The Dutch government has presented a bill in parliament which, if it became law, would allow hospitals to make a profit and pay out dividends. This could reduce the costs of the healthcare system, the liberal daily NRC Handelsblad notes: "Hospitals could earn more money to invest in innovations and offer more effective treatments. … But even if this market is strictly regulated the proposal could have some unintended consequences. Health, like education, is an area where growth in productivity is limited. There will always be treatments that can't be timed to the second. And society won't accept a treatment being broken off simply because it isn't profitable. It's clear that in the end the citizen will foot the bill in the form of higher contributions. But at present there is no other alternative that offers better chances of sinking costs." (10/02/2012)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Zdrowie, » Holandia

The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, confirmed on Monday that the ECB will leave the base interest rate at one percent and won't participate in the restructuring of Greece's debts. The ECB is far too passive, complains the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "It's clear what the ECB is waiting for: at the end of the month the second cash injection is due, aimed at giving the banking system another boost. But the ECB seems a little too passive in this context. Rather than taking its own steps it simply bows to the circumstances. It hands out money, but only as much as the banks want it to. Moreover the ECB is obliged to adopt a neutral stance regarding individual countries. Yet it allows the market to decide which government bonds and how many to buy in exchange for fresh funds. And with this approach the ECB is conveying the impression that it is failing in its most important task, that of controlling inflation expectations, which is crucial for financial policy. … Draghi has pointed to the uncertainty of the situation on several occasions. But it is still unclear what the ECB intends to do about it. Not only is it not taking the initiative, it doesn't even seem willing to look into the future." (10/02/2012)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, włoski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka finansowa, » Banki, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Riccardo Sorrentino
Aktualne debaty » Sposoby na wyjście z kryzysu zadłużenia

Rising wages in China and an increasingly strong yuan are driving many European companies back to Europe. Lithuania should take advantage of this opportunity, writes the business paper Verslo žinios: "The return of European companies from China opens up new prospect for cooperation for the Lithuanian economy and other economies in this region. We mustn't sit back now and let this chance go by, because the competition for the business of firms returning from China could soon become pretty fierce. Lithuania's strongest potential rival in this area is Poland, which is set on conquering the European market. … Representatives of the institutions responsible for investments should present foreign companies with arguments for why investing in Lithuania is worthwhile. … This opportunity must not be missed - the course we adopt now could considerably strengthen the foundations of our economy in a few years' time." (09/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, litewski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Przedsiębiorczość, » Litwa, » Chiny

German businesses sold more goods abroad in 2011 than ever before. Less solvent countries should take Germany's sustainable policies as an example, writes the liberal-conservative daily Die Presse: "When the Germans guarantee the debts of insolvent states with packages running into the billions, their flag is burned in these very states and the alleged rescuers are vilified in the papers as 'goosestepping taskmasters'. When their soaring exports help pull Europe out of its economic slump, their country is denounced as a business-first steamroller. ... But the problem should really be the solution: Germany is in fact quite a good example for how high-wage countries can succeed on global markets. For example with reasonable unions and plausible wage agreements that keep hundreds of thousands of workers on the job. This model may be less likeable, but it is distinctly more sustainable than those of its critics who make the economy 'work' and create fictitious growth with borrowed money." (09/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Handel, » Polityka gospodarcza, » gospodarka, » Niemcy, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Franz Schellhorn

The Czech Republic is scrapping plans to build 18 new nuclear reactors by 2060 and will instead focus on expanding the Temelín nuclear power plant, the new Czech minister for economic affairs, Martin Kuba, announced during his first press conference on Tuesday. With the decision he distances himself from the plans of his predecessor Martin Kocourek, who resigned amidst allegations of dubious financial dealings. The business paper Hospodářské noviny goes even further: "How much energy do we actually need? What does it mean that there will be less emphasis on nuclear power than planned? How will this affect energy prices? ... Kocourek was serious about building 18 new reactors without ever talking seriously about the costs. Never mind that the Czech Republic is a neighbour of Germany, which has just said goodbye to nuclear power, and Austria, which is allergic to anything nuclear in the Czech Republic. It's a disgrace that Kocourek was sacked from government only because of his financial dealings." (08/02/2012)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Energia, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Czechy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Petr Šabata
Aktualne debaty » Atom na cenzurowanym

