In January 2014, European Union members will be required to open their labor markets for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in 2007. The potential migrants are already being perceived as a threat to the countries of Western Europe. As an example of the consequences of an open labor market, politicians are abolishing the restrictions on free movement for citizens from the EU-8 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Hungary).

Eight Eastern European countries received the right to work without limitations in all EU member countries on May 1, 2011. As a result, between April 2011 and January 2012, according to statistics from the European Migration Center (EMC), the number of labor migrants from the EU-8 countries to Germany rose by 48,000 and reached a record number of 271,000. For comparison, in previous years and for the same period from April to January, the number of migrants decreased on average by 10-20,000 because of the seasonality of most of their jobs. A major proportion of migrants – nearly 66% – are Polish citizens.

An aging population and rise in unemployment have brought to light a new negative trend: Social contributions from the working population are no longer enough to pay benefits to pensioners – at least not in the amounts they have grown accustomed to.

Politicians are calling this phenomenon one “worthy of attention,” while pensioners are calling it “a catastrophe.” The first to sound the alarm was the province of Tarragona, where there were 262,550 working people and 154,144 pensioners in 2012. It has always been considered that the ideal ratio was 2:1 – two working people to one pensioner. In Tarragona, that figure is 1.7:1, which has already generated a budget deficit of €250 million per year. The province’s average pension is €826. Tarragona, like the rest of Spain, is accustomed to living well.

The world is changing before our very eyes. Even 15 years ago, it was reasonable to use the word “unipolarity” to talk about the power balance in politics and economics. Benchmarks for success in business were also set by Western companies. The structure of the present world order is much more diverse. The role of the locomotive of economic growth lies with developing countries, and companies that originated there are increasingly conquering heights set by Western businesses. BCG ranked 100 countries with emerging markets that have the chance to determine the shape of the global economy in the coming decades.

In recent years, developing countries have justifiably earned the title “driver of economic progress.” Already, their markets are voluminous and will be even more so in the foreseeable future, thanks to the constantly high rate of economic growth. At the same time, a national accumulation of wealth is taking place, as consumer savings grow in response to the increase in income. Overall, this leads to an improvement in the general welfare of the citizens in those countries. Thus, in 2012, private wealth grew 7.8% worldwide, mostly thanks to developing countries in Asia. Prosperity indicators in Asia (13.8%) and Latin America (10.5%) were significantly higher than the global average. Furthermore, BCG projects that by 2017, developing countries will account for 70% of all increases in private wealth.

The emission of greenhouse gases has a detrimental effect not just for China’s ecology, but for the world’s as well. In 1990, China accounted for approximately 10% of total global greenhouse gases, but today that figure is closer to 30%. While America and Europe are collectively reducing their emissions by 60 tons per year, China is increasing theirs by more than 500 tons per year. Additionally, China alone currently is responsible for two-thirds of the global increase in carbon dioxide emissions.

By the end of 2012, developing countries had won the battle “for foreign investments” with developed countries, and the distribution ratio of global flows between these two groups is 52%/41.5%. More than 30% of global foreign direct investments are going to Asia, but the regional picture is very heterogeneous. China continues to be the clear leader.

Admittedly, Asia didn’t manage to avoid losses in 2012. The global economy is still in the doldrums, Europe – a traditional source for investment – is far from recovery, and international companies are cutting their investment programs. Together, these factors are destabilizing the situation and causing investors to play the waiting game.
FDI flows into Asian countries fell 6.7% to $407 billion, yet remain at a high level. All sub-regions have suffered losses, with the most tangible ones in Southeast Asia (-45%). Nonetheless, five Asian countries are among the top 20 in terms of global FDI inflow: China (2nd), Hong Kong (3rd), Singapore (8th), India (15th), and Indonesia (17th).

For many years, China has been the most populous country on the planet. And the world’s most populous country has gradually become more and more important within the world economy. It is obvious that the country’s territorial and infrastructural needs will only continue to grow. In this light, China’s cooperation with its neighbors is a key issue. WEJ tried to answer the question of what goals China is trying to achieve in cooperating with Russia.

It is believed that when the Chinese pursue joint projects with the Russians, they are mainly interested in territorial space. In fact, the sparsely populated regions of Eastern Siberia would not seem to be the worst choices for Chinese investment. But Moscow is very cautious about the prospects of such investment, perhaps fearing that such projects may whet Beijing’s appetite for more.
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly recognized that one of his most important foreign policy achievements is the settlement of Russia’s border dispute with China. Russia has transferred to China an area of 170 square kilometers on the Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky islands, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers. This territory had been the subject of a serious dispute between the two countries at the end of the 1960s. By solving this old problem, Russia has deprived China of the opportunity to make new demands. At the same time, it has removed an item from the agenda of talks that could have adversely affected the prospects of Sino-Russian cooperation.