What is the economic relation between Poland and Russia?

In the last months, during the Ukrainian crisis, Poland and Russia have been strongly opposed. Warsaw has firmly supported Kiev against Putin interference. But the position of Poland has deeply exposed itself to the ban of import of some products decided  by Putin.

Even the contraposition between Poland and Russia has solid roots in the history, this has not prevent both the Countries to have a natural economic connection.

Which is the economic relation between Russia and Poland?

Russia is the fifth economic partner of Poland: more than 5% of total polish export goes towards Moscow for an amount of 9 billions of dollars per year. An important item is represented by apples that are the 27% of total apples imported in Russia. 

Instead, Warsaw mainly buys from Moscow oil (93% of the total) for a business of around 17 billions of dollars per year. The rest of oil comes from Norway (3,23%), Kazakhstan (2,07%) and Tunisia (0,45%) (Source: Observatory of Economic complexity).

Those numbers explain why the ban of fruit import decided by Putin in August has so deeply touched the economy of Poland. By the way, Poles have answered proudly with a movement born on Social Media: "Eat apples to annoy Putin" ,inviting to eat polish apples as protest against the President of Russia.

Finally, it is interesting to notice that the anti-Russian position has been hold against economical interests. Poland has paid economic consequences, but it has also had frictions with some European Partners. It is interesting to see that sometimes values seem more important than money.

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The referendum in Scotland: the end of the State?

On Thursday 18th September 2014 it will take please the referendum for the Independence of Scotland. The 9th of November it is planned a similar referendum in Cataluña.

Scotland 2014

From some electoral polls, it seems that in Scotland there is a majority for the Independence (51% vs 49%) and the attention of the media is focused on the possible scenarios after the vote.

States with a long history as Spain and United Kingdom, but also Italy and Belgium, are deeply touched by internal conflicts. What's happening? Is it really coming the end of the State created five centuries ago?

It is hard to give an answer, but it seems clear that two forces are eroding the authority of the States. The first one, is the globalization. This phenomenon has broken the borders, creating communities, facilitating transnational business, mixing the cultures. The dynamics born by the globalization cannot be controlled by the State, that actually is eluded. The second element to consider is the rebirth of regionalisms. This could be also seen as an answer to the globalization and the loosing of local traditions.  

The economic crisis and European Union have further weakened the State, unable to solve the problems of the population and constantly losing its power. 

It seems that we are crossing a period with too many social and economical problems, and that the State, the National Governments cannot face them anymore, because the origins and maybe also the solutions are outside their borders. Moreover, it is probably easier for a region to become autonomous and staying under the umbrella of the European Union. 

Regional movement are developing everywhere. But it seems that in Scotland we are assisting to a fundamental moment, not just for the history on United Kingdom.

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Few considerations after Tusk election as President of European Council

The 30th of August 2014 Donald Tusk has been nominated President of European Council. He will replace Herman Von Rompuy, President since December 2009.

The President of European Council is an important role in the Eu Institutional Framework: he/she is the principal representative of the European Union on the World stage and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council.

Simplifying, if European Union was a State, the Parliament and the EU Council could be the two branches of the Legislative Power, the Commission could represent the Government and the European Council (the college of Heads of State or Government of EU member States as well as the President of the European Commission) could be compared to the Head of State.

It will be interesting to see in the next months which consequences this designation will bring to Poland and, generally, to Europe. 

Two are the main fields to observe. First of all, the economy: Tusk is very close to the positions of Angela Merkel, that means a development with fiscal strictness and no space for more flexibility that Countries like France or Italy would like to have. Moreover, Tusk will preside over the Euro summit even if Poland doesn't have Euro yet. Will Tusk election push Poland in Eurozone? How the new President will manage the conflicts inside the European Council about the economic rules of the next years?

