Global Voices » Luxembourg

Macedonia: Fuel Prices Continue to Rise

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:18:43 +0000

Continuous increase of fuel prices is a cause of much concern for citizens of Macedonia, and some vent the tension through humor. The prices are set by a regulatory body, and more and more social media users object to the fact that the lion's share of the revenue in fact goes to the government, stymieing the growth of the business sector.

On his blog, Zoriv published comparisons of the prices of oil derivatives in Macedonia, the USA and the EU [mk], and also calculated how much fuel one can buy on an average salary in various countries [mk]. (Both posts are in Macedonian, but the tables with country comparisons are in English and easily comprehensible.)

So, according to Zoriv, Latvia has the lowest price of gasoline in Europe (EUR 1.20), while Norway has the highest (EUR 1.94). Consumers in Macedonia have to pay EUR 1.4. While the official explanation for rising fuel prices is always the change of price of crude oil, Zoriv points out that a major factor in forming the end price are the excise taxes that go directly to the state budgets in countries with the highest prices (Norway, Holland, Italy, the UK, and Greece). He adds:

In Macedonia, for instance, the total taxation together with the profit margin for the merchants form around 70% of the price (Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia, no. 138/09 and 52/11). The difference between Macedonia and the EU countries, alongside the salary levels which are incomparable, is the tragic fact that even the slightest increase of oil derivative prices affects the personal material existence of every citizen of Macedonia. The latest data show that fuel consumption has decreased by 30% [mk]. The increase of fuel prices leads to a spiral of the increase of all other living expenses, while family budgets drastically decrease.

The Macedonian government temporarily abolished the excise before the June 2011 elections, but returned it later, raising the prices [mk] in August.

By calculating how much fuel a citizen can buy with an average salary, Zoriv tried to shed light on income disparities: in the United States, one can buy 4,296 liters of gasoline on an average monthly salary. In Europe, the top spots go to Switzerland (3,441 l), Luxemburg (3,439 l), and Germany (3.075 l). The lowest on the list are Macedonia (243 l) and Albania (194 l), with a “disastrous ratio of 1:14″ compared to the leading “rich” countries.

According to the 2010 edition of the annual publication 200 Largest Companies in Macedonia, prepared and published by the Euro Business Center – Skopje, the two largest companies in the country are: the sole oil refinery OKTA (owned by the Greek interests, privatized while the current PM Gruevski served as the Minister of Finance) and the biggest oil derivatives distributor Makpetrol, with the total revenues of EUR 512 million and EUR 350 million, respectively.

The prospects for the future seem bleak. According to the UNDP report “Assessing the Economic Impact of Climate Change,” Macedonia also faces numerous other challenges in the energy sector.

Social media users shared various kinds of data related to the fuel price increase, such as the table [mk] showing the elements that form the prices of fuel, originally from an Radio Free Europe article [mk] by Srgjan Stojanchov:

Elements of fuel prices in Macedonian Denars.

They also posted various reactions to ongoing developments with the fuel prices, and the most shared were the humorous responses, such as this joke: “Would you like to take your girlfriend someplace expensive? - Take her to a gas station!” The latest chuckle is a demotivation-style meme featuring the late Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito and a supposed laconic quote in Croatian:

Photo of Tito and a supposed quote: You say the gasoline got more expensive? Well, why don't you make a deal with the Non-Aligned countries?

During the Cold War, Tito was famous for striking a balance between Eastern and Western blocs, with Yugoslavia serving as a kind of a buffer, to the commercial benefit of its people. In 1961, he co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement, which included many oil-producing nations, resulting in favorable trade relations. A famous political-economic quote attributed to him (in the Lexicon of Yugoslav Mythology) is this: “The grain that we received from the Americans is much superior in quality to the grain the Soviets did not deliver.”

Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?

Danielle Martineau — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:09:08 +0000

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise.]

As of the end of the month of February 2012, the mobilization efforts of Internet users against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [en] were still going strong. In fact, they may have begun to bear fruit.

By including infringements against the author's rights in its scope, this international treaty, which addresses intellectual property rights, also affects Internet content.

The ratification debates which were placed on the European Parliament's agenda on February 29, were put on hold in expectation of the opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The issue of the treaty's conformity with European Community law was brought before the court on 22 February by the European Commission.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo by Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Taurillon, the “magazine of young Europeans -France” describes “Europe's about-face on ACTA“:

Si l’avis est négatif, l’ACTA n’a plus aucune chance en Europe. Mais en cas d’avis positif, le recours à la CJUE représente le double avantage de redonner au traité une certaine crédibilité, et de repousser son adoption à une époque suffisamment lointaine pour que la polémique se soit tassée et que l’opinion publique regarde ailleurs.

If the opinion is negative, ACTA no longer stands a chance in Europe. However, if there is a positive opinion, appealing to the ECJ would mean a double advantage by giving the treaty a certain credibility, and also pushing back implementation to a time that is far enough away when public debate has settled down and the public's attention is focused elsewhere.

Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson for la Quadrature du Net urges on the European deputies:

Les eurodéputés doivent résister à la stratégie de la Commission européenne, qui cherche à gagner du temps et à transformer le débat en une simple discussion juridique, et pour cela continuer à travailler au rejet d’ACTA. ACTA vise à imposer une tendance pour une politique globale du droit d’auteur qui est toxique pour l’Internet libre et pour les libertés. Le Parlement européen est le dernier rempart : il doit agir et adopter une position claire et forte, faute de quoi il laissera le champ libre à la Commission pour imposer une répression inacceptable.

The Eurodeputies must resist the European Commission's strategy of attempting to gain time and turning the debate into a simple legal discussion, thereby continuing to work towards ACTA's rejection. ACTA aims to impose a tendency for a global policy of author's rights that is toxic for the free Internet and for freedom. The European Parliament is the last line of defense: it must act and adopt a firm and clear position, otherwise it will leave the field wide open for the commission to impose an unacceptable repression.

For trucbuntu, there is no question of remaining passive while waiting for the Court to adjudicate:

Les citoyens de toute l’Europe peuvent contacter leurs représentants dans les commissions Commerce International (INTA) et Industrie (ITRE), qui se réunissent cette semaine pour discuter d’ACTA, et leur demander de continuer à travailler au sein de leur commission pour le rejet d’ACTA.

Citizens of all of Europe were able to contact their representatives in the International Trade (INTA) and Industry (ITRE) Committees, who met on February 29 to discuss ACTA. Many citizens requested their representatives to reject the proposal.

The website of the European Parliament explains the procedure and the issues of the treaty [en] that are under scrutiny, and has published ‘What you should know about ACTA‘ [en], a page of questions and answers. The ACTA workshop of the European Parliament has been the object of a storify [en] made by the Parliamentary services (link via Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras [en]).

The organization AVAAZ submitted a petition to the European Parliament on 29 February with 2.4 million signatures against ACTA. The petition is still open:

Nous sommes vraiment proches de la victoire — notre pétition forte de 2,4 millions de signatures a ébranlé les responsables politiques partout en Europe et stoppé les censeurs. La Commission européenne est à présent en position de faiblesse et espère que la Cour de justice donnera son feu vert au traité ACTA en lui soumettant une question juridique très limitée qui recevra certainement une réponse positive.Mais si nous faisons résonner nos voix aujourd'hui, nous pouvons faire en sorte que la Cour examine tous les impacts légaux du traité ACTA et publie un avis qui fera toute la lumière sur cette attaque contre nos droits qu'est ACTA.

We are really close to victory — our petition, with 2.4 million signatures has shaken up those politicians in charge throughout Europe and stopped their censors. The European Commission is currently in a position of weakness and is hoping the Court of justice will green light the ACTA treaty by bringing before the court a very limited legal question, that will without doubt receive a positive response. But if we make our voices heard today, we will be able to get the court to examine all the legal implications of ACTA and publish an opinion that will bring to light the real attack against our rights that is ACTA.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Anti-ACTA parties continue to strengthen their resources. New protests were set for 10 March, and torrentnews gives a list, with this appeal:

La liste n’est pas exhaustive, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour la compléter ;)

si certains se sentent l’âme d’un reporter- photographe en herbe, nous recherchons également des personnes pour faire un petit article photo du déroulement de la manif, rien de bien compliqué, comme fait ici pour Nice, Marseille,Bordeaux et Strasbourg.

The list is not exhaustive, do not hesitate to contact us to complete it ;)

If any individuals see themselves as budding photojournalists we are also looking for people to do a small photo story on how the protest unfolds, nothing too complicated, as it happens in Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg.

