Euro Views 2O12

New generation of Estonians tackle the crisis Why the Irish are emigrating once again EURO Is Iceland getting back on track? VIEWS South Tyrol defies the crisis 2O12 EUROVIEWS ǀ 1 Reacting to the crisis 4-29 Estonia 4. The Estonians and the euro: a short love story 8. Estonia’s children victims of crisis our years on, the financial crisis is still having a Secondly, these stories highlight the ingenuity and re- 12. President of Estonia: “Thank you for leaving and even more for coming back” Fsubstantial impact on the daily lives of Europeans. siliency of civil society, entrepreneurs and ordinary Our reason for doing this magazine is to be able to tell a people. When faced with threats, they act. 16. Anti-euro: “The European Commission is like the Soviet Union” few of these stories, and to show how people from dif- In Limerick, Ireland, unemployed and retired men 18. Nationals leaving, foreigners coming ferent countries are making their way through the crisis. come together to teach each other skills like cooking or For this purpose, we’ve travelled to Iceland, Ireland, carpentry. Italian railroad workers who got fired because 21. New generation of Estonian volunteers tackle crisis Northern Italy and Estonia to bring back stories about of cut-backs have occupied a platform by the train sta- 24. Finnish businesses move to Estonia people from all walks of life. tion in Milan as a protest. Apart from the personal stories, Euroviews 2012 tries When people deep in debt are about to lose their homes to convey two major insights about the Europe of today. in Iceland, a group of vigilantes called Home defence try 30-53 Iceland First of all, the crisis is far from over. While there are to stop the evictions by forming a human shield in front signs of macroeconomic recovery, we felt it imperative of the house. And in Tallin, Estonia, young nursing stu- to tell the stories of those who are overlooked by such dents volunteer to help out at the local soup kitchen and 30. Iceland getting back on track trends and to underline how complex and heterogene- offer basic medical care. 33. With unemployment lurks loneliness ous the situation is. Faced with predicaments these people show their true 35. Blaming the bankers One characteristic of a crisis is how unevenly distribut- character. Not as helpless victims, but as members of a ed its effects are. While some have margins large enough community. 38. About to lose her home to only have to cut down on their luxury consumption, What becomes apparent in this ongoing crisis, apart 46. Banking collapse others lose everything: their house, their job and thereby from the lack of accountability and frailty in the global also part of their social life. And if the crash hits une- financial system, is the persistence of society. venly, so will the recovery. It therefore becomes crucial to know not just if there is recovery, but who is actually Axel Kronholm 54-75 Ireland recovering. Editor 54. Ghost estates 64. Men’s sheds 70. Emigration nation 76-103 Northern Italy 76. Tracking the crisis in Northern Italy 84. An inherited family business 88. Crackdown on tax evasion 92. The real Italy waits at the end of platform 21 98. South Tyrol defies the crisis Editors: Axel Kronholm & Evelina Bergström Reporters: Agatha Akhabue, Anneke Hermans, Annica Lindström, Axel Kronholm, Carlos Encinas, Enora Régnier, Evelina Bergström, Ieva Šližiuté, Jesper Ernlund Lassen, Rasmus Bagge Jensen, Tim Hersevoort, Thomas Pickelner, Veronika Gorlova & Wyatt H. McCall. Danish School of Media & Journalism www.dmjx.dk/international April 2012 | Aarhus, Denmark Euroviews 2012 team. The graphic design and photo editing of the cover Photo: Asbjørn Slot Jørgensen Responsible editor: Asbjørn Slot Jørgensen page was done by Thijs Keesenberg at design Teachers: Susanne Sommer & Henrik Meller bureau Aandacht Ontwerp in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 2 ǀ EUROVIEWS EUROVIEWS ǀ 3 ICELAND ESTONIA To understand what Estonians are experiencing, we TALLINN Estonia adopted the have to go two years back. After the violent economic euro in January 2011, in the recession which hit the country in 2008, the government middle of an economic crisis. The managed to revive the economy in the country and to re- duce its public debt. The country then band to a target of common currency was popular joining the euro zone, a place they had coveted for years. before its adoption, but the To meet the Maastricht criteria, the Estonian government set up a strict austerity policy in 2010. The wages were inflation rate in the country and cut by 10 