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Ehrström, Peter
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Europe after the baby boom
Peter Ehrström comments on an article titled "The Lost Youth of Europe" published in Newsweek. It describes the consequences of the retirement of the generation born in the 1940s. "If this reflects reality then we're facing a real generation crisis. The rapidly growing gap in Europe is not that between different social classes, races or the sexes but that between the old and the young... Meanwhile, in Belgium for example, only 30 percent of those older than 55 work, despite the fact that raising the pension age to 68 or even 70 is currently under discussion. No one can answer the question of how this is supposed to fit in with a job market that thirsts for young people and doesn't appreciate the experience of older workers."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Demographics, » Europe
Peter Ehrström on minorities as pioneers of multilingualism
Peter Ehrström asserts that the traditional European nation state is beating a retreat. He points out that with the exception of Iceland, all European states have national minorities - the Catalan, the South Tyrolean, the Welsh, the Sorbs and the Finnish-Swedish - who are all benefiting from the trend of stronger regions. "In a Europe without borders it's only logical that representatives of linguistic minorities are regarded as particularly successful Europeans. Most of them are at least bilingual, with the majority being multilingual. And if there is something Europe will really need in the future it's people who can speak several languages. 'Broken English' may be the world's leading language, but this isn't enough. Unlike for members of the majority, for representatives of minorities being able to speak three, four or even five languages is a necessity that is taken for granted. In Europe, with its variety of languages, knowledge of several languages is not a burden - it's hard currency."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Europe
Finland's high value added tax
Finland's value added tax is considerably higher than the European average. There is 17 percent VAT on foodstuffs – a full 10 percent more than in Germany, for example. Peter Ehrström argues that this is too much. "Sinking the VAT to 12 percent would mean annual net savings of 400 euros for a family of four. That's quite a lot, particularly for families with an average or low income. Moreover, all consumers would benefit from a reduction in VAT, not just particular groups of the population… Employment would also rise because consumers would be able to buy more. And cheaper food would also give less wealthy consumers the chance to buy high-quality food… We should recall that the promise of cheaper foodstuffs was once used to make EU membership more attractive for the Finns."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Tax Policy, » Finland
Finland's Kvarken area becomes a World Heritage Site
UNESCO has designated the Finnish coastal area of Kvarken a World Heritage Site. According to Peter Ehrström, this is an honour comparable to winning the Nobel Literature Prize. "It wasn't the fauna and flora that prompted UNESCO to put Kvarken on the prestigious list. The decision was made for geological reasons. The land here rises by an average of 8.5 millimetres per year. This means that in 2,500 years' time, Finland and Sweden will have grown together here and the northern Bothnian Gulf will be Europe's largest inland lake."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Science / Research, » Finland
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