2009 in review - Crisis to crisis
Foto: www.boston.com
From January to April of 2009, Europe stumbled from crisis to crisis. First, the banking collapse, then another winter gas crisis and to top it all off - swine flu. Euranet looks back, over three consecutive days, at the big stories and newsmakers of the year.
2009 began eerily like 2008 for many Europeans after the gas supplies from Russia to many countries was cut off.
At one stage, gas supplies to several Balkan countries dropped by 70 per cent, sparking fears that they would run out completely.
The EU relies on Russia for around a quarter of its gas and 80% of it comes via Ukraine.
Brussels stepped up the pressure on both Russia and Ukraine to solve the dispute and the pipelines were eventually re-opened when Kiev settled the millions of euros in outstanding fines.
Banking Meltdown
The financial crisis reached a climax in the first part of the year with Germany joining the UK and USA in bailing out their banks.
Iceland's government followed the massive decline in the country's economy and collapsed, leading to the appointment of the world's first gay Prime Minister.
In April G20 leaders met in London in a bid to get the world back on the road to recovery. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the G20 would spend nearly 750 billion euros by the end of 2010.
Resources available to the International Monetary Fund were tripled to 558 billion euros to help countries with troubled economies. World leaders also announced sanctions against secretive tax havens and tougher global financial regulation.
Swine flu fears
The third crisis to spread to Europe was health-related. By the time the first case of Swine Flu appeared on our shores in Spain, more than a hundred people had already died from the virus in Mexico.
The EU stepped up efforts to contain the spread of the disease but refused to ban travel to affected countries.
Other top stories
Away from the crises, the most notable moment from the first four months of the year came in January with the inauguration of the first black President in the US. Many Europeans had high hopes that Barack Obama would be less aggressive than his predecessor.
Elsewhere In Italy, more than 300 people were killed and thousands left homeless when an earthquake struck the city of L'Aquila.
In Germany, a teenage gunman went on the rampage at a school in Germany, shooting 15 people. He later died in a gun battle with police.
In the world of music, Scottish singer Susan Boyle made her first appearance on the reality TV show Britain's Got Talent. Her debut album "I Dreamed A Dream" went on to go triple platinum.
Check back tomorrow for more of our review of 2009.
Comments
-
del.icio.us
-
Mister wong
-
digg
-
blogMarks
-
Facebook