The second area of interest will be the foreign policy. Tusk is considered, for example, a hawk in the relations Eu - Russia. Will he persuade Eu to adopt a more rigid position against Putin? Or the new Miss Pesc Federica Mogherini will balance him (as she is considered a dove)? How will other Countries pro-Russia (as Hungary or Cyprus) react in a possibly cooling of the relations with Putin by the Eu?

Those are just conjectures. Probably nothing will really change inside the European Council, where States still have the last word. But for sure Tusk designation gives a new face at the European Union. It is the first time that a such important office is committed to a political exponent of a Eastern Country, exactly ten years after the Eastern Enlargement of Eu. For Poland, getting this role is definitely an honor and a recognition of its strategic importance and constantly increasing power inside Europe. Without forgetting the designation of Elzbieta Bienkowska as European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, another fundamental role in the European political arena.

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Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday? Third: the accommodation

In the two previous posts, I analyzed the ways to have a low-cost holiday choosing the cheapest destinations and the cheapest transportation.

In this post, the final one of the trilogy (!), I want to put in evidence the ways to save money for the accommodation. There are many possibilities, from the classic hotel to the camping, but I would like to focus about two main (and cheapest) options: the hostels and Couchsuring.

A classic dormitory in a hostel

The first hostel was created in Germany in 1912... Nowadays there are more than 4500 hostels all over the World. Hostels offer cheap accommodation, usually in a dormitory with a variable number of beds. People choose hostels for saving money but also for the environment. There are usually open spaces in which the guests can interact each other and hostel can become not just a place to sleep but also a place to meet people and sharing experiences.

If hostels can look too expensive, there is always the possibility to sleep somewhere else for free, thanks to Couchsurfing. This is a hospitality exchange and social networking website. People can offer a couch to sleep (for free) or, if they don't have place available, they can just offer a coffee and maybe a tour of the place they live.

Couchsurfing is present almost everywhere, with more the 3 millions of users. It is very common in Europe and Us, but we can find couchsurfers also in China, Russia, Australia and Brazil. Despite few negative episodes, the network of couchsurfers is safe and hosts reliable. It is interesting to notice the average age is 28 years, the 71% of members speaks English, the 20% are from United States. The common values are social integration, anti-discrimination, open-mindedness.

Couchsurfers in the World

Finally. which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday?

I would say that it depends from your budget and from your open-mindedness. If someone has a very little amount of money, the option couchsurfing + hitchhiking gives the opportunity to spend money just for food, not giving up to an holiday.

After all, the most important thing is that if you really want to travel, to visit places and to share experiences, you don't have to be rich, you just need to be open-minded, and maybe a little bit daredevil.

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Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday? Second: the transportation

Even if the mid of August has passed few days ago, it is still time of holidays.

In the previous post, I have discussed about the choice of the best destinations in order to have a low cost holiday. Today I would like to write about the transport options we can have.

Once you choose a destination, there are many ways to get it (and to visit it). I am going just to mention some of them, the most known.

The cheapest way to travel is hitchhiking. This method has the big advantage that is completely free, but from the other side you never know who will give you a lift and you cannot schedule a trip because you cannot predict if and when you will get a ride. Hitchhiking is very common in some Countries like Poland and Netherlands, where there are also platforms dedicated to people waiting for a ride. In Cuba hitchhiking is mandatory by government vehicles, because of the small number of cars.

Another possibility to travel is given by car-pooling service, like Bla Bla Car. In this case, someone who has to travel from a city to another can offer a ride in exchange of the payment of a part of the costs. This solution is generally cheap, but you cannot always find the route you need.

Bus and train can be a good solution if you can find a good offer. For example Polskibus has been a huge success in Poland, because the ticket prices are very low (you can find a ticket from Krakow to Warsaw at less than 10 Euros). Interrail is also a good way to visit one or more countries: you pay a ticket for unlimited trips by train in one ore more Countries for a specific period of time.

If you have a larger budget and you don't want to spend to much time travelling, there are many offers from the low-cost Airlines as Ryanair or Wizzair. From one side, thanks to this solution you can arrive everywhere in Europe. From the other, it is not always easy to find a ticket really cheap and there are also restrictions regarding luggage.