percent in the public sector and by 20 percent high prices in the shops have for the ministers, the taxes on consumption were raised, public spending was frozen and the pensions were re- contributed to a change of heart formed. An income tax of 20 percent was also made with the population. The currency mandatory for everybody, no matter what they gain. The lowest salary that can be taxed, was fixed to 144 euros. change has greatly affected the These taxes allow the country to strengthen its economy. daily lives of Estonians. Thus, with an 8 percent GDP growth in 2011 and a public debt of about 6 percent, the country is one of the best By enorA regnier students of the Eurozone. While the purchasing power of Estonians is demolishing quickly. “The inflation was expected to be higher and despite the fact that our incomes are the lowest in the Eurozone, The Estonians and the euro: our economy is growing faster than in other countries,” explains Mari Pärnamäe (27), economist for the Bank of Estonia. “But we can’t control the inflation, it’s not in our A short love story hands”. The most surprising thing, from an international point of view, was that Estonia joined the euro zone in the middle of an economic crisis. For Mari Pärnamäe, how- ever, the adoption of the euro was a natural step for the economy. “The timing was not important for us because we knew for a long time that we would have the euro any- way”, she says. “We were ready to adopt it, it was planned and there was no reason for us to wait longer. We would have suffered the effects of the eurocrisis even if we hadn’t changed our currency. But it is better for us to be part of the Eurozone during the crisis because it makes it safer”. Photo: Ieva Sliziute Paying more with the same wages While the economic growth of Estonia is one of the highest in Europe, the GDP of the population is still one of the lowest with only 19 000 euros annually per inhabitant. While in ed hair carelessly tied, black sweater and nose ing financial problems due to the current currency. The The food prices are primarily affected by inflation. Denmark, for example, it is about 39 000 euros. The increase piercing, Kaidi, 28 years-old is working at her adoption of the euro last year has led to an increase of For example, a liter of milk now costs 0,62 euro while of prices in shops were expected but for some Estonians, computer. It is 9 p.m., time for her to start a 12 prices in shops. With an average of 4,9 percent in 2011, it used to cost 0,55. It is a cheap price for a western the biggest surprise was to see that their salaries didn’t in- hourR night of work. Smiling and dynamic, the young the country has the highest inflation rate in the Euro- country, but expensive for middle class Estonians. The crease as well. Or at least, not as much as expected. woman checks in two new guests at the “16€ hostel” zone. At the same time it is also the poorest country in fruits and vegetables imported from other countries can “For years, the government told us that our situation where she works. Hard to believe that she’s already been the EU. The monthly salary is averaging 809 euros. Thus, sometimes reach too high prices for people with a low will be better, that with the euro we will have more money, working for more than twelve hours. the country offers to investors the cheapest labor in the salary. It is especially the case for tomatoes. Those can better salaries and a better life,” explains Vaido Niinesalu, “I worked all day in an IT company, and I will work EU. cost 5 euros per kilogram. director at the Kostivere school, near Tallinn. again tomorrow morning”, she explains. “Everything is 25 percent or 30 percent more expen- “I lived in Germany for a while and I can say that some “The reality is different. One of our teachers has to work “It’s 36 hours without sleep. It is hard but I need mon- sive with the euro,” says Kaidi. “To survive, people just products are more expensive here while our salaries are in two different schools, so he has twice as much more ey”. buy less. They don’t buy clothes or shoes as they used to much lower than the German ones. We have to pay more work. But, like he says, he doesn’t have the choice if he Like the majority of the Estonians, Kaidi is experienc- do before”. but with less money,” explains Kaidi. wants to eat”. 4 ǀ EUROVIEWS EUROVIEWS ǀ 5 ESTONIA ESTONIA “We are dependent of the food prices on the international market.” —Mari Pärnamäe But Mari Pärnamäe has another vision: “I don’t think the government promised anything about the wages.

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