The United States federal government should cease its surveillance of foreign diplomats in the United States and at United States embassies

No Link: statistics prove embassy surveillance has no effect on counter terror

at: brics da

europe collapse inevitable

No internal link – European collapse is inevitable

Fiscal consolidation: Substantial progress has been made and the average budget deficit in the EU has been reduced by around half since a peak of almost 7% of GDP in 2009. However, debt levels are still high and set to peak at almost 90% of GDP in 2014 before starting to decline. Early action has created room for Member States to slow the pace of consolidation and to focus more on improving the quality of public expenditure and modernising public administration at all levels. Countries with more fiscal room for manoeuvre should stimulate private investment and consumption while long-term investment in education, research and innovation, energy and climate protection should be protected from budget cuts. Taxes should be shifted from labour to consumption, property or pollution. Restoring lending: Some progress has been made to repair the financial sector and market tensions have eased considerably since mid-2012. The EU’s efforts to build a Banking Union will strengthen banks’ ability to manage risks in the future. However, more needs to be done in the short-term to reduce high private debt (for instance, by introducing or improving corporate and personal insolvency regimes), prepare banks for new capital requirements and stress tests and ease companies’ access to finance. Growth and competitiveness: A significant rebalancing is taking place across Europe as a result of the crisis, with a shift towards more export-led growth. However, progress is insufficient when it comes to opening up product and services markets to competition, particularly when it comes to the energy market and regulated professions. Research systems also need to be modernised. Unemployment and social developments: Progress has been made by Member States to modernise their labour markets and over time this should help to integrate more people into the workforce. The focus should now be on stepping up active support and training for the unemployed – including by improving public employment services and introducing Youth Guarantees – as well as modernising education systems. Member States should also monitor wages so that they support both competitiveness and domestic demand, and should ensure that social protection systems reach the most vulnerable. Public administration: Several Member States are looking to make their public sectors more efficient, including by improving cooperation between different layers of government. The focus should be on shifting public services online and reducing red tape.

brics low

BRICS fails at reform - no unity

Beri 12 - Research Officer at Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, specializes on political and security issues of specializes on political and security issues of Sub-Saharan Africa, M. Phil from the Centre for West Asian and African Studies, School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and a Diploma on Conflict Studies from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden, Vice President of the African Studies Association of India (Ruchita, “BRICS: In Search of Unity?”, Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, 4-3-12, http://idsa.in/idsacomments/BRICSInSearchofUnity_rberi_030412) //AD

