European Union Parliamentary Elections are coming up this week, but you could be forgiven for not having noticed that just yet: posters for university council elections have been more prominent in Groningen than would-be EU parliamentarians. Over the past year, The Northern Times podcast Econ 050 has sat down with business, economics and political experts on a range of topics that are very relevant to the upcoming elections, so here is a refresher on the issues that matter.
How to avoid climate catastrophe: Pim Heijnen
If climate change is global, why do so many countries, even those at direct risk of its consequences like the low-lying Netherlands, still seem to see it as a zero sum game? How can politicians, including those in the far right Forum for Democracy who won a large share of the vote this week, and companies be made to look beyond their own national borders and coffers to make change now? Why is it so hard for individual countries to put long term global interests above short term national interests?
Immigration and jobs: Magda Ulceluse
There are more than 9,000 businesses in the north that are owned by first generation immigrants, and work and education are what bring many immigrants here originally, but dual career partners and university graduates also need to find work. Is there any truth to the claims that immigrants steal jobs from the native population? What is the balance of brain drain and brain gain among member states? Ulceluse joined us in the studio to try and sort truth from fiction when it comes to migrants, job creation and economic growth.
Leadership and Crisis: Janka Stoker and Harry Garretsen
More egalitarian approaches to leadership that share responsibility and power are better for weathering an economic downturn, but when the financial crisis hit in 2008, the instinct of thousands of business owners around the globe was to cling to their power even more tightly, cutting across sectors and cultures. Professors Janka Stoker and Harry Garretsen have been examining how the heads of companies changed their leadership style in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, and they are co-authors of the book, “Taking the Hot Air Out of Leadership”, which goes beyond the pithy quotes and digs deep into what leadership truly means, in good times and bad.
Trade Wars: Tristan Kohl
Who really wins in a trade war? What does it actually mean to be in a trade war, and how fair or unfair are current trade deals? What will be the impact on the EU of an ongoing American-Chinese trade war, and should the EU choose sides and do more business with one or the other?
Beyond left and right: Maite Lameris
What sorts of issues really matter to the voters when deciding to vote for a far-right wing or far-left wing party? Maite Lameris is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business and has been working on research to go beyond the binary choice of left and right and looking into new ways to see how a person’s political values correspond with how happy they are and how they vote.
| How important is digital privacy in online communication to you? Should certain kinds of hate speech be criminalised? What about border checks? Refugees? Action to stop climate change? If you haven’t a clue about which parties are up for election this week and what they stand for, check out yourvotematters.eu and Match your vote – it’s an English-language voting guide based on contemporary issues that the current and future EU Parliament representatives will be addressing. |
Photo source: yourvotematters.eu