The Finnish trade deficit reached a new record in 2011 at 3.6 billion euros. For several years now exports have been on the decline as a result of the dwindling importance of Nokia and its subcontractors. It's high time Finland did more to boost its exports, writes the business paper Kauppalehti: "Which sector could be the export locomotive of the future? Cleantech is the experts' usual answer. It comprises global growth sectors like energy, transportation technologies, water, recycling and clean industrial processes. The sectors on the rise are mining and renewable energies. Here we have a strong know-how in terms of machines and production facilities, and the demand is global. Finland's problem is the slow growth in the Eurozone. ... In exports, short-term and long-term measures are needed. And policies introduced in competing countries must be reacted to more swiftly. Export guarantees and export financing must be rationalised and promoted. Then next on the list is research and development, as well as tax policy." (08/02/2012)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, fiński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Energia, » Handel, » Przemysł, » gospodarka, » Finlandia

At the end of January the parliament in Sofia voted by an absolute majority to ban shale gas mining in Bulgaria. The vote meets environmental activists half way, but that was hardly the reason for the ban, writes author Edvin Sugarev on opinion portal Svobodata: "I honestly can't imagine that a couple of well-organised and no doubt well-paid protests against shale gas produced the consensus between government and opposition. ... I believe the MPs only reached an agreement because rock-hard geopolitical interests are behind the deal - in this case Russian interests. I would even go as far as to claim that with their vote the MPs secured Gazprom's monopoly in our country, along with the prospect of Bulgaria having to pay more than most other countries in Europe for its natural gas." (06/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, bułgarski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Środowisko, » Energia, » Polityka, » Rosja, » Bułgaria
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Edvin Sugarev

Estonia's right-wing liberal government is planning a  labour market reform in a bid to lower unemployment. The liberal daily Eesti Päevaleht praises the idea but fears the country's labour minister is too timid: "The basic idea that rather than supporting everyone to the same extent the state gives more support to the weak dovetails with the ideology of the [ruling] Reform Party and brings it new voters. And the same is true of increasing spending on measures to support re-integration into the labour market after prolonged illness. So why don't people just come out and say it? Presumably it's a communication problem: a minister who contests a voter's source of income will lose that vote. So rather than taking a stand himself he leaves it up to an expert committee. But what difference does it make who takes the decision to enact a meaningful reform of the social system? Fear not, Mr Minister! You want to do the right thing. Look at how the Education Ministry has managed to pass the buck of sensible secondary school reform on to the municipalities. And in the end, nothing happens at all." (07/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, estoński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rynek pracy, » Estonia

The US rating agency Fitch downgraded Cyprus's three top commercial banks' ratings to junk status last Thursday. The country is increasingly getting caught up in the Greek crisis, writes the liberal daily Phileleftheros and hopes that this will prompt it to put its public finances in order: "The outbreak of the crisis revealed a wasteful state that for years was at the service of the political parties. It handed out millions in absurd bonuses and services and employed citizens depending on their political orientation in order to 'buy' their votes. ... It was a system that was dominated by the power of the parties and only favoured those who 'sold' their votes. Only the crisis can restore order. But for how long? Could it be that we will see the same system reinstated once the storm has passed?" (06/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, grecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka finansowa, » Cypr
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Marios Christodoulou

The Hungarian airline Malév stopped operating on Friday after 66 years because it could no longer pay its outstanding bills. The conservative daily Magyar Nemzet blames the bankruptcy on the left-liberal governments: "Malév is the first major state-run transport company that the government could no longer save in the midst of the economic and financial crisis and while observing EU rules. The Malév bankruptcy is a portent for Budapest's financially struggling transport companies, the state-run bus company Volán and the Hungarian national railway network. ... What is the actual cause of the bankruptcy? The practice since the collapse of communism of reducing the major state-owned companies to cemeteries for members of the cadre, free hunting grounds and bountiful sources of money for the parties. ... Under the socialist and liberal governments the state-owned companies could be plundered on a grand scale as long as the state kept forking out billions for their continued operation." (04/02/2012)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Przedsiębiorczość, » gospodarka, » Węgry
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Gyula Jámbor