The fourth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit held in New Delhi saw steps towards greater financial integration and the establishment of a development bank. On the political front, the five leaders unanimously agreed, amongst other things, that dialogue is the way out for solving the Syrian crisis and the Iranian nuclear issue. While the summit ended with consensus about future plans of cooperation and on crucial issues of global concern, doubts still remain about the cohesiveness of the grouping. The idea of BRIC was first articulated in 2001 to represent the shift of economic power from the developed countries to the developing world. Today, BRIC is more than an acronym. It emerged as a formal grouping in 2006, at the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China on the sidelines of United Nations General assembly in New York. At the Sanya summit in 2011, South Africa joined the grouping as a fifth member, thus bringing representation from the African continent. There is no doubt that the BRICS grouping has evolved over the years as an important platform of consultation on various issues of economic and political importance. In the wake of the recent economic crisis, the emerging economic importance of BRICS is undeniable. Latest estimates suggest that BRICS countries excluding South Africa collectively account for around 25 per cent of world GDP; their share is expected to increase to 40 per cent by 2030. According to Goldman Sachs, the combined economies of the BRICS are expected to surpass those of the G 7 by 2035. Moreover, the five BRICS countries together account for a quarter of the world’s land mass and a little less than half of the world’s population. Intra-BRICS trade today stands at $230 billion. Thus, it appears that BRICS is emerging as a “new growth pole in the multi polar world order”. In its first two summits at Yekaterinburg and Brasilia, the BRICS concentrated upon the economic agenda, with the leaders using the platform to articulate the viewpoint of the emerging economies and developing countries. In the wake of the economic crisis in the US and Europe the group insisted on reshaping the rules governing the existing international economic order and reforming the Bretton Woods institutions. However, at the Sanya summit last year, the crisis in the Arab world forced the leaders to consider political issues and strive towards building common positions. The theme for the New Delhi summit was “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Security and Prosperity.” The leaders deliberated on a wide ranging agenda that included issues such as sustainable development, food and energy security, health, poverty eradication and global governance. They have decided to set up a joint working group to examine the feasibility of a BRICS investment bank to mobilise resources for infrastructure development projects in BRICS and other developing countries. At the same time, two agreements were concluded to enhance intra-BRIC trade and economic ties: the agreement on extending facilities in local currencies under BRICS inter-bank cooperation mechanism, and the multilateral letter of credit confirmation between the intra-BRICS EXIM banks. While the BRICS grouping does provide an opportunity for each member to play an important role on the global stage, one of the challenges that it faces is cohesiveness. Take the issue of the BRICS development bank. While it is indeed a laudable initiative, the challenge lies in aligning the differing interests of the member countries. Moreover, other members of the grouping are wary of China’s domination over the bank given that China holds very large foreign exchange reserves ($ 3 trillion). While the Delhi Declaration calls for candidatures from the developing world for the position of the President of the World Bank, the BRICS have not been able to agree upon a common candidate. This appears to be a case of history repeating itself. Last year, the BRICS countries failed to unite behind a common candidate for the top job at the International Monetary Fund, thus leaving the path open for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn. On the political front, in 2011, the presence of all BRICS members together at the United Nations Security Council presented them an opportunity to coordinate their positions on issues of global concern. But they failed to do so on issues like Libya and Syria. In the case of Libya, while South Africa voted in favour of Resolution 1973 approving the “No fly zone” and NATO air strikes, the other BRICS countries abstained. In the case of Syria and the latest resolution backing the Arab League plan for President’s Assad’s removal, India, Brazil and South Africa voted in favour while China and Russia vetoed it. While possibilities of synchronising positions do exist, the fact remains that BRICS is a heterogeneous group composed of democracies and autocracies, energy importers and energy producers. Further, national interests and geopolitical factors limit the possibility of BRICS members reaching a unified and collective viewpoint. Thus, while their growing economic clout has brought Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa together, translating the hand holding gestures at the end of each summit into real unity is likely to remain a daunting task.

BRICS fail - internal disputes block economic reform

Yardley 12- staff writer at New York Times, (Jim, “BRICS Leaders Fail to Create Rival to World Bank,” New York Times, 3-30-12, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/world/asia/brics-leaders-fail-to-create-rival-to-world-bank.html?_r=0) //AD

NEW DELHI — Leaders of five emerging world economic powers convened on Thursday for a one-day diplomatic meeting, pledging to expand mutual trade while urging faster reforms of the Western-dominated global financial system. They also called for dialogue, not military intervention, in addressing the violence in Syria and Iran’s disputed nuclear ambitions. The leaders of the five countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — the so-called BRICS nations — emphasized their mutual good will and their growing economic power, but fell short of achieving the tangible goal most discussed before the gathering: the establishment of a new development agency to rival the World Bank. Instead, the leaders created a high-level working group to examine the issue and report back when they meet next year. As expected, they signed agreements to enable the greater use of local currencies, rather than the dollar, in trade among their countries. Such arrangements are partly intended to reduce transaction costs. “We are united in our desire to promote sustained and balanced global economic growth,” India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, said during the meeting’s plenary session. Thousands of police and paramilitary officers were sent to New Delhi for the meeting, not only to safeguard the visiting leaders, but to prevent Tibetans from demonstrating against the presence of the Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, and against Beijing’s rule in Tibet. At least 316 people were being held under “preventative arrest” at the city’s Tihar Jail, according to an administrator, who added that they did not face any charges. On Wednesday, a Tibetan monk from the Kirti Monastery in western China died after setting himself on fire, as did a Tibetan man in New Delhi who was protesting Mr. Hu’s visit. Tibetan activists and human rights advocates criticized New Delhi’s crackdown as a violation of free speech. On Thursday, the police tried to thwart demonstrations near the summit meeting by blocking surrounding roads. But around noon, two Tibetans managed to run onto a footbridge several hundred yards from the Taj Palace Hotel, the setting of the meeting. They shouted slogans and unfurled a banner reading, “Hu Jintao Failed Leader Free Tibet Now.” The police quickly intervened. Other minor Tibetan protests were held elsewhere in New Delhi during the afternoon. In statements during the session, the five leaders expressed concern about the global economic situation and called on “advanced economies to adopt responsible macroeconomic and financial policies,” according to their joint statement. Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, cautioned against low interest rates and easy lending by central banks that she said had made commodity markets volatile. The BRICS nations held their first summit meeting in 2009 with the aspiration of reforming the global financial system and becoming a diplomatic counterweight to the West. But their internal divisions have stalled the group’s evolution into a potent diplomatic alliance. On Thursday, the leaders reiterated their calls to speed up reforms to the International Monetary Fund and create a more inclusive process for selecting the World Bank’s president. They also endorsed the Group of 20 major economies as being the “premier forum” for addressing financial issues. But as for reforming the United Nations Security Council, their agendas remained divided. India, Brazil and South Africa each aspire to permanent seats on the Council. In the past, Russia has endorsed their bids, a position repeated on Thursday by President Dmitri A. Medvedev. China has remained noncommittal on the issue, especially regarding India, and Mr. Hu was noticeably silent on that point during his remarks. In the joint statement, the five leaders also expressed “deep concern” about the situation in Syria, endorsing the joint mediation efforts of the United Nations and the Arab League and calling for a dialogue that respects “Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.” They also expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear program, which much of the West believes is a weapons program, but they supported Iran’s right to civilian nuclear energy. And they warned of “disastrous consequences” if the situation escalated into conflict.

