Europe's Challenges

Europe needing to improve

1. How is the EU leading the fight against climate change?

The EU is working very hard in this matter, that’s the reason is very committed right now in working for a global agreement so they can control climate change by the time is a leadership in this matter. For instance, the European Union has been at the front of international efforts to combat climate change, so they are an important member in the two major treaties that are: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997. This last one is world wide recognized and is a way to control de CO2 emissions. Also they are dedicated to producte energy by different alternatives as are the biofuels and solar energy in order to transform themselves as a highly energy-efficient low carbon economy, additionally they are creating new cleaning methods that are more kind with the environment. The EU, has some objectives by 2020 to cut the greenhouse gas emissions by 30% of developing nations and 20% less carbon emitted. As well they set three key targsts to be met by the same year (2020): a. 20% redction in energy consumption b. Increase to 20% in renewable energies’ shar of total energy consumption c. Increase to 10% the share of petrol and diesel from sustainably produced biofuels. The problem for renewal energies, is that the low carbon alternative is the nuclear energy, which these last days was permited again in countries as Italy and France. This option is not as safe if we remember the terrible accident of Chernobyl.

References

European Commission. Climate Change. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/home_en.htm
Italia recupera energía nuclear de la mano de Francia tras 21 años de rechazo. Diario El País. (2009) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Italia/recupera/ener

2. How is Europe managing its migration flows?

It’s important to mention that the European Union migration is the source of the population growth (EU receives approximately 1’600.000 migrants per year), each year a lot of immigrants (legal and illegals) enter to the E.U because it’s a very attractive place to set up and because have many points of entry making easier the "job".

Taking this into account,the EU decided to implement some politics to manage migration as a whole with 2 different strategies:

a. Promote Legal Migrations Channels: EU governments promote legal migration and decided to assist migrants on finding jobs, give them advices, give them all the information they need about money transfer (Migration also brings benefits for the origin country: Remittances helps the developing of home economies) and knowing all of this, they can decided if they want to stay at the home country or migrate to other country but legally.

b. Global approach to migration: Border management that seeks the prevention of illegal migration, the EU governments has institutionalized the Detention Centers, which have as objective to support migrants in transit: they receive protection, legal assistance, advice, guidance and help to going back home.

3. What are the main challenges for an ageing workforce in Europe?

Over the last decades Europe has been facing a decline of its birth rates and a longer life expectancy of its population. Like that comes a huge dilemma for Europe since “the average age of the working population will increase and the number of people of working age will decline”(Naegele and Walker, 2006).

One of the main problems with it lays in the stability and continuation of the Welfare State that many European States hold and for the ones working people able to pay taxes are essential. And the other difficulty is concerning the social security systems (how pensions can be sustainable).


So around this problematic in Europe there are, according to the EUROFOND at their “Employment initiatives for an ageing Workforce”, three main challenges which are:
- How to maintain the health and working capacity of the workers as they age
- How to develop skills and employability of the older workers
- How to provide suitable working conditions as well as employment opportunities for the ageing workforce.

And these challenges need the private sector and governmental policies in order to improve the conditions for the workers and like that establish a longer working life. In that way, not only the working conditions will be better, but it would allow future economic growth, an adequate labor supply, and benefits for the companies and sustainable retirement conditions (EUROFOND).

In order to face these challenges the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions proposes some other challenges that also need to be faced in the work system and those are:

- The reduction of age-related labor costs
- Good reaction to changes in the external labor market conditions
- Solutions for labor market bottlenecks
- And have a proper age management at work which considers 8 dimensions:
1. Job recruitment
2. Learning, training and lifelong learning
3. Career development
4. Flexible working time practices
5. Health protection and promotion, and workplace design
6. Redeployment
7. Employment exit and the transition to retirement
8. Comprehensive approaches ”(Naegele and Walker, 2006)

Nonetheless, personally we think that there is also a need to consider the young workers and how to engage them with the current system and the companies, since many young people in Europe prefer to work in the United States or elsewhere in order to avoid the high taxes they would have to pay if they stay in Europe, and many of them consider unfair the idea of paying for the elders pension and not have the certainty that future generations will be able to guarantee them the same level of life standards during their retirement.

And the second thing to have into account is the role of women. In some European countries, as Germany, there are some discussions around the role of women as mother or as worker. And finally, the woman is one of the core stones for solving this ageing workforce situation. Nowadays some women realize that they won’t be able to have enough possibilities for raising their kids if they are working (not enough kindergartens or very expensive ones, not enough time for being with them and do basic things as going to the school meetings…) or that they have to sacrifice their studies and just stay at home, so they prefer not to have kids at all. Like that the birth rate has decreased and by not giving them fair opportunities to be mothers and workers they are also leaving behind the potential many women have to do both.


References:
- Gonzales-Perez, M. A. 2009. Presentation "Europe" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT
- EUROFOND. 2009. Employment initiatives for an ageing Workforce. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/research/0296.htm. Accessed 5 May 2009.
- Naegele, G. & Walker, A. 2006. A guide to good practice in age management. Luxenbourg: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions


4. How European business could overcome the challenges of balancing the interests of cultural diversity and nationalist interests?

Balancing: Cultural Diversity/Nationalism
Several different cultures or subcultures are usually brought together into every individual nation. That is how nationalism and cultures are both terms to group people sharing some similarities, but whilst the first one stresses more on a feeling of belonging and being part of a nation, the latter covers a wider range of features of a group of individuals that makes it a more transcendental affiliation, even thought, from time to time, either can be contained in the other.
It is important to acknowledge the differences existing on one another but also, it is even more important to learn how to deal with both, especially in times when integration and globalization is making the world a smaller place.

In the document “The Future of European Business Leadership” by Manfred Kets de Vries and Konstantin Korotov (2006) the authors rely on these facts to explain in a way, the current situation throughout Europe is passing by. Mobility of peoples and capitals all around the Union has began a strong process of migration of companies that pursue better value for their inversion. So the authors relate how this phenomenon has brought up the differences of particular cultures when compared to a general nationalism, like in this case the European Union. The question that arises is where the line is drawn for a European or a German company. This scenario is generating several difficulties among citizens because from time to time they are just pushed into accepting a European nationalism, forgetting the particular aspects and details of each country’s culture. Europe, as a big pluralist community, pretends to encourage diversity and cooperation between different cultures, but they must make bigger efforts to gather all that amount of peoples, without homogenizing the society, which would end up being unnatural.

References:
Kets, M. Korotov, K. 2006. The Future of European Business Leadership. European Business Forum, 24: 37 – 42.

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