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New Year’s Resolutions

Promises are like breadcrumbs - they’re made and they’re broken but which country’s resolutions seem set to last?

2012 is a leap year and the 12th year of the third millennium and of the 21st century. It has the potential to be an interesting year, and already characterised by a prophetic speculation that claims it will be our last. Filled with sporting events, Europe holds much promise and challenge for the New Year, but with economies teetering dangerously close towards further recession, will the continent make it through unscathed?

Ekecheiria

The UK is on top of the list of countries set to have a sporting year as the home of the 2012 Olympic Games due to take place next summer. The promotion of the event has also been used as an opportunity to market sporting values. The United Nations General Assembly, of 17 October, voted in a related resolution - Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal. This is now referred to as the Olympic Truce Resolution. Lord Sebastian Coe has made it his mission to emphasise sport as a means of promoting world peace. The Olympic Truce, or ekecheiria, stems from an ancient Greek tradition dating back to the eighth century BCE and the International Olympic Committee still calls on all participant states to adhere to this truce. It aims to create a peaceful future for the world through participation in sport.

Football is also set for an exciting year, with the UEFA Cup due to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Hosted by Ukraine and Poland, the two countries are thrilled at the honour and UEFA President Michel Platini has expressed his pleasure at the amount of work undertaken to make it a memorable event.

Platini said "I am confident that EURO 2012 will be a spectacular and wide open tournament […] Both Poland and Ukraine have made outstanding efforts in order to be ready at kick-off time. They deserve our congratulations.”

Fifty-three national associations competed to qualify, in the end with six Polish cities hosting the sporting event - Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw, Chorzow and Krakow - and four cities in the Ukraine - Kiev, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk.

Save the planet

The EU needs to up its fight to continue lowering carbon dioxide emissions and the reduction of greenhouse gases is a strong aim of all member states. According to this resolution, the EU should continue to support the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that requires industrial countries to drastically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The currently set out target for the EU is a 20% reduction of emissions by 2020.

The Dutch have introduced an aim to get rid of vehicle taxes and substitute them with fees according to mileage. The objective is to create shorter, less congested journeys and to hugely reduce emissions. The country is well on the way to setting an important ecologically-friendly method that promotes the use of public transport and possibly radically reducing congestion. For example, though the London system already charges congestion, this does not significantly decrease traffic flow, but it does leave many drivers paying more than they feel they can afford for the necessity of entering London. The Dutch idea may thus set an example for other economies, if it works well.

Dutch Transport Minister, Camiel Eurlings, hopes that the system, which is to be set up by 2012, would cut the total kilometres driven in the country by 15% and CO2 emissions by 10%. Becoming more ecologically friendly is a major EU aim and reducing transport emissions would be a positive start to the New Year.

Financial life ring

The European Commission has expressed concerns for the Eurozone in 2012, predicting the risk of another recession.

Greece hopes to cut its budget deficit by 50% in 2012. Lucas Papademos, Greece’s new Prime Minister, has approved drafts for a debt swap to be negotiated with bondholders in the private sector. The budget has introduced a target of 5.4 % of GDP if the deal goes through, or 6.7% of GDP if the negotiations are not successful. It is, however, expected that the Greek economy will decrease by 2.8% next year, which will mark five years of successive recession.

Fears have risen as the European Commission has shrunk its forecast of euro area growth from 1.8% down to 0.5% in 2012. Europe will have a challenge on the doorstep of 2012 to rid itself of the debt crisis, but the current situation is already renewing fears that the Italian situation is unmanageable. Along with France and Spain, Italy is not expected to succeed in growth above 1% in 2012.

Spain’s position is uncertain. Having already suffered the harshest spending cuts in 30 years under Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodrigues Zapatero, Spain will continue her battle to ward off the debt crisis with huge cuts predicted in 2012. Zapatero has already made major salary cuts, stopped pensions and sliced benefits, all with the aim of deterring a further financial crisis. Zapatero’s term ends in March 2012 and, until then, he must reassure the Spanish citizens that he can steer them through the crisis. However, the methods for combating debt, such as increased working age, may lower his approval ratings and Spain has already seen a turbulent year due to outbreaks and protests.

Yet not all countries are suffering to the extent of the weak Greek and Spanish economies. With an average increase of 0.7% per every three months this year, Austria’s economy did well in light of most other euro zone economies. The new government has proposed tax increases that should reduce debt to around 0.5% of GDP each year from 2012, according to Eurostat.

France and Germany have reportedly held deep consultations over whether or not to leave the euro zone altogether, or more recently their leaders have pushed the idea of a ’two speed Europe’. The latter involves the possibility of certain countries leaving the zone, while those that remain will strive for tighter economic integration. An extreme makeover of the EU would undoubtedly be refuted by many member states and rumours that France and Germany are keen to leave the euro zone have been denied as much as they have been speculated upon, but can Europe really be looking at a major shift in the current design of the euro zone?

See the world

For those that are  able to get away next year, the Caribbean may seem like an extravagant choice for many Europeans, but in October the Framework of the EU Council on Tourism and Trade announced that Trinidad and Tobago were to be awarded the World’s Best Tourist Destination for 2012. The preservation of both cultural and historic values and the high amount of natural and protected areas, as well as ecologically friendly tourist opportunities were among the reasons given for this decision.

When it comes to European countries,  Lonely Planet’s top ten set to attract tourists in 2012 include the Ukraine. As co-host of the UEFA 2012, the country should enjoy a rise in the number of visitors, many of whom may spend some of their time there to explore the country. The relatively undiscovered Crimean coast may lure many, and together with good beer and quaint old-style cities is reason enough to visit.

Denmark came in high in 2011 for living standards, especially with regards to green living. The Danes are pursuing ecological-living and together with a keen focus on green technology, their dedication to the aim is clearly reflected in the delightful countryside and smooth-running lifestyle. There are approximately 10,000 kilometres of cycle routes and bikes are easily accessible. For a sporting, adventurous holiday, Denmark is a top choice. Switzerland has also made the top ten list. With its beautiful landscapes, snow-capped mountains,and its lovely towns have continuously rendered it an attractive tourist destination.

And this time, a year from now…

Despite fears that the world will end on 21 December 2012, Mayan elders have actually claimed the existing fears stem from Western speculation and not Mayan prediction. They explain that the doomsday scenario has been overhyped, but the world is nevertheless approaching the end of a so-called World Age. It is allegedly a moment of transition from one World Age into another, as Joseph Robert Jochmans explains, “Our moving through with either resistance or acceptance will determine whether the transition will happen with cataclysmic changes or gradual peace and tranquillity.”

Though society at large has not succumbed to Mayan beliefs, but one aspect to hold on to may be the promise of transition. Financially, economically and globally, modern society is in for a journey in 2012 and there will be many obstacles along the way. Financially, the economically unstable period doesn’t look set to change in the new year and could potentially worsen. Only next year’s figures will tell for sure where the global economy is heading. The next year will likely be a time of spending cuts and increased taxes, necessary moves that are hardly perceived with any sense of optimism.

The upcoming year looks to be an eventful one and a transitional twelve months, but with an awareness of its ups and downs the best society can do is enter it with optimism and a realisation that working  together is the only way to reap lessons from 2012’s trials and enjoy the fruits of its treasures.

by Anouska Munden