EU instability makes BRIC collapse inevitable

Ogier 11- staff writer at Emerging Markets, (Thierry, “Brics fail to agree on rescue plan”, 09/22/2011, Emerging Markets, http://www.emergingmarkets.org/Article/2905738/Brics-fail-to-agree-on-rescue-plan.html) //AD

Finance ministers from the Brics nations warned of mounting contagion risks at a meeting in Washington yesterday, but failed to advance any concrete measures that could help to resolve the crisis. “The crisis is worsening. We have to prevent it from getting to another dimension,” Guido Mantega, Brazil’s finance minister, said “Until now the crisis was only in the advanced countries, [...] but there is now a risk that the sovereign debt crisis of various countries may develop into a new financial crisis. There is a risk of a crisis of large proportions.” But although the Brics grouping – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which joined the group last year – indicated a willingness to assist in measures aimed at restoring confidence to battered markets and preventing a renewed global downturn, yesterday’s meeting of finance ministers from the five nations failed to arrive at specific recommendations. Earlier, South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan described proposals to buy European bonds to limit the scope of a crisis as “an idea that my Brazilian colleagues have raised”. “Those of us that have the ability to contribute to that should perhaps consider that,” he told Emerging Markets. “Buying European bonds is just one idea.” The most important thing is to “re-establish the level of co-operation and give and take” that emerged after 2008. Gordhan also came out strongly in favour of the financial transaction tax proposed by France at the G20. “In principle we have to start looking at alternate sources of financing. “There are still some debates about where the tax is generated, whom does the tax go to, does it operate on a country basis, does it operate on a global basis?” he said. But India has expressed reservations. Duvvuri Subbarao, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said that the country is “able to absorb the [capital] flows that are coming in” and was taking no measures to control them. “We are quite unlike other economies which have a problem of excess of capital flows.” Subbarao added that Brics policymakers had to balance the merits of assisting in the recovery of Europe and advanced nations with domestic development needs. “There is (an) enormous amount of demand for resources at home for poverty reduction, so there is going to be a big, big tension between giving money to a multilateral institution for the purpose of restoring global stability and meeting our own aspirations at home,” he said. Gordhan said a new cohesiveness was needed to meet international challenges. “We look forward to returning to the good old days of the G20 in 2008 when there was urgency, there was passion, there was coherence and a lot of cohesion which enabled us to avert the great depression. Now we require the great recovery. How we get there is part of the challenge,” he said.

brics high inevitably

Status Quo Reforms solve growth

EC 13– European Commission, quotes the President of the European Commission, cites the 2014 Annual Growth Survey, cites empirics of the EC’s studies, cites the 2014 Alert Mechanism Report, (, “European Semester 2014: strengthening the recovery”, 11-13-13, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1064_en.htm) //AD

