Europe 2AC Shell (2/2)
Europe’s economy is an integral part of the world economy
(The European Commission, 12/4/07, “Growth and Development Opportunities in the European Information Society: will Luxembourg become the ‘Nordic of the South?”, http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/reding/docs/speeches/luxembourg_20071204.pdf)
Today Europe is one of the key players in the global economy. We are building up a world class infrastructure and market: There are more than 250 million internet users in Europe, more than anywhere else in the world. Many of the world's top 15 countries in the development of this ICT infrastructure come from Europe, whether you measure it in pure infrastructure, e-readiness or in the use of ICT for enabling the business environment. For broadband penetration rate, 4 of our countries dominate the top of the global rankings, even before South Korea. And let's be clear: The potential for continued growth is still very high. Today, the ICT-sector alone represents 5.3 percent of GDP in the EU25, and ICT is expected to generate 1.4 million new jobs in the next three years. Especially for the SME sector, we see ICT as a key enabler for growth in the near future: 50% of productivity growth being driven by ICT! Europe today has a broad ecosystem of ICT industries which can benefit from the next wave of convergence: from network equipment via services to end-user equipment and innovative new content and service industries. The ICT markets have good prospects: they are expected to grow by nearly 3% in the EU25 both in 2007 and 2008. In addition, ICT companies in the EU25 are R&D intensive: 23% of the R&D personnel of the whole private economy works in the ICT sector, meaning almost 250,000 people. Our strength is not only based on the quality of our research and industry. We have strengths also on the demand side: the EU's internal market is now almost 500 million people. In addition, we are building up a culture of communication and interchange that puts us in a particularly beneficial situation in the global digital economy: Europe is world class in innovating in online content services on fixed networks and mobile services. We have developed a capability for cooperation and cross-border work which is the perfect fit for today's global economy. At networking our study and research centres, for example, have become state of the art.
Global economic collapse causes nuclear war and extinction
(Christopher Lewis, PhD, 1998, “The Coming Age of Scarcity”, pg. 129)
Most critics would argue, probably correctly, that instead of allowing underdeveloped countries to withdraw from the global economy and undermine the economies of the developed world, the United States, Europe, and Japan and others will fight neocolonial wars to force these countries to remain within this collapsing global economy. These neocolonial wars will result in mass death, suffering, and even regional nuclear wars. If First World countries choose military confrontation and political repression to maintain the global economy, then we may see mass death and genocide on a global scale that will make the deaths of World War II pale in comparison. However, these neocolonial wars, fought to maintain the developed nations’ economic and political hegemony, will cause the final collapse of our global industrial civilization. These wars will so damage the complex, economic and trading networks and squander material, biological, and energy resources that they will undermine the global economy and its ability to support the earth’s 6 to 8 billion people. This would be the worst-case scenario for the collapse of global civilization.
Europe Uniqueness- Oil shocks
Rising oil prices will cause economic chaos in Europe and risk oil shocks.
(London GoldMarket Report, 7/1/08, http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1214917624.php)
London Gold Market Report
from Adrian Ash
Oil prices bounced more than 2% on the report, buoyed also by British-oil giant BP saying political pressure in Russia may dent its output.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said today that growth in Russian oil production has hit "an abrupt slowdown" thanks to Moscow's "unattractive tax structure."
Outside of the Opec oil cartel, the IEA now forecasts a near-3% drop in supplies by 2013. By then, it believes, spare capacity amongst Opec members will have fallen to "negligible" levels.
"With oil prices hitting $140 per barrel we are clearly in the third oil shock," said IEA chief Nobuo Tanaka in Madrid today.
"Truck drivers are going on strike. Airlines are closing down."
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Europe Link- Oil shock causes tix/econ disunity
Spiking oil prices risk further oil shocks in Europe and contribute to EU economic and political disunity.
(Agence France-Presse, 5/28/08, “British PM warns of global oil 'shock' as fuel price protests spread”, http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hII-aU_P3vtvTl8ojHh0qCPW0X9w)
London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Wednesday that the world faced an era-defining oil "shock" that required urgent action, as European leaders argued how best to contain protests over soaring fuel prices.
