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allmetalworking > News & Topics >My Views From Europe

My Views From Europe
Author: Andrew R. Thomas / Contributing Editor
Source From: IndustryWeek
Posted Date: 2012-05-23

I am currently on a three-week swing across 10 countries in Europe.

I am meeting with high-level business, education, and political leaders, as well as many folks on the street.

Given all that is going on here, I thought it might be interesting to share with you some "on the ground" reporting, as the crisis here reaches its apex.

What happens in Europe in the coming months will very well influence the business climate in China, it's biggest trading partner.

For American companies, the imminent break-up of the Eurozone will provide new opportunities to reassert their leadership across a wide variety of industries

So here goes, one man's view- starting from the Black Sea region:

Turkey is growing, but probably too fast for its own good, at least economically. Everyone- even the taxi drivers- are talking about the rise in real estate values and how much they are making on their houses. We've seen this movie before...

With the American presence in Iraq and the greater Middle East being reduced, it seems Turkey is seeking to fill the void. Whispers of a modern version of Ottoman influence are growing louder.

The Turkish Airlines Club at Istanbul Airport is one of the most interesting places I've been in a while. It is huge and the diversity of people from around the globe is impressive. Here at least, iPhones seem to out number both Blackberrys and Androids 3:1.

As exciting as Turkey is, Moldova, Europe's poorest country is the opposite. Still, the free wi-fi at Chisinau Airport is the best I've ever seen.

And the wine, too. I'd put Moldovan wine up against the top brands anywhere. The wine of choice for the British Royal Family has been, for generations, Moldovan.

Russian influence is very evident. All the signs in the country are in both Russian and Romanian. Russian troops still occupy Transnistria.

Migration and corruption remain the country's biggest challenges.

The population is mostly older folks and children. The people in their 20's and 30's are few. They say Moldova's biggest export is people, especially the college-educated.

Moldavans are some of the best IT workers in the world. Their software engineers, developers- and hackers- are renowned.

Organized crime is very influential here. Odessa, one of the great trading centers on the planet, makes contraband easy to attain.

Black market cigarettes and knock-off Hermes purses seem highest in demand.

Europe's boom-to-bust is quite evident in Romania. In Oradea, near the Hungarian border, two new $60 million shopping malls that were built for a population of less than 200,000 never opened. Weeds are everywhere, growing through the concrete parking lots that sit empty.

Romanians are praying for the Euro to collapse, as most of their personal loans are in Euros and very expensive; while their currency, the lei, continues to fall.

The Romanian government went down last month due to anger over harsh austerity measures. This was a precursor to the devastating elections in Greece, France, and Germany.

The message is becoming clear: voters are tired of government cut backs and won't support anyone who thinks it's a good idea. Politics are trumping economics.

More next week from Hungary, England, and Spain.

The trek across Europe continues. This week took me through Romania, Hungary, and now here at London City Airport, where I write this. Spain awaits.

Starting in the east and working west has provided a degree of insight to the profound challenges the continent is facing. The current problems in Greece and elsewhere have been around far longer in other places, but they received little attention.

Last week in Romania, the country officially fell back into recession. It didn't take an economist to tell the guy on the streets of Bucharest that the economy is seriously weakening.

Romania has struggled to regroup after its bubble popped in 2009. It has had three governments in the past two months. Romanians are sour and rooting for the Euro to collapse. Their currency- the Lei- is at the same level as when the country entered the EU in 2007.

Hungary went bust earlier in the year. Inflation has taken over as its currency- the Florint- plummets versus the Euro. Even it's national airline- Malev- is gone, a victim of the crisis.

Still, the people I spoke with in both countries feel fortunate that they are in better shape than Greece, Spain, or Portugal, who are completely hand tied to the Euro. At least the Romanians and Hungarians have their own currency to manipulate...

On a side note, when asked this week what he would recommend to a young person who can't find a job, the Prime Minister of Portugal responded, "Go to Angola, they need workers there".

I've been to Angola several times. If that is the best solution for the youth unemployment problem in a full-fledged member of the EU and Eurozone, the problems here are deeper than anyone is admitting- or knows.

London is booming. Construction cranes are everywhere. It looks like Shanghai in the big growth years. The Olympics this summer have everyone jacked up.

Nevertheless, the financial district, where I spent the last two days, has lost tens of thousands of jobs that will never come back. Even the British investment bankers are spooked. Many now admit they drove us into this mess. They also wonder out loud if the global financial system is strong enough to withstand a shock that a mass exodus from the Euro could precipitate.

But they still want to point the finger first at America. In fact, I've found one of the common themes the past two weeks is to blame the Americans and their friends in Germany for all of the problems in Europe.

This is no surprise, as we are often loathe to blame ourselves for the problems in our lives.

Still, the notion of a growing Europe that is unified, functional, and a world leader is hard to grasp today.

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