Entries by paula@hcss-site

Political risk forecast for global oil exports (PRIX) Index Q2 2016

The Political risk forecast for global oil exports (PRIX) index, a composite index which forecasts the effect of political developments on exports from major petroleum-producing countries run by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, was updated yesterday for the second quarter of 2016. The Index measures 46.60, down from 50.06 in the previous quarter. This […]

After the ‘no’, which options does the Dutch government have?

On the 6th of April Dutch voters dealt a blow to the EU Association Agreement with Ukraine. Although the referendum is only consultative in nature, it does represent a significant challenge for the Dutch government. Which options does Prime Minister Rutte have? Russian newspaper Kommersant spoke about the matter with Sijbren de Jong. The full […]

The implications of the Dutch ‘no’

Yesterday Dutch voters rejected the ratification of the European Union’s Association Agreement with Ukraine. A threshold of 30 per cent voter turnout was required for the referendum to have effect and with a turnout of 32.2 per cent and a majority of 61.1 per cent of the voters saying “no”, according to preliminary results, it […]

Het Oekraïne referendum en de implicaties voor het buitenland

Gisteravond stond Bureau Buitenland van de VPRO volledig in het teken van het referendum over het EU-associatieverdrag met Oekraïne. Onderwerp van discussie waren de EU-relatie met Oekraïne, de invloed van Rusland, de sfeer in Kiev en de effecten voor Nederland in Brussel. Vier sprekers gaven tekst en uitleg: Sijbren de Jong, strategisch analist bij het […]

Why the Dutch Ukraine referendum is a joke

Last week several of the people behind the Dutch Ukraine referendum were interviewed by NRC Handelsblad, a Dutch daily. In the interview they stated that they “could not care less about Ukraine”. The real motivation for the referendum is to create momentum for the Netherlands to one day leave the EU altogether. Of course this […]

Verdrag met EU biedt jongeren Oekraïne hoop op betere toekomst

Jaren geleden bezocht ik de omgeving van Tsjernobyl waar in 1986 een verschrikkelijk ramp met een kerncentrale plaatsvond. De rampplek was nog troostelozer dan de rest van Oekraïne. Politieke instabiliteit en corruptie hadden bovendien een diep gevoel van moedeloosheid veroorzaakt. Waarom kon Polen dat qua omvang, economie en bevolking redelijk vergelijkbaar met Oekraïne was, wel […]