President Barroso said: “This is a turning point for the EU economy. The EU's hard work is starting to pay off and growth is slowly coming back. The 2014 Annual Growth Survey points out where we need to be bolder to tackle reforms that are needed to build a lasting and job-rich recovery.” The AGS shows how Member States are adjusting to the recently reinforced economic policy-coordination process under the European Semester, and are working better together according to common rules. Budgetary coordination in the euro area has reached an unprecedented level this year: for the first time, the Commission will assess euro area draft budgetary plans for 2014 before the budgets are adopted by national parliaments, and will present an overview of the fiscal stance in the euro area as a whole. The results of this assessment will be published on 15 November. Annual Growth Survey: A progress report Member States have made progress on each of the five priorities identified by the Commission in 2013. The same priorities are proposed for 2014, although with different areas highlighted for attention to reflect the changing EU and international economic environment: Fiscal consolidation: Substantial progress has been made and the average budget deficit in the EU has been reduced by around half since a peak of almost 7% of GDP in 2009. However, debt levels are still high and set to peak at almost 90% of GDP in 2014 before starting to decline. Early action has created room for Member States to slow the pace of consolidation and to focus more on improving the quality of public expenditure and modernising public administration at all levels. Countries with more fiscal room for manoeuvre should stimulate private investment and consumption while long-term investment in education, research and innovation, energy and climate protection should be protected from budget cuts. Taxes should be shifted from labour to consumption, property or pollution. Restoring lending: Some progress has been made to repair the financial sector and market tensions have eased considerably since mid-2012. The EU’s efforts to build a Banking Union will strengthen banks’ ability to manage risks in the future. However, more needs to be done in the short-term to reduce high private debt (for instance, by introducing or improving corporate and personal insolvency regimes), prepare banks for new capital requirements and stress tests and ease companies’ access to finance. Growth and competitiveness: A significant rebalancing is taking place across Europe as a result of the crisis, with a shift towards more export-led growth. However, progress is insufficient when it comes to opening up product and services markets to competition, particularly when it comes to the energy market and regulated professions. Research systems also need to be modernised. Unemployment and social developments: Progress has been made by Member States to modernise their labour markets and over time this should help to integrate more people into the workforce. The focus should now be on stepping up active support and training for the unemployed – including by improving public employment services and introducing Youth Guarantees – as well as modernising education systems. Member States should also monitor wages so that they support both competitiveness and domestic demand, and should ensure that social protection systems reach the most vulnerable. Public administration: Several Member States are looking to make their public sectors more efficient, including by improving cooperation between different layers of government. The focus should be on shifting public services online and reducing red tape. The AGS also makes recommendations on how to deepen the European Semester. National ownership of EU level country specific recommendations needs to be strengthened so Member States should involve national parliaments, social partners and citizens more in the process to ensure key reforms are understood and accepted. Euro area Member States should devote more time to coordinating major reforms - particularly in labour and product markets - before they are adopted at national level. And Member States need to better implement the country-specific recommendations they receive each spring. The Commission will provide input on these issues for the European Council in December. Alert Mechanism Report: Towards a balanced recovery The 2014 Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), which launches the next annual cycle of the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure, provides an objective analysis of Member States' economies based on a scoreboard of indicators that measure internal and external competitiveness. This year the AMR has found that several Member States are making progress in reducing their current account deficits and reversing losses in competitiveness. However, the AMR shows that further progress is needed to address high debt and the net international investment position of the most indebted economies, while high current account surpluses persist in some countries, suggesting possibly inefficient levels of saving and investment and the need to strengthen domestic demand.

EU Economy is growing

Jolly 13 – Staff writer for the New York Times, cites the Composite Purchasing Managers Index compiled by Markit Economics, quotes Markit’s chief economist, quotes an economist for Capital Economics, (David, “Small, Steady Growth for Europe’s Economy”, New York Times, 10-24-13, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/business/international/europes-economy-shows-modest-signs-of-life.html?_r=0) //AD