For details on the elements of the debate, see also these linked articles from the Tribune on February 29, and Myeurop, on March 3. On Global Voices, see the laws SOPA/PIPA that set a precedent in the USA, here [en] and here [en]. Since the beginning of the protests, ACTA seems to have lost a lot of political momentum.

The title of this post is inspired by the end of the article “La liberté sur Internet : le filtrage de la discorde” which was published by the Institute of Research and Legal and Information studies and Communication (I.R.E.D.I.C.). It puts into perspective Internet blocking and debates the adoption of ACTA.

The original article in French was published on March 4. For background on the ACTA proposal, more articles can be found here [en].

Qatar: Expats outraged by plans to scrap visa-on-arrival policy

Shabina Khatri — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:15:10 +0000

Starting May 1, visitors from dozens of countries must apply for visas before traveling to Qatar instead of obtaining them at the airport (Photo by Jamie Sanford)

Rumors are swirling following a local news report that Qatar has made plans to scrap its visa-on-arrival policy for dozens of nations.

According to the Gulf Times, the change, to take effect May 1, will require nationals of 33 European, Western and Asian countries to obtain visas before arriving in Qatar by contacting the Qatari embassies in their home countries.

The United States, British and French embassies in Doha have confirmed that their nations are among those affected by the change, but officials from other countries said they are still making inquiries.

The news was greeted with dismay by many Doha residents on Twitter.

Some bloggers here said they suspected that the change was spurred on by “reciprocity” - a tit for tat response to countries that require Qatari nationals to apply for visas before arrival.

Marjorie in Qatar said:

This is part of Qatar's new “reciprocity” kick. A few months ago they switched to a reciprocity system for driver's licenses: American licenses can't be automatically converted to Qatari ones, because the US doesn't automatically convert Qatari licenses.

Others mused that it was Qatar's way of securing its borders following the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January. He is suspected to have been killed by men holding falsified European and British passports. Dubai blames Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad for the slaying.

On Twitter, ibnkakfa said:

Linked to Mossad's Dubai murder?

On the popular online forum Qatar Living, where a post about the policy change generated more than 100 comments,Bleu said:

Seriously, this could be a temporary measure after what happened in Dubai… It could be anything.

genesis added:

i agree with bleu in this being a national security measure. Again, Qatar is frequently visited by Iranian, syrian & Hamas officials.

canarybird theorized a profit motive:

I don't think that this is an issue of how many expatriates live and work here, but it will certainly affect the whole economy and many expat wives who don't have visas make short term visa runs, and many on short business trips to. It will certainly make a whole in the money making business of visa runs.

Whatever the reason, most agree that the additional paperwork required to visit Qatar and the lack of Qatari embassies in many nations are likely to hurt the country's efforts to boost tourism.

QL commentator fubar said:

The Tourism Authority must be overjoyed by this news.
If you were a multinational company arranging a conference for 1000 high spending delegates from Western countries, like the recent CITES conference, or a similar UN conference, would you come to Qatar, where almost everyone will need to apply for a visa before travelling, or go to Dubai?

Others said they thought the move brought fairness to the system.

UkEngQatar said:

Qatari Nationals have to have a visa beforehand before visiting Britain. So if that is the case then what Qatar has done is fair. We Brits and other European and US nationals will just have to get used to it.

ace.auteur said:

Fair deal! Getting a US/UK visa is a nightmare for many. Why should it be easy for the “33″? By any means it is still going to be a whole lot simpler than standard US/UK visa processes. Reciprocity is not just fair but the right thing to do.

Still, those living far from family and friends worry that the change will make it even more difficult to keep in touch.

Mandilulur said:

I know half a dozen Brits who are working for international companies here in the Gulf (based in Qatar) with business visas. Their wives make visa runs to Bahrain monthly. Evidently no more. They will leave. Are these the kinds of ex-pats you want to see gone? The really talented ex-pats will be able to find a job anywhere! … Sometimes I feel like a lobster in a pot - when will the discomfort of decisions such as these outweigh my love for Qatar? I can tell you one thing - it certainly affects what I tell prospective professionals thinking of coming to Doha.

Europe: Entropa

Veronica Khokhlova — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:06:39 +0000

Belatedly, links to some posts on Entropa: Margarete of The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia believes “it should be taken down”; Kosmopolito thinks that “the debate around the project is also part of the installation”; BBC's Mark Mardell writes that “the fact that it is a hoax does not mean that the art itself is bad”; Blue, Black and White Alert doesn't think Entropa is “that incendiary”; A Fistful of Euros considers Entropa “an ugly but really funny piece of work.”