Finally, you can always traver by your own vehicles. More than a car, it is interesting mentioning that many people are used to travel by bike. Even if it is more difficult to plan "exotic trips", travelling by bike gives more opportunities to enjoy the nature and to discover places not easily accessible via other transportations.

As you can see, there are many opportunities to travel in a cheap way. We are spoiled for choice!

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Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday? First: the destination

In this period many people are planning summer holidays. 

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has estimated that in 2013 Europe has attracted the most number of tourists in the World (52%), followed by Asia (23), America (15), Africa (5) and Middle East (3). Regarding the Countries, France is the first world destination, then Usa, Spain, China and Italy.

Bucharest - the cheapest destination in Europe

During the crisis not everybody can plan a long holiday in one of the places mentioned above. But it doesn't mean that holidays must be cancelled. There is still a huge variety of choices that gives us the possibility to spend some days in nice places, without wasting too much money.

Which is the best way to have a low-cost holiday in Europe? 

I would like to analyze three elements: the destination, the form of transport and the accommodation. This post will be dedicated only to the choice of destination. The two others will be discussed in the next days.

The European Backpacker Index is a good instrument for an overview of the most economic cities in Europe. The 2014 index ranks Bucharest, Kiev and Sofia as the cheapest destinations, whilst Zurich, Stockholm and Oslo are the most expensive. In the top-10 there are also other beautiful cities of Eastern Europe, such as Belgrade, Sarajevo, Krakow and Budapest. 

In this part of Europe the cost of life is lower: if for a meal in Bucharest you have to pay 40 Ron (9 Eur), in a city as Lisbon the price is 16 Eur and in Venice 26. The price of a good hostel in Krakow can reach 30 zloty (7 Eur), in Zurich 41 CHF (33 Eur).

These elements can explain why the tourism in Central and Eastern Europe has increases by 7% last year.

Even with those good results, we still have to register some diffidence from a part of the international tourism, that associates East with grey communist buildings and problems of security. Even if cities like Budapest and Prague are part of the international touristic circuit, there are also other Countries that can offer beautiful places and low-cost holidays.

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Can the debate about Palestine become just a contrast among supporters?

One week ago, I was in Tel Aviv. I have decided to visit Israel for tourism. Even if I am not a religious person, I think that Middle East can offer extraordinary places, a thousand-year old culture and beautiful natural sites.

In the last days of my stay, I started to hear and to see the rockets from Gaza. 

Even when the sirens stroke in the streets or on the beach, it seemed the none was scared, except for few tourists. Life in Tel Aviv was going on normally. Of course, we know that in the Gaza Strip the situation was the opposite. People were diyng and a huge part of population was moving to the south of the Strip (or trying to do that) to avoid the missiles from the Israeli Army.

When you see a place with your eyes, it can happen that you become more involved in the problems of that place. Probably because it doesn't seem so far anymore, I am constantly following the news from Middle East. I am also reading many articles to understand better the situation and the history of the last century on negotiations and wars in the area.

Yitzhak Rabin (Israel Prime Minister), Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat (Leader of PLO)
during the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993

But trying to understand is very hard, because it seems that to analyze the contrasts between Israel and Palestinians, first you have to become supporter of one of the two parts. If you don't want or you cannot take a sharp position, you can just issue many questions, without any answer.

How is it possible that people who suffered the Holocaust can kill so many persons, especially children? Can it be possible supporting people who launches rockets to civilians, cities and airports without any scope, except killing other people? How can 1.6 million of people living in the Gaza Strip with constant limitations to their freedom? Have a Country the right to defend its citizens from kamikaze attacks? Can be a permanent peace if Hamas doesn't recognize the right of Israel to exist? Can be a permanent peace if Israel continues to colonize the West Bank? Is the creation of two States or the maintenance of a permanent conflict the real aim of the political leaderships of both the parts?

I have just questions. No answer.

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