One early morning in Lisbon I went to the Angolan Embassy. It was not yet 0800 and there was already a line of 400 people. One of the ironies of Europe's crisis was that thousands of Portuguese workers were heading to their former colonies in search of work.
Many of Europe's best and brightest were on the move. Since the crisis began over 300,000 Greeks have emigrated. 200,000 have left Ireland.
In the Italian city of Pisa the Swedish home furnishings chain Ikea planned to open a new store and advertised for 250 staff. It received 28,816 applications.
The EU's official statistics pointed to a jobless recovery, offering little hope to the 26 million out of work.
Europe since 2009 has had a foreign affairs chief, but few knew it. Baroness Ashton had been given the grand title of High Representative for Foreign Affairs. The job was ill defined and Cathy Ashton was wary of the press.
Behind the scenes, however, she worked tirelessly and in November held centre stage when the Iranians agreed to limit their nuclear programme. It was a diplomatic breakthrough. Others had been involved -mainly the Americans- but Cathy Ashton chaired the talks and made the case for dogged, persistent quiet diplomacy.
Read more: BBC News - Europe's moments of 2013
Many of Europe's best and brightest were on the move. Since the crisis began over 300,000 Greeks have emigrated. 200,000 have left Ireland.
In the Italian city of Pisa the Swedish home furnishings chain Ikea planned to open a new store and advertised for 250 staff. It received 28,816 applications.
The EU's official statistics pointed to a jobless recovery, offering little hope to the 26 million out of work.
Europe since 2009 has had a foreign affairs chief, but few knew it. Baroness Ashton had been given the grand title of High Representative for Foreign Affairs. The job was ill defined and Cathy Ashton was wary of the press.
Behind the scenes, however, she worked tirelessly and in November held centre stage when the Iranians agreed to limit their nuclear programme. It was a diplomatic breakthrough. Others had been involved -mainly the Americans- but Cathy Ashton chaired the talks and made the case for dogged, persistent quiet diplomacy.
Read more: BBC News - Europe's moments of 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment