Posted on 12/02/2005 2:03:35 AM PST by Atlantic Bridge
The idea was appalling to many in the West. Eastern European countries joining the EU would mean a flood of cheap labor. But the wave of economic refugees never came. Instead, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians are picking up work in booming Eastern Europe.
(Excerpt) Read more at service.spiegel.de ...
In Germany this problem has already developed. Most young east Germans moved to the richer western part of the country over the last 15 years and their hometowns changed into inconsolable elderly homes.
BTW - In opposition to the article I see a significant loss of educated people in Hungary, Poland and the Czech republic. This is very understandable and no wonder. Furthermore it helps the economy of western Europe to hold its strong position. The Poles found the right answer to the loss: They educate their young ones even better as they did before. Something western Europe could learn from...
Maybe something for the eastern Europe Ping list.
:-)
+ our eastern tigers listened to Paul Kirchof.
A shame our new german chancelor just used him as a decoy during her campaign.
It is too bad we don't have a Poland on our southern border. Instead we have a perpetually poor welfare state to our south. Even worse, it is led by a government with delusions of grandeur.
Everyone has probably seen the like among the homeless who have no qualms about taking your money to buy alcohol, but are indignant if you suggest they perhaps work for their money.
"Something western Europe could learn from..."
Something the west should learn is that this, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc., is CENTRAL Europe.
The center of Europe is in the center of Slovakia.
Many in these countries do not like to be lumped in with Russia.
Since the revolution, young people in these countries are being very well educated.
Slovakia is the shining star of the new EU entrants.
The center of Europe is in Poland but I can imagine that the Slovaks made their own calculations :)
"The center of Europe is in Poland"
Well, there are at least four countries that claim
to be the center, but here is one...
http://travel.box.sk/newsread.php?newsid=38
Bah - we are all Europeans. This is what really counts. Of course the new democratic countries in eastern Europe do not want to be lumped with Putin's or Luka's empire, but hopefully nobody here has a problem to side up with those who still have fight for freedom there.
I am convinced that the "far" east of Europe will join us in the near future since such kid-eating dictators like Lukashenko simply deserve a cold grave on a lonely waste disposal.
We shold not waste time on hairsplitting and finickiness.
We need him here, we have a special room for him, you know in one of this secret CIA prisons which are so popular all across Poland :-))
Locations currently vying for the distinction of being the center of Europe include:
* Suchowola, north of Białystok, in northeast Poland;
* the village of Krahule, near Kremnica in central Slovakia;
* the small town of Rakhiv (actually, the village of Dilove, near Rakhiv) in western Ukraine;
* Bernotai, near Vilnius, Lithuania.
There must be something very special about Poland and her people. Through the centuries many regimes have tried to take her and her people for themselves.
This discussion reminds me a littlebit of Galileo Galilei or Giordano Bruno and their fight with the church about the real center of the universe. As I already said - it doesn't really matter.
The Poles also smartly outlaw abortion in most circumstances.
(Not only is this moral, but it helps keep the population up too)
However they made some obligations with foreign companies and now they are unable to fulfill these promises. It is not very good for their image among the potential investors.
Nobody said that this is important. In fact this theme doesn't exist here.
Very fascinating.
Many Poles work abroad in countries like UK, Ireland, France, Germany, etc in construction and other types jobs for better wages, while many Ukrainians, Russians and other folks from the fmr. USSR taking their place in Poland. Quite a mix up -:))))
A lot of those educated folks are heading back now, 5.5 years later.
Exactly -- an IBM boss once suggested that IBM ads in these countries should be in Russian as well... this was soon shut down by her Romanian, Polish etc. counterparts.. :)
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