"It is now understood that a global shock on this scale requires global solutions," Brown wrote in The Guardian newspaper.
Record oil prices of around 135 dollars a barrel have contributed to protests worldwide over the rise in fuel and food costs, with fishermen and truck drivers taking the lead in Europe, blocking ports and road access to oil depots.
"However much we might wish otherwise, there is no easy answer to the global oil problem without a comprehensive international strategy," Brown said, adding that the problem should be made a "top priority" at the EU summit next month and the gathering of G8 leaders in July.
"The way we confront these issues will define our era," he said.
Brown's warning came a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged a Europe-wide cut in consumer taxes on fuel.
French consumers pay about 19.6 percent VAT on the price of fuel and Sarkozy renewed his reduction proposal on Wednesday during a visit to Warsaw.
"Should we really apply the same tax rate when the price of a barrel of oil has doubled in one year and tripled in three years? I don't think this is a crazy question to be asking," Sarkozy told reporters in the Polish capital.
But Austrian Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer gave the idea short shrift.
"What will you do when prices fall again, reintroduce the tax? I'd like to hear the political discussions then," said Molterer.
Portugal's economy minister Manuel Pinho called on Slovenia, as current head of the European Union, to hold an emergency debate on the crisis, but Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said it would have to wait for the scheduled EU summit next month.
"There's no sense in calling an urgent meeting since we'll discuss the issue at our regular June session," Jansa said, while adding that the issue would be placed high on the agenda.
While fishermen called off strikes in key French ports on Wednesday, lifting a week-long blockade of the country's largest oil refinery, truckers and farmers stepped up their own protests over soaring fuel prices.
A group of 300 farmers used their cars to block the entry to a Total fuel depot near Toulouse, while around 40 protesting truck drivers slowed traffic to a near-halt on Bordeaux's main ring road.
And a policeman and a protestor were slightly injured when riot police using tear gas battled farmers blocking an oil depot near Sete on France's Mediterranean coast.
In Bulgaria, where annual monthly salaries are among the lowest in the EU and inflation rates among the highest, around 150 trucks drove slowly along capital Sofia's ring road, disrupting traffic.
Bulgarian bus companies were preparing to launch a nationwide one-hour strike on Friday.
In Spain, the main trucking union has called for an indefinite strike beginning June 8.
At a meeting Tuesday of EU agriculture ministers in Slovenia, France and Spain led the call for direct EU economic assistance to the fishing industry.
EU member states can currently give their fishermen a subsidy of up to 30,000 euros (47,167 dollars) over a three-year period without seeking the European Commission's approval.
But French and Spanish fishermen consider this too low and have demanded additional help from their governments to be able to cope with the sharp increase of diesel prices.
Italian, Greek and Portuguese fishermen have threatened to strike later this week.
The Netherlands and Portugal however expressed scepticism, arguing for a long-term solution for the fishermen, including modernising their fleets and increasing competitiveness.
"Short-term solutions are the most popular in political terms, but they have no lasting effect," said Portuguese Agriculture Minister Jaime Silva.
Internal Link- Europe Econ Key to World Econ
The EU is uniquely key to the world economy as the world’s largest trading partner and biggest aid donor
(Hugh Richardson, Head of the Delegation of the EU commission to Japan, 5/16/08, the European Union, “Smartening the EU’s Soft Power”, http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/home/speech_en_Speech%2005/2008.php)
Aside from this European enlargement process, the EU contributes to global governance norms through its leading worldwide roles in trade, tackling climate change and assisting poorer, less developed countries.
The EU is:
·The largest trade partner in the world
·The biggest donor in terms of development aid, providing 56% of total global flows
·The leader in the fields of sustainable development, environmental awareness and tackling climate change
·Committed to encouraging multilateralism, and also party to an extensive series of over 700 global, regional, association and co-operation agreements with the rest of the world.
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