political situation is shaky. Topolánek’s government lost a vote of confidence in parliament just yesterday. Topolánek will stay on for the time being as head of a caretaker government and may yet be tapped to form a new government by President Václav Klaus. However, Klaus has long been a notorious Euroskeptic, and the rift that has grown between the two men due to Topolánek’s support for the EU’s Lisbon Treaty could easily lead to a different choice. As Obama prepares to attend the G20 summit in London and meet European leaders in Prague in April, it is an understatement to say that the Czech EU presidency is in disarray.
Rodrik’s progressive trade agenda
October 13th, 2007Economist Dani Rodrik offers some suggestions for what a progressive trade agenda might look like:
- Embrace globalization
- More and better social insurance (safety nets) and redistribution of gains from trade
- Better international rules to protect domestic values and norms
- Multilateral orientation
- Leave “policy space” for developing countries while establishing broad democracy and human rights principles within the trade regime
- Begin expanding international labor mobility, not just mobility of goods and capital
Walled in
October 8th, 2007Risto Karajkov argues at Newropeans Magazine (silly name, interesting site) that the EU should ease visa restrictions on the people of former Yugoslavia (minus Slovenia and Croatia), who this January 1 “woke up to realize that they are completely surrounded by the thick walls of Europe. They woke up to realize they cannot move out. [...] A businessman planning a business trip through a few new EU member states and a few of the old ones would have to spend a month (in the least) obtaining visas. Anyone confronted with such a challenge, realizing on top of that the amount of working hours he/she would have to spend in all the different consulates, would simply give up. Not to mention the cost. Many estimates have pointed out that a significant share of the financial aid the EU gives to theses countries is offset by what they spend on visas.”
New eastern EU members may enjoy open borders by Christmas
September 18th, 2007EU Business reports that senior European Union officials expect a final decision to end passport and security checks at land and sea borders between the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia and their adjacent older EU member states in November, meaning freer travel by the Christmas holidays. Airports are scheduled to join the zone next March.
Meanwhile, the EU Observer reports that non-members (so far) Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia have signed visa agreements to make travel to the EU easier and less costly for their citizens. The Balkan countries are pushing for visa requirements to be eliminated altogether; the EU remains hesitant.
The Beatroot: Idiot’s guide to Polish elections
September 10th, 2007Expat blogger the beatroot offers a tongue-in-cheek idiot’s guide to Polish elections, noting, “Being an idiot is not a disadvantage when trying to understand the Polish political scene. In fact, it maybe an advantage.”