Economie

Report

‘This is a war for land, Romania is the battlefield’

13 August 2018 -

Forced by poverty, a population transfers its decision-making power over the European granary to foreign shareholders of subsidized, wealthy investment groups. Local residents work in paid employment of the companies to whom they sell their land, move to the city or emigrate. Landgrabbing, by the international market.

Opinion

Plastic is poison, and that's that

2 February 2018 -

The government-run organisation Flanders Circular seems to support that “plastic is a valuable resource”. If that is the case, the “plastification of the minds” seems to be almost complete. If the agency that has to put Flanders on the track to become circular, is itself not able to unmask this subtle twist of so-called ...

Interview

Leslie Johnston: ‘Sustainability is not a matter of goodwill, but a business opportunity’

13 September 2017 -

With a budget of over 50 million euro per year, the C&A Foundation attempts to change the textile sector from within. According to executive director Leslie Johnston this attempt is coming through quite successfully, partially because of the innovative entrepreneurs. ‘Social entrepreneurship is essential if we are to transform the textile ...

Report

Reinventing microcredit in Myanmar

25 August 2017 -

After years of hype, microfinance now faces challenges in the fight against poverty. But in Myanmar’s largely unexploited market, small innovators are experimenting with solutions.

Interview

‘Africa needs more mutual trade in these times of economic nationalism’

24 February 2017 -

Mukhisa Kituyi, previous Kenyan minister of Trade and Industry, is secretary-general of UNCTAD, the UN-organization for Trade and Development, since 2013. MO* interviewed him about the importance of and the barriers for regional trade in Africa. ‘We need to counteract the worldwide trend that regards multinational agreements as suspicious and ...

Analysis

Peak oil 2.0: demand dries up

16 January 2017 -

With Trump’s inauguration days away, environmentalists are bracing for the worst. After eight years of Obama, with his emphasis on renewable sources, a lot has changed. Despite being surrounded by fossil fuel tycoons and climate change deniers, his successor will have arrived too late to save the oil industry. To understand why, we need look ...

Analysis

Tanzanian farmers are facing heavy prison sentences if they continue their traditional seed exchange

7 December 2016 -

In order to receive development assistance, Tanzania has to give Western agribusiness full freedom and give enclosed protection for patented seeds. “Eighty percent of the seeds are being shared and sold in an informal system between neighbors, friends and family. The new law criminalizes the practice in Tanzania,” says Michael Farrelly of TOAM, an ...

Report

CETA reinforces the devastating impact of the Canadian mining industry in Greece

26 October 2016 -

Out of the blue, on a rainy Monday, a glum looking Greek shepherd tells me that CETA will be the final nail in his coffin. This economic trade agreement between Canada and the EU, should have been approved last weekend. The hopes of over a million European citizens, that are opposed to CETA, now lie in the hands of Paul Magnette, minister-president ...

Report

Wealthy Arabs buy up Sarajevo

19 September 2016 -

Sarajevo is etched in the collective memory as a city of war. Twenty years after the peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the green hills around the city are changing into gated communities for Arab tourists. Public space is either neglected or privatised, then commercialised. But a new generation is sowing the seeds of change ...

Interview

Enspiral: adopting a positive impact as a personal motivation

1 September 2016 -

With his open cooperation “Enspiral”, Joshua Vial distances himself for good from hierarchical company structures. The goal of his start-up is to gather people and companies who want to have a social impact. ‘Enspiral helps companies focus on creating jobs that really matter’, the enterprising New Zealander says. And this he ...

Interview

Srećko Horvat: ‘Without real democracy, everyone will want to leave the EU’

18 July 2016 -

We no longer form a union with the United Kingdom and a second radical left-wing party may come to power in Europe: the Spanish Podemos. What is happening to the European Union? MO* spoke with Croat philosopher Srećko Horvat, the driving force behind the new radical left movement of Yanis Varoufakis. ‘DiEM25 is the coalition we needed during ...

Analysis

The big unknowns behind Brexit, UK at a crossroads

21 June 2016 -

In the run-up to the EU referendum of next Thursday in the UK, the options of leaving or staying in the European Union have featured widely in public debate and campaigners on both sides are making an effort to attract undecided voters. Although polls were favouring the Leave camp with a week to go, the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox might have shifte ...