Political Issues
French politicians are now marching to Marine Le Pen’s immigration tune
Philippe Marlière- At the moment France is in a political turmoil and there are several reasons for this. One of them is François Hollande who citizens expect to pull out of the race altogether. The other reason is Marine Le Pen who is polling over 20% in the share of votes and has plans to restrict and limit immigration in France. Instead of other politicians opposing her, they agree with her instead as they are mainstream. These plans could drastically affect the society and economy of France. Until the next president is elected, the citizens of France can only hope for the best.
Philippe Marlière- At the moment France is in a political turmoil and there are several reasons for this. One of them is François Hollande who citizens expect to pull out of the race altogether. The other reason is Marine Le Pen who is polling over 20% in the share of votes and has plans to restrict and limit immigration in France. Instead of other politicians opposing her, they agree with her instead as they are mainstream. These plans could drastically affect the society and economy of France. Until the next president is elected, the citizens of France can only hope for the best.
Germany is propping up anti-EU forces by throwing its weight around- François Fillon is the front-runner in the French presidential election who has a plan to secure the euro. He also has a plan to make the euro area a core of "Europe of Nations". Fillon wants to implement an economic (and political) government of the euro area as a counterweight to the German-built European Central Bank (ECB). Germans do not agree with these plans and and want to avoid any problems which is why they prefer the current "economic government". Having Fillon elected could possibly risk the (ECB) which is responsible for price stability and regulatory. This will take a great effect on the economy of Western Europe if his plans follow through.
Capping immigration: The Swiss case- Switzerland is a small nation which has introduced many extravagant inventions but are the first European country to take a concrete stand on capping immigration. 50.3% of swiss voters agreed to introduce a global cap on migrants. The result of the votes will have a big impact and blow to the government of Switzerland. This also gives the Swiss 3 years to change its international agreements which will be difficult in consideration to the EU. This will also greatly affect the EU as Switzerland is the 4th most important trade partner. The EU treats the "Swiss Case" as the determinant of the survival of the free market.
EU’s Budget: filling in the gaps- 2013 was not a good year for Western Europe and even less in economic terms. In 2013 the commission of the EU asked for an aditional 11B Euros to pay off debts but were denied the funding. They later received 7.1B Euros of funding and are still trying to fight for the missing 3.9B Euros missing which will play a crucial role in Western Europe's economy and politics. These debts will truly affect the trade flow of the EU with other countries and have much to worry about. These debts also play a crucial role in politics as citizens will have a desire for better politicians to resolve these problems and may factor their votes.