Main focus of Monday, February 2, 2009

The post-crisis world?

The 39th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum ended in Davos on Sunday, profoundly marked by the global financial crisis. Although the motto was "Shaping the Post-Crisis World", concrete solutions failed to emerge from the meeting in Switzerland. The European press takes stock.

Le Temps - Switzerland

The Swiss daily Le Temps sees light at the end of the tunnel after the World Economic Forum in Davos, but warns against protectionism. "The crisis is worldwide, and it is very, very serious. ... But there is good news. Countermeasures exist and are known. At the very least the World Economic Forum in Davos has served to outline them. Coordinated state action must be undertaken on an international level to stabilise the world of finance and stimulate the economy. And participants have committed to promoting trade. Yet the barriers are already going up. London, Brussels and Washington are giving in to pressure from the lobbies and demonstrations. The Brazilian foreign minister warned in Davos that it was protectionism that turned the 1929 recession into the Great Depression. Perhaps at that time people were not fully aware of the benefits of trade. That is no longer the case today. We must not let ourselves be blinded by the lure of protectionism. Participants at Davos must honour their commitments, especially the G20." (02/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Switzerland, » Global
All available articles from » Frédéric Lelièvre

Corriere della Sera - Italy

Commenting on Davos the conservative daily Corriere della Sera points to Europe's advantages and warns of the drawbacks of national policies. "In confronting the crisis Europe has two advantages but at the same time is exposed to dangers that others need not fear. The first point is its social market economy. … The second is its experience with globalisation. Although limited to the continental area Europe has been pursuing a policy of integration for over 50 years. … In Europe the 'market' with the addition 'social' is not just an organisational form for economic activities. The social market economy is the foundation of European integration. … If in trying to deal with the crisis the member states return to national policies without considering the consequences for other states; if they refuse to submit to control through the European Commission; if these tendencies gain a foothold now, then Europe will lose the main basis of its integration. It would be headed towards disintegration [of the Union] at a time when the world has recognised the validity of the European model and wants to imitate it." (01/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Mario Monti

Aftonbladet - Sweden

Aftonbladet newspaper highlights what the "global firm's senior management" discussed in Davos, and stresses the need for international regulations: "Many economists are saying we should change our ways, and that a set of rules should be established to guide the entire system with a much heavier hand. New financial products could be tested and approved like pharmaceuticals, for example. After all, poison in the bloodstream is not something to be taken lightly. Above all the new rules must be agreed on internationally, just as they are for trade. How should this be done? No one knows. ... Whatever the answer, the party is definitely over." (02/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Global

Dnevnik - Slovenia

In the online edition of the daily Dnevnik Dejan Kovač describes the impact of the financial crisis on the World Economic Forum in Davos: "Although only two years ago it was forbidden to mention the words 'state' and 'economic regulation' in the same sentence at Davos, the bankers and businessmen who had the courage to attend this year's global economic summit are ready this time to swallow the bitter pill of state interventionism. … It was only the shared fear of protectionism that ensured that the previously neo-liberal world wasn't completely turned on its head. … The economic crisis cannot be solved by pumping billions in taxpayers' money into the economy to make up for the losses of the gamblers in securities but by preserving the spending power… of the middle classes. Yet it is the middle classes that are being wiped out … by the recession and growing unemployment." (02/02/2009)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Switzerland, » Global
All available articles from » Dejan Kovac

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