Russia, EU: Views on the Election

Veronica Khokhlova — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:46:06 +0000

A discussion of the Russian election and certain European politicians' reactions to it - at the Economist's Certain Ideas of Europe.

DRC, Belgium: 25th Anniversary of UDPS

Alice Backer — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 04:42:41 +0000

Le Renouveau Congolais posts pictures [fr] of UDPS Belux's (Belgium-Luxemburg branch) celebration of the party's 25th Anniversary. UDPS is the main DRC opposition party.

Thursday World Blog Roundup

Rebecca MacKinnon — Thu, 12 May 2005 22:09:54 +0000

Africa:
Picture via Sotho, drawn by 13-year old McGlen of Johannesburg, South Africa. He wants to be a veterinarian. Courtesy Creative Connections.

Thinkers Room says it shouldn't be this hard.

Afromusing thinks Kenya needs a “hygrid.”

Special Blog Coverage: Iranian Presidential elections:
Mr. Behi thinks U.S. pressure on Iran over nuclear weapons at this moment will make an illiberal election outcome more likely. He's no big Rafsanjani fan, either.

Iranian Prospect also discusses the relationship between the elections and the nuclear issue. He has another post about Mojtaba Saminejad, a jailed Iranian blogger, a jailed researcher, and how this all ties in with election politics.

Brooding Persian has a colorful account of the candiates who have registered so far, including “a 72 year old milkman from a principality far from Tehran who made an impression on the reporters with his open zipper during the registrations and he appears quite charming as he frankly admitted to having no place to sleep over the night at in Tehran.” He then complains about foreign analyists who comment on Iranian politics, claiming to know what “Iranians want.” He broods: “No two Iranians I know can ever agree on much of anything. “

New Blog alert: OpenDemocracy has a new Iran-focused group blog, Iranscan. The authors include bloggers from inside and outside Iran.

It would be interesting to know what bloggers in Iran think of this post on “Regime Change Iran.”

Iraq:
Iraq The Model links to pictures and info from an Arabic-language Iraqi blog about artefacts confiscated by a Syrian officer who was attempting to smuggle them out of Iraq.
Omar also links to this blog post about the Baghdad softball team.

Frustrated with Iraq's unreliable phone network which makes it hard to blog regularly, Ibn Alrafidain >asks some tough questions about the way his fellow countrymen approach democracy.

A Free Iraqi recounts his personal experience with citizen journalism and his reflections on how the international media covers the Iraq story and why. Check out the comments thread on that post, too.

Khalid of “Tell Me A Secret”, who opposes the U.S. presence, returned home today to find a car bomb had exploded about 100 meters from his house just a couple of hours before.

Hammorabi blames Syria for supporting terrorism in Iraq.

Elsewhere in the Middle East:
Israeli bloggers celebrate independence day, via “Thoughts from a Rabbi.”

Chan'ad Bahraini tackles the subject of torture.
Chan'ad also points out that Bahrainonline.org and others were mentioned on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this week.

Kuwaiti Online is upset upon discovering more acqaintances who beat their household employees - who come from other countries and apparently are viewed as having no rights.

The Beirut Spring has a post on the role of Lebanese Christians in the new political context.

Eurasia:
Democracy Guy thinks that Bush missed an opportunity to support Armenian democracy while in Georgia.

Central Asia:
Registan.net on different approaches to upcoming elections in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

East Asia:
ESWN recounts a controversy over journalistic ethics in China.

Mask of China: Dalian Edition is concerned about an official news blackout on a local ferry disaster and ponders the implications thereof.

Fons Tuinstra of the China Herald is bemused that the media took the People's Daily revaluation story as gospel, when he smelled a rat all along.

Danwei accuses the International Herald Tribute of editorial sloppiness to rival the People's Daily.

Kevin Wen wonders about Google's new presence in China.

Fons in Shanghai says its only a meeting room.

Isaac Mao is able to use Google Web Accelerator from his office to access blocked websites.

Dottocomu on the latest special pocket for cellphones, while Japundit reports on the latest perversion (do not click on this if you are underage or a sensitive person).

South Asia:
3rd World View has a sad post on the face of Bangladesh.

Europe:
Jukka recounts a bewildering meeting with beauty queens.

Central Budapest says there will be a march against racism on Sunday.