The composite purchasing managers index compiled by Markit Economics, a data and analysis firm, came in at 51.5 in October, above the 50.0 mark that signals expansion. While that is a slight deceleration from September’s 52.2 showing, it was the fourth consecutive month in positive territory. The growth trend is a “modest” one, Chris Williamson, Markit’s chief economist, noted, but “the expansion is reassuringly broad-based across the region, reflecting signs of economic recoveries becoming more entrenched in the periphery as well as ongoing expansion in Germany and stabilization in France.” The report was the latest to reinforce the message that after lurching from the Lehman Brothers crisis five years ago to its own sovereign debt problems, Europe appears to be struggling to its feet. The euro zone officially exited recession in the second quarter with a small upturn. On Wednesday, the Spanish government said the country’s economy pulled out of a two-year recession in the third quarter with a modest expansion. More positive news arrived from Spain on Thursday, as the National Statistics Institute said in Madrid that the jobless rate dipped to 26 percent in the third quarter from 26.3 percent in the second quarter. While joblessness in Spain remains at depression levels, and that of the overall euro zone is elevated at 12.0 percent, both appear to have reached a plateau. Daimler, the maker of Mercedes cars, underscored that outlook on Thursday, reporting that car demand has “stabilized at a low level in Western Europe, and a gradual improvement of the market situation is to be anticipated in the rest of the year.” The German automaker also announced a third-quarter net profit of 1.9 billion euros, or $2.6 billion, up 53 percent from a year earlier. No one is predicting a near-term economic breakout, and the purchasing manager survey revealed that growth appeared to be slowing slightly in Germany and registering “only a negligible expansion” in France. But the other 15 members of the euro currency area “reported modest growth of activity for the third month running, representing the first period of growth for these countries since early 2011.” Ben May, an economist in London with Capital Economics, wrote in a note that in spite of the small monthly decline in the index from September’s level, it was still far higher this month than in January. He noted that in contrast to a slightly weaker showing in the services sector, manufacturing actually improved. “On past form, the index is now consistent with quarterly growth in euro zone G.D.P. of about 0.2 percent,” for an annualized rate of about 0.8 percent, Mr. May wrote. While that is weaker than the second-quarter expansion of about 1.1 percent annualized, he added, it is “positive nonetheless.”

Status quo banking efforts solve

Ewing and Minder 13 – Staff writers for the New York Times, quotes the chief economist at Berenberg Bank, cites the European Central Bank, (Jack and Raphael, New York Times, 10-23-13, “Signs of Life in Euro Zone Could Point to Recovery”, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/business/international/signs-of-life-in-euro-zone-could-point-to-recovery.html) //AD

Perhaps the most striking news on Wednesday was that the Spanish economy crawled out of a two-year recession in the third quarter, though it grew at an estimated annual rate of about 0.4 percent. With its housing bubble and 26 percent unemployment rate, Spain has been the most striking symbol of the euro zone debt crisis. The turnaround there comes after an end to recession in Portugal. It offers hope to Europe’s periphery, the so-called misery belt, which also includes Greece, Italy and Ireland. “Most of the euro zone periphery is out of recession by now,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London, which has calculated that even Greece is growing again. “That is absolutely good news. The rebound in the economy is ultimately the solution to almost everything.” In Frankfurt on Wednesday, the European Central Bank outlined plans to search for and expose all the bad loans and damaged investments lurking in euro zone banks. That effort would be the first step in forcing banks to fix their problems so they can start lending again. Without lending to businesses and home buyers, there can be no sustained economic growth. Maybe more important, the review of large banks was a sign that euro zone leaders, who sometimes appear out of touch, had made concrete progress on policy. Their decision last week to designate the European Central Bank as top banking cop is intended to de-Balkanize the euro zone banking system. A single currency, they argue, should have a single banking system. Shares of European banks fell after the central bank disclosed details of the planned bank assessment, but in a strange way that may have been a good sign. It meant investors expected the central bank to be tough and thorough, culling the sick banks and freeing the healthy ones from the stigma attached to euro zone lenders. Earlier efforts by a patchwork of national regulators to conduct supposed “stress tests” on Europe’s banks proved woefully inadequate. There have been other hopeful omens lately, like an increase in European car sales in September from 20-year lows. Ireland, once one of Europe’s most troubled countries, said recently that it expected to emerge from its bailout program by the end of the year. On Wednesday, a closely watched survey showed that French businesspeople were becoming slightly more optimistic because of an uptick in exports. In Germany, the euro zone’s first among equals, the Christian Democrats led by Chancellor Angela Merkel are edging toward an accord with the Social Democrats to form a government. That would end a de facto freeze on euro zone policy making while Ms. Merkel was preoccupied with domestic politics.

Directory: file -> view
view -> Western Europe after wwii
view -> Author study: paul fleischman
view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide
view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg
view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh
view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce
view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy
view -> Table of Contents Lesson #
view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad

Download 0.83 Mb.

Share with your friends: