Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

ing in Libya. The NRC editorial: “Even now that the violence
is escalating, the EU has no clear policy toward
Gadaffi.” 16
- Iran: In December, the EU was considering the boycott of
Iranian oil. A decision was not made at that point because
some member states required time to find alternate suppliers.
At the same time, the UK asked for stricter sanctions
on Iran because the British embassy in Tehran had
recently been attacked by government-backed mobs.
“This week, Europe stayed clear from an oil boycott, on
which the UK and France had insisted. Such a move could
cause the oil prices to rise rapidly.” 17
2011 IN REVIEW:
The Euro crisis has been at the centre of Dutch media
coverage on the EU. As the summary of the reporting
shows the Dutch population has difficulty understanding
how the government and the EU are handling the Greek
crisis. The fact that Prime Minister Rutte caused confusion
over the total amount of financial support that was agreed
on in Brussels emphasized the complexity of the Greek crisis.
The public has little confidence in a positive outcome,
as Greece’s problems seem to be never ending. Many are
starting to feel fed up with bailing Greece out and the Dutch
Minister of Finance is in a continuous challenge of defending
the decisions to financially support Greece. Many Dutch
citizens believe that Greece will never be able to repay its
debt to the Netherlands.
Another widely discussed topic was that of regulation
and governance within the EU. The Eurozone crisis
raised questions about the future of the EU, and while Eurosceptics
used the crisis as an argument against the EU,
Europhiles argued that the crisis demonstrates a need for
deeper integration and a stronger union. The Eurozone crisis
has led to calls for a common budgetary policy and a
move towards a stronger political union.
Other topics involving regulation dealt with human
rights issues such as immigration policies; the Netherlands
has faced criticism from EU institutions for its handling of
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